JUDGMENT :

Kuldip Chand Sood, J.

1. The plaintiff has laid this suit for the recovery of rupees 15 lacs, on account of damages, caused to his house, due to the excavation of the land by the defendants beneath the property of the plaintiff for the purpose of construction of building "Nirman Bhawan" for the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department.

2. The case of the plaintiff, as disclosed in the plaint, is :

The plaintiff is the owner in possession of the land and residential house, named and styled "Fairy Villa" located opposite Victoria place, Nigam Vihar, Shimla. The defendant-State is the owner of the land "Just beneath the property of the plaintiff. The defendant-State started excavation work through its Contractor, defendant No.4, for the construction of "Nirman Bhawan" in June, 1997. This excavation work was done without taking into consideration the basis engineering standards or soil strata. The defendants overlooked the likely damage, which may be caused to the property of the Plaintiff by the excavation work. Initially, some cracks appeared in the retaining wall of the plaintiffs house, which was brought to the notice of the officers of the defendant-State in the Departmen