In Brief
Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services sought to enforce an arbitral award against the respondent, who filed a challenge petition 185 days late. The respondent sought condonation of delay under the Limitation Act. The Supreme Court held that the phrase 'but not thereafter' in Section 34(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 absolutely bars extension of the three-month-plus-thirty-day deadline by invoking Section 5 of the Limitation Act. The Court set aside the Division Bench's casual condonation and restored the Single Judge's dismissal of the petition as time-barred.
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