Section 32 of The Arbitration Act

Posted on by Rudrajyoti Nath Ray

Arbitrator does not do pro bono work. For him, It is a professional assignment. Arbitrator who accepts an appointment cannot say, he will not fix a meeting to conduct Arbitral Proceedings or a hearing date unless parties request him to do so. It is duty of an Arbitral Tribunal to do so.

Section 32 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 provides for termination of Arbitral Proceedings. A mere absence in proceedings or failure to participate does not, per se, amount to abandonment. In present facts, there was no abandonment either express or implied. Such a finding could never have been rendered on material before Arbitral Tribunal. If power under Section 32(c) is exercised casually, it will defeat very object of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

– Hon’ble Justice Abhay S. Oka, Dani Wooltex Corporation v. Shell Properties Pvt. Ltd., [Civil Appeal No. 6462 of 2024]. 

'The Last Word' seeks to include not only wise and witty sayings but also curiosities. These words are not of obligation but of delight. I am not alone in my refusal to believe, law is tedious. For all who escaped these percipient eyes, mea culpa maxima. History, after all, has many cunning passages, contrived corridors and issues.