Summary
The Supreme Court held that no date for converting the foreign-currency award into Indian rupees needed to be fixed. The contract, final award and earlier Supreme Court judgment required foreign-currency payment, permitting conversion of Iraqi dinars into US dollars at the contractual rate. Only the separate bank-guarantee component was payable in rupees. A different payment arrangement remained possible by agreement between the parties.
Issues
- Whether the final award permitted payment of its foreign-currency component in Indian rupees.
- Whether the Court needed to determine a US-dollar-to-rupee conversion date.
Held
- The binding contract and final award, as restored by the earlier Supreme Court judgment, governed the payment obligation. They contained no permission to discharge the Iraqi-dinar component by unilateral payment in Indian rupees. (¶¶ 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- The permissible contractual conversion was from Iraqi dinars into US dollars at 1 dinar to 3.37778 US dollars. Apart from the separate Rs 20 lakh bank-guarantee component with admissible interest, payment was due in foreign currency with computed interest. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- Consequently no judicially fixed dollar-to-rupee conversion date was required. The parties could agree to payment and acceptance in rupees at a current or agreed rate, but the Court could not alter the contract, award or earlier binding directions. (¶¶ 12, 13, 14)
Result
Both appeals disposed of. No dollar-to-rupee conversion date fixed; payment to follow the contract and award. Royal Construction remained free to continue execution in accordance with law.