MBL INFRASTRUCTURES LTD. Vs. RITES LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of the present petition under sec. 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 ('A&C Act' for short), the petitioner/claimant M/s MBL Infrastructures Ltd. impugns order dtd. 8/1/2022 made by the learned Sole Arbitrator in proceedings relating to disputes with respondent No. 1 M/s Rites Limited. It may be recorded at the outset that while the petitioner contends that order dtd. 8/1/2022 amounts to an interim award' amenable to challenge under sec. 34 of the A&C Act, the respondent challenges the maintainability of the petition inter-alia on the ground that the impugned order is not an interim award.

(2.) By way of order dtd. 8/1/2022, the learned Arbitrator has rejected an application dtd. 29/1/2021 filed by the petitioner under sec. 23(3) of the A&C Act seeking amendment of the statement of claims.

(3.) Briefly, the genesis of the disputes between the parties is a contract for construction of Police Lines and Residential Quarters at Kondli Check Post in Delhi, awarded to the petitioner pursuant to a tender floated by respondent No. 1 as an agent of respondent No. 2/Ministry of Home Affairs (Delhi Police). By way of the amendment application dtd. 29/1/2021, the petitioner had sought the following amendments, which the petitioner contends, became necessary once respondent No. 1 finalized the running accounts bills raised by the petitioner upon the said respondent.