13 November 2021| Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. v. Ramesh Kumar and Company | Civil Appeal No 6832 of 2021 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 10179 of 2017) | DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna JJ | Supreme Court of India | 2021 SCC OnLine SC 1056

The set-aside court had rejected a claim of Rs. 4,88,437. In an appeal under Section 37 ACA, the High Court not only set aside the award, but also awarded the claim of the respondents, together with interest. Restoring the award, a 2-judge bench of the Supreme Court held:

1. [After briefly discussing the award] The award was reasoned.
2. While considering a petition under Section 34 ACA, the court does not act as an appellate forum. The set-aside court correctly concluded that the award required no interreference. The High Court seems to have proceeded as if it was exercising jurisdiction in a regular first appeal from a decree in a civil suit.
3. The jurisdiction in a first appeal arising out of a decree in a civil suit is distinct from the jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 37 ACA.
4. The High Court was required to determine as to whether the set-aside court acted contrary to Section 34 ACA.
5. Apart from its failure to do so, the High Court went one step further while reversing the judgment of the set-aside court.
6. The arbitrator was entitled to draw relevant findings of fact on the basis of the evidence which was adduced by the parties. This was exactly what was done. The award of the arbitrator was challenged unsuccessfully.
7. In this backdrop, there was no basis in law for the High Court to interfere.

Read the judgment here.