STATE OF WEST BENGAL Vs. MA ENGINEERING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SPECIAL leave granted.

(2.) THIS is an appeal challenging the decision of the High Court of Calcutta upholding the decision of the learned single Judge of that Court whereby the award of the arbitrator was set aside and new arbitrator was appointed. In order to appreciate the position it is necessary to state that in the year 1964 the Executive Engineer had invited competitive sealed tenders in respect of "Silt Clearance of river Peali from Utterbhag Canning Road Bridge up to Hobon Sluice". Shri D. P. Chatterjee entered upon the reference soon thereafter and the award was made in November, 1966. It appears that thereafter the respondent asked for the award amount in full and final settlement which the Executive Engineer turned down. The respondent herein was paid by the appellant a sum of Rs. 32,525.62 in terms of the award and which sum was received and acknowledged by the respondent No. 1. Then the true copy of the award was forwarded to the Court by the Chief Executive Engineer and the application was filed by the respondent No. 1 in 1981 in the High Court of Calcutta under Ss. 14, 15, 16 and 30 of the ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT, 1940 for setting aside the award dated l 9/11/1966. The High Court after hearing the parties dismissed that application on 10/05/1982. The High Court was thereafter pleased to pass judgment in terms of the award. The respondent herein preferred an appeal against the judgment dated 10-5-82. The Division Bench allowed the appeal of the appellant. The appellant's advocate did not notice that the matter appear in the daily list dated 26/04/1985 of the learned single Judge for judgment and as such he did not know the result of the judgment. Thereafter the matter again appeared in the list of the learned single Judge and the respondent had made an application before the learned single Judge for setting aside the previous order. The learned single Judge on 18/03/1986 rejected the application of the appellant and allowed the application of the respondent herein under Ss. 5, 11 and 12 of the Arbitration Act and appointed a retired Judge of the High Court as the arbitrator and thereafter revoked the authority of the said arbitrator from acting as the arbitrator and appointed a lawyer of the High Court as the arbitrator. The appellant preferred an appeal against the said order dated 3/12/1985 before the Division Bench of the High Court of Calcutta.

(3.) IT is true that an unsigned award cannot be made the rule of the Court. But it is only a formal defect. IT appears that the award was handed over to the parties and a letter was sent to the parties concerned and award bore no signature of the arbitrator. The parties had acted upon the award. IT is true that under the law the mandatory rule is that the award should be signed by the arbitrator. But law must subserve justice and endeavour to serve the purpose of law. The Court can in such circumstances extend time for making the award and direct curing of the formal defect in the award. So much time and effort should not be allowed to go waste.