OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LTD vs JSIW INFRASTRUCTURE PVT LTD

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgement delivered on: 27.05.2025 + FAO (OS) (COMM) 59/2024 OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LTD. ....Appellant versus JSIW INFRASTRUCTURE PVT LTD .....Respondent + FAO (OS) (COMM) 60/2024 OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LTD. ....Appellant versus JSIW INFRASTRUCTURE PVT LTD .....Respondent Advocates who appeared in this case For the Appellant : Mr. Saurav Agrawal, Ms. Aakriti Dawar and Ms. Anshika Pandey, Advocates. For the Respondent : Mr. Aayush Agarwala and Mr. Prakash Jha, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA JUDGMENT TEJAS KARIA, J 1. The Appellant has filed the present Appeals under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, („the Act‟) being aggrieved Signature Not Verified FAO(OS) (COMM) 59/2024 & Connected Matter Page 1 of 22 Signed By:NEELAM SHARMA Signing Date:27.05.2025 15:50:05 by the common judgment dated 20.12.2023, passed in O.M.P. (COMM) No. 148 of 2021 and O.M.P. (COMM) No. 149 of 2021 by the learned Single Judge of this court („Impugned Judgment‟). 2. The impugned judgment has allowed the applications under Section 34 of the Act and set aside identical Arbitral Awards, both dated 10.01.2020, („Awards‟) whereby the learned Arbitral Tribunal had rejected the claim of the Respondent seeking reimbursement of excise duty from the Appellant. 3. The impugned judgment has set aside the Awards holding that the conclusion arrived at by the learned Arbitral Tribunal was patently illegal and resulted in a manifest disregard of the terms of the contract. FACTUAL BACKGROUND: 4. The dispute has arisen out of the contracts entered into between the Appellant and the Respondent for Pipeline Replacement Project on lump sum basis. („the Project‟) The line pipes were a