Karmyogi Properties Pvt. Ltd. vs. OYO Hotels and Homes Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.
Background
Karmyogi Properties, which owns Hotel Abhay Palace in Ghaziabad, had an ongoing arbitration against OYO Group entities over a Marketing Services Contract dating back to 2016, with a retired Supreme Court judge as sole arbitrator; the mandate of this arbitral tribunal had already been extended by the Court on four prior occasions, most recently until 31 July 2026, and the petitioner sought a further extension until 31 January 2027 under Section 29A(4) and (5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Decision Breakdown
With the consent of both parties (notice having been accepted by counsel for the OYO respondents), the Court extended the arbitrator's mandate until 31 January 2027 and disposed of the petition in these terms.
Lesson Learnt
Long-running commercial arbitrations often require repeated court extensions of the arbitrator's statutory time limit under Section 29A, and where both sides consent, such extensions are typically granted without contest.