1. The defendant is the appellant. The decree from which this appeal arises is for recovery of Rs. 7,000 with interest from the defendant for the loss sustained by the plaintiff in respect of a car insured with the defendant. The plaintiff was the owner of a car registered as T. G. Q.1 in the Travancore-Cochin State. It was an Austin 18 H. P. car. The car was insured with the defendant against loss or damage and a policy was issued by the defendant to the plaintiff covering all accidents from 1st March 1952 to 28th February 1953. The car met with an accident on the night of 21st December 1952 as a result of which it stood in need of repair. The accident was covered by the terms of the Policy and therefore the defendant was "to repair, reinstate or replace the car or the part thereof and its accessories or pay in cash the amount of the loss or damage not exceeding the actual value of the parts damaged or lost plus a reasonable cost of fitting, such costs not exceeding in any case the estimate of the insurer of the value of the car as specified in the schedule attached to the Policy." The defendant company exercised its option under condition No. 3 of the Policy thereby u