JUDGMENT

ANIL R. DAVE, J.

1. Being aggrieved by the judgment delivered in Appeal (Lodging) No.124 of 2006 in Arbitration Petition No.321 of 2005 dated 7th August, 2006, delivered by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, this appeal has been filed wherein the issue is whether the appellant is liable to pay interest to the respondent though there was a provision in the contract that no interest should be paid on the amount payable to the contractor. The facts which are relevant for the purpose of deciding the issue, in a nutshell, are as under.

2. The appellant and the respondent had entered into a contract whereby the respondent had to construct certain structures, which had been more particularly described in the agreement entered into by the parties on 20th January, 1997.

3. In the course of execution of the contract, a dispute had arisen between the appellant and the respondent contractor and as agreed by the parties, the dispute had been referred to the Arbitral Tribunal. After hearing the concerned parties, the Arbitral Tribunal declared an award on 17th May, 2005, whereby it also awarded interest to the respondent contractor on the amount awarded, from the date of the reference