Delhi High Court: Procedural orders cannot be considered as interim award or challenged under Section 34 of Arbitration Act

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad in the case Conslight Infra Company Pvt Ltd. versus Concept Engineers And Ors observed and has held that a procedural order given by an Arbitral Tribunal, such as rejecting an application filed seeking impleadment of a party, does not qualify as an interim award.

So, the same cannot be challenged under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Facts of the Case:

The petition was filed under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 challenging the order, by which an application under Order I Rule 10 CPC filed on behalf of the petitioner.

The present dispute arose with respect to a Service Contract Agreement executed on September 25, 2019.

Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, who was the director of the petitioner executed the Service Contract Agreement and Rs.5,77,44,000/- was credited to respondent No.1. The petitioner terminated the agreement and revoked the authorities of Rajesh Kumar Srivastava after it came to know about the fraudulent activities done by him.