UNION OF INDIA Vs. JAISWAL COAL COMPANY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -This appeal is filed by the defendants-appellants for setting aside the judgment dated 27.11.1979 and decree dated 13.12.1979 passed by the Civil Judge, Lucknow, decreeing the original suit No. 35 of 1977 in toto. The aforesaid suit was filed by three, following registered partnership firms claiming damages to the extent of Rs.1,01,84,000/-.

(2.) By an order dated 1.11.1975 passed by the Civil Judge Lucknow (on pages 52 to 453 of the paper book) an application was allowed and then Shri Chiranji Lal Jaiswal was appointed as 'Receiver' to run the business of the firm M/s. Chiranji Lal and sons under his supervision, control and guidance and to do all acts necessary for the progress of the business. Almost similar orders (on pages 454 to 457 of the paper book) were passed by the Civil Judge, Lucknow on the same date in respect of the remaining two firms on the applications made under Order 40 Rule 1, CPC appointing Shri Chiranji Lal Jaiswal as the Receiver. This is how Shri Chiranji Lal Jaiswal came to be appointed as the Receiver for all the three plaintiffs by separate orders, albeit passed on a single date. Thus the suit No. 35 of 1977 was filed by the Receiver (Chiranji Lai Jaiswal) on behalf of the three partnership firms in forma pauperis after obtaining permission from the Court vide order dated 18.1.1977 (on pages 64 to 70 of the paper book).

(3.) The case of the plaintiffs, in brief is that the plaintiffs were nominated coal agents of Kanpur and Etah districts that they were getting their quota of one rake per month from November, 1968 to May, 1969 for Kanpur district regularly that the plaintiffs came to know sometime in April,. 1969 that no allotment sponsoring was made in their favour for the month of June, 1969 that by memo dated 30.9.70 the joint Director, Transport (Coal) Railway Board, Calcutta allotted two rakes per month for January, 1971 to June, 1971 in favour of the plaintiffs as compensatory quota, because regular allotment of monthly quota of wagons for the period from June, 1969 to November, 1970 for Kanpur district was interrupted, that by a letter dated 11.2.1971 the authorities committed to allot three rakes per month that the Dy.Secretary to U.P. Government by his memo dated 12.5.1971 informed the Joint Director, Transport (Coal) about the sponsorship of rakes in favour of the plaintiffs in lieu of the quota, which remained suspended from May, 1969 to November, 1970 in respect of Kanpur district; that by another letter dated 1.2.1971, the Director of Movement, Government of U.P. recommended five rakes in favour of the plaintiffs as compensatory measure in respect of quota loss for Etah district, but the railways did not allot any compensatory quota as directed by the State Government, though the rakes were allotted to others superseding the claim of the plaintiffs that the Joint Director, Transport (Coal) Calcutta, all of a sudden, ordered on 26.10.1971 that all the rakes outstanding as on 31.12.1971, would lapse and they would not be carried forward for the year, 1972, that the plaintiffs like the previous occasions again approached the Calcutta High Court on. 25.2,1972 and then an interim order was passed on 25,2.1972 on a petition of the plaintiffs filed under Article 226 of the Constitution directing the defendants to make allotment of wagons in favour of the plaintiffs immediately, subject to priority but the railways continued to neglect the claim of the plaintiffs and to allot the rakes to other parties instead that the railways failed to allot rakes to the plaintiffs in violation of the interim orders passed by the Calcutta High Court time-to time though they were available and that the railways arbitrarily allotted the rakes to other parties in preference to the plaintiffs causing thereby heavy losses to the plaintiffs.