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1996 DIGILAW 52 (HP)

CONTINENTAL CONSTRUCTION LIMITED v. HIMACHAL PRADESH STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

1996-04-10

R.L.KHURANA

body1996
JUDGMENT R. L. Khurana, J. - The defendant, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, has been established under the Electricity Act, 1948, inter alia, for the construction, generation, operation and maintenance of power projects in the State of Himachal Pradesh. A Project known as Sanjay Vidyut Pariyojna, Bhaba (120 MW) was undertaken by it. During the construction of this Project, the defendant-Board entered into an agreement No. SVP-BCC-I-83-1 dated 10th May, 1993, with the plaintiff-Company for the construction of Diversion weir. intake, desilting tank and storage reservoir. This work was one of the four major components of the Project and was to be carried out on Bhaba Khud, a tributary of river Sutlej in District Kinnaur at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,47,70,450/-. The stipulated date for completion of the work was 10th October, 1985. 2. A dispute arose between the parties in relation to the terms, conditions and performance of the contract. Four claims were submitted by the plaintiff-Company to the plaintiff-Board in the year 1987. Such claims remained under consideration of the defendant-Board and came to be rejected on 1st May, 1989. 3. Aggrieved by the rejection of their claims, the plaintiff-Company vide notice dated 2nd August, 1989, informed the Chief Engineer, SVP (Bhaba) having appointed one Dr. T. R. Seshadri, as their Arbitrator and further called upon the defendant-Board to appoint its Arbitrator. Pursuant to such notice, the defendant-Board appointed Shri A. K. Srikantiah as its Arbitrator on 21st August, 1989. 4. The two Arbitrators, therefore, entered upon the arbitration on 27th January, 1990. Both the parties submitted their respective claims. Four claims were raised by the plaintiff-Company as under : (i) Part-A claim : Payment of Rs. Pursuant to such notice, the defendant-Board appointed Shri A. K. Srikantiah as its Arbitrator on 21st August, 1989. 4. The two Arbitrators, therefore, entered upon the arbitration on 27th January, 1990. Both the parties submitted their respective claims. Four claims were raised by the plaintiff-Company as under : (i) Part-A claim : Payment of Rs. 2,99,64,074.26 p. towards financial losses suffered due to failure the defendant Board in fulfilling their obligations as per terms and conditions of the contract, with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 3.1.1988 till actual payment in respect of the following : (a) Delay in receipt of construction drawings and day-to-day decisions from the defendant, Board; (b) Delay in supply of adequate power and frequent power cuts thereafter (c) Delay in handing over the working area, that is, the reservoir floor and wall blocks area being used by M/s. Gammon India Ltd., another agency working for the defendant Board; and (d) Extra unforeseen works involved in the reservoir floor, HRT Intake junction structures, the design of which were finalised after October, 1985 before which the entire work was scheduled to be completed. (ii) Part-B claim : Payment of Rs. 9,47,422.05 p. on account of the cost of two steel bridges provided and erected by the plaintiff-Company for approach at the weir site, with interest at the rate of 18% per annum with effect from from 1st July, 1987 till the date of payment. (iii) Part-C claim : Payment of Rs. 41,00,370.40 p. for expenses incurred to bring granite stone from Jhansi, over and above the rates based on the local availability, with interest at the rate of 18% per annum with effect from 1st July, 1978 till actual date of payment. (iv) Part-D claim : Payment of Rs. 58,20,291.40 p. in respect of manufacturing and using crushed sand in the works instead of natural sand together with interest at the rate of 18% per annum with effect from 2.3.1988 till actual payment. The counter claim of the defendant Board consisted of the following two claims : (i) Claim No. 1 : Amount due to the defendant-Board as a consequence of invocation of the penalty in accordance with Clause 2 of the contract amounting to Rs. 1,02,38,522.50 p. with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 11.10.1985 till actual payment; and (ii) Claim No. 2 : Amount of Rs. 1,02,38,522.50 p. with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 11.10.1985 till actual payment; and (ii) Claim No. 2 : Amount of Rs. 12,53,08,000/- with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 11.10.1985 till the date of actual payment on account of loss of net revenue, additional cost of establishment etc., for supervising the work, additional cost to the Board on account of escalation of prices and loss of interest on the blocked up capital. 5. Separate set of issues were framed by the Arbitrators qua each of the four claims of the plaintiff-Company and the counter claim of the defendant Board. Parties led their evidence in support of their respective claims. 6. The Arbitrators having considered the evidence of the parties, made their award on 1st June, 1992. While the counter claim of the defendant-Board was rejected, a sum of Rs. 64,00,000/- was awarded in favour of the plaintiff-Company as under : (i) Part-A claim Rs. 25,00,000 (ii) Part-B claim Rs. 9,00,000 (iii) Part-C claim Nil (iv) Part-D claim Rs. 30,00,000. 7. The Arbitrators further directed that the amount awarded shall be paid by the defendant-Board to the plaintiff-Company within eight weeks of the date of award, falling which the defendant-Board would pay interest to the plaintiff-Company at the rate of 18% per annum from the date of expiry of the period of eight weeks till the date of actual payment. 8. The said award dated 1st June, 1992 has been filed in this court for being made the rule of the court. 9. No objections have been preferred by the plaintiff-Company to the award being made rule of the court. 10. The defendant Board has filed objections under Sections 30 and 33 of the Arbitration Act. It has been averred that the Arbitrators had mis-conducted themselves and the proceedings inasmuch as Clause 25 of the contract entered into between the parties specifically require that the Arbitrators shall assign reasons under all circumstances on which their decision is based, however, no such reasons have been given by them, Rs. 12,00,000/- have been awarded under claim-A by the Arbitrators in favour of the plaintiff-Company without there being any substantial evidence in support of the claim. There has been non-application of mind by the Arbitrators. A sum of Rs. 9,00,000/- under claim-B has been awarded by the Arbitrators in clear violation of Clause 8.2 of the contract. 12,00,000/- have been awarded under claim-A by the Arbitrators in favour of the plaintiff-Company without there being any substantial evidence in support of the claim. There has been non-application of mind by the Arbitrators. A sum of Rs. 9,00,000/- under claim-B has been awarded by the Arbitrators in clear violation of Clause 8.2 of the contract. The Arbitrators have thus over-stepped their jurisdiction by awarding an amount which was not awardable under the terms and conditions of the contract. The Arbitrators have also mis-conducted themselves and the proceedings in awarding Rs. 30,00,000/-, under claim D without their being pleading in this regard and the point not having been argued before them by the defendant-Company. The claims raised by the defendant-Company were time barred, the Arbitrators have not assigned any reasons for holding the claims to be within time. The counter claim of the defendant-Company were time barred. The arbitrators have not assigned any reasons for holding the claims to be within time. The counter claim of the defendant-Company has been wrongly rejected. The Arbitrators have not assured and appreciated the evidence of the parties properly. 11. The objections are being resisted by the defendant-Company. It has been pleaded that the Arbitrators had neither mis-conducted themselves nor the proceedings. The Arbitrators had acted within their jurisdiction and had assessed and appreciated the evidence properly. The award is perfectly legal and valid. The Arbitrators were not obliged to give detailed reasons. Even otherwise, the reading of the award shows that the mind of the Arbitrators as to on which basis they had acted. The plaintiff-Company has, accordingly, prayed that the award dated 1st June, 1992 be made the rule of the court by passing a decree in accordance thereof. 12. On the pleadings of the parties, following issues were framed on 15th January, 1993 : (1) Whether the Arbitrator has mis-conducted himself and the proceedings ? Op. Defd. Objectors. (2) Relief. 13. Both the parties have led evidence in the form of affidavits. 14. I have heard Mr. K. D. Sood, Advocate, the learned Counsel for the defendant Board and Mr. Bhupender Gupta, Advocate, the learned counsel for the plaintiff-Company and have also gone through the record of the case. My finding on the above issues are as under. 15. 13. Both the parties have led evidence in the form of affidavits. 14. I have heard Mr. K. D. Sood, Advocate, the learned Counsel for the defendant Board and Mr. Bhupender Gupta, Advocate, the learned counsel for the plaintiff-Company and have also gone through the record of the case. My finding on the above issues are as under. 15. The learned Counsel for the defendant-Board has at the very outset contended that the Arbitrators have mis-conducted themselves and the proceedings, since they have failed to give reasons for the conclusions arrived at by them. 16. It is well settle that the jurisdiction of the court to interfere with the award of the Arbitrator is a limited one. The adjudication of the Arbitrator is generally binding between the parties and it is not open to the court to attempt to probe the mental process by which the Arbitrator has reached his conclusion. Award of an Arbitrator can be set aside by the court only on the grounds enumerated in Section 30, Arbitration Act. It is not open to the court to reassess the evidence to find whether the Arbitrator has committed any error or to decide the question of adequacy of evidence and the court cannot sit on the conclusion of the Arbitrator by re-examination and re-appreciating the evidence considered by the Arbitrator. The Arbitrator is a creature of the agreement itself and, therefore is duty-bound to enforce the terms of the agreement and cannot adjudicate a matter beyond the agreement itself. If the Arbitrator adjudicates a claim of a contractor with reference to the clauses of the agreement itself whereby the agreement gets engrafted into the award, it will be open to the court to examine those clauses of the agreement and find out the correctness of the conclusions of the Arbitrator with reference to those clauses. (See : State of U.P. v. Ram Nath International Construction (P) Ltd. ((1996) 1 SCC 18 = 1995 (2) Arb. LR 577). 17. Dealing with the question of scope and extent of examination of the award by the court, it has been held by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. Unique Erectors (Gujarat) (P) Ltd. (AIR 1989 SC 973 = 1990 (1) Arb. LR 577). 17. Dealing with the question of scope and extent of examination of the award by the court, it has been held by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. Unique Erectors (Gujarat) (P) Ltd. (AIR 1989 SC 973 = 1990 (1) Arb. LR 84), as under : "The scope and extent of examination by the court of the award made by an Arbitrator has been laid down in various decisions. It had to be noted that there is a tread in modern times that reasons should be stated in the award though the question whether the reasons are necessary in ordinary arbitration awards between the parties is pending adjudication by the Constitution Bench of this Court. Even, however, if it be held that it is obligatory for the Arbitrator to state reasons, it is not obligatory to give any detailed judgment. An award of Arbitrator should be read reasonably as a whole to find out the implication and the meaning thereof. Short intelligible indications of the grounds should be discernible to find out the mind of the Arbitrator for his action even if it be enjoined that in all cases of award by an Arbitrator reasons have to be stated. The reasons should not only be intelligible but should also deal either expressly or impliedly with the substantial points that have been raised. Even in a case where the Arbitrator has to state reasons, the sufficiency of the reasons depends upon the facts and the circumstances of the case. The court, however, does not sit in appeal over the award and review the reasons. The court can set aside the award only if it is apparent from the award that there is no evidence to support the conclusion or if the award is based upon only legal proposition which is erroneous." 18. It was further held that it is not obligatory for the Arbitrator to give reasons in his decision and that a non-speaking award is not per-se bad. 19. The question whether an award passed under the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1940, is liable either to be remitted under Section 16(1)(c) of the Act or liable to be set aside under Section 30(c) thereof merely on the ground that no reasons have been given by the Arbitrator or Umpire, as the case may be, in support of the award ? - Came to be considered by a Constitution Bench of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Raipur Development Authority v. Chokhamal Contractors ((1989) 2 SCC 721 = 1989 (1) Arb. LR 84). It was held : "It is now well settled that an award can neither be remitted nor set aside merely on the ground that it does not contain reasons in support of the conclusion or decisions reached in it except where the arbitration agreement or the deed of submission requires him to give reasons. The Arbitrator or Umpire is under no obligation to give reasons in support of the decision reached by him unless under the arbitration agreement or in the deed of submission he is required to give such reasons and if the Arbitrator or Umpire choose to give reasons in support of his decision it is open to the court to set aside the award if it finds that an error of law has been committed by the Arbitrator or Umpire on the face of the record on going through such reasons. The Arbitrator or Umpire shall have to give reasons also where the court has directed in any order such as the one made under Section 20 or Section 21 or Section 34 of the Act that reasons should be given or where the statute which governs an arbitrations requires him to do so." In para 33 of the judgment, it was further observed : "The question which arises for consideration in these cases is whether it is appropriate for this court to take the view that any award passed under the Act, that is the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940, is liable to be remitted or set aside solely on the ground that the Arbitrator has not given reasons thus virtually introducing by a judicial verdict an amendment to the Act when it has not been the law for nearly 7/8 decades. The people in India as in other parts of the world such as England, U.S.A. and Australia have become accustomed to the system of settlement of disputes by private arbitration and have accepted awards made against them as binding even though no reasons have been given in support of the awards for a long time. They have attached more importance to the element of finality of the awards than their legality. They have attached more importance to the element of finality of the awards than their legality. Of course when reasons are given in support of the awards and those reasons disclose any error apparent on the face of the record people have not refrained from questioning such awards before the courts. It is not as if that people are without any remedy at all in cases where they find that it is in their interest to require the Arbitrator to give reasons for the award. In cases where reasons are required, it is open to the parties to the dispute to introduce a term either in the arbitration agreement or in the deed of submission requiring the Arbitrators to give reasons in support of the awards. When the parties to the dispute insist upon reasons being given, the Arbitrator is, as already observed earlier, under an obligation to give reasons. But there may be many arbitrations in which parties to the dispute may not relish the disclosure of the reasons for the awards. In the to the various reasons given by the Indian Law Commission for not recommending to the Government to introduce an amendment in the Act requiring the Arbitrators to give reasons for their awards we feel that it may not be appropriate to take the view that all awards which do not contain reasons would either be remitted or set aside. A decision on the question argued before us involves a question of legislative policy which should be left to the decision of Parliament. It is a well known rule of construction that if a certain interpretation has been uniformly put upon the meaning of a statute and transactions such as dealings in property and making of contracts have taken place on the basis of that interpretation, the court will not put a different interpretation upon it which will materially affect those transactions." The Apex Court proceeded to observe in para 35 of its judgment, as under : "It is no doubt true that in the decisions pertaining to Administrative Law. this court, in some cases has observed that the giving of reasons in an administrative decision is a rule of natural justice by an extension of the prevailing rule. It would be in the interest of the world of commerce that the said rule is confined to the area of Administrative Law. this court, in some cases has observed that the giving of reasons in an administrative decision is a rule of natural justice by an extension of the prevailing rule. It would be in the interest of the world of commerce that the said rule is confined to the area of Administrative Law. We do appreciate the contention, urged on behalf of the parties who contend that it should be made obligatory on the part of the Arbitrator to give reasons for the award that there is no justification to leave the small area covered by the law of arbitration out of the general rule that the decision of every judicial and quasi-judicial body should be supported by reasons. But at the same time, it has to be borne in mind that what applies generally to settlement of disputes by authorities governed by public law need not be extended to all cases arising under private law such as those arising under the law of arbitration which is intended for settlement of private disputes. As stated the parties to the dispute feel that reasons should be given by the Arbitrators for the awards it is within their power to insist upon such reasons being given at the time when they enter into Arbitration agreement or sign the deed of submission. It is significant that although nearly a decade ago the Indian Law Commission submitted its report on the law of arbitration specifically mentioning therein that there was no necessity to amend the law of arbitration requiring the Arbitrators to give reasons, Parliament has not chosen to take any step in the direction of the amendment of the law of arbitration. Even after the passing of the English Arbitration Act, 1979, unless a court requires the Arbitrator to give reasons for the award (vide sub-sections (5) and (6) of Section 1 of the English Arbitration Act, 1979), an award is not liable to be set aside merely on the ground that no reasons have been given in support of it." The question was, thus, answered in the following terms : "Having given our careful and anxious consideration to the contentions urged by the parties we feel that law should be allowed to remain as it is until the competent Legislature amends the law. In the result, we hold that an award passed under the Arbitration Act is not liable to be remitted or set aside merely on the ground that no reasons have been given in its support except where the arbitration agreement or the deed of submission or an order made by the court such as the one under Section 20 or Section 21 or Section 34 of the Act or the statute governing the arbitration requires that the Arbitrator - the umpire should give reasons for the award ..." 20. The High Court of Delhi also in G. D. Rathi Steel Pvt. Ltd. v. Delhi Development Authority (AIR 1992 Delhi 343 = 1992 (2) Arb. LR 494), has held that when the terms of the agreement require that the award should be a reasoned one, it is obligatory on the part of the Arbitrator to state the reasons but it is not obligatory to give the detailed judgment. 21. In the present case, Clause 25 of the agreement dated 10th May, 1983, entered into between the parties and which relates to reference of the dispute to arbitration, reads. "Clause : 25 - Settlement of Disputes by Arbitration : Except where otherwise provided in the contract, all questions and disputes relating to the meaning and interpretation of the terms of contract, specifications, designs, drawings and instructions hereinbefore mentioned and as to the quality of workmanship or materials used in the work as to any other question, claim right, matter or thing whatsoever in any way arising out of or relating to the contract design, drawings, specifications, estimates, instructions, orders or these conditions or otherwise concerning the works, or the execution or failure to execute the same whether arising during the progress of the work or after the completion or abandonment thereof or relating to termination or recession, or delay in the execution and all consequences thereof of the contract, shall be referred for arbitration to two Arbitrators, one to be nominated by the contractor and the other by the HPSEB and these two Arbitrators shall select an Umpire by mutual agreement. It will be no objection to any such appointment that the Arbitrators/Umpire, so appointed, are/is Govt./Board savants that they/he had to deal with matters to which the contract relates and that in the course of their/his duties as Govt./Board servant(s), they/he had expressed views on all or any of the matters in dispute or difference. In case, the arbitrators/umpire to whom disputes/differences, so referred, are/is unable to function as such at any stage for any reason whatsoever or their/his award being set aside by the Court for any other reason, other Arbitrators/Umpire shall be appointed in the same manner as indicated above. Such Arbitrator/Umpire shall be entitled to proceed with the reference from the stage at which it had been left by their/his predecessor(s) or to conduct the proceedings afresh as they/he may deem fit or as the case may be. It is also a term of the contract that the party invoking arbitration shall specify the dispute(s) to be referred to the arbitration under this clause together with the amount(s) claimed in respect of each dispute. If work under the contract has not been completed when a dispute on any matter whatsoever is referred to arbitration, the contractor shall not be entitled to suspend such work to which the dispute relates and payment to the contractor shall be continued to be made in terms of the contract. It is also a term of the contract that if the contractor(s) does/do not prefer any claim(s) in writing within 90 (ninety) days of the date on which the dispute first arises or date of intimation of the preparation of the bill therefore, whichever is earlier, the claim of the contractor will be deemed to have been waived and absolutely barred and the HPSEB shall be discharged and released of all the liabilities under the contract in respect of such claim(s). Likewise, all dispute(s) referred to above shall be preferred as provided above within 90 (ninety) days of the final bill otherwise all claim(s) shall stand extinguished. Provided, in the event of rejection of contractor's(s) claim(s) by the HPSEB, the contractor shall within 30 days after receiving intimation in writing of such decision shall give notice in writing to the Chief Engineer requesting him that the matter may be referred to the arbitration. Provided, in the event of rejection of contractor's(s) claim(s) by the HPSEB, the contractor shall within 30 days after receiving intimation in writing of such decision shall give notice in writing to the Chief Engineer requesting him that the matter may be referred to the arbitration. In all cases referred for arbitration, the Arbitrators/Umpire shall assign reasons under all circumstances on which their/his decision is based. The Arbitrators/Umpire, from time to time, with the consent of the parties is enlarge time for making and publishing the award. The decision of the Arbitrators or the Umpire, as the case may be, shall be conclusive, final and binding on the parties. Subject to the provisions of the contract to the contrary, as aforesaid, the provisions of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940, or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof and the rules made thereunder and for the time being in force shall apply to all arbitration proceedings under this clause." A bare reading of the above clause shows that it is obligatory on the Arbitrators to give reasons for the conclusions arrived at by them. Therefore, once it is held that the reasons have not been given by the Arbitrators, the award will have to be either remitted under Section 16(1)(c) of the Arbitration Act, 1940 or set aside under Section 30(c) of the said Act. 22. The learned counsel for the plaintiff-Company has contended that the Arbitrators have given reasons for the conclusions arrived at by them. 23. In order to determine whether the award, in the present case, contains reasons in support of the conclusions arrived at by the Arbitrators, it will have first to be seen as to what is the meaning of the word 'reasons'. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. Mohan Lal Kapoor ((1972) 2 SCC 836), has defined the word 'reasons' in the following terms : "Reasons are the links between the materials on which certain conclusions are based and the actual conclusions." 24. The Arbitrators under Issue No. 1.5, in respect of claim-A have awarded a sum of Rs. 12,00,000/- for the delay caused in the execution of work by the plaintiff-Company on account of inability to the defendant-Board in timely handing over of the part of the site to the plaintiff-Company. While awarding the said amount of Rs. The Arbitrators under Issue No. 1.5, in respect of claim-A have awarded a sum of Rs. 12,00,000/- for the delay caused in the execution of work by the plaintiff-Company on account of inability to the defendant-Board in timely handing over of the part of the site to the plaintiff-Company. While awarding the said amount of Rs. 12,00,000/- it has been observed by the Arbitrators as under : "The Contractor's contention that all the land required for the working area was not handed over to him by HPSEB is not correct. Only about 10% of the total Reservoir floor area near the Tunnel intake, which forms the last item in the sequence of construction was (sic) India Ltd., Contractors for the Tunnel work. The Contractor states that since the above area was handed over to them last, they could not complete the Reservoir floor works. From the records produced by both the parties before the Arbitrators, it was not very clear as to what extent the construction was delayed due to handing over the site last. At best, the Contractor might have rescheduled his construction activity to suit site conditions causing some minor delay. Accordingly, the Arbitrators hereby award Rs. 12.00 lacs (Twelve lacs) as claim to the Contractor." 25. Again under Issue No. 1.6 in respect of claim-A, the Arbitrators have awarded a sum of Rs. 13,00,000/- for the delay caused in the execution of work due to the defendant-Board's failure to make timely supplies of cement and steel to the plaintiff-Company. In this regard, it has been observed : "During construction of the project at various points of time, lot of correspondence between the HPSEB and the Contractor has been exchanged to alleged and deny deficiency in the supply of cement and steel. Whenever the Contractor has brought to the notice of HPSEB that certain sizes of steel are not available, it has been replied by HPSEB after a few days of delay that the steel sections of particular sizes are available or the Contractor may substitute the same with other sizes. Similarly, non-supply of cement has been pointed out by the Contractor but denied by HPSEB on a subsequent date. The Contractor has not quantified the loss suffered by him during such periods. However, the Arbitrators allow the claim for the short periods of delay in the supply of cement and steel. An award of Rs. Similarly, non-supply of cement has been pointed out by the Contractor but denied by HPSEB on a subsequent date. The Contractor has not quantified the loss suffered by him during such periods. However, the Arbitrators allow the claim for the short periods of delay in the supply of cement and steel. An award of Rs. 13.00 lacs (thirteen lacs only) is made in favour of the Contractor." 26. Similarly, while awarding a sum of Rs. 9,00,000/- under Issue No. 2.3, in respect of claim-B, the Arbitrators have merely stated : "The Contractor has argued that approach roads were to be provided by HPSEB for the whole work area, which includes the works situated on the left bank of the river. However, HPSEB has argued that as per the Contract agreement, the approach is to be provided only upto Tunnel-inlet. As the Contractor has actually constructed the steel bridges on the river and also he has not claimed for the road between the Tunnel-inlet to the bridge site, the Arbitrators hereby allow the cost of the Bridges at Rs. 9.00 lacs (nine lacs only) to be paid to the Contractor." 27. While dealing with claim-D, the Arbitrators have allowed Rs. 30,00,000/- to the plaintiff-Company 'in equity' without giving any further reasons therefore. 28. A bare perusal of the award shows that the Arbitrators have not given the 'reasons' for the conclusions arrived at by them, which reasons they were under an obligation to give in terms of Clause 25 of the agreement. Therefore, there is an illegality apparent on the face of the award within the meaning of Section 16(1)(c) of the Arbitration Act, 1940. The issue is accordingly decided. Relief. 29. As a result, objections filed by the defendant-Board, being OMP No. 560 of 1992, are allowed and the award dated 1st June, 1992, is remitted to the Arbitrators under Section 16(1)(c), Arbitration Act, 1940, for re-consideration and to give reasons for the conclusions arrived at by them, after affording an opportunity to the parties of being heard. The Arbitrators shall submit their decision to the court, within six months from today. 30. The suit stands disposed of accordingly. No orders as to costs. Application disposed off.