{"id":144722,"date":"2009-07-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-07-08T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ms-sayeed-ahmed-co-vs-state-of-u-p-ors-on-9-july-2009"},"modified":"2017-12-06T16:21:53","modified_gmt":"2017-12-06T10:51:53","slug":"ms-sayeed-ahmed-co-vs-state-of-u-p-ors-on-9-july-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ms-sayeed-ahmed-co-vs-state-of-u-p-ors-on-9-july-2009","title":{"rendered":"M\/S.Sayeed Ahmed &amp; Co vs State Of U.P. &amp; Ors on 9 July, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">M\/S.Sayeed Ahmed &amp; Co vs State Of U.P. &amp; Ors on 9 July, 2009<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: R V Raveendran<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: R.V. Raveendran, P. Sathasivam<\/div>\n<pre>                                                   1\n\n\n                                                                      Reportable\n                      IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n\n                       CIVIL APELLATE JURISDICTION\n\n                     CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4197 OF 2009\n                  (Arising out of SLP [C] No.15980 of 2008)\n\n\nM\/s. Sayeed Ahmed &amp; Co.                             ... Appellant\n\nVs.\n\nState of U P &amp; Ors.                                 ... Respondents\n\n\n\n                               JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>R. V. Raveendran J.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>      Leave granted. The issue in this appeal is whether the Arbitrator can<\/p>\n<p>award interest for pre-reference period and pendente lite, when the contract<\/p>\n<p>prohibits the employer from entertaining any claim for interest.<\/p>\n<p>2.    The respondents entrusted a construction work to appellant under an<\/p>\n<p>agreement dated 30.3.1990. The work was completed by the appellant on<\/p>\n<p>31.3.1996. Disputes arose between the parties by reason by rejection of claims<\/p>\n<p>of appellant and they were referred to Arbitration on 13.3.1997. Before the<\/p>\n<p>Arbitrator, the appellant made 11 claims aggregating to Rs.133.43 lakhs. The<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                         2<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Arbitrator made an award dated 31.7.2001 directing the respondents to pay to<\/p>\n<p>the appellant the following:-\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>(i)  Rs.24,18,586\/- with interest at 18% PA from 1.4.1996 till date of<br \/>\npayment.\n<\/p>\n<p>(ii) The amount if any, due to appellant on finalizing the final bill with<br \/>\ninterest at 14% PA from 1.5.1996 till date of payment; and<\/p>\n<p>(iii) The security deposit amount due with interest at 12% PA from 1.10.1996<br \/>\ntill date of payment.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>3.    The civil court by its judgment dated 7.12.2005 dismissed the application<\/p>\n<p>to set aside the award, filed by the respondents under section 34 of the<\/p>\n<p>Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (&#8216;Act&#8217; for short). The appeal filed by the<\/p>\n<p>respondents was allowed in part by the High Court by impugned judgment dated<\/p>\n<p>27.2.2008. The High Court held that having regard to the bar contained in clause<\/p>\n<p>G 1.09 of the contract, the arbitrator had no power to award interest and<\/p>\n<p>consequently, set aside that part of the award granting interest till date of award.<\/p>\n<p>The High Court however granted interest at 6% PA from the date of award till<\/p>\n<p>the date of payment. Aggrieved by the deletion of interest upto the date of award<\/p>\n<p>and reduction of interest from the date of award to 6% per annum, the appellant<\/p>\n<p>has filed this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>4.    At the outset, it is necessary to refer to an erroneous assumption made by<\/p>\n<p>the High Court in para 31 of the impugned judgment. It has proceeded on the<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                         3<\/span><\/p>\n<p>basis that the sum of Rs.24,18,586\/- awarded by the Arbitrator includes the<\/p>\n<p>amount due in regard to the final bill as also the amount of security deposit and<\/p>\n<p>that interest has been awarded from different dates, on different parts of the said<\/p>\n<p>sum of Rs.24,18,586\/-. But the award of Rs.24,18,586\/- did not include the<\/p>\n<p>amount due in regard to the final bill or security deposit . In fact the arbitrator<\/p>\n<p>did not quantify the amount due in regard to the final bill or the security deposit,<\/p>\n<p>but directed the respondents to calculate and pay the same with interest as<\/p>\n<p>indicated in the award. We give below the break up of Rs.24,18,586\/- awarded<\/p>\n<p>by the arbitrator, to show that the said amount did not include the final bill dues<\/p>\n<p>or security deposit :\n<\/p>\n<pre>Sl. No.      Claim No. Description of claim                 Amount awarded\n\n(i)          (1)          For non-availability of site      Rs.6,30,130\/-\n\n\n(ii)         (2)          For non-payment for 20,000\n                          cubic meters of earth work        Rs.3,90,000\/-\n\n(iii)        (3)          For non-availability\n                          of drawings &amp; design              Rs. 20,000\/-\n\n(iv)         (4)          For variations in quantity\n                          of different items of work        Rs.1,03,500\/-\n\n(v)          (5)          For extra items                   Rs. 72,956\/-\n\n(vi)         (8)          For stoppage of work              Rs. 31,500\/-\n\n(vii)        (9)          For non-availability of cement Rs. 84,000\/-\n\n(viii)       (10)         For delay in completion of\n                          work                              Rs. 1,55,000\/-\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                             4<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/pre>\n<p>Re : Interest from the date of cause of action to date of award<\/p>\n<p>6.    The issue regarding interest as noticed above revolves around clause<\/p>\n<p>G1.09 of Technical Provisions forming part of the contract extracted below :<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>       &#8220;G 1.09 No claim for interest or damages will be entertained by the<br \/>\n       Government with respect to any money or balance which may be lying with<br \/>\n       the Government or any become due owing to any dispute, difference or<br \/>\n       misunderstanding between the Engineer-in-Charge on the one hand and the<br \/>\n       contractor on the other hand or with respect to any delay on the part of the<br \/>\n       Engineer-in-charge in making periodical or final payment or any other<br \/>\n       respect whatsoever.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>7.    Sub-section (i) of Section 3 of the Interest Act 1978 provides that a court<\/p>\n<p>(as also an arbitrator) can in any proceedings for recovery of any debt or<\/p>\n<p>damages, allow interest to the person entitled to the debt or damages at a rate not<\/p>\n<p>exceeding the current rate of interest, for the whole or part of the following<\/p>\n<p>period that is to say : (a) if the proceedings related to a debt payable by virtue of<\/p>\n<p>a written instrument at a certain time, then, from the date when the debt is<\/p>\n<p>payable to the date of institution of proceedings; (b) if the proceedings did not<\/p>\n<p>relate to any such debt, then, from the date mentioned in this regard in a written<\/p>\n<p>notice given by the person entitled or the person making the claim to the person<\/p>\n<p>liable, that interest will be claimed to the date of institution of the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>Sub-section (3) of section 3 provides that nothing in section 3 shall apply to any<\/p>\n<p>debt or damages upon which interest is payable as of right by virtue of any<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                       5<\/span><\/p>\n<p>agreement; or to any debt or damages upon which payment of interest is barred<\/p>\n<p>by virtue of an express agreement.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>8.    The Arbitration Act, 1940 did not contain any specific provision relating<\/p>\n<p>to power of Arbitrator to award interest. That led to considerable confusion<\/p>\n<p>about the power of Arbitrators in regard of award of interest from the date of<\/p>\n<p>cause of action to date of award, that is pre-reference period (from the date of<\/p>\n<p>cause of action upto the date of reference) and pendente lite (from the date of<\/p>\n<p>reference to date of award). Ultimately, this Court made it clear that the<\/p>\n<p>Arbitrator had the jurisdiction and authority to award interest for the three<\/p>\n<p>periods namely pre-reference period, pendente lite and future period (from the<\/p>\n<p>date of award) if there was no express bar in the contract regarding award of<\/p>\n<p>interest &#8211; vide <a href=\"\/doc\/654172\/\">Secretary, Irrigation Department, Govt. of Orissa vs. G.C. Roy<\/a> &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>1992 (1) SCC 508, <a href=\"\/doc\/620945\/\">Executive Engineer, Dhenkanal Minor Irrigation Division<\/p>\n<p>vs. N.C. Budharaj<\/a> &#8211; 2001 (2) SCC 721 as also the decision in <a href=\"\/doc\/158187\/\">Bhagawati<\/p>\n<p>Oxygen Ltd. vs. Hindustan Copper Ltd.<\/a> &#8211; 2005 (6) SCC 462.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>9.    Two more decisions dealing with cases arising under Arbitration Act,<\/p>\n<p>1940 requires to be noticed. <a href=\"\/doc\/845506\/\">In Superintending Engineer v. Subba Reddy<\/a> [1999<\/p>\n<p>(4) SCC 423] this Court held that interest for pre-reference period can be<\/p>\n<p>awarded only if there was an agreement to that effect or if it was allowable<\/p>\n<p>under the Interest Act, 1978. Therefore, claim for interest for pre-reference<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                        6<\/span><\/p>\n<p>period, which is barred as per the agreement or under the Interest Act, 1978<\/p>\n<p>could not be allowed. This Court however held that Arbitrator can award interest<\/p>\n<p>pendente lite and future interest. The principles relating to interest were<\/p>\n<p>summarized by this court in <a href=\"\/doc\/1875748\/\">State of Rajasthan v. Ferro Concrete Construction<\/p>\n<p>Pvt. Ltd. (CA No.2764 of<\/a> 2009 decided on 22.4.2009) thus:<\/p>\n<p>(a) where a provision for interest is made on any debt or damages, in any<br \/>\n    agreement, interest shall be paid in accordance with the such agreement.<\/p>\n<p>(b) Where payment of interest on any debt or damages is barred by express<br \/>\n    provision in the contract, no interest shall be awarded.<\/p>\n<p>(c) Where there is no express bar in the contract and where there is also no<br \/>\n    provision for payment of interest then the principles of section 3 of Interest<br \/>\n    Act will apply and consequently interest will be payable:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>                where the proceedings relate to a debt (ascertained sum)<br \/>\n                payable by virtue of a written instrument at a certain time, then<br \/>\n                from the date when the debt is payable to the date of institution<br \/>\n                of the proceedings;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>       (ii) where the proceedings is for recovery of damages or for recovery of a<br \/>\n       debt which is not payable at a certain time, then from the date mentioned<br \/>\n       in a written notice given by the person making a claim to the person liable<br \/>\n       for the claim that interest will be claimed.\n<\/p>\n<p>(d) Payment of interest pendente lite and future interest shall not be governed by<br \/>\n   provisions of Interest Act, 1978, but by provisions of section 34 of Code of<br \/>\n   Civil Procedure 1908 or the provisions of law governing Arbitration as the<br \/>\n   case may be.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>10.   The Legislature while enacting the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,<\/p>\n<p>1996, incorporated a specific provision in regard to award of interest by<\/p>\n<p>Arbitrators. Sub-section(7) of section 31 of the Act deals with the Arbitrator&#8217;s<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                             7<\/span><\/p>\n<p>power to award interest. Clause (a) relates to the period between the date on<\/p>\n<p>which the cause of action arose and the date on which the award is made. Clause<\/p>\n<p>(b) relates to the period from the date of award to date of payment. The said sub-<\/p>\n<p>section (7) is extracted below :\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;7(a) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, where and in so far as an<br \/>\n      arbitral award is for the payment of money, the arbitral tribunal may include in<br \/>\n      the sum for which the award is made interest, at such rate as it deems<br \/>\n      reasonable, on the whole or any part of the money, for the whole or any part of<br \/>\n      the period between the date on which the cause of action arose and the date on<br \/>\n      which the award is made.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>      (b)    A sum directed to be paid by an arbitral award shall, unless the award<br \/>\n      otherwise directs, carry interest at the rate of eighteen per centum per annum<br \/>\n      from the date of the award to the date of payment.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Having regard to sub-section (7) of section 31 of the Act, the difference between<\/p>\n<p>pre-reference period and pendente lite period has disappeared in so far as<\/p>\n<p>award of interest by arbitrator. The said section recognises only two periods and<\/p>\n<p>makes the following provisions :\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>(a) In regard to the period between the date on which the cause of action<br \/>\narose and the date on which the award is made (pre-reference period plus<br \/>\npendente lite), the arbitral tribunal may award interest at such rate as it deems<br \/>\nreasonable, for the whole or any part of the period, unless otherwise agreed by<br \/>\nthe parties.\n<\/p>\n<p>(b) For the period from the date of award to the date of payment the interest<br \/>\nshall be 18% per annum if no specific order is made in regard to interest. The<br \/>\narbitrator may however award interest at a different rate for the period between<br \/>\nthe date of award and date of payment.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                         8<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The decisions of this Court with reference to the awards under the old<\/p>\n<p>Arbitration Act making a distinction between the pre-reference period and<\/p>\n<p>pendente lite period and the observation therein that arbitrator has the discretion<\/p>\n<p>to award interest during pendente lite period inspite of any bar against interest<\/p>\n<p>contained in the contract between the parties are not applicable to arbitrations<\/p>\n<p>governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>11.   Clause G-1.09 makes it clear that no interest or damages will be paid by<\/p>\n<p>Government, in regard to : (i) any money or balance which may be lying with<\/p>\n<p>the Government; (ii) any money which may become due owing to any dispute,<\/p>\n<p>difference or misunderstanding between the Engineer-in-charge on the one hand<\/p>\n<p>and the contractor on the other hand; (iii) any delay on the part of the Engineer-<\/p>\n<p>in-Charge in making periodical or final payment; or (iv) any other respect<\/p>\n<p>whatsoever. The clause is comprehensive and bars interest under any head in<\/p>\n<p>clear and categorical terms. In view of clause (a) of sub-section (7) of section 31<\/p>\n<p>of the Act, it is clear that the Arbitrator could not have awarded interest upto the<\/p>\n<p>date of the award, as the agreement between the parties barred payment of<\/p>\n<p>interest. The bar against award of interest would operate not only during the pre-<\/p>\n<p>reference period that is up to 13.3.1997 but also during the pendente lite period<\/p>\n<p>that is from 14.3.1997 to 31.7.2001.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                            9<\/span><\/p>\n<p>12.    The appellant strongly relied upon the decision of this Court in <a href=\"\/doc\/1858391\/\">State of<\/p>\n<p>U.P. v. Harish Chandra &amp; Co.<\/a> [1999 (1) SCC 63], to contend that clause 1.09 of<\/p>\n<p>the contract did not bar the award of interest. The clause barring interest that<\/p>\n<p>fell for consideration in that decision was as under :\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>       &#8220;1.9 No claim for delayed payment due to dispute etc.&#8211;No claim for interest<br \/>\n       or damages will be entertained by the Government with respect to any moneys<br \/>\n       or balances which may be lying with the Government owing to any dispute,<br \/>\n       difference; or misunderstanding between the Engineer-in-Charge in marking<br \/>\n       periodical or final payments or in any other respect whatsoever.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This Court held that the said clause did not bar award of interest on any claim<\/p>\n<p>      for damages or for claim for payment for work done. We extract below the<\/p>\n<p>      reasoning for such decision :\n<\/p>\n<p>       &#8220;A mere look at the clause shows that the claim for interest by way of<br \/>\n       damages was not to be entertained against the Government with respect to<br \/>\n       only a specified type of amount, namely, any moneys or balances which may<br \/>\n       be lying with the Government owing to any dispute, difference between the<br \/>\n       Engineer-in-Charge and the contractor; or misunderstanding between the<br \/>\n       Engineer-in-Charge and the contractor in marking periodical or finally<br \/>\n       payments or in any other respect whatsoever. The words `or in any other<br \/>\n       respect whatsoever&#8221; also referred to the dispute pertaining to the moneys or<br \/>\n       balances which may be lying with the Government pursuant to the agreement<br \/>\n       meaning thereby security deposit or retention money or any other amount<br \/>\n       which might have been with the Government and refund of which might have<br \/>\n       been withheld by the Government. The claim for damages or claim for<br \/>\n       payment for the work done and which was not paid for would not obviously<br \/>\n       cover any money which may be said to be lying with the Government.<br \/>\n       Consequently, on the express language of this clause, there is no prohibition<br \/>\n       which could be culled out against the respondent-contractor that he could not<br \/>\n       raise the claim for interest by way of damages before the arbitrator on the<br \/>\n       relevant items placed for adjudication.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                          10<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In Harish Chandra (supra) a different version of clause 1.09 was considered.<\/p>\n<p>Having regard to the restrictive wording of that clause, this Court held that it did<\/p>\n<p>not bar award of interest on a claim for damages or a claim for payments for<\/p>\n<p>work done and which was not paid. This Court held that the said clause barred<\/p>\n<p>award of interest only on amounts which may be lying with the Government by<\/p>\n<p>way of security deposit\/retention money or any other amount refund of which<\/p>\n<p>was withheld by the government. But in this case, clause G-1.09 is significantly<\/p>\n<p>different. It specifically provides that no interest shall be payable in respect of<\/p>\n<p>any money that may become due owing to any dispute, difference or<\/p>\n<p>misunderstanding between the Engineer-in-Charge and contractor or with<\/p>\n<p>respect to any delay on the part of the Engineer-in-Charge in making periodical<\/p>\n<p>or final payment or in respect of any other respect whatsoever. The bar under<\/p>\n<p>clause G-1.09 in this case being absolute, the decision in Harish Chandra will<\/p>\n<p>not assist the appellant in any manner.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>13.   The appellant next relied upon the judgment of this Court in <a href=\"\/doc\/1049606\/\">State of<\/p>\n<p>Orissa vs. B.N. Agarwalla<\/a> [1997 (2) SCC 469]. In that case, this Court held that<\/p>\n<p>Arbitrator has jurisdiction to award (i) interest for pre-reference period, (ii)<\/p>\n<p>interest for pendente lite and (iii) future interest. This Court also held that the<\/p>\n<p>following part of clause (4) of the contract dealing with &#8220;Rates, materials and<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                           11<\/span><\/p>\n<p>workmanship&#8221; did not bar award of interest by the arbitrator on the claims of the<\/p>\n<p>contractor :\n<\/p>\n<p>      &#8220;No interest is payable on amount withheld under the item of the agreement&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Interpreting the said clause (which provided that interest was not payable on the<\/p>\n<p>amount which was withheld), this Court held that it referred only to the amount<\/p>\n<p>withheld by the employer State towards retention money for the defect liability<\/p>\n<p>period. This Court in fact clarified that the position that if the terms of contract<\/p>\n<p>expressly stipulated that no interest would be payable, then arbitrator would not<\/p>\n<p>get the jurisdiction to award interest. As clause G-1.09 in the present case<\/p>\n<p>contains an express bar and is different from the clause considered in B.N.<\/p>\n<p>Agarwalla (supra), the said decision is also of no assistance.<\/p>\n<p>14.   The learned counsel for the appellant submitted that even though the bar<\/p>\n<p>in clause G-1.09 may prohibit the employer from paying interest, it does not bar<\/p>\n<p>the Arbitrator from awarding interest. For this purpose, he relied upon the<\/p>\n<p>decision of this Court in Board of Trustees for <a href=\"\/doc\/1766532\/\">Port of Calcutta vs. Engineers-<\/p>\n<p>De-Space-Age<\/a> [1996 (1) SCC 516]. In that case, this Court considered the<\/p>\n<p>validity of award of interest pendente lite by the Arbitrator notwithstanding the<\/p>\n<p>prohibition contained in the contract against payment of interest on delayed<\/p>\n<p>payments. The following clause fell for consideration of this Court in that case :<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;No claim for interest will be entertained by the Commissioners with respect to<br \/>\n      any money or balance which may be in their hands owing to any dispute<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                             12<\/span><\/p>\n<p>      between themselves and the Contractor or with respect to any delay on the part<br \/>\n      of the Commissioners in making interim or final payment or otherwise.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After referring to the Constitution Bench decision in G. C. Roy (supra) this<\/p>\n<p>Court held :\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;We are not dealing with a case in regard to award of interest for the period<br \/>\n      prior to the reference. We are dealing with a case in regard to award of interest<br \/>\n      by the arbitrator post reference. The short question, therefore, is whether in<br \/>\n      view of sub-clause (g) of clause 13 of the contract extracted earlier the<br \/>\n      arbitrator was prohibited from granting interest under the contract. Now the<br \/>\n      term in sub-clause (g) merely prohibits the Commissioner from entertaining<br \/>\n      any claim for interest and does not prohibit the arbitrator from awarding<br \/>\n      interest. The opening words `no claim for interest will be entertained by the<br \/>\n      Commissioner&#8221; clearly establishes that the intention was to prohibit the<br \/>\n      Commissioner from granting interest on account of delayed payment to the<br \/>\n      contractor. Clause has to be strictly construed for the simple reason that as<br \/>\n      pointed out by the Constitution Bench, ordinarily, a person who has a<br \/>\n      legitimate claim is entitled to payment within a reasonable time and if the<br \/>\n      payment has been delayed beyond reasonable time he can legitimately claim<br \/>\n      to be compensated for that delay whatever nomenclature one may give to his<br \/>\n      claim in that behalf. If that be so, we would be justified in placing a strict<br \/>\n      construction on the term of the contract on which reliance has been placed.<br \/>\n      Strictly construed the terms of the contract merely prohibits the Commissioner<br \/>\n      from paying interest to the contractor for delayed payment but once the matter<br \/>\n      goes to arbitration the discretion of the arbitrator is not, in any manner, stifled<br \/>\n      by this term of the contract and the arbitrator would be entitled to consider the<br \/>\n      question of grant of interest pendente lite and award interest if he finds the<br \/>\n      claim to be justified. We are, therefore, of the opinion that under the clause of<br \/>\n      the contract the arbitrator was in no manner prohibited from awarding interest<br \/>\n      pendente lite.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This Court held that the bar in the contract operated only for the pre-reference<\/p>\n<p>period and that the Arbitrator had the power and authority to award interest<\/p>\n<p>pendente lite at his discretion, without reference to the bar in the contract. The<\/p>\n<p>observation in Engineers-De-Space-Age (supra) that the term of the contract<\/p>\n<p>merely prohibits the department\/employer from paying interest to the contractor<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                        13<\/span><\/p>\n<p>for delayed payment but once the matter goes to arbitrator, the discretion of the<\/p>\n<p>arbitrator is not in any manner stifled by the terms of the contract and the<\/p>\n<p>arbitrator will be entitled to consider and grant the interest pendente lite, cannot<\/p>\n<p>be used to support an outlandish argument that bar on the Government or<\/p>\n<p>department paying interest is not a bar on the arbitrator awarding interest.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the provision in the contract bars the employer from entertaining any<\/p>\n<p>claim for interest or bars the contractor from making any claim for interest, it<\/p>\n<p>amounts to a clear prohibition regarding interest. The provision need not contain<\/p>\n<p>another bar prohibiting Arbitrator from awarding interest. The observations<\/p>\n<p>made in the context of interest pendente lite cannot be used out of contract.<\/p>\n<p>15.   The learned counsel for appellant next contended on the basis of the<\/p>\n<p>above observations in Engineers-De-Space-Age, that even if clause G-1.09 is<\/p>\n<p>held to bar interest in the pre-reference period, it should be held not to apply to<\/p>\n<p>the pendente lite period that is from 14.3.1997 to 31.7.2001. He contended that<\/p>\n<p>the award of interest during the pendency of the reference was within the<\/p>\n<p>discretion of the arbitrator and therefore, the award of interest for that period<\/p>\n<p>could not have been interfered by the High Court. In view of the Constitution<\/p>\n<p>Bench decisions in G.C. Roy and N.C. Budharaj (supra) rendered before and<\/p>\n<p>after the decision in Engineers-De-Space-Age, it is doubtful whether the<\/p>\n<p>observation in Engineers-De-Space-Age in a case arising under Arbitration Act,<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                        14<\/span><\/p>\n<p>1940 that Arbitrator could award interest pendente lite, ignoring the express bar<\/p>\n<p>in the contract, is good law. But that need not be considered further as this is a<\/p>\n<p>case under the new Act where there is a specific provision regarding award of<\/p>\n<p>interest by Arbitrator.\n<\/p>\n<p>Re : interest from the date of award<\/p>\n<p>18.   The arbitrator awarded interest at the rate of 18% per annum on<\/p>\n<p>Rs.24,18,586\/-, 14% per annum on amount found due on finalisation the final<\/p>\n<p>bill and 12% per annum on the security deposit amount if any that has to be<\/p>\n<p>refunded. As noticed above, clause (b) of sub-section (7) of section 31 of the Act<\/p>\n<p>provides that if the award does not otherwise direct, the amount awarded shall<\/p>\n<p>carry interest as directed by the award and in the absence of any provision of<\/p>\n<p>18% per annum. Any provision in the contract barring interest, will therefore<\/p>\n<p>operate only till the date of award and not thereafter. The arbitrator has awarded<\/p>\n<p>interest at three different rates on three different amounts which are all less than<\/p>\n<p>18% per annum. The said award of interest by the arbitrator is not contrary to<\/p>\n<p>section 31(7)(b) of the Act. Unless the award of interest is found to be<\/p>\n<p>unwarranted for reasons to be recorded, the court should not alter the rate of<\/p>\n<p>interest awarded by the Arbitrator. The High Court has not assigned any reasons<\/p>\n<p>for reducing the rate of interest to 6% per annum. Therefore, such reduction<\/p>\n<p>cannot be sustained.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                         15<\/span><\/p>\n<p>19.   In view of the above, we allow this appeal in part and modify the<\/p>\n<p>judgment of the High Court as follows :\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>(a) The Judgment of the High Court setting aside the award of interest upto<br \/>\nthe date of award is affirmed.\n<\/p>\n<p>(b) The decision of the High Court reducing the rate of interest to 6% per<br \/>\nannum from the date of award is set aside. The rate of interest on the amounts<br \/>\ndue and payable under the award, from the date of award till date of payment<br \/>\nshall be in terms of the award of the Arbitrator.\n<\/p>\n<p>(c)   Parties to bear their respective costs.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;J.<\/p>\n<pre>\n                                                (R V Raveendran)\n\n\nNew Delhi;                                      ..........................J.\nJuly 9, 2009.                                   (P. Sathasivam)\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India M\/S.Sayeed Ahmed &amp; Co vs State Of U.P. &amp; Ors on 9 July, 2009 Author: R V Raveendran Bench: R.V. Raveendran, P. Sathasivam 1 Reportable IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4197 OF 2009 (Arising out of SLP [C] No.15980 of 2008) M\/s. Sayeed Ahmed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>M\/S.Sayeed Ahmed &amp; Co vs State Of U.P. &amp; Ors on 9 July, 2009 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/ms-sayeed-ahmed-co-vs-state-of-u-p-ors-on-9-july-2009\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"M\/S.Sayeed Ahmed &amp; 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