In Brief
A hospital employee sought to enforce two arbitration awards totalling over Rs. 46 lakhs against the State Government, claiming he should have retired at age 60 instead of 58. The Supreme Court set aside both awards as null and void. The Court found that the purported arbitration agreement from 1957 did not exist on official records, the employee was not a signatory to it, and both the State and Municipal Corporation denied its existence. The employee had unilaterally appointed arbitrators and obtained ex-parte awards years after filing a related writ petition without mentioning the arbitration agreement. The Court held this constituted fraud and abuse of process, lacking the foundational arbitration agreement necessary for valid arbitration proceedings.
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