10 March 2021 | Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. & another v. M/s Nortel Networks India Pvt. Ltd. Indu Malhotra & Ajay Rastogi JJ | 2021 SCC OnLine 207

The Supreme Court has ruled that the limitation period for filing an application for appointment of arbitrator under Section 11 ACA is governed by Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (“LA”). So, it is three years and will be counted from the date of refusal to appoint the arbitrator or expiry of 30 days from the issuance of the notice invoking arbitration, whichever earlier.

The court also noted that the courts had taken recourse to Article 137 LA, given the vacuum in the law to specify a limitation. But a three year limitation period runs contrary to the scheme of expeditious disposal of matters under the ACA. It is necessary for Parliament to bring an amendment.

In rare and exceptional cases, where the claims are ex facie time-barred, and it is manifest that there is no subsisting dispute, the court may refuse to make the reference under Section 11 ACA.

Read the judgment here.