ORDER
V.S. Aggarwal, J.
1. The present revision petition has been filed by M/s Nand Lal Badri Dass Gupta (hereinafter described as 'the petitioner') directed against the judgment of the learned District Judge, Rohtak dated 11.9.1992. By virtue of the same, the learned District Judge, Rohtak dismissed the appeal field by the State of Haryana but allowed the interest only at the rate of 6 per cent per annum on the awarded amount from the date of the award till realisation of the decretal amount.
2. The relevant facts are that there was a dispute between the parties which was referred to the Arbitrator, Shri DP. Gupta, Superintending Engineer was appointed as the Arbitrator. Shri D.P. Gupta, entered into the arbitration and submitted his award directing the State of Haryana to pay Rs. 9,12,305.92 paise to be contractor i.e., the petitioner. The petitioner filed an application in the civil Court at Rohtak for making the award a rule of the Court. The learned trial Court had considered the objections and made the award a rule of the Court. The decree in terms of the award was passed. Future interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the date of the award till realisation of the decretal amount had been granted. The petitioner had claimed interest at 18 per cent per annum instead of 6 per cent per annum. Both the parties filed the appeals. The learned District Judge dismissed the appeals and held that interest could only be awarded at 6 per cent per annum. Aggrieved by the said judgment of the learned District Judge, the present revision petition had been filed.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner had raised only one argument namely, that interest could not have been as low as 6 per cent per annum and that it should have been 18 per cent per annum. According to the learned counsel it was a commercial transaction.
4. To appreciate the said contention, reference can well be made to Sub-section (1) of Section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It reads:-
'34. Interest- (1) Where and in so far as a decree is for the payment of money, the Court may, in the decree, order interest at such rate as the Court deems reasonable to be paid on the principal sum adjudged, from the date of the suit to the date of the decree, in addition to any interest adjudged on such principal sum for any period prior to the institution of the suit, (with further interest at such rate not exceeding six per cent per annum as the Court deems reasonable on such principal sum), from the date of the decree to the date of payment, or to such earlier date as the Court thinks fit:
Provided that where the liability in relation to the sum so adjudged had arisen out of a commercial transaction, the rate of such further interest may exceed six per cent, per annum, but shall not exceed the contractual rate of interest or where there is no contractual rate, the rate at which moneys are lent or advanced by nationalised banks in relation to commercial transaction. Explanation I.- In this Sub-section, 'nationalised bank' means a corresponding new bank as defined in the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970).
Explanation II.- For the purposes of this section, a transaction is a commercial transaction, if it is connected with the industry, trade or business of the party incurring the liability.'
Bare reading of the said definition makes it clear that in case of commercial transaction, the rate of further interest can exceed 6 per cent per annum but it should not exceed the contractual rate of interest and where there is no contractual rate, the rate at which moneys are lent or advanced by nationalised bank in relation to commercial transaction, where money is advanced by nationalised banks. The commercial transaction has further been explained to be i.e. connected with industrial transaction, trade or business of the party incurring the liability.
5. In the present case in hand, the petitioner is a contractor and had done the construction work. It was a trade and profession. Therefore, once it was a trade and business, it must be taken to be a commercial transactions. The interest could be more than six per cent per annum.
6. Taking stock of the above said fact, it is directed that interest shall be 12 per cent per annum from the date of the award till realisation of the decretal amount. To that extent the judgment of the learned trial court and of the learned District Judge, is modified.