STATE OF J&K Vs. AB KHALIQ DAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI M.N. Durani, the then Director, Designs Directorate, Jammu, the sole Arbitrator passed his award on 28th March. 1989. It was filed in the Court. Notices of filing of the award were given to the parties. The appellant herein being one of the parties before the learned Single Judge, challenged the award through the medium of objections whereby it sought its setting aside on a number of grounds. This application for setting aside the award was rejected by the learned Single Judge vide judgment dated 16th May, 1991 and the award was made rule of the court. Decree was passed in terms of the award accordingly. It is against this judgment that the appellant is aggrieved and this appeal filed under section 39 of the Arbitration Act and has sought its setting aside.

(2.) WE have heard Mr. S. K. Shukla, learned Government Advocate at great length. Mr. Shukla took us very minutely through various documents, including the original arbitration award, the judgment impugned in this appeal and certain other papers and urged that the learned Single Judge was in error in dismissing the appellants application for setting aside the award. Despite the best efforts but by Shri Shukla and his painstakingly taking us through various documents we do find that we are totally in a helpless position in interfering in any manner in the judgment under appeal and for a very simple reason.

(3.) IN every application filed for setting aside the arbitration award by a party aggrieved by the award, it is the bounden duty of the party to specifically plead in the application the reasons for setting aside the award. Reasons have to be found within the four corners of Section 30 of the Arbitration Act. It is for the party to allege, urge and plead - as to whether there was any error of law or fact apparent on the face of the record or as to whether the Arbitrator misconducted himself or the proceedings, and if so, in what manner and to what effect. The onus is all the more heavy and onerous when the party is confronted with a non -speaking award. In an award given by an arbitrator, which does not disclose his mental process, nor contains reasons in support of his findings, the Court cannot go beyond the award and, therefore, it becomes all the more important for the party complaining against the award and assailing the same to forthrightly come out in its pleadings to specifically point out the error apparent on the face of the award or the record, as the case may be, and the specific and precise allegations, supported by material particulars, constituting misconduct on the part of the arbitrator. Bald assertions like the usual run of the will phrases, saying that "there are errors apparent on the face of the record", or that, "the arbitrator has misconducted himself", do not help the party, in any manner, if these assertions are not supported by precise details of the allegations, .containing all the material particulars.