JUDGMENT

Pinaki Chandra Ghose, J. –

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is preferred against the judgment and order dated December 19, 2011 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in Regular First Appeal No.1033 of 2005 partly allowing the appeal filed by the respondent herein and partly decreeing the Original Suit being O.S. No. 4763 of 1986 filed by the respondent being the original plaintiff. The said original suit was dismissed by a judgment and decree dated March 17, 2005.

3. Pre-liberalization, till 1996 all the coffee grown in India was pooled with the appellant-Board which is a statutory body under the Coffee Act, 1942. The appellant-Board (hereinafter referred to as "Board") marketed the pooled coffee and distributed the net realization to the growers in proportion the quantity pooled by them. The Board marketed the pooled coffee by means of auctions and separate auctions were held for export and domestic market. Only registered exporters are allowed to participate in the said auctions and the successful bidders amongst them enter into contracts with the Board for the purchase of the coffee.

The Board is a member of the International Coffee Organization (hereinafter ref