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Larsen & Toubro Limited vs. North Central Railway

Enforcement Petition (Commercial Arbitration) · 2026:DHC:8510Decided 29 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
OMP (ENF.) (COMM.) 59/2019CNR: DLHC010186842019
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

L&T sought enforcement of an arbitral award against North Central Railway, and separately applied for release of an interest amount held with the Court Registry. As with the previous case, the stamp duty on the award had been paid beyond the permissible one-month period under the Indian Stamp Act.

Decision Breakdown

The Court first allowed the separate application for release of the interest amount lying with the Registry. On the main enforcement petition, applying the same reasoning as in URC Construction (P) Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, the Court permitted L&T to withdraw the petition with liberty to refile after curing the stamp duty defect, and dismissed it as withdrawn.

Lesson Learnt

Proper and timely stamping of an arbitral award is a prerequisite for its enforcement, regardless of the commercial size or sophistication of the parties involved.

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