Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. & Ors. Vs Sadhna Kumari (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court, while dealing with special leave petitions arising from the appointment of arbitrators in disputes involving Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. and rice millers, declined to interfere with the underlying orders except to regulate the conduct of the arbitration proceedings. The Court directed that one arbitrator should not be assigned more than ten matters and that arbitration proceedings in those ten matters must be conducted on a day-to-day basis and concluded within three months. Where an arbitrator had already taken cognizance of more than ten matters, the matters exceeding the limit were required to be sent back to the High Court for appointment of another arbitrator. All arbitration proceedings were directed to be conducted at Patna, while all contentions available to the parties in law were expressly left open for determination by the arbitrator.
The Supreme Court further clarified that the pendency of arbitration proceedings would not affect criminal proceedings, including investigation. Thus, the civil/arbitral dispute and the criminal process were permitted to proceed independently. Subject to these directions, the special leave petitions and pending applications were disposed of. The order therefore preserved the arbitration process while ensuring that the appointment and workload of arbitrators did not result in excessive concentration of cases or delay in their disposal.
Thereafter, in Review Petition (Civil) Diary No. 17336/2020, the Corporation placed before the Supreme Court an affidavit giving details of the alleged defalcated amounts and litigation costs relating to 174 concluded matters, but the affidavit did not contain details of the awards or final determinations. Taking note also of its order dated 30.09.2020 in SLP (C) No. 10455/2020, the Supreme Court on 15.10.2020 directed that the review petition be listed after disposal of that SLP and required the review petitioner, in the meantime, to furnish the missing particulars concerning the awards/final determinations. The review proceedings were therefore kept pending rather than finally decided. The later Supreme Court judgment in The Managing Director Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation Limited Vs Sanjay Kumar also records that the review petition in Sadhna Kumari was pending pursuant to the direction dated 15.10.2020.
FULL TEXT OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT/ORDER
Heard learned counsel for the parties.
Delay condoned.
Having regard the facts and circumstances of the present case, we do not find any ground to interfere except to direct that one arbitrator should not have more than ten matters and arbitration proceedings in such ten matters must be concluded on day to day basis within a period of three months. Wherever an arbitration has taken cognizance in more than ten matters, matters beyond ten matters be referred back to the High Court for appointment of another arbitrator.
It is also made clear that pendency of arbitration proceedings will not affect criminal proceedings, including the investigation.
All arbitration proceedings will be carried out at Patna.
All contentions available under the law to the parties before the arbitrator are left open to be gone into by the Arbitrator in accordance with law.
The special leave petitions are, accordingly, disposed of.
Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.
