Arbitral Award Delivery Delay is not a mere procedural lapse but erodes the ltigitmacy of the Award.
Judgment dated 31.10.2025 of the Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.10074-10075 of 2024 of M/s. Lancor Holdings Limited Vs. Prem Kumar Menon and others
In this case, the Arbitrator reserved the matter for award on 28.7.2012 and pronounced it only on 16.3.2016 nearly after three years with no definite resolution of the matter. No explanation for the delay was given in the Award.
Russel on Arbitration on the issue of “dilatory arbitrator” states that an arbitrator is required to conduct proceedings or make an award with reasonable dispatch can lead to that tribunal’s removal although the delay would have to be truly exceptional so as to cause substantial injustice to the applicant.
Redfem and Hunter on International Arbitration, 7th Edition, on “duty to act promptly” in Chapter 5, titled Powers, Duties and Jurisdiction of an Arbitral Tribunal” that “An Arbitral Tribunal has an obvious moral obligation to carry out its task with due diligence. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Arbitration, an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, is envisioned as a substitute to time-consuming and costly litigation in Courts. The aim and objective of this mechanism is to ensure settlement of disputes between parties with minimum intervention by the Court. This is the reason why Section 34 restricts the grounds to set aside the award.
