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Issues:
Jurisdiction of the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin for filing the arbitration award, Bar of limitation on objections to the award, Validity of notice served by the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin, Jurisdiction of the court over arbitration proceedings, Remittal of matters to the Division Bench of the High Court for disposal of objections on merit. Jurisdiction of Subordinate Court at Tuticorin: The arbitration award was filed in the Court of Subordinate Judge at Tuticorin, leading to a dispute over the court's jurisdiction. The Division Bench of the Madras High Court held that since the arbitrator was appointed under the High Court's orders, no other court had jurisdiction over the arbitration or the award. Additionally, the High Court invoked Section 24 of the CPC to order the withdrawal of the proceedings from the Subordinate Court to the High Court. The High Court directed the transfer of the award and proceedings to itself, emphasizing the lack of jurisdiction of the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin. Bar of Limitation on Objections to the Award: The appellants filed objections to the award after more than 30 days from the date of service of the notice, leading to a contention of limitation. However, the High Court held that the objections were time-barred. The Division Bench clarified that any notice issued by the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin, which lacked jurisdiction, was not valid for the purpose of the Limitation Act. Therefore, the objections filed beyond 30 days were not barred by limitation due to the invalidity of the notice. Validity of Notice Served by Subordinate Court at Tuticorin: The High Court emphasized that the notice issued by the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin was invalid due to the lack of jurisdiction of that court over the arbitration proceedings. The court highlighted that any notice from a court without jurisdiction, in this case, the Subordinate Court, could not be considered valid for the purpose of the Limitation Act. This invalidity of the notice impacted the timeline for filing objections to the award. Jurisdiction of the Court Over Arbitration Proceedings: Under Section 31 of the Arbitration Act, an award may be filed in a court having jurisdiction in the matter. The High Court determined that the Subordinate Court at Tuticorin lacked jurisdiction based on previous orders. Consequently, any notice issued by the Subordinate Court was deemed invalid. The court reiterated that the jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings lies with the court competent to entertain them, as per the provisions of the Arbitration Act. Remittal of Matters to Division Bench of High Court: The Supreme Court allowed the appeals, setting aside the High Court's order and remitting the matters to the Division Bench of the High Court for the disposal of objections on merit. The decision aimed to address the issues related to jurisdiction, limitation, and the validity of notices in the context of the arbitration proceedings. Additionally, the Supreme Court suggested that the parties could seek an expeditious hearing by making an application to the High Court, which would be considered sympathetically given the time spent on litigation post-publication of the award.
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