Madras High Court

Madras High Court: Chief Engineer Ordered to Pay Subaya Constructions Over Rs. 3.97 Crore

Updated
Sep 29, 2025 5:54 PM
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Summary: The court decided that The Chief Engineer, (A/C) must pay Subaya Constructions over Rs. 3.97 crore for work they finished, along with interest. The disagreement was about payments that were held back and agreements for extra work.

Background of the Case

This case is about The Chief Engineer, (A/C) and M/s. Subaya Constructions Co Ltd. The problem started when Subaya Constructions said that The Chief Engineer, (A/C) held back payments for work they completed. The contractor wanted the money released with interest.

The Initial Contract and Dispute

  • Original Contract: Subaya was given a contract on April 15, 2013, which was finished by June 30, 2016. The final bill and some money kept aside were held back.
  • Court's Observation: The court noticed that The Chief Engineer, (A/C) owed Rs. 2,21,50,006/- as the final bill and Rs. 1,75,52,595/- as the money kept aside, totaling Rs. 3,97,02,601/-.

The Additional Work Dispute

  • Additional Work: Subaya also did extra work, but there was a disagreement over how much they should be paid for it.
  • Court's Stand: The court did not focus on whether the prices were set wrongly by the Executive Engineer but mentioned that The Chief Engineer, (A/C) had already paid a large part of the money for the extra work.

Legal Arguments

  • The Chief Engineer, (A/C)'s Argument: They said the contractor must sign an extra agreement for the additional work to get paid.
  • Subaya's Argument: They said The Chief Engineer, (A/C) was forcing them into an unfair deal after the work was done.

Court's Decision

  • Judges: The case was overseen by Justice J. Nisha Banu and Justice M. Jothiraman.
  • Final Ruling: The court decided that The Chief Engineer, (A/C) must pay the agreed amount of Rs. 3,97,62,601/- right away, with interest from the time they were supposed to pay.
  • Additional Remarks: The court mentioned that any arguments about extra work payments could be dealt with separately in another court.

The court's decision required The Chief Engineer, (A/C) to pay the held-back amounts with interest, showing the importance of following agreements and the role of the court in solving such problems.