Question

Under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an application for setting aside an arbitral award must be made within what time period, and can it be condoned beyond that?

Q: Answer-Under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an application for setting aside an...

Section 343 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 provides that an application to set aside an arbitral award must be made within three months from the date the applicant received the arbitral award. The proviso to Section 343 further allows the court to entertain the application after the expiry of three months if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause, but the additional period of condonation cannot exceed 30 days, not a day more. This strict outer limit was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Popular Construction Co. 2001.

A Within 60 days from the date of receipt of the award; the court may condone delay beyond 60 days for sufficient cause, with no outer limit

B Within 3 months from the date on which the applicant received the arbitral award; delay of a further period not exceeding 30 days may be condoned by the court if sufficient cause is shown, but not thereafter

C Within 90 days from the date of receipt of the award; delay of up to 60 additional days may be condoned by the court on grounds of hardship

D Within 3 months from the date of the arbitral award; no condonation of delay is permissible under any circumstances

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