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You can apply to set aside an award within the period set out under section 34(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“ACA”). The limitation is: –
In this case, as the Supreme Court noted, the application was filed beyond the period, and the courts below had found it barred by limitation.[1] [1] Editor’s note: The court noted the period to be 120 days. This is wrong. The period is “three months” plus “thirty days”. It may or may not be 120 days in a given case. Show More In a very short order, the Supreme Court also concluded, “[w]hat is provided under Section 34(3) is the “outer limit” within which the application can be preferred for setting aside of an arbitral award”, and “the law laid down on the point by this Court is very clear.”
A somewhat grasping-at-straws argument suggesting that “a relaxation of the regime under Section 36 must have some reflection” on the expression “but not thereafter” under section 34(3) was rejected concluding “both these provisions stand on different footings.”