The court affirmed the factual determinations of the arbitral tribunal regarding payment for hard rock excavation and tie bolts, highlighting the limited grounds for interference with arbitral awards under the Arbitration Act.

JUDGMENT :

OM PRAKASH SHUKLA, J.

Introduction

1. The present intra-court appeal has been preferred by the Appellants under Section 37 (1)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [“The Act” hereinafter] read with Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and Section 151 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The appeal assails the judgment dated 01.10.2021 [“Impugned Judgment” hereinafter] passed by the learned Single Judge in O.M.P. (COMM) No. 181/2021, titled as M/s Ircon International Limited & Anr. v. M/s Cannon Engineering Construction Cannon Cottage. The impugned judgment arose out of a petition filed by the Appellants under Section 34 of the Act, seeking to set aside the arbitral award dated 30.01.2021 [“Arbitral Award” hereinafter] rendered by the learned Sole Arbitrator.

2. The dispute giving rise to the arbitral proceedings pertains to a contract dated 05.11.2014 [“contract” hereinafter] executed between the parties, for the “Construction of service buildings, loco shed, RCC Trunk Drain and Misc. Civil Works in connection with the Construction of Private Railway Siding for Solapur Super Thermal Power Project of NTPC Limited near Hotgi Railway Station in Solapur District, Maharashtra-Pkg.4”. By the arbitral award, the learned Arbitral Tribunal [“Tribunal” hereinafter] allowed the majority of the claims raised by the Respondent herein (Claimant before the Tribunal), rejecting only Claim No. 3 and the sole counter-claim made by the Appellants.

3. Vide the Impugned Judgment, the learned Single Judge partly allowed the petition under Section 34 of the Act. The learned Single Judge interfered with the arbitral award only to the limited extent of setting aside the grant of pre-award interest for the period from 06.11.2016 till 30.01.2021, holding that the contract expressly prohibited the grant of such interest. The remaining claims, i.e. Claim Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5, along with the entitlement to future interest and costs, were upheld by the learned Single Judge.

4. The present appeal is confined to challenging the impugned judgment only insofar as it upholds the arbitral award in respect of Claim No. 1 (hard rock in earth excavation) and Claim No. 2 (tie bolts for RCC wall), as well as the entitlement to future interest and costs. The Appellants contended that the findings underlying the said claims suffer from patent illegality and, therefore, warrant interference by this Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 37 of the Act.

Facts

5. The factual matrix, as relevant for the adjudication of the present appeal, is outlined below.

6. NTPC Limited [“Appellant No. 2” hereinafter] appointed M/s Ircon International Limited [“Appellant No. 1” hereinafter] as the Project Management Consultant for the Coal Transportation System of its Solapur Super Thermal Power Project (2×660 MW) in Solapur, pursuant to a purchase order dated 01.06.2012. In furtherance of this, a Power of Attorney dated 07.12.2012 was executed in favour of Appellant No.1, authorising it to act on behalf of Appellant No.2, with Appellant No.2 being the employer for the project.

7. For execution of the project, Appellant No.1 issued a Notice Inviting Tender dated 10.07.2014 for Package–4, which pertained to