FUGRO SURVEY (INDIA) PVT. LTD Vs. BARGE SAPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Senior Advocate Mr. S.N. Soparkar appearing with learned Advocate Mr. Paurami Sheth for the plaintiff and learned Senior Advocate Mr. Mihir Thakore appearing with learned Advocate Mr. Hardik Modh for the defendants through video conferencing.

(2.) On 01.04.2020, when the suit was listed before this Court the learned Senior Advocate Mr. Soparkar appearing for the plaintiff had made his submissions for granting an ex­parte interim relief namely arrest of the defendant vessel, however at that juncture, the learned Senior Advocate Mr. Thakore had appeared and submitted that he had instructions to appear as a Counsel for learned Advocate Mr. Modh who had filed his Caveat on behalf of Sapura Off­Shore SDN BDH. Learned Senior Advocate Mr. Soparkar, however had raised objections against the Caveator being heard in the Admirality Suit, in view of the unreported judgment of the Single Bench dated 22.06.2015 in case of Phaethon International Co. S.A. versus M V Americana in Admirality Suit No. 17 of 2015. The Court therefore leaving aside the said issue as to whether the Caveator could be heard in the Admirality Suit, had directed the learned Advocate appearing for the plaintiff to make his submissions on merits. The learned Senior Advocate Mr. Soparkar after arguing for sometime had sought time to move a draft amendment and therefore the matter was directed to be put up on 03.04.2020. On 03.04.2020, the Court had granted the amendment as prayed for and had directed the learned Advocate appearing for the plaintiff to furnish the amended copy of the plaint in soft­copy through e­mail. The matter was thereafter directed to be listed on 07.04.2020. On 07.04.2020, again an amendment was sought by the learned Advocate for the plaintiff for impleading Sapura Engineering and Construction (India) as the party­ defendant in the suit. The said amendment was also granted by the Court and thereafter the Notices were issued to the defendants, permitting the plaintiff to serve the same through e­mail. Today, the learned Senior Advocate Mr. Thakore has appeared with learned Advocate Mr. Modh for the newly added defendant No. 2.

(3.) The parties having settled their disputes outside the Court, a separate order is being passed in the main suit. However this order is required to be passed as today the Court noticed that the Caveator Sapura Off­Shore SDN BDH, in the meantime, had filed the Affidavit­ in­reply to the plaint, along with the annexures and the judgments running into more than 200 pages sent through e­mail to the Registry without obtaining any permission from the Court. The Court therefore had taken strong exception to such filing of the documents through e­ mail without the permission of the Court by the third party, and burdening the Court's records unnecessarily apart from wasting the papers in huge quantity. The Court had brought the said fact to the notice of Mr. Thakore appearing for the defendant No. 2, who was also earlier appearing for the so­called Caveator, and expressed its intention to impose cost for forwarding such reply and documents without the permission of the Court. The learned Senior Advocate Mr. Thakore however submitted that the reply was filed with bona fide intention and therefore no such costs be imposed.