The Court must only conduct a limited enquiry for the purpose of examining whether Section 11(6) of Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 application filed within the limitation period of three years or not, it would not be proper to enquiry whether the claims are time barred | Arbitral Tribunal may impose arbitration costs on petitioner if claims are time-barred – Aslam Ismail Khan Deshmukh Vs. Asap Fluids Pvt. Ltd. and Anr. – Supreme Court
Hon’ble Supreme Court held that while determining the issue of limitation in the exercise of powers under Section 11(6), the referral court must only conduct a limited enquiry for the purpose of examining whether the Section 11(6) application has been filed within the limitation period of three years or not. At this stage, it would not be proper for the referral court to indulge in an intricate evidentiary enquiry into the question of whether the claims raised by the petitioner are time barred. Such a determination must be left to the decision of the arbitrator.
The Court also held that the arbitral tribunal may direct that the costs of the arbitration shall be borne by the party which the Tribunal ultimately finds to have abused the process of law and caused unnecessary harassment to the other party to the arbitration.