OCD-13 ORDER SHEET IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA COMMERCIAL DIVISION ORIGINAL SIDE AP-COM/192/2026 IMPERIUM ENERGY UTILITY SERVICES LLP AND ORS. VS EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED BEFORE: The Hon’ble JUSTICE GAURANG KANTH Date : 11th March, 2026. Appearance Mr. Rajarshi Dutta, Adv. Mr. Kanishk Kejriwal, Adv. Mr. Saubajit Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Ramendu Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Apoorva Choudhary, Adv. …for the petitioners Mr. Aman Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Saptarshi Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Tirthankar Nandi, Adv. …for the respondent The Court: The petitioner has filed the present application under Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seeking extension of the mandate of the arbitral tribunal for conclusion of the arbitral proceedings and publication of the arbitral award. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that this Court vide order dated 17.05.2022 had appointed a sole arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties. With the consent of the parties, the mandate of the arbitral tribunal was extended for a period of six months till 9th of April, 2025. Thereafter, this Court vide order dated 13th March, 2025 extended the mandate of the arbitral tribunal for a period of one year from the 2 communication of the said order, which is going to expire on 16th March, 2026. Learned Counsel for the petitioner states that the arbitral tribunal has already held approximately 77 sittings and that the matter is presently at the stage of final arguments. Upon consideration of the submissions of the parties and the materials placed on record, this Court is satisfied that there has been no undue or unwarranted delay on the part of the learned sole arbitration in conducting the proceedings. Having regard to the advanced stage of the proceedings and in order to ensure expeditious conclusion of the arbitration, this Court deems it appropriate and in the interest of justice to extend the mandate of the arbitral tribunal for a further period of six months from the date of communication of this order. The learned sole arbitrator is requested to make all reasonable endeavours to conclude the arbitral proceedings and publish the arbitral award within the extended time period. Learned Counsel for the respondent has no objection to the extension of the mandate of the arbitral tribunal. Since no affidavits have been called for, none of the contentions are admitted. With the aforesaid observations, the present petition stands disposed of. (GAURANG KANTH, J.) S. Mandi