AKASH GUPTA Vs. PRAVEEN KUMAR GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present applications have been filed seeking condonation of delay of 1405 days in filing the objections against the Award dated 05.04.2013 and condonation of delay of 32 days in re-filing the petition, respectively.

(2.) The grounds taken in the application under Section 14 of the Limitation Act seeking condonation of delay in filing objections under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act) are that the arbitral proceedings were adjudicated and decided when the petitioner was in judicial custody during the period 21.02.2013 to 12.04.2013. Respondent no.3 and his wife had made every effort to implicate the petitioner in false cases. The petitioner after being released from judicial custody on 13.04.2013 moved to the house of his father-in-law at C/6/158-B, Lawrence Road, Delhi in order to avoid further disputes with respondent no.3 (petitioner's brother). Petitioner stayed at the said address for more than a month but was never informed about the arbitration proceedings.

(3.) It is further averred in the application that the petitioner is a layman and does not understand the intricacies of law and he was informed by one of his relatives that some case was pending against him in the Delhi High Court which he should attend, otherwise he will not get anything from the properties. The petitioner attended the Court proceedings in the High Court on 02.05.2014 and requested for a copy of the petition. It is averred that due to ulterior motives, copy was only supplied on the next date of hearing i.e. 14.11.2014 and within 90 days of receiving the copy of the said Execution Petition, the petitioner filed objections against the Award on 22.01.2015, on the advice of his erstwhile counsel.