EXECUTIVE ENGINEER vs N.C. BUDHI RAJ (DEAD) BY LRS.

The Supreme Court held that an arbitrator does not have the power to award interest for the period prior to the reference, as established in the case of Jena, 1988(1) SCC 418, which clarified that the Interest Act of 1839 did not confer such authority. The Court distinguished this from the power to grant pendente lite interest under Section 34 of the Civil Procedure Code, which the arbitrator can award when disputes are referred in a suit. The judgment emphasized the need for clarity on the arbitrator's jurisdiction regarding interest awards, ultimately siding with the view that limits the arbitrator's authority to the period post-reference.