TMI Blog1976 (8) TMI 161X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r, Southern Railway respondent was dismissed. The appellant booked 2,000 tons of rice in 21,310 bags from Bareilli railway station for being transported to Trivandrum central railway station as per 10 railway receipts during the period from June 25 to July 5, 1950. According to the case of the appellant, the rice delivered at Trivandrum central railway station was short by 79,378 lbs. It was also averred that the rice in 327 bags was found to be damaged. The appellants accordingly claimed ₹ 28,208.70 as damages from the respondent. The respondent resisted the claim of the appellant, inter alia, on the ground that the suit was not maintainable as the Union of India had not been impleaded as a defendant to the suit and th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat application. It was observed that if the application was allowed and the Union of India was made a party, the suit would have to be dismissed as under article 131(a) of the-Constitution a suit by one State against the Union of India could only lie in the Supreme Court. In the result, the High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the appellant. In appeal before us Mr. Gupte on behalf of the appellant has invited our attention to the definition of railway administration in section 3(6) of the Indian Railways Act, 1890 (Act 9 of 1890) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) which reads as under: railway administration or administration in the case of a railway administered by the Government means the Manager of the railway ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... her against the railway administration from which the passenger obtained his pass or purchased his ticket, or to which the animals or goods were delivered by the consignor thereof, as the case may be, or against the railway administration on whose railway the loss, injury, destruction or deterioration occurred. It is urged by Mr. Gupte that as, according to section 3 (6) of the Act, railway administration means a Manager of the railway and as some of the sections 72 to 80 make express reference to suits against railway administration, a suit against the General Manager of the railway concerned is competent. The trial court and the High Court, according to the learned counsel, were in error in holding that the suit was not maintainabl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s essentially a matter relating to the frame of suits, and is dealt with by the Code of Civil Procedure. According to section 79 of the Code, in a suit by or against the Government, the authority to be named as plaintiff or defendant, as the case may be, shall be (a) in the case of a suit by or against the Central Government, the Union of India, and (b) in the case of a suit by or against a State Government, the State. This section is in accordance with article 300 of the Constitution, according to which the Government of India may sue or be sued by the name of the Union of India and the Government of a State may sue or be sued by the name of the State. It is not disputed that Southern Railway is owned by the Union of India. As such, a suit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thority. When, however, liability is sought to be fastened on the railway administration and a suit is brought against it on that account, the suit, in our opinion, would have to be brought against the Union of India because it is the Union who owns the railway and who would have the funds to satisfy the claim in case decree is awarded in such suit. The scheme of the Act, even though there are now hardly any company-owned railways in India, is to treat different railway administrations as different units, although all of them may be owned by the Union of India. Neither the definition of the railway administration in section 3(6) of the Act nor the language of sections 72 to 80 of the Act lends support for the view that the railway ad ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... section 80 of the Act. The institution of the suit has to be preceded by service of notice under section 77 of the Act and section 80 of the Code to the appropriate authority which is the General Manager of the railway concerned. The requirement of clause (b) of section 80 of the Code that a notice in the case of a suit against the Central Government where it relates to a railway must go to the General Manager of the concerned railway or railways is also based upon the assumption that it is primarily the liability of the railway administration of the said railway or railways to satisfy the claim of the suitor in accordance with section 80 of the Act. The demarcation of the different State-owned railways as distinct units for administrative ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
