- (1.) Both the review applications are directed against Judgments and Orders dated 13th July, 2005 passed by a Division Bench of this Court in connection with two proceedings under Section 9 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Questions of fact and law being similar in both the cases, both were disposed of by a common Judgment by the Division Bench.
(2.) The relevant facts of this case are that the parties entered into a contract for short-term improvement and routine maintenance of National Highway No. 2 between Barwa Adda to Panagarh (Km. 398.750 to Km. 512.00) on the basis of a composite contract. The said contract was arrived at on the basis of quotation submitted by Maheshwari Brothers Ltd., the petitioner herein in response to a tender enquiry floated by National Highways Authority of India (hereinafter referred to as the NHAI). It is asserted by the petitioner that initially when quotations were submitted, NHAI found that two items namely Bituminous Concrete and Fencing Beam had been quoted at a much lower rate and as such an explanation was called for by NHAI on those items. The petitioner replied to such enquiry and executed two bank guarantees, as was asked for by NHAI in terms of the contract for securing payment amounting to about Rs. 1.0 crores and about 1.27 crores respectively. Thereafter work order was issued in favour of the petitioner, which the petitioner duly accepted. The petitioner also accepted those work orders and there have been revised schedule of work which included two disputed items of work. The petitioner's case is that they completed the disputed work and thereafter refused to perform two items of work as, according to them, those were not required to be done by them. There followed some correspondence between the parties and the disputes started at this stage.
(3.) The petitioner's case is that they were always ready and willing to carry out the work forming the subject-matter of the disputed indents but the petitioner was not agreeable to do the same in the manner demanded by NHAI as the same was not in terms of the contract between the parties. According to the petitioner total value of indents, placed by the respondents upon the petitioner was originally Rs. 1,090.40 lacks excluding the disputed indents of Rs. 157.62 lacks which was subsequently reviewed and is recorded with the Letter of RITES dated 28th September, 2005.;