JUDGMENT :

RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW, J.

1. The short question for adjudication in this appeal is, whether Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 empowers the Court to grant to an applicant, a relief, not in the nature of interim measure of protection, but in the nature of a final relief, even if a case for urgent need thereof is made out and merely by expressing the same to have been granted on a prima facie view of the matter and by making it subject to the arbitral award and by securing the respondent, against whom the relief is so granted, for restitution.

2. Though the pure question of law aforesaid is short, but the narrative of facts and history of this litigation is long.

3. This appeal, under Section 37(1)(b) of the Arbitration Act read with Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, impugns the judgment/order dated 25th November, 2019 allowing OMP(I)(COMM.) No.218/2019 under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act, filed by the respondent Bhubaneswar Expressway Private Limited (BEPL) and directing the appellant National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to, subject to the respondent BEPL furnishing an unconditional and irrevocable bank guarantee in favour of the appel