Case: H.P.Housing &amp; Urban Devt.Auth Vs. Ranjit Singh Rana

2. Pursuant to the agreement between the parties being agreement No. 11 of 1989-90 concerning construction of residential complex at Shimla, certain disputes arose. As per the terms of the contract, the Arbitrator was appointed to adjudicate the claims of the respondent and counter-claims of the appellants. On August 12, 1998, the Arbitrator passed the award. Aggrieved thereby, the appellants filed objections under Section 34(3) of the Arbitrator and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short ?the Act?). The objections were accepted by the High Court to the extent that the reasons were not given by the Arbitrator and, accordingly, the matter was sent back to the Arbitrator for giving reasons in support of the award.  3. After remand, the Arbitrator considered the matter and passed the award on February 14, 2001. The appellants filed objections against the award dated February 14, 2001. They also deposited the entire amount due under the award before the High Court on May 24, 2001. The objections filed by the appellants were ultimately rejected by the single Judge of the High Court on February 26, 2008. Against this order, intra- court appeal is said to be pending. The respondent, however, started execution of the Award dated February 14, 2001 by filing Execution Petition on August 12, 2008. The appellants filed objections to the Execution Petition.  4. The question before the High Court was whether the respondent was entitled to interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of the award dated February 14, 2001 till the date of actual payment to the respondent.  5. The High Court considered the diverse provisions of the Act including Section 31(7)(a) and (b) of the Act and few decisions of this Court and ultimately held that the respondent was entitled to post-award interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of the award till the date of the actual payment. It is this order which is in appeal before us.

Reasoning: 10. Payment is not defined in the Act. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Tenth Edition-revised) defines payment 1. the action of paying or the process of being paid. 2. an amount paid or payable. Webster Comprehensive Dictionary (International Edition) Volume two defines payment 1. the act of paying. 2 Pay; requital; recompense.The Law Laxicon, 2nd Edition reprint by P. Ramanatha Aiyar, inter alia, states payment is defined to be the act of paying, or that which is paid; discharge of a debt, obligation or duty; satisfaction of claim; recompense; the fulfillment of a promise or the performance of an agreement; the discharge in money of a sum due.11. The word payment may have different meaning in different context but in the context of Section 37(1)(b); it means extinguishment of liability arising under the award. It signifies satisfaction of the award. The deposit of the award amount into the Court is nothing but a payment to the credit of the decree- holder. In this view, once the award amount was deposited by the appellants before the High Court on May 24, 2001, the liability of post-award interest from May 24, 2001 ceased. The High Court, thus, was not right in directing the appellants to pay the interest @ 18% p.a. beyond May 24, 2001.