MERCANTILE STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY Vs. THANULINGOM PILLAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The defendant in S. C. 12 of 1965 on the file of the Munsiff Court, Cochin is the revision petitioner. The main question raised in this revision petition is whether S.14 of the Limitation Act could be applied in a suit for damages filed under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (shortly stated the Act).

(2.) The plaintiff in this suit is one Thanulingom Pillay, Proprietor, Messrs. K. S. T. Subbiah Pillay and Bros., Hardware merchants, Chalai, Trivandrum, and the defendant is the Merchant Steam Navigation Company (Private) Limited, represented by their agent Bhangee Jeevath Khona, Bazaar Road, Cochin. The suit was laid in the District Munsiff's Court, Trivandrum in the first instance for recovery of damages to the extent of Rs. 266.83 Ps. for short delivery of two bundles of copper wire despatched to the plaintiff from Bombay by the steam ship s. s. Victoria Marie belonging to the defendant. The suit was filed on 13-11-63. The Munsiff of Trivandrum holding that he has no jurisdiction to entertain the suit, returned the plaint on 23-12-64 for presentation before the proper court. In the order returning the plaint, the learned Munsiff had given time limit till 17-1-65 for its re-presentation; the suit was represented on 14-1-65 in the Munsiff court of Cochin. The plaintiff claimed exclusion under S.14 of the Limitation Act (Act 36 of 1963) of the period of pendency of the suit in the Trivandrum Munsiff's court in computing the period of limitation for the suit and that has been allowed by the Munsiff Another point raised against the maintainability of the suit, viz., that the defendant being mere agents of the company the suit cannot be maintained against them, has also been found against the defendant.

(3.) On the first point, the learned counsel argued that the Indian Limitation Act has no application to a suit filed under the Act and that the period of one year prescribed in R.6 of Art.3 under the Schedule to the Act, is inscrutable and has to be applied irrespective of the rules of exclusion provided in the Law of Limitation. On the authority of East and West Steamship Co. Madras v. Ramalingam Chettiar ( AIR 1960 SC 1058 ) it was argued by the learned counsel for the petitioner that R.6 of Art.3 of the Act which runs: