- (1.) This appeal under Section 23 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 is directed against the order dated 19-2- 1991 passed by the learned Railway Claims Tribunal, Jaipur Bench Camp at Jodhpur [for short 'the Tribunal'] whereby the learned Tribunal has declined to allow the interest claimed by the appellant amounting to Rs. 15867/- @ Rs. 13.50% from 193-1988 to 24-7-1989 and further from the date of preferring claim petition till the payment is made, on the ground that if amounts to damages over damages not warranted by clause (d) of Section 78 of the Indian Railways Act, 1890 [for short 'the Act'].
(2.) The brief facts relating to this appeal are that a consignment of 180 bags of sugar was despatched to the applicant by M/s. Hindustan Sugar Mills, Golagokarannath under Railway Receipt No. 757965 dated 7-3-1988 under the railway risk to be delivered to the appellant at Rani. The railway receipt was consigned to self and it was sent through Bank to the appellant who retired it for valuable consideration under Hundi No. 979 of 83-1988 for Rs. 86929.20 p. However, the above consignment did not reach to its destination. The plaintiff-appellant wrote to the Railway Authorities and ultimately served a notice under Section 80, C.P.C. but the latter did not care to reply the same.
(3.) The plaintiff-appellant, therefore, filed a suit before the learned Additional District Judge, Bali on 24-7-1989. The defendants-respondents did not dispute the claim of the appellant and sent a cheque for Rs. 86929/- but the plaintiff-appellant could not encash the same because the description of the plaintiff was wrongly mentioned in the cheque. The plaintiff-appellant, therefore, returned the cheque with a letter to the defendantrespondents specifying the reasons for its non- encashment. Thereafter, the defendantrespondents neither sent the fresh cheque with correct address nor sent any reply.;