Delhi High Court sets limitation for filing an application under Section 8 of the Act in civil and commercial suits.

Brief Facts

SSIPL Lifestyle Private Limited (“Plaintiff”) and Vama Apparels (India) Private Limited (“Defendant”) entered into a supply contract containing an arbitration clause for domestic arbitration. Subsequently disputes arose between the parties. The Plaintiff filed two commercial suits for recovery of sums from the Defendant for which summons were issued on 15 March 2018 and 16 May 2018 respectively. Insolvency proceedings were commenced against the Defendant on 17 May 2018, which concluded on 8 October 2018. The Defendant subsequently moved applications under Section 8 (“Applications”) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) in each of the suits. The Defendant’s contentions were that the suits for recovery are not maintainable as there is an arbitration clause in the contract, and that the parties ought to be referred to arbitration as the Applications, having been filed prior to the filing of the written statements, are maintainable in law. The Plaintiff argued that the Applications are belated in view of the amended Section 8 of the Act, pursuant to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, as insertion of the word “date” in the provision would mean that the time period for filing the Applications has to be read with the time period of filing a written statement under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (“CPC”).

Issues

Issue (i): Whether there is a limitation period for filing an application under Section 8 of the Act? Issue (ii): Whether the limitation period for filing a written statement as prescribed in the CPC and the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of the High Courts
Act, 2015 (“Commercial Courts Act”) would be applicable to an application filed under Section 8 of the Act?

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