Delhi High Court Flags Repeated Filing of Defective Petitions as Abuse of Legal Process

The Delhi High Court held that repeatedly filing defective petitions to circumvent limitation periods amounts to an abuse of the process of law.

The Court observed that an initial filing lacking essential requirements such as affidavits, signatures, vakalatnama, or court fees cannot be treated as a valid filing to save limitation.

It emphasised that merely re-filing such defective petitions multiple times does not cure the fundamental defects or extend statutory timelines.

The Court reiterated that limitation under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act is strict and inflexible, and dismissed the petition, stressing that procedural misuse cannot defeat statutory mandates.

[Ms. Stalagmite Infracon Pvt. Ltd. v. Ms. Ashray Homes Build Well Pvt. Ltd.]