M.L. Mehta, J.

1. This is a suit for recovery of a sum of Rs. 31,44,080.00/- (Rupees Thirty One Lakhs, Forty Four Thousand and Eighty only) along with interest @ 15% per annum from the date of institution of the suit till the date of realisation. The case of the plaintiff is as follows.

2. The plaintiff is a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the business of supply and installation of G. I. Pipes, supply of prefabricated RCC, concrete makers etc. The plaintiff submits that the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter 'the IOCL'), gave the contract of laying Optical Fiber Cable (hereinafter 'OFC') to the defendant vide Contract No. PL/E&C/T&I/KS-SnM/TC dated December 17, 1999. The said OFC-laying was to be done along the IOCL's Pil Pipelines in two sections viz. Auchandi (Delhi)-Sonepat-Meerut (hereinafter 'Section I') and Kurukshetra-Sharanpur (hereinafter 'Section II'). And that vide Contract No. 1/D/SC 990522 DTD, dated January 1, 2000, the defendant sub-contracted part of its work under its contract with IOCL in favour of the plaintiff. As per this contract, the plaintiff was required to perform of blowing/pulling off the OFC i