Fazal Ali, J. - (1.) This appeal by the defendant is directed against a judgment and decree dated 2nd December 1965 of the Allahabad High Court affirming the judgment of the trial Court decreeing the plaintiff's suit. The appellant approached the High Court for a certificate which was granted as late as 6th January, 1969 on the ground that the appeal involved substantial questions of law.
(2.) The material facts of the case have been detailed in the judgment of the High Court and the statement of cases filed by the parties and it is not necessary to repeat the same. Shorn of the unnecessary details it appears that the plaintiffs-respondents filed a suit against the appellant for recovery of Rs.68,067 in the Court of Additional Civil Judge, Muzaffarnagar being the price of 100 tons of sugar supplied to the appellant under a contract which was embodied in the various communication and correspondence between the parties regarding the manner and the terms on which the quantity of sugar was to be supplied to the appellant. It appears that in pursuance of an agreement as culled out from the correspondence the plaintiffs-respondents supplied 100 tons of sugar on the 6th, 7th and 8th of August, 1947 to Khanpur. Bahawalnagar and Sammasatta according to the instructions issued by the North-Western Reilway which was the purchaser of the goods. The sugar was to be delivered to the Station Master, Shamli who was directed to put it into wagons after proper weighment. It is the admitted case of the parties that goods loaded in the wagons were looted in the course of transmission between Buchhoo and Allal. The plaintiffs-respondents' case was that having supplied the goods as desired to the purchasers, the property passed to them on delivery of the goods at Shamli and hence the plaintiffs-respondents were entitled to the recovery of the amount mentioned above.
(3.) The suit was resisted by the defendant-appellant firstly on the ground that as the goods were consigned by the plaintiffs to 'self' and Railway receipts were to be issued through the Central Bank in the name of some of the railway employees, the title to the goods was retained by the plaintiffs and the goods did not pass to the appellant. It was further averred that in view of the provisions of Article 8 (1) (a) of the Indian Independence (Rights, Property and Liabilities) Order, 1947 (hereinafter to be referred to as the 'Order'), the liability to pay the cost of the goods fell on the Government of Pakistan because the places where the goods were to be supplied were part of Pakistan on the 15th of August 1947.;