JUDGMENT :

SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY, J.

Prayer: Original Petition is filed under Section 34(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to set aside the Arbitral Awards dated 15.11.2009 passed by the Majority Arbitrators.

1. The claimants before the Arbitral Tribunal are the Petitioners before this Court. A contract was executed by the Petitioners and the first Respondent on 13.05.1998 (the Contract) for the purpose of construction of the Chennai Bypass Phase-I, spanning a length of about 18.8 kms. The Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering Construction of the Federation Internationale Des Ingenieurs-Conseils (FIDIC), 4th Edition, 1987 (the GCC) applied to this Contract, as modified by the Conditions of Particular Application (COPA). This bypass was intended to connect National Highway-4 (NH-4) with National Highway-45 (NH-45). The stipulated period for completion of works under the Contract was 18 months, with the date of commencement being 12.06.1998 and the stipulated date of completion being 11.12.1999. However, it is the admitted position that there was a delay in completion of work due to multiple reasons and that eventually work was completed on 31.10.2001, according to the Petitioners, and on 30.11.2001, according to the first Respondent. Thus, work was executed over about 40-41 months. As per the Contract, the estimated value of work was Rs. 42,45,43,850 but this was subject to variation based on the actual quantity of work, which was to be paid for at Bill of Quantities (BoQ) rates, if applicable. As a matter of fact, about Rs. 57,78,82,594 had been paid up to IPC 37 but there were disputes, inter-alia, related to total value of work executed, including non-payment for the period subsequent to IPC 37 and deductions thereto, additional work/variation, including rates for additional work/variation, idling and prolongation cost. The said disputes were referred to arbitration under two references, namely, Reference No. 1 and Reference No. 2. In Reference No. 1 and 2, the Petitioners made about 29 claims (including interest and cost claims) and about 12 claims (including interest and cost claims), respectively. The first Respondent made 9 counter claims in Reference No. 2. An Interim/Draft Award dated 09.07.2009 was pronounced by a majority of two members of the Arbitral Tribunal (the Interim Award) and the Minority Award dated 08.08.2009 (the Minority Award) was pronounced by the third member of the Arbitral Tribunal. Thereafter, the Final Award dated 15.11.2009 was also pronounced by the same majority of two members of the Arbitral Tribunal (the Final Award). By the Interim Award, Claims 3, 5, 6, 18 and 20 in Reference No. 1 were allowed, wholly or partly, by awarding sums of Rs. 13,38,480, Rs. 13,75,585, Rs. 82,17,346, Rs. 4,34,536 and Rs. 4,96,400, respectively. As regards Reference No. 2, Claim 2 was awarded in a sum of Rs. 46,00,000 and Claim 4 in a sum of Rs. 14,89,714. All the other Claims were rejected, except Claim 1 in Reference No. 1 and 2, which were not adjudicated upon in the Interim Award but deferred. As regards the Counter Claims, Counter Claim 4 was allowed in a sum of Rs. 81,09,248, Counter Claim 5 in a sum of Rs. 59,51,899 and Counter Claim 8 in a sum of Rs. 37,10,936. The adjudication of Counter Claim 1, which pertains to recovery of material advance and is connected to Claim 1 in Reference No. 1 and 2, was deferred. It is pertinent to mention that the Interim Award was detailed and contained the analyses and conclusions on the all the Claims and Counter Claims except Claim 1, in the two references, and Counter Claim 1, as stated above. By the Final Award, which was brief and only contained the computation of the net payable under the Award, the Arbitral Tribunal accepted the calculation memo of the first Respondent, albeit with a minor modification so as to reckon the amount awarded to the Petitioners towards Claim 3, and directed the first Respondent to pay a net sum of Rs. 1,98,73