In an important ruling on arbitration law, the Supreme Court has held that the limitation period for filing a challenge against an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, begins only after an application filed under Section 33 is decided by the arbitral tribunal.
A Bench of Justice P. S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe allowed an appeal filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and set aside a Karnataka High Court judgment that had declared NHAI’s challenge to an arbitral award as time-barred.
Background of the Case
The dispute arose from the acquisition of land in Karnataka’s Ballari district for a national highway project. After compensation was determined under the National Highways Act, the matter went to arbitration regarding the amount payable to the landowners.
Following remand proceedings, the arbitrator passed a fresh award on February 3, 2022. Both NHAI and the landowner subsequently filed applications under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking corrections and additional reliefs. Those applications were dismissed by the arbitrator on July 4, 2022.
NHAI later filed applications under Section 34 challenging the award. While the District Judge condoned the delay, the Karnataka High Court held that NHAI could not rely on the pendency of its Section 33 application to extend limitation and dismissed the proceedings.
The Supreme Court examined Sections 33 and 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and emphasized that the statutory language clearly provides that where a Section 33 request has been made, limitation under Section 34 starts from the date that request is disposed of.
The Bench observed:
“The said provision does not distinguish between the applications which are ultimately allowed or dismissed.”
The Court further stated that the law does not require a court to first determine whether a Section 33 application was successful or maintainable before calculating limitation under Section 34. Once the tribunal’s jurisdiction under Section 33 is formally invoked and the application remains pending, the limitation period stands deferred until its disposal.
The judges also noted that compelling parties to file Section 34 proceedings while Section 33 applications are still pending would create unnecessary multiplicity of proceedings and procedural uncertainty. At the same time, the Court clarified that frivolous or mala fide Section 33 applications filed only to delay limitation could attract exemplary costs.
Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court held that NHAI’s Section 34 applications were filed within the statutory period because the limitation had to be counted from the date on which the Section 33 proceedings were disposed of and the order was received.
The Court set aside the Karnataka High Court’s judgment dated January 22, 2024, and restored the District Judge’s order condoning the delay. It directed that NHAI’s Section 34 applications be decided on their merits in accordance with law.
Case Details
Case Title: National Highway Authority of India v. T. Younis & Anr.
Case Number: Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 7570 of 2024
Judges: Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe
Decision Date: June 2, 2026
