Arbitral award of Rs 296 cr upheld in favour of JITF Urban Waste Management against civic bodies

Chandigarh, Dec 10 (PTI) The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld an arbitral award of more than Rs 296 crore in favour of JITF Urban Waste Management (Jalandhar) Ltd and dismissed the appeals filed by the Jalandhar and Moga municipal corporations.

A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry said government bodies cannot get special treatment under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and must follow the same rules as private parties while seeking a stay on an award.

JITF had signed a contract in 2011 with the two municipal bodies for a solid waste management project in the Jalandhar and Ferozepur clusters. Disputes later came up and the matter went to arbitration.

In January 2022, the Arbitral Tribunal ordered the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation to pay Rs 204.44 crore and the Moga Municipal Corporation to pay Rs 92.29 crore, along with interest.

Both civic bodies challenged the award in court and also asked for a stay. A lower court had given an unconditional stay, but the high court later said the stay would continue only if the entire award amount was deposited.

Despite several chances, neither corporation deposited the money. Their objections were dismissed in January 2024. They then filed appeals, which the high court has now rejected.

The court said arbitration is meant to be quick and fair, and government bodies cannot avoid legal requirements after entering a commercial contract. PTI VSD SKY SKY