A general trend is being noticed of a mechanical deposit of an amount to secure a stay of the award, subsequent withdrawal of the amount, and lingering of the petition challenging the award for years, now that the award is stayed and award holder has also received part or whole amount from security deposit.
Such a situation is also contradictory to the mandate of Section 34 (6) of the said Act which stipulates that an application under Section 34 of the said Act “shall be disposed of expeditiously, and in any event, within a period of one year from the date on which the notice referred to in sub-section (5) is served upon the other party.”
Thus, an endeavour may be made for a stricter enforcement of Section 34 (6) of the Act so as to enable the rightful owner of the money to enjoy his stock instead of locking the same as security, even if the same is with interest, or for the award holder to continue to potter around without angst of returning the withdrawn amount in case the award is ultimately set aside.
Source: Barandbench
