M/S KHANIJ IMPEX AND ANR vs M/S TRANSNATIONAL SHIPPING INDIA PVT LTD

Judgment text excerpt

$~58 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision: 08th May, 2025 + CM(M) 871/2025 & CM APPL. 28021/2025 M/S KHANIJ IMPEX AND ANR .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Saket Gogia with Ms. Sheetal Maggon, Ms. Gauri Pande and Mr. Man Singh, Advocates. versus M/S TRANSNATIONAL SHIPPING INDIA PVT LTD .....Respondent Through: Mr. Shantanu, Advocate. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ JAIN J U D G M E N T (oral) 1. Respondent herein is claimant before the learned Arbitral Tribunal. 2. Such claim is directed against three respondents and petitioners herein are respondent No.1 and respondent No.3 before the learned Arbitral Tribunal. 3. They seek to challenge order dated 07.11.2022 whereby their request to grant time to file Statement of Defence (SoD) and counter-claim has been declined. 4. Mr. Saket Gogia, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that after the abovesaid order dated 07.11.2022, they had moved an application seeking recall of the abovesaid order and their such application dated 20.12.2022 was also dismissed by the learned Arbitral Tribunal on 08.07.2023. He submits that non-claimants i.e. petitioners herein were represented by two counsel at the relevant time and it was only because of Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed CM(M) 871/2025 1 By:SONIA THAPLIYAL Signing Date:09.05.2025 12:45:21 the personal exigency of the counsel concerned that the requisite steps could not be taken. It is submitted that since the counsel for the petitioners herein were unable to appear before the learned Arbitral Tribunal and could not submit SoD within the time-frame given by the learned Tribunal, it is a fit case where the learned Tribunal should have, after appreciating all such facts, given them a chance to file SoD. 5. Learned counsel for respondent appears on ad