NAMITA PAUL Vs. OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Appeal under Sec. 37 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ('the Arbitration Act' hereunder) arises from the judgment and order dtd. 4/1/2021 passed by the District Judge, West Tripura, Agartala in case No. Civil. Misc. (Arbitration) 17 of 2018 whereby the learned District Judge in an application filed under Sec. 34 of the Arbitration Act set aside the arbitral award dtd. 28/7/2018 passed by the sole Arbitrator in the arbitral proceedings arising out of contract No.9010011736 dtd. 29/3/2010 between Smt. Namita Pal, claimant appellant and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC)-respondent.

(2.) Pursuant to the written agreement between the parties, ONGC hired 4 buses from the appellant for the period from December 2009 to June 2013. When the bills were submitted by the appellant for payment of her dues, a huge amount was deducted by ONGC from those bills arbitrarily without offering any opportunity of hearing to the appellant. As a result, a dispute cropped up between the parties with regard to payment of hiring charges to the appellant. A reference was made in terms of clause 28 of agreement No. 9010011736 dtd. 29/3/2010 for arbitration. Accordingly, the sole Arbitrator was appointed on 24/6/2016 and the dispute between the parties was referred to the sole arbitrator for adjudication.

(3.) Husband of the appellant namely Swapan Kumar Paul who was also a registered contractor entered into four different agreements with ONGC and rented different types of vehicles to ONGC under those agreements. After Sri Paul submitted the bills claiming hiring charges, ONGC made similar deductions from his bills mostly by reducing the Kilometers run by those vehicles. As a result, dispute also arose between Swapan Kumar Paul and ONGC arising out of contract No. 9010014028 dtd. 16/3/2011, 9010014069 dtd. 22/3/2011, 9010016874 dtd. 7/12/2012 and 9010018962 dtd. 18/12/2013.