HIMA KOHLI,J. - (1.) (Oral)-IA No. 986/2008 has been preferred by the petitioner under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of delay in filing the accompanying petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), against an arbitral award dated 26th May, 2006.
(2.) IT is stated on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner being under a bona fide mistake filed an application under Section 34 of the Act before the District Judge, Lucknow, being Misc. Case No. 215/2006 within the prescribed time. Vide order dated 22nd August, 2006 the District Judge held that the said Court did not have the territorial jurisdiction to decide the said application. Accordingly, the petition was returned to the petitioner to file the same before the competent Court. It is stated that thereafter the petitioner's Counsel received the file back from the Lucknow Court on 20th October, 2006 and wrote a letter dated 24th November, 2006 to the petitioner, giving an opinion that the matter may be filed before this Court. A meeting was stated to have been held by the Directors of the petitioner on 13th December, 2006 wherein it was decided to file the present petition before this Court. It is submitted that in the month of January 2007, the officers of the petitioner approached the Advocate at Delhi for taking necessary steps for filing the present petition. The Counsel engaged by the petitioner wrote a letter dated 16th February, 2007 to the petitioner asking the Department to procure certain documents but the said documents could not be furnished as the original file went missing. The missing file was stated to have been traced only in the month of April 2007 where after, the same was forwarded to the Counsel for the petitioner who started preparing the matter. But due to an accident of some members of his family, the Counsel could file the present petition only on 25th May, 2007.
(3.) OBJECTIONS were raised by the registry with regard to the petition which were removed by the petitioner from time-to-time and the petition was refiled on 27th July, 30th July and 24th September, 2007. It is stated that finally, the petition was returned by the Registry on 24th September, 2007 with the observation that the same was not maintainable on account of delay, whereupon an application for condonation of delay was drafted and got approved by the Department on 10th December, 2007 and was forwarded to the Counsel for filing the same. A delay of 274 days is stated to have occurred in filing the present petition, condensation of which is sought in this application.;