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2020 (10) TMI 1348 - HC - Indian LawsValidity of arbitral award - Section 34 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - HELD THAT:- In instant case on hand, that the three months period has to be computed from 14.06.2019 by excluding the date of receipt of award is not in dispute. If one goes by the computation in Himachal Techno Engineers case, 3 months would expire on 13.09.2019 whereas Bibi Salma Khatoon principle suggests that it may be possible to construe that it elapsed on 14.09.2019. However, it may not be necessary to enter into this arena in this case - This Court therefore embarked upon the exercise of examining if sufficient cause qua delay condonation plea has been made out. Before this Court does that, it is made clear that the contention of learned Standing Counsel for Southern Railways that Assam Urban Water Supply case is distinguishable on facts as no recourse to Section 4 of Limitation Act has been taken cannot be sustained as Assam Urban Water Supply case is an authority for the proposition that the last day on which the prescribed period ends being a Court holiday would apply only to prescribed period of limitation and not to further condonable periods post prescribed period of limitation. In instant application, it is not the case of Southern Railways that the last day of the prescribed period of three months fell on a Court holiday. The argument of learned Standing Counsel for Southern Railways that Sagufa Ahmed [2020 (9) TMI 713 - SUPREME COURT] case is distinguishable as it centres around suo motu orders passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court during the lock down period is of no avail as Hon'ble Supreme Court has comprehensively considered Sections 2(j) and 4 of Limitation Act as well as Section 10 of GC Act and had made it clear that what was extended by Hon'ble Supreme Court during the lock down is the period of limitation and not the period upto which the delay can be condoned in exercise of discretion conferred by a statute. The pre-application notice under Section (5) has been held to be directory and not mandatory as mentioned supra. Therefore, this Court has repeatedly held that one year period under sub-section (6) should be reckoned from the date of presentation of Section 34 application in cases where Section 34 application is presented without a pre-application notice - Post disposal of Section 34 application also, an intra-court appeal has been provided under Section 37 of A and C Act, but only for very limited kind of orders with a clear embargo by way of a negative connotation 'and from no others' within parenthesis. Sub-section (3) of Section 37 makes it clear that no second appeal shall lie from an order passed in an appeal under Section 37. These features of A and C Act delineated supra make it clear strict time lines run as a common chord throughout the statute and this common chord is the sublime philosophy and salutary principle underlying the A and C Act. This has been borne in mind in testing the captioned delay condonation application. Application dismissed.
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