UNION OF INDIA Vs. RATAN LALL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By an order dated 18th May, 1983, the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anil Kumar Sen and the Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.N. Sanyal, JJ. (as their Lordships then were) referred to the Full Bench a group of Revisional Applications under S.115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; for resolving the conflict in judicial views on the question whether or not the forum for a suit contemplated by the present S.80 of the Indian Railways Act, 1890 (Which, with effect from 1st January, 1962, was substituted by Indian Railways (Amendment) Act 1961) should be determined in terms of the said Section and whether S.20 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 should be deemed to be no longer applicable to such suits under S.80 of the Indian Railways Act, 1890. The learned referring Judges had pointed out that the two decisions of this Court respectively in the cases of Oghadmal Choudhury v. Union of India, 1974 0 CalLJ 420 and in the unreported case of Jagannath Chetram v. Union of India disposed of on April 18, 1979. had taken the view that S.20 of the Code shall have no application for determination of the forum of a suit contemplated by S.80 of the Indian Railways Act. But another Division Bench in the case of Bengal Coal Co. Ltd. v. Union of India, (1979) 2 Cal LJ had taken a contrary view. The learned Judges had formulated the following question :

(2.) The said references were registered as Full Bench Reference No. 1 of 1983.

(3.) Myself sitting with my learned brother, the Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.C. Sengupta, by an order dated 20th November, 1986 had referred to the Full Bench a Revisional Application filed by the Union of India represented by the General Manager Eastern Railway against the judgement and decree dated 3rd July, 1986, passed by the learned Judge 2nd Bench, Court of Small Causes Calcutta, in Suit No. 3881 of 1986, filed against it by the plaintiff opposite party, Rakesh Kumar Misra. The points involved in the said Revisional Application were almost similar to those in the aforesaid Full Bench Reference No. 1 of 1983, save and except that by relying upon the provisions of S.18 of the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882, the said suit was instituted in the Presidency Small Cause Court. Calcutta.