Limitation bars appointment of arbitrator where a Section 11 petition is filed long after the relevant contractual dates.

A petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for appointment of an arbitrator was found time-barred because the underlying work order dated 7 April 1982 had been executed by 28 May 1986, yet the petition was filed only in 2019. The court treated the relevant dates as placing the request well beyond the limitation period, and the asserted date of knowledge in 2013 did not cure the delay. The result was that the request for appointment of an arbitrator was barred by limitation and liable to be dismissed.

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Issues: Whether a petition under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for appointment of an arbitrator was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The claim arose from a work order dated 7 April 1982. Even on the petitioner's own showing, the work had been executed by 28 May 1986. The petition was filed in 2019, and the lapse of more than three years from the relevant dates made the request for appointment of an arbitrator hopelessly time-barred. Acceptance of the alleged date of knowledge in 2013 did not assist the petitioner, as the proceeding remained far beyond the period of limitation.

Conclusion: The petition was barred by limitation and was liable to be dismissed.

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