INDIAN CABLE CO LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application in revision by the plaintiff against an order refusing amendment of the plaint on the ground that the proposed amendment, if allowed, would basically change the nature of the case.

(2.) The short facts are that on 30-3-1967, the petitioner despatched from Tatanagar 200 metres of cable in two cable drums to the Chief Engineer, Madras Port Trust, Madras. According to the original case in the plaint, on 7-11-1967, delivery of only one drum was given by the Railways to the consignee in highly damaged condition, the entire lot of cables being completely unfit for any use. The case regarding another drum was that it was not delivered at all. The case of the defendant railway in the written statement was that the first drum was delivered in sound condition and the cables had been fully utilised by the consignee and the second drum was also offered for delivery but delivery was refused.

(3.) On 31st May, 1973, the amendment petition in question was filed by the plaintiff. By this amendment the plaintiff wants 'to make out a case that the first drum was simply offered to the defendant (sic) and it refused to take the delivery as it was in a state of highly damaged and injured condition, and that the other drum was not at all offered. In other words in place of the original statement in the plaint "That ultimately on 7-11-1967 delivery of only one drum was given by the Railways to the consignee in a highly damaged condition..... The other drum was not delivered at all", the plaintiff now wants to change by this amendment, the word "given" by the word "offered" and the words "not delivered at all" by the words "not even offered for delivery" and mutatis mutandis amendment in other paragraphs of the plaint. As already said above the petition for amendment has been rejected by the learned Subordinate Judge on the ground that it will make altogether a new case and that it was also at a belated stage in the case.