1. Since we are holding in this appeal that the suit ought to have been dismissed by the court below on the plea of limitation raised by the defendant, we are stating only the facts which are necessary to appreciate the above said plea

2. The defendant in the suit, who is the appellant here, entered into a contract with the Kerala State Electricity Board, the plaintiff, for manufacture and delivery at Kuthuparamba of 1,000 R.C.C. Poles 24 ft. long. Later the work relating to 500 more poles of the same specifications was also awarded by the plaintiff under the same terms and conditions and to the earlier agreement of 20th March 1968 a supplemental schedule was signed by the parties on 15th July 1969. The work was completed on 6th March 1970. The plaintiff was to supply to the contractor cement and M. S., rods required for the work and the value of such supply was to be recovered from the contractor's bill. The surplus materials that remained with the defendant after completion of the work was to be returned to the plaintiff at his store and receipts obtained from the Store Keeper. The case of the plaintiff was that the defendant did not return the surplus materials. A reg