( 1 ) THE petitioner in this case is the plaintiff who filed a suit to recover a sum of Rs. 1. 300. 00. being the value of goods damaged and short delivered. The plaintiff alleged that he booked a consignment of 200 bags of gram-dall under Invoice No. 20 dt. 16/07/1958 from Sirs! on the Northern Railway for delivery at Pendurti on the South Eastern Railway. The Railway Receipt was endorsed by the consignor in favour of the plaintiff at Kakinada for valuable consideration. The petitioner alleges that on account of negligence and misconduct of the Railway administration the consignment was damaged and became unfit for human consumption. On the application made for open delivery the Railway authorities examined and assessed the damage, and the shrot delivery of the stock. The plaintiff therefore sued the Railway, in this case the Union of India, for compensation and damages. The defendant resisted the suit on the ground firstly, that the court had no jurisdiction and secondly, that the suit claim was excessive. The lower court considered the question of jurisdiction of the court as a preliminary issue and disposed of the case by holding that the court had no jurisdiction