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"My impression is, that in the case of a work of art, whether in gold, silver, marble or plaster, where the application of skill and labour is of the highest description, and the material is of no importance as compared with the labour, the price may be recovered as work, labour and materials."

The ratio decidendi of that case cannot govern the present case where the material to be supplied is the most important clement of the contract and the cost of labour is very insignificant. (1856) 25 LJ Ex 237 (J), referred to above is analogous to (1935) 1 KB 579 (I). It related to a contract of printing and delivery of a book to a customer who desired to have it printed.

32. We think that the case on hand is more akin to Dominion Press Ltd. v. Minister of Customs and Excise, 1928 AC 340 (K). In that case, the business of the printer consisted in printing to the order of individual customers stationery of a business character, the customer explaining exactly what goods he required and the printer furnishing She goods at a fixed price. It was decided by the Privy Council that these transactions were sales and deliveries.

33. In Mahendra Kumar v. Vidyavati, (L), the Supreme Court proceeded on the assumption that a contract for printing electoral rolls would come within the ambit of Section 7 (d) of the Act.

34. For these reasons we hold that the contract For supply of printed coupon hooks falls within the operation of Section 7 (d) of the Act.

34a. It was lastly urged by the counsel for the appellant that this was not specifically pleaded in the written statement and therefore should not form the basis of any decision as against the appellant. We think this is an unsubstantial argument having regard to the fact that the concerned issue as framed is couched in wide language, it being "whether the Commercial Printing Press, Begum Bazar, had any subsisting contract with the appropriate Government on the relevant date."

Further the parties have gone to trial with the full knowledge that the question of contract for the supply of printed milk coupons was in issue and had opportunities to lead evidence on this topic (as appears from the recorded proceedings) and the matter has been fully gone into by the Tribunal. So, the absence of a specific pleading has not resulted in any prejudice to the appellant. Consequently, this submission should also be rejected. It follows that this contract also has resulted in disqualifying the appellant.