Section 34 arbitration review is limited: court may adjourn to cure defects, but cannot remand after setting aside an award.

Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 confers only a limited power to set aside an arbitral award on specified grounds. Section 34(4) permits the court, on a party's request, to adjourn the proceedings so the arbitral tribunal may resume proceedings or remove grounds for setting aside the award. That power is confined to curing defects and does not extend to remitting the dispute to the tribunal after the award has been set aside. The court cannot assume a wider supervisory power of remand not provided by the statute.

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Issues: Whether the Court exercising jurisdiction under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has power to remit the matter to the arbitral tribunal after setting aside the arbitral award, and whether Section 34(4) permits such remand.

Analysis: Section 34 provides only for an application to set aside an arbitral award on the limited grounds stated therein. Sub-section (4) enables the Court, where appropriate and on a party's request, to adjourn the proceedings so that the arbitral tribunal may resume the proceedings or take steps to eliminate the grounds for setting aside the award. That limited power is confined to an adjournment for curing defects and does not extend to a remand of the matter to the arbitral tribunal after the award has already been set aside. The supervisory jurisdiction under the Act is narrow and the Court cannot assume a power of remand not conferred by the statute.

Conclusion: The Court had no power under Section 34 to remit the matter to the arbitral tribunal after setting aside the award; the impugned order remitting the matter to the arbitral tribunal was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was sent back to the District Judge for reconsideration in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: In proceedings under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Court may adjourn the matter under sub-section (4) to allow the arbitral tribunal to remove the grounds for setting aside, but it has no power to remand the dispute to the arbitral tribunal after the award is set aside.

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