Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 sets time limits for making an award and allows the "Court" to extend the arbitrator's mandate. Where the tribunal was appointed by a High Court or the Supreme Court under Section 11, parties have often assumed that the same court must hear the extension application.
In Jagdeep Chowgule (2026 INSC 92, decided 29 January 2026, Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan), the Supreme Court held otherwise. An application to extend the mandate under Section 29A must be filed before the "Court" as defined in Section 2(1)(e) — the principal civil court of original jurisdiction. The High Court's role under Section 11 is exhausted once the tribunal is constituted; it becomes functus officio for that purpose.
Why it matters: filing in the wrong forum wastes time that a Section 29A situation rarely has, because the mandate may already have expired or be about to. This judgment removes the uncertainty about where to go.
The practical takeaway: diarise the Section 29A deadline from the day pleadings are complete, and if an extension looks likely, prepare the application for the principal civil court well before the mandate runs out rather than after.
This note summarises the reported judgment for general information and is not legal advice on any specific matter.