RADHA KANTA DASS Vs. BAERLEIN BROSLTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from an order made by a learned Judge on the original side whereby he stayed the plaintiff's suit under Section 19, Arbitration Act. It appears that the suit was brought by the plaintiff for breach of an agreement to supply certain goods, one term of the agreement being that the goods which the plaintiff was to receive were to be goods of which he would have in some sense a monopoly so far as India was concerned, and the plaintiff's suit was for damages for the defendant's wrongful conduct in sending other goods of the same kind to other ports in India in breach of their agreement. The defendants are a limited Company, Baerlein Bros. Ltd., incorporated in the United Kingdom and carrying on business at Manchester in England.

(2.) The plaintiff Radha Kanta Dass who carries on business in Calcutta being minded to get goods from England approached a person called M.N. Dutta and signed what is called an indent form. This is a common method of doing business when purchase of goods from abroad is desired and in all these forms, which are very badly draftod as a rule, one gets complicated questions as to whether the person to whom the indent is addressed is an agent for the buyer, an agent for the seller or whether the seller is his agent and so on.

(3.) The first step was that the plaintiff signed and sent to Dutta an indent, in one case on 15 February 1927. That indent refers to Messrs. Baerlein Bros. Ltd. It begins: I we request your agents suppliers principals Messrs Baerlein Bros. Ltd., to buy for me us and ship on my our account and risk. and so forth. There are great many clauses of the indent which refer to how the goods are to be paid for, the liability of M.N. Dutta, the rights of M.N. Dutta and, indeed, other matters.