The Managing Director Bescom v. Ramakrishnappa

( ( ( IN(THE(HIGH(COURT(OF(KARNATAKA(AT(BENGALURU(

THDATED(THIS(THE(20 (DAY(OF(DECEMBER,(2024(

PRESENT(

THE(HON'BLE(MR(JUSTICE(K.SOMASHEKAR(

(AND((

(THE(HON'BLE(MR(JUSTICE(S(RACHAIAH(

COMMERCIAL(APPEAL(NO.(163(OF(2023((

BETWEEN:((

(

1., THE,MANAGING,DIRECTOR,, BESCOM,,K,R,CIRCLE,,

BANGALORE,–,01., ,

2., THE,CHIEF,ENGINEER,(ELE),

C,,O,&,M,BESCOM,,BRAZ,, ABB,COMPLEX,,RAJAJINAGAR,, BANGALORE,–,10.,

,

3., THE,SUPERINTENDING,ENGINEER,(ELE), C,,O,&,M,BESCOM,,CIRCLE,,KOLAR.,

,

4., THE,EXECUTIVE,ENGINEER,(ELE), C,,O,&,M,BESCOM,,DIVISION,,KOLAR,

,

5., THE,EXECUTIVE,ENGINEER,(ELE), C,,O,&,M,BESCOM,,DIVISION,,,KGF,

,

6., THE,EXECUTIVE,ENGINEER,(ELE), C,,O,&,M,BESCOM,,DIVISION,,CHIKKABALLAPURA, , , …APPELLANTS, , (BY,SRI.,SRIRANGA,,SR.,ADVOCATE,FOR, ,,,,,,SMT.,ANJANA,C,H,,ADVOCATE), ( AND:( ( , RAMAKRISHNAPPA, S/O,RAMANNA,, ( ( ( AGED,ABOUT,52,YEARS,, FIRST,CLASS,ELECTRICAL,CONTRACTOR,, M/S,SRI,SHIVA,ELECTRICALS,, SRINIVASAPUR,KOLAR,DIST, , …RESPONDENT, (BY,SRI.,N,S,BHAT,,ADVOCATE), , , THIS, COMAP, IS, FILED, 13(1A), OF, THE, COMMERCIAL, COURTS,ACT,,2015,AND,SECTION,96,READ,WITH,ORDER,41, RULE,1,OF,THE,CPC,,PRAYING,TO,SET,ASIDE,THE,JUDGMENT, AND,DECREE,DATED,17.02.2023,PASSED,IN,COMM.,O.,S.,No., 25/2020, VIDE, ANNEXURE-A, AND, CONSEQUENTLY,, DISMISSING,THE,SUIT,IN,COMM.,O.,S.,NO.,25/2020., , THIS, COMAP, HAVING, BEEN, RESERVED, FOR, FURTHER, ARGUMENTS,, COMING, , , ON, , , FOR, PRONOUNCEMENT, , THIS,, DAY,,S(RACHAIAH(.J,(DELIVERED,THE,FOLLOWING:, ( ( CORAM:, HON'BLE,MR,JUSTICE,K.SOMASHEKAR, ,and,, ,HON'BLE,MR,JUSTICE,S,RACHAIAH, , CAV(JUDGMENT( (PER:,HON'BLE,MR,JUSTICE,S,RACHAIAH)( , This,appeal,is,filed,by,the,appellants,being,aggrieved,by, the, judgment, and, decree, dated, 17.02.2023, passed, in, Com.O.S.No.25/2020,by,the,learned,Prl.,District,and,Sessions, Judge,at,Kolar.,, , , ,

2., The, rank, of, the, parties, in, the, Trial, Court,, henceforth,will,be,considered,accordingly,for,the,convenience.,, , ( ( ( , 3., The, plaintiff, is, a, diploma, holder, in, Electrical, Engineering, and, he, is, having, a, Class-I, Electrical, Contractor, License, and, also, running, a, electrical, works, in, the, name, and, style,as,"M/s.,Shiva,Electricals".,He,was,entrusted,the,works,of, maintaining, the, transformers,, minor, repair, works, within, the, jurisdiction, of, , Kolar,, KGF, divisions, and, Chikkaballapura, divisions., After, completion, of, works, allotted, to, him,, the, bills, were, raised, and, submitted, to, the, concerned, Authority, for, payment.,,Though,,the,bills,were,submitted,at,the,earliest,,as, per,the,averments,of,the,respondent,,the,same,bills,were,paid, belatedly., Therefore,, he, filed, a, suit, for, recovery, of, compensatory,amount,by,way,of,interest,at,the,rate,of,16%,on, belated,payments,( ,

4., The, defendants, entered, their, appearance, by, filing, the, written, statements, contending, inter-alia, that, there, is, , a, delay,in,approaching,the,Court.,Therefore,,the,claim,made,by, the,plaintiff,has,to,be,rejected,as,barred,by,limitation.,, ,

5., It, is, further, submitted, that, the, plaintiff, has, submitted,the,bills,after,lapse,of,several,years.,The,delay,has, been, caused, by, the, plaintiff, and, not, by, the, defendants., ( ( ( Therefore,,the,plaintiff,is,not,entitled,for,any,relief,as,prayed, for,and,therefore,,the,defendants,pray,to,dismiss,the,suit.,, ,

6., In,order,to,defend,the,case,of,the,plaintiff,,he,got, examined,himself,as,P.W.1,and,got,marked,14,documents,as, Exs.P.1,to,P.14.,Though,the,defendants,have,not,examined,any, witnesses,, they, conducted, the, cross-examination, of, plaintiff, and,got,marked,five,documents,as,Exs.D1,to,D5.,, ,

7., ,The, Trial, Court, , after, appreciating, both, oral, and, documentary,evidence,on,record,,decreed,the,suit,partly,and, directed,the,defendants,to,comply,the,decree.,Being,aggrieved, by,the,same,,the,defendants,are,before,this,Court.,, ,

8., Heard, Sri., Sriranga,, learned, Senior, Counsel, for,,,,,,,, Smt., Anjana, C.H.,, learned, counsel, for, the, appellants, and,,,,,, Sri.,N.S.Bhat,,learned,counsel,,for,the,respondent.,, ,

9., It, is, the, submission, of, the, learned, counsel, , for, the, appellants, that, the, judgment, and, decree,passed, by, the, Trial, Court,,is,erroneous,and,contrary,to,the,facts,and,circumstances, of,the,case.,Hence,,the,same,is,liable,to,be,set,aside.,, ,

10., It, is, further, submitted, that, the, Trial, Court, has, committed, error, in, appreciating, the, documentary, evidence, ( ( ( produced,by,both,the,parties.,Even,though,,the,suit,is,barred, by, limitation,, the, said, limitation, aspect, was, not, properly, considered, by, the, Trial, Court., Consequently,, the, impugned, decree,has,been,passed.,, ,

11., It,is,further,submitted,that,,the,plaintiff,though,has, completed,the,work,in,the,year,2007-2010,,however,,the,suit, came,to,be,filed,in,the,year,2019,claiming,the,interest,at,the, rate,of,16%,per,annum,from,the,date,of,completion,of,the,work, i.e.,,after,lapse,of,ten,to,twelve,years,of,completion,of,work., The,delay,should,have,been,considered,as,a,preliminary,issue, and,the,suit,ought,not,to,have,been,decreed.,, ,

12., It, is, further, submitted, that, the, plaintiff, has, submitted,the,bills,relating,to,the,Chikkaballapura,Division,on,

29.03.2014, for, the, work, completed, during, 2007-10., The, appellants, herein, have, paid, the, amount, on, 16.04.2014., In, respect,of,bills,relating,to,Kolar,and,KGF,divisions,were,delayed, as,there,was,an,enquiry,being,initiated,in,respect,of,the,work, carried,out,by,the,plaintiff.,After,submitting,the,report,by,the, competent,authority,,payments,were,made,,to,the,plaintiff.,, , , ( ( (

13., It,is,further,submitted,that,,the,Trial,Court,,ought, to,have,considered,the,delay,in,filing,the,suit,effectively,and, the,suit,should,have,been,disposed,of,by,holding,that,the,suit, was,barred,by,limitation.,, ,

14., The,learned,Senior,Counsel,further,submitted,that, the,cause,of,action,in,filing,the,suit,would,arise,from,the,date, of,demand,made,by,the,plaintiff,not,from,the,date,of,disposal, of,the,writ,petition.,The,Trial,Court,,has,committed,an,error,on, this,point,and,passed,the,impugned,judgment,which,is,liable,to, be,set,aside.,, ,,

15., Per, contra,, the, learned, counsel, for, the, respondent/plaintiff,contended,that,the,interest,on,the,delayed, payment,is,mandatory,and,the,appellants,herein,have,caused, the,delay, in, making, the, payment, for, the, work, for,which, the, plaintiff, has, completed, the, work, in, the, year, 2010, itself., However,, the, payments, were, made, in, the, year, 2014., Therefore,, the, plaintiff, is, entitled, for, the, interest, payable, in, accordance,with,law.,, ,

16., It, is, further, submitted, that, the, Trial, Court, has, rightly,computed,the,period,of,limitation,to,file,the,suit,as,per, section-14,of,the,Limitation,Act,and,arrived,at,conclusion,that, ( ( ( the,suit,of,the,plaintiff,is,not,barred,by,limitation.,Moreover,,the, defendants/appellants, have, not, objected, the, admitted, facts., Therefore,, the, appeal, filed, by, the, appellants, is, liable, to, be, dismissed.,, ,

17., After, having, heard, learned, counsel, for, the, respective, parties, and, also, perused, the, findings, of, the, Trial, Court,in,passing,the,,decree,in,favour,of,the,plaintiff,,the,points, which,arise,for,our,consideration,are:, 1) "Whether, the, impugned, judgment, and, decree, passed, by, the, Trial, Court, , is, justified?", 2) Whether,the,appellants,are,made,out,a,case, to, interfere, with, the, said, judgment, and, decree?", , ,

18., The, Trial, Court, , after, appreciating, the, oral, and, documentary, evidence, on, record, and, also, relying, on, the, evidence, of, P.W.1,, held, that, the, defendants, are, jointly, and, severally,liable,to,pay,the,decreetal,amount,as,ordered,by,it.,, ,,

19., The,Trial,Court,while,answering,the,Additional,Issue, relating,to,the,delay,in,filing,the,suit,,held,that,,the,suit,was, filed,within,time.,However,,the,learned,Senior,Counsel,,for,the, appellants, herein, submitted, that, the, suit, should, have, been, ( ( ( dismissed,as,barred,by,limitation,and,on,the,ground,of,delay,in, filing,the,suit.,, ,

20., The,learned,Senior,Counsel,has,mainly,relied,on,the, judgment, of, the, Hon'ble, Supreme, Court, in, the, case, of, M.P.( 1Steel( Corporation( Vs.( Commissioner( of( Central( Excise ( reported, in( (2015)( 7( SCC( 58,, paragraph, Nos., 7,, 8, and, 52, which,reads,as,under:( "7.,Section,14,of,the,Limitation,Act,reads,as,follows:, "14.Exclusion(of(time(of(proceeding(bona(fide( in(court(without(jurisdiction.—(1),In,computing,the, period,of,limitation,for,any,suit,the,time,during,which, the, plaintiff, has, been, prosecuting, with, due, diligence, another, civil, proceeding,, whether, in, a, court, of, first, instance,or,of,appeal,or,revision,,against,the,defendant, shall,be,excluded,,where,the,proceeding,relates,to,the, same,matter,in,issue,and,is,prosecuted,in,good,faith,in, a,court,which,,from,defect,of,jurisdiction,or,other,cause, of,a,like,nature,,is,unable,to,entertain,it.,

(2),In,computing,the,period,of,limitation,for,any, application,, the, time, during, which, the, applicant, has, been, prosecuting, with, due, diligence, another, civil, proceeding,, whether, in, a, court, of, first, instance, or, of, appeal,or,revision,,against,the,same,party,for,the,same, relief, shall, be, excluded,, where, such, proceeding, is, prosecuted,in,good,faith,in,a,court,which,,from,defect,

(2015),7,SCC,58 ( ( ( of,jurisdiction,or,other,cause,of,a,like,nature,,is,unable, to,entertain,it.,

(3),Notwithstanding,anything,contained,in,Rule,2, of,Order,23,of,the,Code,of,Civil,Procedure,,1908,(5,of, 1908),,the,provisions,of,sub-section,(1),shall,apply,in, relation,to,a,fresh,suit,instituted,on,permission,granted, by,the,court, under,Rule,1,of,that,Order,,where,such, permission,is,granted,on,the,ground,that,the,first,suit, must,fail,by,reason,of,a,defect,in,the,jurisdiction,of,the, court,or,other,cause,of,a,like,nature., Explanation.—For, the, purposes, of, this, section—,

(a), in, excluding, the, time, during, which, a, former, civil, proceeding, was, pending,, the, day,on,which,that,proceeding,was,instituted, and,the,day,on,which,it,ended,shall,both,be, counted;, ,

(b), a, plaintiff, or, an, applicant, resisting, an, appeal,shall,be,deemed,to,be,prosecuting,a, proceeding;, ,

(c), misjoinder, of, parties, or, of, causes, of, action,shall,be,deemed,to,be,a,cause,of,a, like,nature,with,defect,of,jurisdiction.", , ,

8.,Shri,A.K.,Sanghi,,learned,Senior,Counsel,appearing, on,behalf,of,the,Department,has,stated,that,at,no,point, of, time, has, the, appellant, taken, up, a, plea, based, on, Section,14.,Neither,has,the,appellant,met,with,any,of, the,five,conditions,set,out,in,para,21,of,Consolidated, Engg.,Enterprises,v.,Irrigation,Deptt.,,which,reads,as, follows,:,(SCC,p.,181),

21., "Section, 14, of, the, Limitation, Act, deals, with, exclusion, of, time, of, proceeding, bona, fide, in, a, court, without,jurisdiction.,On,analysis,of,the,said,section,,it, ( ( ( becomes,evident,that,the,following,conditions,must,be, satisfied,before,Section,14,can,be,pressed,into,service:, ,

(1),Both,the,prior,and,subsequent,proceedings,are,civil, proceedings,prosecuted,by,the,same,party;,

(2),The,prior,proceeding,had,been,prosecuted,with,due, diligence,and,in,good,faith;, ,

(3), The, failure, of, the, prior, proceeding, was, due, to, defect,of,jurisdiction,or,other,cause,of,like,nature;, ,

(4), The, earlier, proceeding, and, the, latter, proceeding, must,relate,to,the,same,matter,in,issue;,and, ,

(5),Both,the,proceedings,are,in,a,court.", ,

52.,As,has,been,already,noticed,,Sarathy,case,has,also, held, that, the, court, referred, to, in, Section, 14, would, include,a,quasi-judicial,tribunal.,There,appears,to,be,no, reason, for, limiting, the, reach, of, the, expression, "prosecuting, with, due, diligence", to, institution, of, a, proceeding, alone, and, not, to, the, date, on, which, the, cause,of,action,for,such,proceeding,might,arise,in,the, case, of, appellate, or, revisional, proceedings, from, original, proceedings, which, prove, to, be, abortive., Explanation,(a),to,Section,14,was,only,meant,to,clarify, that, the, day, on, which, a, proceeding, is, instituted, and, the,day,on,which,it,ends,are,also,to,be,counted,for,the, purposes, of, Section, 14., This, does, not, lead, to, the, conclusion,that,the,period,from,the,cause,of,action,to, the,institution,of,such,proceeding,should,be,left,out.,In, fact,, as, has, been, noticed, above,, the, Explanation, expands, the, scope, of, Section, 14, by, liberalising, it., Thus,, under, Explanation, (b), a, person, resisting, an, appeal,is,also,deemed,to,be,prosecuting,a,proceeding., But,for,Explanation,(b),,on,a,literal,reading,of,Section, ( ( ( 14,,if,a,person,has,won,in,the,first,round,of,litigation, and,an,appeal,is,filed,by,his,opponent,,the,period,of, such,appeal,would,not,be,liable,to,be,excluded,under, the,section,,leading,to,an,absurd,result.,That,is,why,a, plaintiff,or,an,applicant,resisting,an,appeal,filed,by,a, defendant, shall, also, be, deemed, to, prosecute, a, proceeding, so, that, the, time, taken, in, the, appeal, can, also,be,the,subject-matter,of,exclusion,under,Section,

14.,Equally,,Explanation,(c),which,deems,misjoinder,of, parties, or, a, cause, of, action, to, be, a, cause, of, a, like, nature,with,defect,of,jurisdiction,,expands,the,scope,of, the, section., We, have, already, noticed, that, the, India, Electric, Works, Ltd., judgment, has, held, that, strictly, speaking, misjoinder, of, parties, or, of, causes, of, action, can, hardly, be, regarded, as, a, defect, of, jurisdiction, or, something,similar,to,it.,Therefore,properly,construed,, Explanation,(a),also,confers,a,benefit,and,does,not,by, a,side,wind,seek,to,take,away,any,other,benefit,that,a, purposive, reading, of, Section, 14, might, give., We,, therefore,, agree, with, the, decision, of, the, Madhya, Pradesh,High,Court,that,the,period,from,the,cause,of, action, till, the, institution, of, appellate, or, revisional, proceedings,from,original,proceedings, which,prove,to, be, abortive, are, also, liable, to, exclusion, under, the, section.,The,view,of,the,Andhra,Pradesh,High,Court,is, too,broadly,stated.,The,period,prior,to,institution,of,the, initiation, of, any, abortive, proceeding, cannot, be, excluded, for, the, simple, reason, that, Section, 14, does, not, enable, a, litigant, to, get, a, benefit, beyond, what,is, contemplated,by,the,section—that,is,to,put,the,litigant, in,the,same,position,as,if,the,abortive,proceeding,had, never,taken,place.", ( ( ( ,

21., The, learned, Senior, Counsel, for, the, appellans, has, relied,on,one,more,case,reported,in((2020)(16(SCC(230(in,the, 2case, of( Asgar( and( Ors.( Vs.( Mohan( Verma( and( Ors .( Paragraph-21(whcih(reads,as,under:, "21.,While,dismissing,the,special,leave,petition,against, the,judgment,of,the,High,Court,,this,Court,in,its,order, dated,25-7-2014,observed,that,:,(Mohan,Varma,case,, SCC,OnLine,SC,para,4), , "4., Insofar, as, the, question, of, compensation, for, improvements, made, by, the, appellants, is, concerned,,the,appellants,were,free,to,pursue, an, appropriate, remedy, for, the, redressal, of, their,grievances,in,accordance,with,law.", , These, observations,as,contained,in,the, order,of,this, Court, cannot, be, construed, to, mean, that, the, respondents,would,be,deprived,of,their,right,to,set,up, a, plea, of, constructive, res, judicata, if, the, appellants, were, to, raise, such, a, claim.,The, appellants, were,,as, this, Court, observed,, free, to, pursue, the, "appropriate, remedy,for,redressal,of,their,grievances,in,accordance, with,law.",This,must,necessarily,be,construed,to,mean, that, all, defences, of, the, respondents, upon, the, invocation, of, a, remedy, by, the, appellants, were, kept, open, for, decision., The, liberty, granted, by, this, Court, was,not,one-sided.,It,encompasses,both,the,ability,of, the,appellants,to,take,recourse,and,of,the,respondents, to, raise, necessary, defences, to, the, invocation, of, the,

(2020),16,SCC,230 ( ( ( remedy., Therefore,, we, do, not, find, any, merit, in, the, submission,urged,on,behalf,of,the,appellants,that,the, earlier, judgment, of, the, Kerala, High, Court, and, the, order, of, this, Court, preclude, the, respondents, from, raising,the,bar,of,constructive,res,judicata.", ,

22., On, careful, reading, of, the, dicta, of, the, Hon'ble, Supreme,Court,stated,supra,,we,are,of,the,considered,opinion, that,the,said,judgments,of,the,Hon'ble,Supreme,Court,may,not, be,helpful,to,the,present,case,on,hand,for,the,reason,that,the, plaintiff, has, filed, the, suit, within, the, time, as, contemplated, under,Section,14,and,Article,18,of,the,Limitation,Act,,1963.,In, this,context,,it,is,relevant,to,refer,those,two,provisions,which, read,as,under:, "14.(Exclusion(of(time(of(proceeding(bona(fide(in( court(without(jurisdiction.—(1),In,computing,the, period,of,limitation,for,any,suit,the,time,during,which, the,plaintiff,has,been,prosecuting,with,due,diligence, another, civil, proceeding,, whether, in, a, court, of, first, instance, or, of, appeal, or, revision,, against, the, defendant, shall, be, excluded,, where, the, proceeding, relates,to,the,same,matter,in,issue,and,is,prosecuted, in, good, faith, in, a, court, which,, from, defect, of, jurisdiction,or,other,cause,of,a,like,nature,,is,unable, to,entertain,it.,

(2),In,computing,the,period,of,limitation,for,any, application,,the,time,during,which,the,applicant,has, been, prosecuting, with, due, diligence, another, civil, ( ( ( proceeding,,whether,in,a,court,of,first,instance,or,of, appeal, or, revision,, against, the, same, party, for, the, same,relief,shall,be,excluded,,where,such,proceeding, is, prosecuted, in, good, faith, in, a, court, which,, from, defect,of,jurisdiction,or,other,cause,of,a,like,nature,, is,unable,to,entertain,it.,

(3), Notwithstanding, anything, contained, in, rule, 2, of,Order,XXIII,of,the,Code,of,Civil,Procedure,,1908,(5, of,1908),,the,provisions,of,sub-section,(1),shall,apply, in, relation, to, a, fresh, suit, instituted, on, permission, granted,by,the,court,under,rule,1,of,that,Order,where, such, permission, is, granted, on, the, ground, that, the, first, suit, must, fail, by, reason, of, a, defect, in, the, jurisdiction, of, the, court, or, other, cause, of, a, like, nature., Explanation.—For,the,purposes,of,this,section,—,

(a), in, excluding, the, time, during, which, a, former, civil,proceeding,was,pending,,the,day,on,which,that, proceeding, was, instituted, and, the, day, on, which, it, ended,shall,both,be,counted;, ,(b),a,plaintiff,or,an,applicant,resisting,an,appeal, shall,be,deemed,to,be,prosecuting,a,proceeding;,

(c), misjoinder, of, parties, or, of, causes, of, action, shall,be,deemed,to,be,a,cause,of,a,like,nature,with, defect,of,jurisdiction., ,

18.(Effect(of(acknowledgment(in(writing.—(1), Where,,before,the,expiration,of,the,prescribed,period, for,a,suit,or,application,in,respect,of,any,property,or, right,, an, acknowledgment, of, liability, in, respect, of, such, property, or, right, has, been, made, in, writing, signed,by,the,party,against,whom,such,property,or, ( ( ( right,is,claimed,,or,by,any,person,through,whom,he, derives,his,title,or,liability,,a,fresh,period,of,limitation, shall, be, computed, from, the, time, when, the, acknowledgment,was,so,signed.,

(2), Where, the, writing, containing, the, acknowledgment, is, undated,, oral, evidence, may, be, given,of,the,time,when,it,was,signed;,but,subject,to, the,provisions,of,the,Indian,Evidence,Act,,1872,(1,of, 1872),, oral, evidence, of, its, contents, shall, not, be, received., Explanation.—For,the,purposes,of,this,section,—,

(a),an,acknowledgment,may,be,sufficient,though,it, omits,to,specify,the,exact,nature,of,the,property,or, right,, or, avers, that, the, time, for, payment,, delivery,, performance, or, enjoyment, has, not, yet, come, or, is, accompanied,by,a,refusal,to,pay,,deliver,,perform,or, permit,to,enjoy,,or,is,coupled,with,a,claim,to,set,off,, or, is, addressed, to, a, person, other, than, a, person, entitled,to,the,property,or,right,,

(b), the, word, "signed", means, signed, either, personally,or,by,an,agent,duly,authorised,in,this, behalf,,and,

(c),an,application,for,the,execution,of,a,decree,or, order,shall,not,be,deemed,to,be,an,application, in,respect,of,any,property,or,right.", ,

23., On, careful, perusal, of, the, aforesaid, provisions,, it, makes,it,clear,that,if,a,party,approached,the,wrong,Forum,and, the,case,came,to,be,returned,for,want,of,jurisdiction,,the,time, ( ( ( consumed, for, approaching, the, wrong, Forum, has, to, be, excluded.,,

24., In,the,present,case,,the,plaintiff,has,submitted,the, bills,before,the,Authority,for,the,work,done.,According,to,the, plaintiff,,all,his,claims,were,settled,in,the,year,2014.,The,said, fact,has,been,uncontroverted.,Further,,the,plaintiff,had,issued,a, notice,as,per,Ex.P.9,on,22.01.2016,demanding,the,Authority,to, pay,the,interest,at,the,rate,of,,16%,for,the,delay,in,making,the, payments.,When,the,said,letter,has,not,been,answered,by,the, Authority,, a, writ, came, to, be, filed, before, this, Court, in, W.P., No.6314/2018., This, Court, dismissed, the, said, writ, petition, granting, a, liberty, to, resort, an, appropriate, proceedings, in, accordance,with,law,on,15.03.2018.,Thereafter,,a,suit,came,to, be,filed,by,the,plaintiff,seeking,remedy,before,the,Civil,Court, on,23.09.2019.,Considering,the,dates,and,events,of,the,case,, the,finding,of,the,Trial,Court,,in,appreciating,the,fact,relating,to, delay,which,appears,to,be,just,and,proper.,Therefore,,we,are,in, agreement,with,the,findings,of,the,Trial,Court,,relating,to,the, additional,issues,framed,by,it.,, ,

25., As,regards,the,other,issues,are,concerned,,the,Trial, Court, , partly, allowed, Issues, No.1, and, 2, by, assigning, the, reasons, that, the, work, done, by, the, plaintiff, in, , the, years,,,,, ( ( ( 2008-09,, 2009-10,, 2011-12, and, 2012-13,, an, amount, of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Rs.28,39,870/-, was, paid, through, seven, cheques, on,

07.01.2014.,Similarly,,all,other,departments,have,also,paid,the, amount, as, admitted, by, the, plaintiff., There, is, no, dispute, in, respect, of, the, payment, of, which, the, work, has, been, done., However,,the,dispute,is,with,respect,to,the,interest,on,delayed, payment.,The,Trial,Court,,has,awarded,the,rate,of,interest,at, 10%,in,stead,of,16%,as,claimed,by,the,plaintiff,on,the,ground, that,there,was,no,agreement,relating,to,the,interest,payable,to, the,plaintiff,on,the,delayed,payment.,Moreover,,the,plaintiff,has, not,filed,any,cross-appeal,as,against,relating,to,the,reduction,of, the,rate,of,interest,by,the,Trial,Court.,Therefore,,we,are,of,the, considered,opinion,that,the,Trial,Court,,has,rightly,justified,in, reducing,the,rate,of,interest.,, , ,

26., In,view,of,the,aforesaid,discussions,,,we,answer,the, points,which,arose,for,our,consideration,are,as,follows:, Point,No.1, :, In,the,affirmative;, Point,No.2, :, In,the,negative;, ,

27., As, regards, I.A.No.1/2024, filed, by, the, respondent/plaintiff,is,concerned,,since,the,appeal,is,dismissed, and, the, judgment, and, decree, passed, by, the, Trial, Court, , is, ( ( ( upheld,, considering, the, I.A.No.1/2024,does, not, arise., Hence,, the,same,is,disposed,of,accordingly.,,

28., In,the,light,of,the,observation,made,above,,we,pass, the,following:, ORDER, The,Commercial,Appeal,is,dismissed.,, ( , , , Sd/-( (K.SOMASHEKAR)( JUDGE( ( ( Sd/-( (S(RACHAIAH)( JUDGE( ( ( ( , JS/-, ,