Contractual bar on interest excludes pre-reference and pendente lite interest under arbitration law, rejecting tribunal power to award it.

Contract clauses expressly barred any claim for interest on amounts retained by the employer because of dispute, difference, misunderstanding, or delay in payment. Applying Section 31(7)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Supreme Court noted that party autonomy governs and, where the agreement prohibits interest, the arbitral tribunal cannot award pre-reference or pendente lite interest. Authorities under the 1940 Act were distinguished because they concerned a different statutory regime and materially different wording. The ejusdem generis argument was rejected because the clause did not disclose a distinct genus limiting the wide language used. The challenge to the interest component of the award failed.

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Issues: Whether the arbitral tribunal could award pre-reference and pendente lite interest in the face of Clauses 50 and 51 of the contract and Section 31(7)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Analysis: The contract clauses were construed as containing an express and bar on any claim for interest in respect of amounts lying with the employer owing to dispute, difference, misunderstanding, or delay in payment. Under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 31(7)(a) gives effect to the parties' agreement, and where the agreement prohibits interest, the arbitral tribunal cannot award pendente lite interest. The decisions under the 1940 Act allowing interest in the absence of an express prohibition were distinguished, and the earlier authority relied upon by the appellant was held inapplicable because of the materially different wording of the clause and the different statutory regime. The rule of ejusdem generis was also rejected because the clause did not disclose a distinct genus capable of limiting the wide words used.

Conclusion: The arbitral tribunal had no jurisdiction to award interest, and the challenge to the interest portion of the award failed.

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