The SC held that under the Arbitration Act, 1940, a contractual...

The SC held that under the Arbitration Act, 1940, a contractual clause barring interest claims must explicitly prohibit interest in case of disputes, differences, delayed payments, or any other circumstance to restrict an arbitrator's power to award pendente lite interest. Clause 22, which merely prohibited the contractor from claiming interest on payments due, was insufficient to bar the arbitrator from awarding such interest. The Court reduced the pendente lite interest from 15% to 9% (matching the post-award interest already paid), applicable from December 18, 1991, to March 7, 1995, payable within 60 days, considering the time elapsed in litigation and amounts already paid by the respondent.