JUDGMENT :

Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.

1. The present challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as, “the 1996 Act”) has been preferred against an interim award under Section 31(6) of the 1996 Act dated April 3, 2024, by which the learned Arbitrator dismissed the counter claim filed by the respondent/present petitioner and directed the pleadings filed in connection thereto to be expunged from the records of the arbitral proceeding.

2. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

3. The petitioner is a public sector undertaking. It floated an e-tender in the month of February, 2017 for the job of design and engineering, manufacture/procurement, testing, supply, installation and commissioning of grid connected rooftop solar PV power plant in the township of the petitioner, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), including five years comprehensive maintenance on turnkey basis at various locations in West Bengal.

4. The claimant/respondent participated in the tender and came out successful. A Letter of Award (LoA) was issued on May 12, 2017, to which there were two subsequent amendments, both dated June 27, 2018. The