'Court' Under Section 29A Of The Arbitration Act: Is The Conundrum Settled?

Introduction

For quite some time now, Section 29A of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter "the Act") has been a much contentious & debated issue in the Indian Arbitration landscape. Inserted vide the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, Section 29A provides for the time limit for passing the arbitral award. Section 29A (4) makes provision for a situation where if the award is not made within the period specified under Section 29A, the mandate of the arbitrator(s) shall terminate unless the Court has, either prior to or after the expiry of the period so specified, extended the period. The interpretation of the term 'Court' as referred to under Section 29A (4) has been facing a major divergence of opinions amongst not only the different High Courts of the country but also among the different benches of the same court in some cases. In the instant article, we shall try to understand the conundrum surrounding the interpretation of the