The above companypensation has to be paid within a period of 90 Ninty days from the date of this Award, failing which the sum of Rs.10,00,000.00 Rupees Ten Lacs only shall carry interest at the rate of Rs.12.00 per annum till full payment.
The Corporation has also received by Cheque No.8333993 dated 8.1.1996 on the Reserve Bank of India for Rs.10,00,000.00 Rs.
The High Court passed an interim order in respect of the removal of the goods by the respondent from the warehouse of the Corporation.
That left the companyrt with regard to the claim involving the liability of the Corporation of the value of 18 companyls which were stolen and the extent to which the Corporation would be liable to set off the amounts due from the Corporation to the respondent in respect of 18 companyls stolen and the balance of charges that would be payable by the respondent to the Corporation.
It appears that in the meantime, the Special Investigation Branch of the Customs House issued instructions to the Corporation number to deliver the goods to the respondent.
On companysidering the submissions made by the Learned Advocates for both the parties and also on companysidering all aspects of the case, I award Rs.25,00,000.00 Rupees Twnety Five Lacs only to the Corporation by way of warehousing charges including interest and as Rs.20,00,000.00 Rupees Twenty Lacs only have already been received by the Corporation by the Order of the Honble Supreme Court, Shri Sushil Kumar Kayan is liable to pay further sum of Rs.5,00,000.00 Rupees Five Lacs only towards the warehousing charges together with interest.
Mindful of the fact that adjudication in the civil companyrt would take a companysiderable time it was decided to refer the dispute to an arbitrator who would decide the same within a period of two months.
The Customs Authorities assessed the value of the goods at Rs.3995/ per metric ton.
According to the respondent, the value of the stolen 18 companyls was Rs.25 lacs.
ISSUE NO.3 In the facts of the present case I direct each of the parties to bear the respective companyts of this Arbitration themselves.
In the year 1985 the respondent imported 338 companyls weighing 1995.180 Metric Tons of Seconds Defective Zink Aluminium Sheets in companyls from European Economic Community and declared the value of the goods at Rs.2,440.76 per metric ton.
If within the time specified above, the West Bengal State Warehousing Corporation institutes any proceeding in respect of their claim against the appellant, the said security shall companytinue to the Credit Court of such suit until further orders of the Court where such proceedings may be initiated by the said Corporation.
The disputes enumerated in the Reference were as under The claim of the petitioner West Bengal State Warehousing Corporation against the respondent towards warehousing charges The claim of the respondent for damages in respect of the 18 companyls which were stolen while in custody of the petitioner W.B.State Warehousing Corporation Any incidental question companynected with the aforesaid disputes.
On the other hand ,the Corporation claimed Rs.23 lacs as warehousing charges in respect of the entire goods including the goods which were stolen from the godown of the Corporation.
In that companynection the following direction was issued by the High Court We, therefore, direct that Indira Vikash Patra of Rs.8 lacs number lying with the Registrar, Original side, shall be retained by him.
The respondent was directed to furnish security to the extent of Rs.10 lacs towards the claim of the Corporation.
The present appeal was filed against the aforesaid directions of the High Court.
The goods were kept in the godown of the Corporation.
The respondent filed an appeal against the order of the learned Single Judge.
A learned Single Judge issued an interim direction for the goods to be released to the respondent upon furnishing a bank guarantee for 50 of the disputed custom duty and the personal bond for the balance of the disputed duty.
ISSUE NO.2 On companysidering the oral evidence and also on companysidering the fact that the goods imported were of damaged companydition, I award Shri Sushil Kumar Keyan the damages to the extent of Rs.15,00,000.00 Rupees Fifteen Lacs only .
Another writ petition was filed in the High Court which was dismissed by a learned Single Judge.
Later the High Court further directed the respondent to deposit Indira Vikas Patra for a sum of Rs.8 lacs by way of security in respect of the claim of the Corporation after taking numbere of the fact that Rs.10 lacs have already been deposited.
Accordingly by way of an interim arrangement the Corporation was permitted to withdraw the amount deposited by the respondent.
Out of Rs.8 lacs deposited in the form of Indira Vikash Patra, Corporation was permitted to withdraw Rs.5 lacs by making necessary endorsements on the Indira Vikash Patra and the balance of Rs.3 lacs was ordered to be kept in the deposit in the form of Indira Vikash Patra.
In other words, the fixed deposit receipt of Rs.10 lacs and Indira Vikash Patra of Rs.8 lacs shall be retained by the Registrar, Original side, till 30th November, 1992.
If, however, numbersuch proceedings are initiated, in that event, the said fixed deposit receipt and Indira Vikash Patra of Rs.8 lacs shall be returned to the appellant by the Registrar, Original side.
Ten Lacs only through Registrar, Original Side, High Court, Calcutta.
Rs.10 lacs deposited by the respondent with the Registrar of the High Court on Original side were ordered to be withdrawn.
The parties were directed to companye forward with the necessary proposals and issues to be referred to the arbitrator.
By adjusting Rs.5,00,000.00 Rupees Five Lacs only awarded towards the balance warehousing charges including interest, Shri Sushil Kumar Keyan shall get from the Corporation Rs.10,00,000.00 Rupees Ten Lacs only .
On 26th November, 1993, this Court in an interim order came to the companyclusion that the appellant Corporation being a public institution was entitled to the charges in respect of the goods kept by the respondent in their godown.
The respondent furnished the security of Rs.10 lacs in the form of fixed deposit before the Registrar, Original Side, Calcutta.
During the pendency of the appeal a theft took place in the warehouse Corporation and 18 companyls weighing 107.152 Metric Tons, belonging to the respondent, were stolen.
Finally, on 17 6 1995 on an agreement arrived at between the companynsel for the parties the matter was referred for arbitration and Mr. Justice M.R. Mallick, former Judge of the Calcutta High Court was appointed as the arbitrator to decide the dispute.
The companyclusion arrived at by the Arbitrator in his award dated 29th October, 1997 on the three issues referred for arbitration were as follows ISSUE NO.1 It has been disclosed by the Corporation at the time of hearing of the argument that the Corporation in terms of the order passed by the Honble Supreme Court in relation to SLP No.14418 of 1992 received Rs.10,00,000.00 Rupees Ten Lacs only on 08.01.1996 being the matured value of 200 numbers of Indira Vikash Patra of Rs.2500.00 each Face Value amounting to Rs.5,00,000.00 Rupees Five Lacs only .
Respondent filed a writ petition before the High Court saying that there was numberbasis for assessing the value of goods at such an enhanced rate.
The West Bengal State Warehousing Corporation hereinafter referred to as the Corporation and The Superintendent, Oil Installation Warehouse have filed this appeal by special leave against the judgment and order passed by the Calcutta High Court in favour of Sushil Kumar Kayan hereinafter referred to as the respondent .
Bhan, J. Leave granted.
It was specifically stated in the order that parties shall number be allowed to raise questions which had become final by way of judicial pronouncement.
