- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The Appellant, IRCON International, is impugning the Judgment of the Learned Division Bench of the Madras High Court, which had dismissed two Original Second Appeals preferred by the Appellant. Recapitulating the facts of this litigation, the Appellant was the successful tenderer in respect of a contract awarded to it by SIPCOT (not a party to the present dispute/ Appeal), for the construction of an Internal Road for the Industrial Complex at Irungattukottal, Sriperumbpudur Taluk, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu. The contract between these parties was made on 10.07.1997 and was valued at Rs.13,06,60,587/-. In furtherance of the execution of this contract, the Appellant entered into two subcontracts (hereinafter, "the subcontracts") with the Respondent herein, in respect of two Packages, namely "C1" and "C2", for the laying of roads valued at Rs.3,20,64,752/- and Rs.1,67,01,821/- respectively. The cumulative value of both packages amounted to Rs.4,87,66,573 /-.
(3.) The Respondent completed approximately 67 per cent of the work under the two subcontracts but thereafter ceased work on both. The Appellant cancelled the subcontracts, and managed the completion of the work by engaging other agencies. The cost of 67 per cent of the contractual work completed by the Respondent was estimated at Rs.3.23 crores, out of which the Appellant admittedly paid a sum of Rs.2.62 crores. The Respondent claimed an unpaid balance of Rs.61 lakhs as arrears due to it by the Appellant, and resorted to arbitration. The Appellant also took recourse to arbitration against the main contracting authority, SIPCOT, in respect of the pending payments pertaining to C1 and C2 packages. The Arbitrator was thus adjudicating the claims made by the Respondent against the Appellant in the First Arbitration, and the claims made in turn by the Appellant against SIPCOT in the Second Arbitration. The Arbitrator passed a common Award in the First Arbitration for both packages in favour of the Respondent for the sum of Rs.7,87,21,820/- for C1 and Rs.1,38,78,139/- for C2, both sums carrying with them interest at the rate of twelve per cent from 04.03.2001 until the date of payment. Interest apart, the Appellant stood liable as a result of the Award to pay the Respondent Rs.9,25,99,959/- , including the aforementioned Rs.61 lakhs.;