The appeal arose from an arbitration award concerning the interpretation of a 'variation' clause in a contract between National Fertilizers Ltd. (appellant) and Puran Chand Nangia (respondent-contractor). The clause allowed ... the appellant to issue directions to the contractor varying the extent of the contract work, both upwards and downwards, up to 25%. The dispute centred on whether the 25% variation limit should be calculated based on the net overall increase in work (increases minus decreases) or by adding up all variations (both increases and decreases). If variations exceeded 25% of the contract price, the contractor could claim market rates instead of being confined to contract rates.