In Brief
A family dispute among Chowgule family members, referred to arbitration under a 2021 settlement, raised a jurisdictional question: when an arbitrator delays making an award, must extension requests be filed before the High Court (which appointed the arbitrator) or the lower Commercial Court? The Supreme Court held that extension applications under the Arbitration Act must be filed before the ordinary Civil Court of original jurisdiction, not the High Court merely because it appointed the arbitrator. The High Court's role ends after appointment; it becomes functus officio. The Court rejected arguments based on hierarchical status, holding that jurisdiction flows from law alone.
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