Vijender Jain, Chief Justice - (1.) The petitioner has filed this petition, inter-alia, on the basis of the arbitration clause 13-A of the agreement which reads as under:- 13-A(1) If any dispute or difference of any kind whatsoever shall arise between the Governor of Haryana/ his authorised agents and the contractor in connection with or arising out of the contract of the execution of the work that is (i) whether before its commencement or during the progress of the work or after its completion (ii) and whether before or after the termination abandonment of branch of the contract, it shall in the first instance be referred to for being settled by the Executive Engineer In-charge of the work at the time and he shall within a period of sixty days after being requested in writing by the contractor to do so, convey his decision to the contractor and subject to arbitration as here-in-after provided such decision in respect of every matter so referred shall be final and binding upon the contractor in case the work is already in progress, the contractor will proceed with the execution of the work on receipt of the decision by the Executive Engineer-in-Charge as aforesaid with all due diligence whether he or the Governor of Haryana/his authorised agent requires arbitration as hereinafter provided or not if the Executive Engineer-in-Charge of the work has conveyed his decision to the contractor and no claim to arbitration has been filled with him by the contractor within a period of sixty days from the receipt of letter communicating the decision the said decision shall be final and binding upon the contractor and will not be a subject matter of arbitration at all if the Executive Engineer in-charge of the work fails to convey his decision within a period of sixty days after being requested as aforesaid the contractor may within further sixty days, of the expiry of first sixty days from the date on which request has been made to the Executive Engineer-in-charge request the Engineer-in-chief, that the matter in dispute be referred to arbitration, as hereinafter provided.
(2.) All disputes or differences in respect of which the decision is not final and conclusive shall at the request in writing of either party, made in communication sent through registered A.D. post be referred to the sole arbitration of any serving Superintending Er. or Chief Er. of Haryana PWD B&R Branch to be nominated by designation by the Engineerin- Chief Haryana PWD B&R Branch at the relevant time, it will be no objection to any such appointment that the arbitrator so appointed is a Government servant or that he had to deal with the matters to which the contract relates and that in the course of his duties as a Government servant he had expressed his views on all or any of the matters in dispute. The arbitrator to whom the matter is originally referred being transferred or vacating his office his successor in office as such shall be entitled to proceed with the reference from the stage at which it was left by his predecessor. In case the arbitrator nominated by the Engineer-in-Chief is unable or unwilling to act as such for any reason, whatsoever the Engineer-in-Chief shall be competent to appoint and nominate any other Superintending Engineer or Chief Engineer as the case may be as arbitrator in his place and the Arbitrator so appointed shall be entitled to proceed with the reference.
(3.) It is also a term of this arbitration agreement that no person other than a person appointed by the Engineer-in-Chief, Haryana, PWD B&R Branch shall act as arbitrator and if for any reason that is not possible the matter shall not be referred to arbitration at all. In all cases where the aggregate amount awarded exceeds Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand only), the arbitrator must invariably give reasons for his award in respect of each claim and counter claim separately.;