Punjab Export Corporation Limited, Chadigarh vs M/s B.C. Foundary Engineers and Founders, Agra

S.S. Sodhi, J.—The impugned order warrants no interference in Appeal. On January 10, 1967, the Plaintiff Punjab Export Corporation Limited placed an order upon the Defendants-M/s B.C. Foundry Engineers & Founders, Agra, for the supply of certain sanitary material to M/s Sanitary Emporium Limited in Nairobi-Kenya. When these goods were shipped to Nairobi, the overseas buyers with held part of the payment on the ground of short supply and demurrage. A sum of Rs. 10,475/- was deducted from the amount payable to the Plaintiff at price of these goods. In order to recover the loss so suffered, the Plaintiffs filed the present suit against the Defendants in the Court at Chandigarh. A preliminary objection was raised with regard to the territorial jurisdiction of this Court the court came to the conclusion that the court at Chandigarh lacked such jurisdiction. It is this order which was sought to be challenged here.

What forms the basis of the order of the trial court were the findings that the order for the supply of goods was accepted by the Defendants at Agra and it was at Agra that the goods were inspected by the Plaintiffs before they were shipped out. Mr. A.C. Jain, counsel for the Plaintiffs, however, sought to contend that the court at Chandigarh had territorial jurisdiction as the offer for the supply of these goods was made to the Defendants from Chandigarh and the payment of these goods was also dispatched from Chandigarh. These, in the circumstances, are clearly no grounds to confer jurisdiction upon the court at Chandigarh. It is well-settled that mere making of an offer does not form part of the cause of action and acceptance, in view of the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, is complete at against the proposer only when it is put in the course of transmission to him so as to be out of the power of the acceptor. This stands so settled by the judgment of the Supreme Court in Bhagwandas Goverdhandas Kedia Vs. Girdharilal Parshottamdas and Co. and Others, . Also relevant here are the authorities relied upon by the trial Court Gappulal s/o Chandarlal v. Kanderwal Brothers, Metal Deptt (supra), and Sidi Subba Rao and Anr. v. Pukhraj Kocher Ginning and Pressing Factory 3 No exception can thus be taken to the impugned order.

3 This appeal is accordingly hereby dismissed with no order at to costs.

The plaint is accordingly ordered to be returned to the Plaintiff Corporation for presentation before the competent court on or before March 15. 1984.