YORK KNITWEARS LTD. Vs. LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Case of the complainant Complainant No. 1 M/s York Knitwear Limited (hereinafter referred to as the company), Ludhiana, is a Public Limited Company and complainant No 2 is the Managing Director thereof. Complainant company is one of the premier institutions at Ludhiana and is engaged in the manufacturing and exporting of knitwear for the past 10 years and claims to have a reputation and good - will in India and also abroad for exporting knitwear to the tune of Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 13 crores during the decade 1985 -86 to 1993 -94, except during 1992 -1993 due to disturbed political situation in Russia. The company had received orders for various kinds of knitwear from buyers in Moscow. Ordered goods were divided into various consignments and shipped and the following four consignments formed part thereof :

(2.) These consignments were booked through M/s Sunrise Freight Forwarders (P) Ltd., New Delhi (OP No. 5) (hereinafter referred to as M/s Sunrise) and the company expected that the goods would be delivered at Moscow before Christmas. The opposite parties assured delivery of goods at Moscow within 4 -5 days which is the normal time taken for such delivery by the Airlines. The company had sent these goods by Air as the same were to be in stock of the buyers for sale during the peak seasons of Christmas and New Year. The complainant company was shocked to receive a telephonic call from its buyers from Moscow on 26.12.1993 that none of the goods covered by the aforementioned four consignments sent to them had reached Moscow and the buyers were astonished by the irresponsibility shown by the company. Immediately the company wrote a letter to the General Manager, Lufthansa Air Cargo Division, Delhi on 27.12.1993 regretting that they had booked their goods with the opposite parties who had not lived upto their reputation as responsible carriers and requested that the goods be sent to Moscow before 31.12.1993. It was further mentioned in the letter that after 1.1.1994 the Russian Custom Duty structure was also changing to the detriment of the traders. The company also wrote to M/s Sunrise showing displeasure at the way the transportation of the goods had been handled. M/s Sunrise in turn wrote to the Cargo Manager, Lufthansa German Airlines, New Delhi in respect to one consignment booked by them and also to the Manager, Cargolux Airlines International with regard to the other three consignments booked by them. The agents also wrote a letter to the Cargo Manager (Exports) Lufthansa German Airlines, Frankfurt, Germany. Though the three consignments were booked with Cargolux and one with Lufthansa and all the four were ultimately dispatched from Delhi through Lufthansa Airlines (hereinafter referred to as Lufthansa).

(3.) On 11.1.1994, the company directly faxed their letter to Lufthansa Air Cargo Division, Frankfurt to know the fate of their consignment and further brought to the notice of the opposite parties that the consignment contained woollen seasonal goods which were perishable and consumable in nature and were likely to get damaged and they would also go out of season/fashion due to the delay. They further brought to the notice of the opposite parties that in case the goods were not delivered the companys credibility would be damaged and there would be heavy financial loss and heavy claims from its buyers. Another letter on similar lines was sent on 12.1.1994. Only on 20.1.1994 that Lufthansa gave the first meaningful response to the several frantic enquiries made by the Company confirming that the goods had been airlifted from Delhi but the same were still stuck in Frankfurt as no flight was being operated due to congestion in warehouses in Moscow. The four consignments finally reached Moscow on 27.1.1994 after several days of booking. i.e. (i) (invoice No. 1014) 57 days; (ii) (invoice No. 1015) 55 days; (iii) (invoice No. 1016) 51 days and (iv) (invoice No. 1019) 43 days.