The period of limitation for filing the petition to set aside the arbitral award shall begin from the date when the signed copies of the award are received by the parties.

The Supreme Court, while deciding the issue that whether the period of limitation for filing the Petition under Section 34 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act would commence from the date on which the draft award was circulated to the parties, or the date on which the signed copy of the award was provided, held that “The period of limitation for filing the objections to the award u/s 34 commences from the date on which the party making the application has “received” a signed copy of the arbitral award, as required by Section 31(5) of the 1996 Act. Section 34(3) provides a specific time limit of three months from the date of “receipt” of the award, and a further period of thirty days, if the Court is satisfied that the party was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application within the said period, but not thereafter. In Union of India v. Popular Construction, this Court held that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 would not apply to applications filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act.”

Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. Versus M/s Navigant Technologies Pvt. Ltd., dated 02.03.21.