1. These two appeals arise out of a common judgment of the learned 5th Asst. Judge, City Civil Court. Madras, rendered in O.S. Nos. 3631 of 1966 and 3466 of 1967. For the purpose of this judgment, the parties will be referred to only as the appellant and the respondent. The appellant was the sole plaintiff in O.S. No. 3631 of 1966 and the sole defendant in O.S. No. 3466 of 1967, while the respondent was the sole plaintiff in O.S. No. 3466 of 1967 and the sole defendant in O.S. No. 3631 of 1966. Admittedly the appellant herein entered into a contract with the respondent, the Corporation of Madras, for providing R.C.C. slabs covering the storm water drain in Habibullah Road, T. Nagar, Madras, on the side walls which had been constructed earlier. Under the original contract entered into between the parties, the work was to be completed before 31st March 1965. However, the appellant herein wrote to the respondent on 29th March 1965 under Ex. A. 13, stating that the work could not be completed within the prescribed period due to non-availability of materials in time. Under those circumstances, the respondent extended the time for performance of the contract for a period of tw