https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=309234 Conciliation under the MSMED Act must be completed before arbitration can begin, and the Facilitation Council cannot issue a final determination merely because the buyer failed to appear in conciliation. The Supreme Court held that conciliation and arbitration are distinct statutory stages; a decision made without first terminating conciliation and then commencing arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is without jurisdiction and a legal nullity. The Court also held that the challenge was not barred by the alternate remedy under Section 34 or by delay, because no valid arbitral award existed and the surrounding conduct showed the dispute had not been abandoned. The Council's order was quashed and the matter was left to be decided afresh in accordance with law. en-us Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 18 Aug 2023 18:30:41 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=309234 Conciliation under the MSMED Act must be completed before arbitration can begin, and the Facilitation Council cannot issue a final determination merely because the buyer failed to appear in conciliation. The Supreme Court held that conciliation and arbitration are distinct statutory stages; a decision made without first terminating conciliation and then commencing arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is without jurisdiction and a legal nullity. The Court also held that the challenge was not barred by the alternate remedy under Section 34 or by delay, because no valid arbitral award existed and the surrounding conduct showed the dispute had not been abandoned. The Council's order was quashed and the matter was left to be decided afresh in accordance with law. Case-Laws Indian Laws Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=309234