STATE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arising out of a simple suit against the Railways for compensation for non-delivery of the goods consigned has involved several questions of law. The suit was filed on 27-2-1962 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, 24-Parganas, on the allegation that a consignment of several drums of Caustic Soda, booked on 18-9-1948 for and on behalf of the then Province of West Bengal at Kantapukur Railway Station for carriage to Riyang Railway Station to be delivered to the Quinologist of the Government of West Bengal in Mungpoo, District Darjeeling, was never delivered.

(2.) The learned Subordinate Judge, who tried the suit, dismissed the suit on three grounds. The first ground was that the suit having been filed by the State of West Bengal against the Union of India could be taken cognisance of only by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction under Art.131 of the Constitution. The second ground was that out of the four Railways sued in this case, no notice of claim under S.77, Railways Act, was sent to three of them while the notice sent to the remaining Railway was bad not having been addressed to the proper officer. And the third ground was that the contracting Railway not having been sued none of the Railway Administrations sued in this case could be held liable as there was nothing on record to show that the loss occurred on the railway of any of them. The issues relating to limitation was, however, held by the learned Subordinate Judge in favour of the plaintiff-appellant, the State of West Bengal, and the defendant Union of India has filed a cross-objection on that score.

(3.) Mr. Sudhir Bose, the learned counsel for the plaintiff-appellant has firstly urged that the learned Judge having held that his Court had no jurisdiction to try the suit and that the suit was exclusively triable by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction under Art.131 of the Constitution, ought to have straightaway returned the plaint for presentation to the proper Court without trying and dismissing the same on merits. The contention of Mr. Bose could have merited consideration if the suit was really triable by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction under Art.131 of the Constitution, as held by the learned Subordinate Judge. The relevant portion of Art.131 reads thus :-