New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- The Supreme Court held that an arbitral award cannot be challenged under Section 34, or appealed under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, simply because the arbitrator did not choose a different or 'better'interpretation of the contract.

Background of the Case

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Pankaj Mithal overturned the Madras High Court Division Bench's ruling, which had allowed an appeal claiming the arbitral award should be set aside for not adopting a different contract interpretation.

The dispute involved a 2010 Tuticorin Port Trust dredging contract with Jan De Nul. The work finished eight months early, but payment disagreements led to arbitration, where the 2014 tribunal awarded over...