In Brief
An arbitrator awarded that the respondent's claim was not time-barred. The appellant challenged this "First Partial Award" under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The District Judge and High Court dismissed the challenge, holding that a decision on limitation cannot be an interim award challengeable under Section 34. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that an award finally determining one issue (here, limitation) at an intermediate stage of proceedings is an interim award and is separately challengeable under Section 34. The Court clarified that "jurisdiction" in Section 16 (the Kompetenz principle) refers narrowly to the tribunal's authority over the arbitration agreement itself, not to substantive issues like limitation. The Section 34 proceedings were remitted to the District Judge.
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