( 1 ) THE order dated 10. 3. 1977 passed by the principal Civil Judge, Mangatore, O. K. , on issue No. 7ino. S. No. 37 of 1973 is challenged.

( 2 ) ISSUE No. 7 reads as follows: does the defendent prove that this Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the suit?

( 3 ) THE petitioner is the defendent while the respondent is the plaintiff. The Civil Judge has recorded his finding on issue No. 7 in the negative.

( 4 ) THE few facts are that the respondentplaintiff being a whole-sale dealer in arecanuts, entrusted to the petitioner-defendent-firm with 45 bags of arecanuts at its branch office at Mangalore for being transported to a destination in calcutta. The petitioner-defendent later on informed about the loss of the consignment alleging that the lorry in which the consignment was being transported got stuck in the middle of kalvakunta river in Andhra Pradesh and the consignment was lost. The respondent-plaintiff filed the suit in question for recovery of the value of the consignment and other expenses by way of damages.

( 5 ) THE petitioner-defendent put forth many contentions including the one on the basis of which issue No. 7 has been struck. That contention is tha