STATE OF JHARKHAND Vs. WEBEL TECHNOLOGY LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by the appellant State of Jharkhand against the order passed by the Sub-Ordinate Judge in Misc. Case No. 54/2007 dated 16th June, 2009 rejecting the objections filed by the State of Jharkhand against the award passed by the Arbitrator in favour of the respondent Webel Technology Limited, which is a Public Corporation of the State of West Bengal and has been blacklisted by the State of Jharkhand. It is pointed out by the counsel for the respondent that the order blacklisting the respondent is a subject-matter of challenge by way of a writ petition which is sub-judice before the learned Single Judge. However, this is not really a subject-matter of consideration in this appeal and the relevant question to be determined in this appeal is whether the objections of the State of Jharkhand rejected by the Subordinate Judge and upholding the award passed by the Arbitrator awarding an amount of Rs. 17,05,00,000/- (Rs. seventeen crores and five lacs only) in favour of the respondent is justified or not.

(2.) To explain the position giving rise to this appeal, it may be relevant to state that the contract was awarded by the State of Jharkhand in favour of the respondent Webel Technology Limited to impart computer education to the children of 500 schools in the State of Jharkhand and a sum of Rs. 105/- each was to be incurred on this training and education of one student. However, even before the contract could be executed, a dispute arose between the parties, as a result of which the contract was never ever given effect to as per the averment of the counsei for the appellant.

(3.) However, the respondent came up with a case that they had already started the project, and even as per their own version, it claimed to have incurred initially a sum of Rs. 1,40,00,000/- (Rs. one crore and forty lacs only) by way of advance to Syntech for supplying hardware, software appliances etc., and a further sum of Rs. 0,00,000/- was claimed to have been paid to Alho Infosystem Ltd. as advance for execution of the computer literacy project. It was further claimed that a sum of Rs.11,60,590/- was spent and incurred on the employees for execution of the project and interest also towards cost of the proceeding.