Synopsis

An arbitral award was rendered on 25th August 2017. The respondent filed an application under Section 33(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for correction and consideration of certain claims. The arbitrator initially passed an amended award on 25th October 2017, but on the appellant’s objection that it was passed without hearing them, it was recalled and a fresh amended award was passed on 10th November 2017 after hearing both parties. Both parties filed Section 34 petitions challenging the amended award. The learned Single Judge set aside the amended award in para 28 of the impugned judgment. However, the Single Judge then proceeded to also set aside the original award dated 25th August 2017. The appellant challenged this portion of the judgment. The Division Bench held that the Single Judge exceeded jurisdiction in setting aside the original award because: (i) no such prayer was made by either party; and (ii) once an award is amended under Section 33, the challenge must be to the amended award, not the original (following U.S.S. Alliance v. State of Uttar Pradesh). The Division Bench modified the impugned judgment, setting aside only the portion that set aside the original award, while leaving the setting aside of the amended award undisturbed. The parties were left to their remedies.

Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi

Coram: Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Date of Judgment: 15th April 2026

Citation: FAO(OS) (COMM) 101/2023 & 103/2023 (2026:DHC:3132-DB)

Core Law: Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Sections 33 (correction of award), 34 (setting aside award), 37 (appeals)

2. Legal Framework

Major laws and provisions involved

• Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Sections 33(1) (correction and additional award), 34 (setting aside arbitral award), 37 (appeals)

• Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – principles of jurisdiction of court

Key legal principles applied

• Once an award is amended under Section 33, the amended award supersedes the original award: After an arbitral award is corrected or amended under Section 33 of the Arbitration Act, the original award ceases to exist for the purpose of challenge. Any challenge under Section 34 must be directed against the amended award, not the ori

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