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Union of India v. PAM Development Pvt. Ltd.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 5618 of 2006)Decided 18 Feb 2014
Civil Appeal No. 5618 of 2006
Justice S.S. Nijjar · Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai

Background

A railway construction dispute was referred by the High Court to a sole arbitrator after the Railways failed to make an appointment. The Railways participated, filed its defence and counterclaim, and received an adverse award. It then challenged the tribunal's competence because the contract envisaged a different appointment arrangement.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and left the award challenge unsuccessful. The appointment order had not been challenged and had become binding. More importantly, the Railways knew the alleged contractual defect yet took part without raising a timely jurisdiction objection before the tribunal. Under the waiver and jurisdiction provisions considered, it could not keep that objection in reserve and first deploy it in court after the award.

Lesson Learnt

A party should raise a known objection to an arbitrator's appointment or competence at the required stage. Participating without objection and waiting for an adverse result can waive an otherwise available complaint.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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