3,529 arbitration disputes are still outstanding in Himachal; the high court considers them “extremely serious”
The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has ruled that it would be more appropriate if district judges who are currently serving or who have recently retired from the bench or additional district judges were given such authority. This is due to the overwhelming number of arbitration cases that are currently pending and the overworked Divisional Commissioners who have been appointed as Arbitrators by the Central Government under the NHAI Act.
The judgement was made by Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan in response to many petitions submitted for the extension of the arbitrator(s)’ mandate that had similar legal and factual issues.
On March 22, 2012, the Central Government designated Divisional Commissioner Shimla and Divisional Commissioner Mandi as arbitrators, respectively, for the revenue districts of Shimla and Solan and Bilaspur, Mandi, and Kullu. They were given full authority under the NHAI Act.
The Divisional Commissioner in Shimla is now handling 869 cases, while the Divisional Commissioner in Mandi is currently handling 2660 cases, some of which date back to 2015. This information was provided to the Court.
The Divisional Commissioners in Shimla and Mandi are overworked with revenue-related issues in addition to normal administrative work, and they do not have time to consider these cases, the Counsels for the Petitioner(s) further brought to the Court’s attention.
The claimants and their attorneys are forced to go from pillar to post and are kept waiting for a long time for the authority’s verdict, the court noted. When a decision is not made, the hapless claimants have no choice but to go to court, which merely adds to the already excessive number of cases that are brought before the courts.
The Court noted that the matter is in fact quite serious and has to be addressed by all parties involved, including NHAI and the Central Government.
The deadline for concluding the arbitral procedures in the current petitions was extended by the Court to February 28, 2024. The Deputy Solicitor General of India, HP, has been ordered by the court to submit an action taken report based on this order within four weeks.
