ORDER OD-2 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION ORIGINAL SIDE AP/9/2026 SRI SUMANTA DUTTA VS SMT JHARNA DAS AND OTHERS BEFORE HON'BLE JUSTICE GAURANG KANTH Date: January 28, 2026. Appearance:- Mr. Ayan Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Suman Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Ajeyo Chowdhury, Adv. …for petitioner. Ms. L. Sinha, Adv. Ms. Soumali Bhattacharjee, Adv. Ms. Megha Das, Adv. ..for respondent Nos. 1 & 2. Ms. Sudha Adak, Adv. Ms. Shilpi Paul, Adv. …for respondent Nos. 3 to 5. The Court:- The petitioner has preferred 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 states that this Court vide order dated 06.07.2023, appointed a sole arbitrator to adjudicate the disputes between the parties. Since order was passed in the absence of the respondent the petitioner had filed a recall application, this Court vide order dated 05.10.2023 modified 2 its earlier order and confirmed the mandate of the sole arbitrator. The parties by mutual consent extended the mandate of the arbitral tribunal by six months. Thereafter, this Court vide order dated 06.08.2025 extended the mandate of the arbitral tribunal by six months. Learned counsel for the respondent states that the matter is listed for publication of the award. The pleadings have already been completed. Written notes have already been filed. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that 56 hearings have been conducted by the arbitral tribunal. Upon consideration of the materials placed on record and the submissions made by the parties, this Court is satisfied that there has been no undue or unwarranted delay on the part of the learned sole arbitrator in conducting the proceedings. Having regard to the advanced stage of the proceedings and in the interest of justice, the mandate of the arbitral tribunal is extended further for a period of two months from today. The learned arbitrator is requested to make all reasonable endeavours to conclude the proceedings and publish the arbitral award within the extended time period. With the aforesaid directions, the present petition stands disposed of. (GAURANG KANTH, J.) R. D. Barua