JUDGMENT :

Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellant, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited,¹[“CIL”]. The respondent, IVRCL AMR Joint Venture, is a joint venture of engineering contractors engaged in the business of infrastructure development. On 11 October 2010, the appellant floated an e-tender for the work of strengthening and widening of a coal transportation road at the Talcher Coalfields in the State of Orissa. The respondent was the successful bidder and was awarded a work order on 14 December 2011. A ‘Contract Agreement’ was entered into between the parties on 30 January 2012, in terms of which the work order was to be executed between 16 January 2012 and 14 January 2015.

3. In a meeting held on 28 June 2012, the appellant advised the respondent to expedite the mobilization of resources to start the work immediately. Later, the appellant sent a series of letters to the respondent requesting it to expedite the work as per the work schedule. In 2013 and 2014, the appellant served several notices to the respondent when the latter failed to adhere to the work schedule. Ultimately, the appellant terminated the work order on 15 May 201