JUDGMENT :

(Shekhar B. Saraf, J.) :

1. Swapan Traders (hereinafter referred to as the ‘award holder’) have filed the present application under Section 36 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘act’) for the execution of an award dated May 13, 2009, passed by B Mondal, Lt Col, Sole Arbitrator.

2. The award holder has prayed for the recovery of INR 31,50,607/- (Thirty-One Lakhs Fifty Thousand Six Hundred Seven Rupees) from Union of India (hereinafter referred to as the ‘award debtor’) on account of unpaid interest.

Facts

3. The factual matrix of the present lis has been mapped out below:

a. Contract No. CWE/136-WE/22 of 2004-05 was executed between the parties for ‘special repair to roof sheets of building nos. 10, 24, 25, 31, 34 & 35 at crops complex at Sukna under GE Khaprail”. Certain disputes arose related to the said contract, and the matter was referred to the sole arbitrator B Mondal, Lt Col, appointed by the Chief Engineer Siliguri Zone.

b. The sole arbitrator passed an award dated May 30, 2009, and awarded a total sum of INR 8,26,408/- (Eight Lakhs Twenty-Six Thousand Four Hundred Eight Rupees) to the award holder along with 12% p.a. pre-award interest and 15% p.a. post-award interest. The said award was challenged by the award debtor before Ld. District Judge at Darjeeling under Section 34 of the act, and the same was set aside, and the matter was remanded back for fresh adjudication. The award holder preferred an appeal against the said order of Ld. District Judge before this court, and by an order dated February 02, 2020, the same was allowed, and the award dated May 30, 2009, was upheld.

c. An execution application, EC 122/2020, was filed by the award holder to realise the awarded amount. Subsequently, the award debtor paid the sum of INR 28,90,700/- (Twenty-Eight Lakhs Ninety Thousand Seven Hundred Rupees) on December 18, 2020, to the award holder. As a result, on the prayer of the counsel on behalf of the award holder, the said execution application was disposed of by this Court.

d. The present execution application was filed by the award holder praying for the recovery of interest as allegedly due on August 30, 2022, for a sum of INR 31,50,607/-(Thirty-One Lakhs Fifty Thousand Six Hundred Seven Rupees).

Contentions

4. Mr Tapas Dutta, counsel appearing for the award holder, has contended as follows:

a. The counsel submits that the award holder is entitled to recover the ‘awarded sum’ and ‘interest thereon’ till the realisation, which comes to INR 31,40,607/-on August 30, 2022. This amount, he claims, is after adjusting the payment made earlier on December 18, 2020, of INR 28,90,700/-by cheque no. 220473 of State Bank of India by the award debtor. The counsel further claims that the award remains unsatisfied to this date.

b. The counsel argues that the aforesaid amount paid by the award debtor does not include the calculation of interest in an appropriate manner and is in complete contravention of the judgments of the Supreme Court. The counsel contends that the arbitrator awarded interest of 12% p.a. for the pre-award period and 15% p.a. for the post-award period; hence, according to him, interest has to be charged once a year. He submits that the interest element will be added to the principal and subsequently to the sum.

c. The counsel further contends that interest will be added with the principal for the first year, and the resultant product would be the sum. Furthermore, he argues that after one year, when the interest will be charged and added with the principal, then the status of the principal amount would lose its identity and once interest is added with the principal, said figure cannot be segregated and be treated as ‘sum’ for all subsequent period, and in the next year and all subsequent year interest will be added with ‘sum’.

d. The counsel further challenged the calculation made by the award debtor as, according to him, the method adopted by the award debtor has