STATE OF ORISSA vs DANDASI SAHU

The Supreme Court ruled that an unreasoned award under Section 14 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 is not inherently invalid, and can only be set aside for misconduct or an apparent error of law. The Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against the High Court's decision to uphold the arbitrator's award of Rs. 15,23,657 plus interest, noting that the argument regarding the lack of reasoning was not raised in earlier proceedings. The Court emphasized that the validity of the award must be assessed based on the contract's terms and the arbitrator's jurisdiction over the claims presented.