IRCON INTERNATIONAL LTD vs AFCONS INFRASTRUCTURE LTD

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment Reserved on: 5th February, 2026 Judgment pronounced on: 13th February, 2026 + O.M.P. (COMM) 279/2019 IRCON INTERNATIONAL LTD. .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Gaurav Pachnanda, Senior Advocate with Mr. Siddhant Goel, Mr. Mohit Goel, Mr. Karmanaya Dev Sharma, Ms. Aishna Jain and Mr. Shashwat, Advocates. versus AFCONS INFRASTRUCTURE LTD. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Manu Sheshadri, Mr. Sahil Manganani, Ms. Prachi Jain and Mr. Siddharth Shekhar, Advocates. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL JUDGMENT AMIT BANSAL, J. 1. The present petition has been filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter ‘Act’) on behalf of the respondent/ counter claimant in the arbitration proceedings challenging the Award dated 5th March 2019 (hereinafter ‘Impugned Award’) passed by the Arbitral Tribunal. The petitioner herein (respondent/ counter claimant in the arbitration proceedings) shall hereinafter be referred to as ‘IRCON’ and the respondent herein (claimant in the arbitration proceedings) shall hereinafter be referred to as ‘AFCONS’. Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed O.M.P. (COMM) 279/2019 Page 1 of 31 By:AANCHAL TAGGAR Signing Date:13.02.2026 11:02:08 2. The Impugned Award was rendered while adjudicating the disputes between the parties arising out of a Contract dated 14th March 2014. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 3. Brief facts leading to the present petition are as under: 3.1. IRCON is a leading government turnkey construction company in the public sector. 3.2. The Government of India planned a railway line for joining the Kashmir valley with the Indian Railways network. For the purpose of execution/ monitoring, the work was sub-divided into four parts, out of which execution of the Katra – Banihal (111