Law Favors the Diligent, Not the Indolent: Supreme Court Quashes Arbitration After 21-Year Delay

The Supreme Court has set aside a Calcutta High Court order initiating arbitration in a 21-year-old dispute, holding that stale claims cannot be revived through arbitration.

The Court found the contractor’s claim to be ex facie time-barred, noting that the work was completed in 2000 while arbitration was invoked only in 2022. It emphasised that the Limitation Act, 1963 applies equally to arbitration proceedings.

Rejecting the argument that delay in certification of the final bill extended limitation, the Court said the contractor ought to have acted when the default first occurred.

It reiterated that the law favours the diligent, not those who sleep over their rights.

[State of West Bengal & Ors. v. B.B.M. Enterprises]