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2018 (1) TMI 1137 - SUPREME COURTWhether an award delivered by an Arbitrator, which decides the issue of limitation, can be said to be an interim award? - Whether such interim award can then be set aside under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996? Held that: - A reading of the Section 31(6) makes it clear that the jurisdiction to make an interim arbitral award is left to the good sense of the arbitral tribunal, and that it extends to “any matter” with respect to which it may make a final arbitral award. The expression “matter” is wide in nature, and subsumes issues at which the parties are in dispute. It is clear, therefore, that any point of dispute between the parties which has to be answered by the arbitral tribunal can be the subject matter of an interim arbitral award - More than one award finally determining any particular issue before the arbitral tribunal can be made on different aspects of the matters to be determined. A preliminary issue affecting the whole claim would expressly be the subject matter of an interim award under the English Act. The English Act advisedly does not use the expression “interim” or “partial”, so as to make it clear that the award covered by Section 47 of the English Act would be a final determination of the particular issue that the arbitral tribunal has decided. The award dated 23rd July, 2015 is an interim award, which being an arbitral award, can be challenged separately and independently under Section 34 of the Act. Such an award, which does not relate to the arbitral tribunal’s own jurisdiction under Section 16, does not have to follow the drill of Section 16(5) and (6) of the Act. Appeal allowed.
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