paid pending account of materials installed, since no payment could have been released to the defendant-appellant without reconciling the materials issued to it and return of excess material with them. Plaintiff-respondent vide its letter dated 17.11.1998 requested defendant-appellant to provide account of materials issued to him immediately. The said letter was replied by defendant-appellant vide its letter dated 28.11.1998 wherein a frivolous plea was taken that whatever material was issued by DOT on the requisition of plaintiffrespondent was consumed and whatever was left was got deposited by him in DOT Store, Hapur. The said statement was also fortified by statement that in case there is any difference in the quantities of the material issued, consumed and returned, defendant-appellant was ready to reconcile the same on being informed by plaintiff-respondent regarding the same. The said letter of defendant-appellant also stated that he was enclosing receipts of the materials deposited with DOT Store, but neither any such receipt was enclosed nor any other material was produced in support of the said statement. Thereafter various correspondence took place between the parties. Defendantappellant was requested to submit statement for reconciliation of materials issued to him which was replied by defendant-appellant stating that he would shortly send final bill along with store statement and other relevant documents for verification and reconciliation but despite fixing of dates several times, on the request of defendantappellant, he failed to provide any such details and eventually plaintiff-respondent was constrained to issue a legal notice dated 14.01.2003 whereby defendant-appellant was informed that EMD for a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- stood forfeited. Defendant-appellant is liable to pay back to plaintiff-respondent a sum of Rs 6,11,097/-. A sum of Rs. 90,959/- has already been released in favour of defendantappellant and after adding it into the aforesaid amount and deducting the amount of EMD, defendant-appellant is liable to pay Rs.