In Brief
A contractor and Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation disputed a road rehabilitation project. The tribunal awarded the contractor Rs 1.04 crore, but the corporation challenged it under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act, claiming lack of jurisdiction based on a state law (MP Act, 1983). The Supreme Court held that although jurisdictional pleas can theoretically be raised for the first time in Section 34 proceedings, they are deemed waived if not raised before the tribunal unless strong reasons exist. Where an award is already made and no jurisdiction objection was raised at the proper stage, the award cannot be annulled solely on that ground. The Court clarified that prior Supreme Court decisions (Lion Engineering and L.G. Chaudhary II) do not conflict but complement each other, reconciling the permissibility of raising jurisdiction pleas with the substantive requirement of strong cause for late raising.
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