M/S. EMM ENN Associates Vs. Commander Works Engineer & Ors.
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Head Note
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - Section 11
Jurisdiction of Chief Justice - Adjudication of 'live Claim' as preliminary issue - Appellant contractor was paid undisputed part of the bill on 10.04.2024 by Government - Claim to disputed part raised vide notice dated 23.02.2024 - Application under Section 11, rejected by Chief Justice holding claim to be dead and time barred - Whether Chief Justice should have left the issue of existence of live claim to be decided by Arbitral Tribunal - As per clause 67 of the contract, Government could recover any excess paid during the defect liability period of two years from the date of payment of undisputed bill - According to appellant it had reserved its right to raise claim to the disputed part of the bill and was free to raise a claim after expiry of two years period, as Government made no recovery - Printed certificate signed by appellant at the time of receiving payment, produced as additional document to show that payment of undisputed claim was made, indicating that certain other claims were disputed. Held, Chief Justice may hold a claim as dead, only when claim is evidently and patently time barred and there is no need for detailed consideration of evidence. In present case, Government never adjudicated the disputed part of the final bill. As is clear from additional document, there was need for adjudication after looking into all relevant documents, bills and certificates which could have been appropriately examined by Arbitral Tribunal - Appeal allowed.
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - Section 11
Jurisdiction of Chief Justice - Adjudication of 'live Claim' as preliminary issue. Held, Chief Justice exercises judicial power while passing an order under Section 11 and can decide if a claim is live. But he can hold a claim to be dead only when claim is evidently and patently time barred and there is no need for detailed consideration of evidence.
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - Section 11
Pleadings as to live claim. Held, an application under Section 11 is expected to contain pleadings about existence of a dispute. Applicant is not expected to justify the claim or plead extensively in regard to limitation or production of document to demonstrate that claim is within time. Such issue should normally be left to the Arbitral Tribunal.
Topic(s)-Jurisdiction of Chief Justice