JUDGMENT :

1. This petition is preferred under Section 34 of the J&K Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1997 (for brevity “Act of 1997”) for setting-aside the Award dated 30th November 2020, passed by the Arbitrator in Arbitration Application titled as J&K Economic Reconstruction Company v. M/s Tarmac Road and Roof Builders, to the extent it rejected the claims of petitioner and allowed the claims of respondent-contractor.

2. The grounds of challenge, inter alia, taken by petitioner, are that Arbitrator has held respondent-contractor to be entitled to the claim of price escalation/variation for extension in time of completion beyond completion period of twelve months provided in the contract; that the parties to the contract were strictly governed by the terms and conditions the general conditions of the contact and the particular conditions of the contract; that the said general conditions of contract and/or particular conditions of contract nowhere provide for a price escalation clause in favour of respondent-contractor; that in fact petitioner vehemently pleaded before the Arbitrator that in view of clause 13.8, i.e., adjustments for change in cost, was applicable only if table of