Law: Sea Customs Act, 1878

Section: 55

Law: Evidence Act, (1 of 1872)

Section: 2

(a) Practice-(Consolidation of cases)-Four suits heard together (by agreement)-Evidence recorded used in all four cases to extent relevant to each.(b) Document-Admitted with consent of parties without formal proof.(c) Carriage of goods by sea-(Loss of goods)-(Damage to goods)-Causes different for each result-To be separately pleaded.(d) Carriage of goods by sea-Loss-Damage-Burden of defence against claim for loss or damage-On shipowner, once owner of goods has proved loss or damage, unless case excepted by Art. IV, Sched., Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (XXVI of 1925)-[Carver's "Carriage of Goods by Sea", 10th Ed., at p. 186; Ibrahim v. State P L D 1961 S C 200 and Hari Baksh v. Babu Lal A I R 1924 P C 126 ref. ; Ida's case (1875) 32 L T 541 considered.](e) Sea Customs Act (VIII of 1878), S. 55-"Import Mani�fest"-Goods (rape-seed) entered in "Import Manifest" found on board ship not in identifiable but in unidentifiable condition (deteriorated seed in rotten state)-No action taken against Master of ship for short-landing-Goods not deemed to have been short�landed-Evidence Act (I of 1872), S. 2.JUDGMENT Suits Nos. 244, 412, 796 and 823 of 1955 will be disposed of by this judgment. They are for recovery of damages and belong to the series of cases out of which four suits were previously dismissed by my judgment in Adam Limited v. Muhammadi Steam�ship Company Limited (P L D 1962 Kar. 227). The plaintiffs have preferred Letters Patent Appeas against that judgment and the appeals are still pending. All the parties to these suits were parties to the former suits and those counsel who have taken the main part in these suits had also appeared in them. Additionally, some of the most important witnesses examined in these suits were produced in the former suits. I would have therefore preferred these suits to be decided by some other Judge of this Court. They were actually fixed for hearing before Sir George Constantine when he was a Judge of this Court and before A. S. Faruqui, J., but in the ordinary course of disposal of cases, have finally come back to me for decision. 2. These circumstances have nevertheless not been without the advantage that arguments…