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TMI Blog2025 (4) TMI 171X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 34 as being filed within the limitation period. 4. The short facts necessary for adjudication are as follows. The parties entered into a contract on 01.04.2002 for bauxite mining and delivery. Pursuant to disputes arising on payments under the contract, the matter was referred to arbitration, resulting in an arbitral award of Rs. 51,33,40,100 dated 09.04.2022 in favour of the appellant. It is undisputed that the award was signed and delivered to the respondent on this very day. The respondent filed an application to set aside the award under Section 34 on 11.07.2022, along with an application for stay of the award. The Trial Court, on 13.07.2022, passed an ex-parte order that the Section 34 application was within limitation as the 3 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d (2023) 8 SCC 453, and the Section 34 application must be considered as being within the limitation period as it was filed on the next working day. The High Court remanded the parties to appear before the Trial Court, and also directed that the interim order in respect of execution of pending recovery shall continue till the application is decided on merits. 6. We have heard learned senior counsel, Mr. Mukul Rohatgi for the appellant and learned senior counsel, Mr. Ranjit Kumar for the respondent and have also perused the written submissions. 7. Mr. Rohatgi submitted that the limitation period must be calculated from the date on which the award was received by the respondent, i.e., 09.04.2022 and therefore, the 3-month limitation period ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 34(3) of the ACA stipulates the limitation period for filing an application to set aside an arbitral award as 3 months from the date on which the party receives the arbitral award, which can be further extended by 30 days on sufficient cause being shown. 5 Section 34(3) of the ACA reads: "34. Application for setting aside arbitral award.- (3) An application for setting aside may not be made after three months have elapsed from the date on which the party making that application had received the arbitral award or, if a request had been made under section 33, from the date on which that request had been disposed of by the arbitral tribunal: Provided that if the Court is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ACA..." 10. The applicability of Section 12 of the Limitation Act is in issue in the present case. The relevant portion of Section 12 reads: "12. Exclusion of time in legal proceedings.- (1) In computing the period of limitation for any suit, appeal or application, the day from which such period is to be reckoned, shall be excluded..." 11. This Court in Himachal Techno Engineers (supra) held that Section 12(1) of the Limitation Act applies while calculating the limitation period under Section 34(3) such that the day from which such period is to be reckoned must be excluded. Himachal Techno Engineers (supra), para 12. The relevant portion reads as follows: "12. Section 12 of the Limitation Act, 1963 provides for exclusion of time in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 13. In the present case, the respondent received a signed copy of the award on 09.04.2022. Since Section 12(1) applies, this date must be excluded and the 3-month limitation period must be reckoned from 10.04.2022. This expires on 09.07.2022, which happened to be a second Saturday when the court was not working. Hence, the benefit of Section 4 of the Limitation Act will inure to the benefit of the respondent. This position of law is wellsettled and has been reiterated by us in My Preferred Transformation & Hospitality (supra) as follows: "35. Summarising the Current Position of Law: From the reasoning and decisions in the above cases, the following conclusions evidently follow: 35.1 First, Section 4 of the Limitation Act applies to Sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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