JUDGMENT

Lokeshwar Prasad, J.

1.1. The plaintiff, named above, has filed the present suit against the defendant for the recovery of Rs. 6,27,000/- averring that the plaintiff is a private Limited Company, registered under the Companies Act, 1956, having its registered office at J-189, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi and that Shri N.P. Dhawan, the Managing Director of the plaintiff Company, is competent to sign and verify the plaint and institute the present suit on behalf of the plaintiff Company.

1.2. It is alleged that the plaintiff Company inter-alia is engaged in the manufacture and export of readymade garments and as an ' Export House of Garments' the plaintiff had an account with the defendant Bank. The defendant Bank, as per the averments made in the plaint, used to undertake various incidental jobs of Bankers for the plaintiff and as such the defendant Bank had been accepting plaintiff's documents for presentation to and collection of payment from buyers of goods.

1.3. It is further alleged that during the course of its export business, the plaintiff Company arranged for the shipment of four consignments to West Germany and the buyers were M/s Moana Fashions and MiIlon Fashions of West Germany. The plaintiff Company, it is alleged, had delivered to the defendant Bank the following airway bills alongwith the relevant invoices and other supporting documents for presentation of the same to the parties against payment:-

1.4. It is alleged that the defendant Bank forwarded the documents to the consignees in West Germany but the consignees refused to retire the documents after paying for the goods on the grounds that the goods reached them late and that the plaintiff's Bank refused to give them 60 days credit facility. It is alleged that when the consignees refused to retire the documents, the plaintiff Company was placed in a tight position and was constrained to look for an alternative buyer for the sale of the goods in question. The Managing Director of the plaintiff Company, went to West Germany and thereafter to the United States of America to explore the possibility of marketing the goods in question and ultimately the plaintiff could find out an alternative buyer (M/s Sun Rise International, 3404, West Baverly Boulevard, Mountebelle, California-90640, USA ) in June, 1982 who was ready to accept the goods in question. The alternative buyer sent confirmation on 1st July, 1982, copy of which was given to the defendant Bank and the plaintiff asked the defendant Bank to redirect the goods in question to the alternative buyer in the United States of America.

1.5 It is further alleged that the goods in question were originally destined for West Germany and could not be redirected to the alternate buyer in USA without the permission from the competent authority in India and the defendant Bank asked the plaintiff that the plaintiff Company should get transfer of the Visa from West Germany to USA for the aforesaid purpose and then only the defendant Bank could forward the documents and redirect the goods to USA. Readymade garments, as per the case of the plaintiff, are exported to foreign countries on the basis of Past Performance Quota' and as the plaintiff had no quota for the United States of America, the plaintiff had to approach an exporter who had the quota for USA and could find out such an exporter and thereafter the plaintiff approached the 'Apparel Exporters Promotion Council' ( hereinafter referred to as 'the AEPC') for transfer of Visa in favour of the plaintiff for redirecting the goods in question to the United States of America. The AEPC directed the plaintiff to obtain permission from the Textile Committee. The plaint