Judgment

MITTER, J.

( 1 ) THIS group of applications can be divided into two parts. The object of one group is to get the plaints in nine suits filed in this courtrejected while that of the other group is to stay the hearing of the suits. Thesuits are all of the same pattern in each of which the State of Bihar figuresas the plaintiff. The Unoin of India is the first defendant in all of themwhile the second defendant in six is Hindustan Steel Ltd. and in threeothers the Indian Iron and Steel Company Ltd. The cause of action in allthe suits is of the same nature. Briefly stated the plaintiffs case in all thesuits is that "due to the negligence or deliberate action of the servants ofboth defendants there was a short delivery of iron and steel materialordered by the plaintiff to various sites in the State of Bihar in connectionwith the construction work of the Gandak Project". As the goods werein all cases booked by rail for despatch to the project site, both defendantsare sought to be made liable for short delivery, the first defendant as theowner of the railways and the second defendant as the consignor of thegoods under contract with the State of Bihar for supply of the material. In e