J U D G M E N T

The Malappuram District Panchayat is the petitioner in WP (C) No.27304/2007 and the 1^st respondent in that writ petition, a contractor of the Panchayat, has filed WP(C) No.33332/07. Both parties are challenging the order passed by the Tribunal for Local Self Government Institutions in RP No.50/06 filed by the contractor.

2. Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that by an agreement dated 21/8/03, the Panchayat had awarded the work of construction of Arakkaparambu-Thazhekkodu Pallippady Road to the contractor, specifying the period of completion as 4 months and 10 days. The agreement also provided that if delay is caused for reasons not attributable to the contractor, contract will be eligible for extension of period by 20% viz., 26 days. Thus the 4 months and 10 days expired on 31/12/2003 and even with the grace period, the prescribed period expired on 26/1/2004.

3. In the meantime, it would appear that the contractor applied for revision of estimate and pending consideration of the :2 :

proposal for revision, according to the contractor, he was directed to stop the work. The work was not completed within the specified period and supplemental agreements were execute