The Arbitral Tribunal is bound by the Arbitration Agreement between the parties, including the prescribed fees, and failure to abide by the agreed conditions can lead to the termination of its mandate under Section 14 of the Act.

NAVIN CHAWLA, J.

1. This petition under Section 14 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’) has been filed by the petitioner seeking termination of the mandate of the Arbitral Tribunal adjudicating the disputes that have arisen between the parties in relation to the Agreement dated 07.02.2006, for work of widening and strengthening to 4 lane of the existing single/ intermediate lane carriageway of NH-57 section from km -230.00 to km 190.00 (Forbesganj-Simrahi Section) in the State of Bihar on East West Corridor under NHDP Phase-II (Contract Package C-II/BR-3) awarded by the petitioner to the respondent.

2. The above said Agreement contains an Arbitration Agreement in form of Clause 5 thereof which is reproduced herein below:-

“5. The parties are desirous that the remuneration and other expenses payable to the Arbitrators as per arbitration clause for referring the dispute between the parties arising out of the said Contract to the Arbitral Tribunal for resolution in accordance with the procedure laid down there in, shall be as follows:-

i. That the maximum limit for fee payable to each Arbitrator per day shall be Rs. 5000/- subject to a maximum of Rs. 1.5 lakh per case.

ii. That each Arbitrator shall be paid a reading fees of Rs. 6000/- per case.

iii. That each Arbitrator shall be paid Rs. 5000/- by way of secretarial assistant per case.

iv. That each Arbitrator shall be paid Rs. 6000/- per case towards incidental charges like telephone, FAX, postage etc.

v. That other expenses based on actual against presentation of bills, shall also be reimbursed to each Arbitrator subject to the following ceiling (applicable for the days of hearing only).

(a) Travelling expenses – Economy class (By Air), First Class AC (By train) and AC car (By road).

(b) Lodging and boarding – Rs. 8000/- per day in Metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata), Rs. 5000/- per day in other cities OR Rs. 2000/- per day if any Arbitrator makes his own arrangement.

(c) Local travel – Rs. 700/- per day.

vi. Charges for publishing the Award – Maximum of Rs. 10,000/-

vii. That in exceptional cases, such as cases involving major legal implication/wider ramification/higher financial stakes etc. a special fees structure could be fixed in consultation with the Contractor/Supervision consultant and with the specific approval of the Chairman, NHAI before appointment of the Arbitrator.”

3. A reading of the above Clause would show that the parties have not only agreed to have their disputes settled through arbitration but also prescribed the fees that shall be payable to the Arbitral Tribunal.

4. The petitioner thereafter, issued a Circular dated 01.06.2017 whereby it, inter alia, amended the fee structure payable to the Arbitrators in form of Annexure 3 thereof. The said Annexure is reproduced herein below:-

“Annexure-3

Schedule of Expenses and Fee payable to the Arbitrators

Sr. No	Particulars of fees and expenses		Amount payable per Arbitrator per Case where total sum of all claims or counter-claims in the case before AT is up to Rs. 100 Crore.	Amount payable per Arbitrator per Case where total sum of all claims or counter-claims in the case before AT is above Rs. 100 Crore and up to Rs. 500 Crore	Amount payable per Arbitrator per Case where total sum of all claims or counter-claims in the case before AT is above Rs. 500 Crore
1.	Fee		(i) Rs. 25,000/- per day.	(i)Rs. 40,000/- per day.	(i)Rs. 50,000/- per day.
			(ii) 25% extra on fee at (i) above in case of fast-track procedure as per Section-29(B) of A&C Act; or 10% extra on fee at (i) above if award is published within 6 months from date of entering the reference by AT;	(ii)10% extra on fee at (i) above if award is published within 6 months from date of entering the reference by AT;	(i