Secretary And Others vs Gopal Prasad Nawetiya — 7/2023

Case Summary: Civil Misc. Case No. 03 of 2023 The Principal District Judge at Khagaria set aside a 2017 arbitral award in favor of contractor Gopal Prasad Nawetiya for Rs. 5,14,485/- on multiple grounds. The court found the contractor's claim was barred by the three-year limitation period (expired 14.03.1994), as he accepted on 15.03.1991 that no amount was due, yet raised claims only in 2005. Additionally, the arbitrator violated statutory procedures under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act by adjudicating claims without statements of claim and defence (Section 23), and provided cryptic reasoning (Section 31). The award was also contrary to public policy as it involved a time-barred claim, making it non-enforceable. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.