State Of Goa vs M/S Praveen Enterprises

The Supreme Court addressed the arbitration process under Section 11 and Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, emphasizing that the arbitrator must adhere to the scope of the reference and cannot entertain fresh claims or counterclaims not specified in the arbitration agreement. The Court upheld the validity of the arbitrator's award regarding the respondent's claims but found that the arbitrator exceeded his authority in awarding on counter claim No.3. Consequently, the Court affirmed the lower court's decision to uphold the award on the respondent's claims while modifying the award concerning the counter claim.