In Brief
Simplex Infrastructure obtained an arbitral award of nearly Rs. 10 crore against the Union of India for construction works on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Union delayed filing a challenge to the award by 514 days beyond the three-month statutory period. The High Court condoned the delay, citing administrative difficulties in obtaining approvals from its Chennai office. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that the three-month period in Section 34 of the Arbitration Act is absolute and non-extendible beyond a further 30 days. Even applying the Limitation Act's provisions for wrongful proceedings, the Union had a 131-day shortfall. The Court held that bureaucratic inconvenience does not justify breaching clear statutory limits and dismissed the challenge as time-barred.
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