Statutory transfer of pending arbitrations on commencement makes a post-commencement award ineffective where no award existed before that date.

Section 41-A(7) was construed to transfer pending arbitrations to the Arbitration Tribunal on commencement of the amending Act where no award had been made before that date. The words "by the said date" were read contextually to mean before the date of commencement, so an award made after commencement, even on the same calendar date, was ineffective. The provision was treated as automatically divesting the arbitrator of jurisdiction once the Act came into force.

---

---

Issues: Whether, under Section 41-A(7) of the Arbitration (Orissa Amendment) Act, 1982, an arbitration award made on the date of commencement of the amending Act was valid or whether the pending proceeding stood transferred to the Arbitration Tribunal before the award could be made.

Analysis: The expression "pending before any arbitrator on the date of commencement" was read with the words "in which no award has been made by the said date" so that both parts operate consistently. The term "by the said date" was construed in context to mean "before" the date of commencement, not "on" that date. The provision was treated as automatically transferring all such pending arbitrations to the Arbitration Tribunal, and the arbitrator's authority to make an award ceased once the Act commenced.

Conclusion: The award made on 26.3.1983 was without jurisdiction. The appeal was, therefore, decided against the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute transfers pending arbitration proceedings on its commencement and uses the word "by" in relation to the date of commencement, the expression must be given the meaning required by the statutory context, and an award made after commencement but on the same calendar date is ineffective if the provision excludes awards not made before that date.

---