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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR

ARBITRATION APPEAL NO.02/2020

M/s National Tyres, Nagpur through its partners Vs. National Highway

Authority of India and others

WITH

ARBITRATION APPEAL NO. 30/2019

National Highways Authority of India and another Vs. The Additional

Commissioner, Nagpur and Arbitrator and others

Office Notes, Office Memoranda Court's or Judge's orders

of Coram, Appearances, Court's

orders or directions and

Registrar's orders

AA No. 2/2020

Mr. Anand Deshpande, Advocate with Mr. P.R. Agrawal, Adv. for

Appellant

Mr. A.A. Kathane, Adv. for Respondent No.1

Mrs. Mugdha Chandurkar, Advocate for Respondent No.3

Mrs. H.N. Prabhu, AGP for Respondent Nos.2 and 4

AA No. 30/2019

Mr. A.A. Kathane, Adv. for Appellants

Mrs. H.N. Prabhu, AGP for Respondent Nos.1 and 2

Mr. Anand Deshpande, Advocate with Mr. P.R. Agrawal, Adv. for

Respondent Nos.3a to 3b

CORAM: NIVEDITA P. MEHTA, J.

DATED : 24^th DECEMBER, 2025

1. Arbitration Appeal No. 2/2020 has been preferred

by M/s National Tyres and its partners under Section 37 of

the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, assailing the

order dated 30.04.2019 passed by the learned Principal

District and Sessions Judge, Nagpur, in proceedings under

Section 34 of the said Act, arising out of the arbitral award

dated 28.03.2016 passed in Arbitration Case No.

1/ARB/2015-16.

2. Learned counsel appearing for the appellants

submits that the learned Court below has exceeded the

jurisdiction vested in it under Section 34 of the Act. It is

contended that instead of confining itself to the limited

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grounds available under the statute, the learned Principal

District and Sessions Judge has impermissibly interfered

with and modified the arbitral award. It is, therefore,

prayed that the impugned order be set aside and relegate

the matter bearing Arbitration Case No. 1/ARB/2015-16

to the learned Arbitrator for fresh consideration.

2. Per contra, learned counsel for the National

Highways Authority of India (NHAI) initially opposed the

appeal by contending that the arbitral award was just, fair

and did not call for interference. However, he fairly

submits that while deciding the application under Section

34 bearing Civil M.A. No. 742/2016, the learned Principal

District and Sessions Judge has traversed beyond the

permissible limits of jurisdiction and has acted contrary to

the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in NHAI

v. M. Haim and Others, reported in (2021) 9 SCC 1.

3. Arbitration Appeal No. 30/2019 is preferred by the

Project Director, National Highways Authority of India,

also under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation

Act, 1996, challenging the same order dated 30.04.2019

passed by the learned Principal District and Sessions

Judge, Nagpur in Civil M.A. No. 742/2016. The grievance

raised is that the learned Court below, while exercising

jurisdiction under Section 34, has modified the original

arbitral award, which is impermissible in law.

4. Learned counsel for respondent Nos. 3 and 4 fairly

admits the legal position and submits that once the

impugned order is found to be unsustainable, the

appropriate course would be to set aside the said order

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and remit the matter to the learned Arbitrator for fresh

consideration.

5. I have considered the rival submissions and perused

the record. The scope of interference by a Court under

Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is

extremely limited. The Court does not sit in appeal over an

arbitral award, nor can it re-appreciate evidence or correct

errors of fact or law unless the grounds expressly

enumerated under the statute are made out.

6. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in NHAI v. M. Haim

and Others (supra) has categorically held that a Court

exercising jurisdiction under Section 34 has no power to

modify an arbitral award. The Court may either set aside

the award on the limited grounds available under the

statute or refuse to interfere; any modification or

reworking of the awar