The Delhi High Court has upheld an order whereby the original filing under Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 petition was held to be non-est on the ground that it was not accompanied by the impugned arbitral Award.

The High Court was considering an appeal filed against the order rendered by the Single Judge who held that the original filing under Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 petition would be non-est since it was not accompanied by the Award which was sought to be impugned.

The Division Bench comprising Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan held, “We find that the aforesaid question is no longer res integra and stands conclusively answered by the Full Bench of this Court in Pragati Construction Consultants v. Union of India.”

Advocate Monisha Handa represented the Appellant while Advocate Vikas Goel represented the Respondent.

In Pragati Construction Consultants v. Union of India (2025), it was observed that the filing of the Arbitral Award under challenge along with the application under Section 34 of the A&C Act is not a mere procedural formality, but an essential requirement. Non-filing of the same would, make the application “non-est” in the eyes of the law.

The High Court had held therein that non-filing of the Arbitral Award along with an application under Section 34 would make the said application liable to be treated and declared as non-est, and the limitation prescribed under Section 34(3) of the A&C Act shall continue to run despite such filing.

Thus, relying on the said ruling, the Bench found no merit in the appeal and dismissed the same.

Cause Title: Ircon International Limited v. M/s PNC-Jain Construction Co (Jv) (Case No.: FAO(OS) (COMM) 54/2023)

Appearance:

Appellant: Advocate Monisha Handa

Respondent: Advocates Vikas Goel, Vivek Gupta Wanglen Ngangom

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Delhi High CourtJustice Yashwant VarmaJustice Harish Vaidyanathan

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.