BATOOLAL Vs. G. I. P. RY. COMPANY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN para. 1(a) of the written statement filed by the plaintiffs after remand they stated: That the defendant Company knowing full well that thefts were frequent at Bhusawal and at other stations between Nandgaon and Bhusawal, should have taken special precaution to put sound looks to the waggon, which the defendant Company failed to do.

(2.) THE allegation as to the frequency of the thefts was not denied by the defendant. All that was said was that locking of waggons was not practicable and was not sufficient as a precaution against running train thefts since in several oases even locks were broken in such thefts.

(3.) THE defendant pleaded a "running train theft" under circumstances similar to those in the latter of the two cases cited above. The facts pleaded are that the train carrying the goods reached Mhasa-wad which is to the west of Bhusawal at 9 o'clock in the evening of 24th December 1920, and remained there until 10-45 p.m. when it left for Bhusawal, which place it reached at 12-50 a.m. on 25th December. The seal on one side of the waggon which had contained the missing bales was intact at Mhasawad and found broken at Bhusawal. The doors of the waggon were found closed and the two bales in question missing. The theft is thus alleged to have taken place while the train was running to Bhusawal after leaving Mhasawad.