Ramachandran Nair, J.

This appeal is filed by the appellant contractor aggrieved by the order passed by the Principal Sub Judge, Thiruvananthapuram in O.P. (A)No.170/1993. The appellant has mainly challenged the order passed by the learned Judge on various grounds.

2. The necessary facts for the disposal of the appeal are the following : The appellant had moved the Principal Sub Judge by filing O.P. under Section 17 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 for making the award as a rule of court. As per the award, the Arbitrator had considered claim for damages under three heads and the same stood allowed with interest at 18% per annum for the period from 12.11.1990 to the date of decree or date of payment whichever is earlier. A total amount of Rs. 4,55,743/- was awarded to the appellant by the Arbitrator. The court below considered the application filed by the appellant under Section 17 of the Act along with the application filed under Section 30 of the Act by the respondents to set aside the award and reduced the award amount to Rs. 1,75,000/- and the rate of interest also has been reduced to 9%.

3. We heard Sri.Sheji P.Abraham, the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned G