JUDGMENT

Pattanaik, J.-Leave granted.

2. In this batch of appeals, a common question of law having arisen, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. The question for consideration is whether the appellant, who under the terms of the contract between him and the owner of the goods, having a lien over the goods, until the dues are paid can be forced to release the goods, without charging any demurrage, merely because the customs authorities issued a detention order for a specified period? We would discuss the question in relation to the facts in the case between the Shipping Corporation of India v. C.L. Jain Woollen Mills. The respondent C.L. Jain Woollen Mills, imported the consignment of polyester filament yarn from Korea to India. The port of load was Busan in Korea and the port of discharge was Bombay in India, but the place of delivery of goods was ICD, Delhi. The goods thus being brought to the port of Bombay were discharged but there had been no customs clearance at Bombay and the sealed container was transhipped to ICD, Delhi, where it remained with the Container Corporation of India. The Shipping Corporation of India is engaged in the business