ASKARAN PANCHIRAM FIRM Vs. RABIN BROTHERS & ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a First Appeal from the judgment and decree of the learned Subordinate Judge, Gauhati, dated 23 -12 -1949 by which he dismissed the suit with no order as to costs.

(2.) THE plaintiffs Messrs. Assam Supplies, Ltd, brought a suit against (1) the Governor -General -in Council (2) the Chief Administrative Officer of the Assam Railway, and (8) the General Manager of the Tezpur -Balipara Railway claiming a sum of rupees nine thousand odd as compensation for non -delivery of 218 bags of Gram weighing 551 maunds 5 seers which had been despatched under R.R. No. 983743 from a place called Goniana now in Pakistan to Tezpur in Assam. The plaintiffs served the Governor General of India through the General Manager of the Assam Railway and in due course brought a suit on 9 -6 -1948.

(3.) THE defence to the suit was (1) that the suit as framed was not maintainable in law, (2) that the suit is barred by limitation, (3) that the plaintiffs had no rights to sue, (4) that the Court had no jurisdiction to try the suit, (5) that the statutory notices under S. 77 , Railways Act and S. 80, Civil P.C., were bad if they were served at all, (6) that the alleged loss, if at all, occurred under circumstances over which the railway had no control, (7) that there was no negligence, carelessness or misconduct on the part of the railway or its servants.