Sanjib Banerjee, J. - (1.) The treatment of "no damage" clauses in a works contract falls for consideration in this matter. There has been considerable industry on either side in an attempt to bring some clarity on the legal issue in the backdrop of there being no apparent uniformity on the jurisprudential principles governing such aspect in this country.
(2.) The immediate lis is an appeal from an order passed on a challenge to an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The State-employer seeks to whittle down the award by attacking the several heads of claim that have been awarded in part or in full by the arbitrator and which passed muster in the first court. The respondent-contractor is a veteran in the field of road construction and a regular litigant. It has a counter-claim for the amounts shaved off from the award by the judgment and order impugned.
(3.) The appellant issued a work order in favour of the contractor on November 26, 2002 for the widening and strengthening of the Nilganj Santoshpur Duttapukur Golabari Aminpur Road for a stretch of 28.85 km under the Barasat Highway Division of the Public Works (Roads) Department of the State. The work order called upon the contractor to take up the work in consultation with the executive engineer and specified that the time for completion of the job was 12 months beginning December 2, 2002.;