GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited & Anr. vs. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited
Background
GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited and another decree holder sought to enforce an arbitral award against Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited, a public sector undertaking.
Decision Breakdown
At the outset, the decree holders' senior counsel sought leave to withdraw the petition, with liberty to file it again once the stamp duty on the award was made good. The Court granted this leave and liberty and dismissed the petition as withdrawn, along with any pending applications.
Lesson Learnt
Even large infrastructure companies enforcing sizeable arbitral awards against government-linked entities must comply with the basic procedural requirement of proper stamping before the enforcement petition can be entertained on merits.