Supreme Court: only the 'court' under Section 2(1)(e), not the High Court Chief Justice, can extend an arbitrator's mandate

Deciding connected appeals in South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd. v. India Power Corporation Ltd., the Supreme Court held that an application to extend the time for an arbitral tribunal to make its award under Section 29A(4) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 must be made to the 'court' as defined in Section 2(1)(e) of the Act, generally the Principal Civil Court of Original Jurisdiction or a High Court with original civil jurisdiction, and not to the Chief Justice of the High Court or his designate acting under Section 11. The bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan set aside the Patna High Court's contrary view on this point while affirming the High Court's findings on two other questions in the case. It found, however, that since the District Court had since extended the arbitrator's mandate by six months pursuant to an interim Supreme Court order, setting aside the High Court's Section 29A conclusion did not affect the outcome.

The Court lifted an earlier embargo on the proceedings and directed the arbitrator to conclude and pass the award within six weeks. The appeals were accordingly dismissed.