JAWAHAR LAL WADHWA Vs. HARIPRADA CHAKRABORTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JUDGMENT J.-

(2.) NON speaking awards is an uneasy area in the law of Arbitration. Its foundation is in the autonomy of the parties in creating the law for themselves and also a forum for resolving their disputes. It has a merit of a remedy which, is speedy and less expensive and free from the procedural harassment of the adversary method followed in normal courts. But, where the freedom of contract is absent or considerably diluted non-speaking awards can turn into a method of oppression and injustice. This is particularly felt in Government contracts and standard from contracts. Private citizens are not free to settle the terms of such contract. They have also no choice of a person who is to act as an arbitrator. The Arbitrator may be a government nominee or a nominee of a Chamber of Commerce. Thus the elements of voluntary choice of rights and obligations and the personal confidence in the arbitrator are absent in these sets of contracts. A Government nominee as an Arbitrator may be able to completely ruin private citizen or cause considerable loss to public funds by paying a citizen more than due. Government has a legal obligation to act with fair-play and to avoid arbitrariness in its dealings with the citizens. A commercial activity through a contract is a variety of the administrative actions or executive actions of the Government. The fair-play in action should be both to the citizens and to the State itself. Suppose an arbitrator, a Government nominee, pays highly excessive amounts out of corrupt motive, it would be impossible even for the accounts department to raise any objection in law. There is a need for law towards a reasoned award particularly in the contracts entered into by Government. The instrumentalities of the Government and all public bodies. In private contracts of course, the non-speaking awards are still useful for their obvious advantages. .A limited right of appeal is now available in England under the Arbitration Act of 1979. In India the problem is little different. The backlog of cases in our courts is so heavy that it should deter a law reformer to create new remedies to add to the said backlog. The problem in the present case is of a private contract or a contract which is sometimes described in England as one of contract.