In Brief
M/s. Mitra Guha Builders sought to challenge ONGC's levy of liquidated damages for delay in construction work under Clause 2 of the contract. The Arbitrator had disallowed the damages as a penalty. The Supreme Court held that Clause 2, which grants the Superintending Engineer sole authority to levy and quantify compensation for delay with a finality clause, creates an 'excepted matter' outside the arbitrator's jurisdiction. Once parties have agreed that a decision shall be final and is to be made by a named authority, that matter is not arbitrable. The contractor cannot challenge the Superintending Engineer's decision as illegal. Appeals dismissed.",
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