JUDGMENT

V. Gopala Gowda, J.

The appellant has filed these appeals being aggrieved by the impugned common judgment and decree dated 12th June, 2003 passed in RFA nos. 593-600/2000 by the High Court of Karnataka urging various relevant facts and legal grounds for setting aside the same and restoring the common judgment and decrees dated 30th November, 1999 passed in O.S. no. 35/97 to 42/97 by the Civil Judge (Senior Division) Gadag.

2. The brief facts are stated hereunder for the purpose of the rival factual and legal contentions that are urged by the learned counsel on behalf of the parties. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred to in this judgment as per the ranking assigned to them in the plaints before the trial court. The plaintiff, the appellant herein, is a Class I contractor. He undertakes the contract of construction of irrigation canals and other major works on a large scale. The plaintiff has constructed an irrigation dam across the Malaprabha river near Soundatti in Belgaum District. The water from the said reservoir is to be supplied to agricultural lands of the farmers in Dharwad and Belgaum Districts, through canals to be excavated and constructed for tha