Parthasarathi, J. - (1.) The Union of India has been sued by the respondent firm in three different actions, which involve common questions of law and fact. The claim of the plaintiff is in respect of three separate consignments of mangoes by three wagons, two from Chandragiri and one from Renigunta, the destination being Kachiguda, in all the cases. The plaintiff firm is the consignee of the three consignments, which were all made on June 29, 1958. The plaintiff's case is that, there had been inordinate delay in the movement of the goods and they were delivered in damaged condition on 7-7-1958, The delay was occasioned by the negligent of the Railway administration and the damage was the direct result of the delay. The goods being of perishable nature, certain precautions and steps were required to be taken which, according to the plaintiff, had been omitted to be taken and the result was that the fruits had been delivered in such a condition as to make the bulk thereof unfit for sale and consumption. The plaintiff accordingly sought compensation for the damage which is the difference between the estimated price and the actual realisation.
(2.) The suit was resisted by the Union of India, which pleaded inter alia that the consignments were all made at owner's risk, under which the consider agreed to load the goods in an "iron floor wagon liable to perish" and be carried, not by the short but by a distant route. It was denied that there was any to unreasonable or actionable delay or negligence on the part of the Railway Administration. There was also a denial of the averment that the goods were damaged and that the damage, if any, was the consequence of the acts or omissions of the Railway administration. The measure as well as the factum of liability for damages bad been called in question by the defendant.
(3.) The learned Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad, by a common judgment in the three suits, held that the consignments in question were carried from the place of loading to the destination without delay and that the plaintiff's case of negligence and misconduct was not proved. The plaintiff appealed from the decrees to the Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad. The appeals were allowed and the findings of the trial Court on all the material aspects of the case were reversed: The lower appellate Court came to the conclusion that there was inordinate delay and it has not been explained satisfactorily and that the evidence leaves no room for doubt that "due care and circumspection was not exercised" by the authorities in dispatching the consignment "of perishable wagons". He also expressed the opinion that "the wagons were detained unnecessarily at intermediate stations on account of gross negligence". He found that the claim for damages was made out by the plaintiff and granted decrees in the three suits for the amounts prayed for.;