UNION OF INDIA Vs. PHILIPS CONSTRUCTION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Defendants are the revision petitioners. The judgment sought to be revised is one passed by the appellate court in a C.M. Appeal allowing the injunction application filed by the plaintiff after setting aside the order of the Trial Court dismissing the same.

(2.) Railway administration is the revision petitioners and respondent/plaintiff is a contractor who entered into an agreement for the construction of the First Reach of the Ernakulam-Alleppey Railway line in 1981. Due to various reasons including the inability of the Railway administration in making available the entire land after acquisition, the work was delayed. Therefore a fresh agreement with revised rates was entered into on 10-5-1983 providing that the lands will be made available within three months and in the matter of delay, suitable extension of .time will be given without any right to the Contractor to get compensation. Within the stipulated period of three months the entire site was not handed over. About 90% of the land was made available even on the date of agreement namely 10-5-1983 and the entire balance excluding less than 50 metres of land was handed over on 1-10-1983. The entire balance was made available on 1-3-1985.

(3.) It is an admitted fact that the Contractor was bound to execute the work only after the land was made available. As already stated provision was made for. extension of time for completion on account of delay without any right for compensation. After the entire land was made available on 1-3-1985 the Contractor on his application on account of his own delays for which the Railway administration is not in any way responsible, got extension on several occasions and finally on his application and agreement dt. 23-6-1986 time was got extended till 30-9-1986. Even then only a small portion of the work alone was done and hence after notice to the Contractor the contract was terminated at his risk and cost and the work was entrusted to some other agency.