NCC LTD Vs. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Captioned 'Original Petition' (hereinafter 'OP' for the sake for brevity) is an application under Section 34 of 'The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act No.26 of 1996)' which shall hereinafter be referred to as the 'A and C Act' for the sake of brevity. Captioned OP has been filed assailing an 'arbitral award dated 09.07.2014' (hereinafter 'impugned award' for the sake of convenience) made by an 'Arbitral Tribunal' ('AT' for the sake of brevity) constituted by a sole arbitrator.

(2.) The sole Arbitrator, who constituted the AT, had been arrayed as Respondent No.2 in the captioned OP, but when the captioned OP was taken up for final disposal with the consent of learned counsel on both sides, it was submitted in unison by learned counsel on both sides or in other words it was submitted by learned counsel on both sides without any disputation or disagreement that the sole Arbitrator, who constituted the AT, need not continue to be in the array of parties in the captioned OP owing to the nature of challenge to the impugned award. Therefore, vide proceedings / orders dated 06.10.2020, this Court deleted from the array of respondents the sole Arbitrator (who constituted the AT) and who had been arrayed as Respondent No.2. Therefore, there is a sole petitioner and a lone respondent in captioned OP now. 'Sole petitioner' and the 'lone respondent' shall hereinafter be referred to as 'contractor' and 'IIT' respectively for the sake of convenience and clarity.

(3.) There is no disputation or disagreement about the fact that a contract dated 09.07.2009 captioned 'Articles of Agreement' together with 'General Conditions of Contract' ('GCC' for the sake of brevity) and 'Special Conditions of Contract' ('SCC' for the sake of brevity) constitute the codified documents qua contractual relationship between the parties i.e., Contractor and IIT. Therefore, this 'Articles of Agreement dated 09.07.2009, GCC and SCC' shall hereinafter be compendiously and collectively referred to as 'said contract' for the sake of convenience and clarity. There is also no disputation or disagreement that Clause 14.1 of GCC is an arbitration clause and the same serves as an arbitration agreement between the Contractor and IIT being an 'arbitration agreement' within the meaning of Section 2(1)(b) read with Section 7 of A and C Act. Captioned OP is a challenge under Section 34 of the A and C Act qua impugned award and therefore, short facts shorn of elaborate details / particulars or in other words, factual matrix in a nutshell containing essential facts imperative for appreciating instant order will suffice.