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S And P Infrastructure Developers (Pvt) Ltd vs. National Highways Authority of India

Enforcement Petition (Commercial Arbitration) · 2026:DHC:8938Decided 8 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
OMP (ENF.) (COMM.) 56/2021CNR: DLHC010123432021
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

S and P Infrastructure Developers, the decree holder, sought to enforce an arbitral award against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The stamp duty on the award had been paid on 05.03.2021, more than a month after the award's execution. A Joint Registrar had earlier allowed the matter to proceed after the decree holder deposited the shortfall in stamp duty.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the Joint Registrar's order overlooked an earlier ruling of this Court (M/s URC Construction (P) Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India) establishing that an instrument must be stamped at or before execution, with any delay attracting penalty, not just a top-up payment. Since the Joint Registrar's order was not in line with the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, the Court set it aside. The decree holder's counsel then sought to withdraw the petition with liberty to refile once the stamp duty issue was properly resolved, which the Court granted.

Lesson Learnt

Arbitral awards must be properly stamped within the statutory period at the time of execution: a delayed top-up payment of stamp duty, however well-intentioned, does not cure the defect, and enforcement petitions can be dismissed (with liberty to refile) until the stamping is done correctly.

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