High Court of Delhi, O.M.P.(MISC.)(COMM.) 215/2025 & I.A. 17331/2025 (Jasmeet Singh J., order dated 11.08.2025) — Rajesh Gupta's petition under Section 29A(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking a six-month extension of the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal seized of the arbitration between him and M/s OYO Hotels and Homes Pvt. Ltd. is dismissed. Chronology: Tribunal entered reference 14.03.2022 (first sitting 14.05.2022); final arguments began 20.10.2023, after which the parties explored mediation; on 18.12.2023 the Tribunal recorded the mediation's failure, fixed further hearing for 12.01.2024 and recorded that the parties shall file an application seeking extension of the mandate; the respondent reminded the petitioner by emails of 02.02.2024 and 07.03.2024 (the latter stating the mandate had expired and the Tribunal had become functus officio); the petitioner's counsel replied on 08.03.2024 that it was approaching the High Court, yet no steps followed until a draft petition was emailed on 01.10.2024, and the petition was filed only on 10.02.2025. Holding that the petitioner lapsed on his obligation to take due steps despite repeated reminders by the Tribunal and the respondent, and did not explain the delay at all, much less satisfactorily — timely completion of arbitration being the purpose of Section 29A, as observed by the Supreme Court in Rohan Builders (India) Private Limited v. Berger Paints India Limited, 2024 SCC Online SC 2494 — the court found a further six-month extension contrary to the Act's objective of speedy and timely disposal and dismissed the petition along with pending applications.
