2015 Supreme(Gau) 500
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI
Nishitendu Chaudhury, J.
Siotia Steels Ltd. – Appellant
Vs.
National Building Construction Corporation Ltd. and Ors. – Respondents
RFA No. 13 of 2008
Decided On: 26.06.2015
Advocate Appeared:
For Appellant :S.P. Roy, Advocate
For Respondents:A. Thakur, Advocate
Headnote:
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 – Section 151 and 80 – Order XI Rule 16 – Companies Act, 1956 – Small Scale and Ancillary Undertaking Act, 1992 – Limitation Act – Section 18 – Contract Act – Section 25 – Steel Authority of India – Acknowledgment of liability – Appeal is directed against judgment and decree passed by learned Civil Judge in Money Suit dismissing suit of plaintiff in entirety – Present appellant, as plaintiff, instituted Money Suit stating that it is a company registered Directorate of Industries, Government of Assam manufacturing units of M.S. Rods TOR steels of various sizes at and is engaged in sale and supply thereof to various buyers including departments of Government of Assam – Chief Project Manager of defendant invited sealed quotations from manufacturers/suppliers for supply of steel and cement and plaintiff submitted quotations whereupon Chief Project Manager of defendant No. 2 placed supply orders on various dates for supply of steels at different working sites of defendants supply orders – Held, But neither in original plaint nor in amended one did plaintiff make any whisper about payment made by defendants fact as to payment subsequent to institution of suit whether can save suit from bar of limitation may be a different point undoubtedly remains out of pleading although settled law that no amount of evidence which is beyond pleading can be considered by court not be a fit document for being taken into consideration document is considered beyond pleading suit of plaintiff was beyond period of limitation cannot be cured plaint been amended to incorporate fact in that event perhaps there would have been a possibility of applying doctrine of relating back but since plaintiff did not make any attempt to get this matter admitted into pleading by way of amendment such possibility has also ceased to exist – Appeal is dismissed.
Nishitendu Chaudhury, J.
1. This regular first appeal is directed against the judgment and decree dated 12.07.2007 passed by learned Civil Judge (Sr. Divn. No. 1) at Guwahati in Money Suit No. 192/2000 dismissing the suit of the plaintiff in entirety. Present appellant, as plaintiff, instituted Money Suit No. 192/2000 stating that it is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and "a registered S.S.I., unit under the Directorate of Industries, Government of Assam vide No. 020504450. It has manufacturing units of M.S. Rods, TOR steels of various sizes at Dharapur at Guwahati and is engaged in sale and supply thereof to various buyers including the departments of the Government of Assam. The Chief Project Manager of the defendant No. 2 invited sealed quotations from manufacturers/suppliers for supply of steel and cement on 29.01.1993 and plaintiff submitted quotations on 09.02.1993 whereupon the Chief Project Manager of defendant No. 2 placed supply orders on various dates for supply of steels at different working sites of defendants No. 1 and 2 as per the supply orders. The defendants assured the plaintiff of making payment within 14 days from the date of delivery of goods. Accordingly, plaintiff supplied goods on various dates from 24.02.1993 upto 26.05.1993 on as many as 44 occasions. Plaintiff also submitted bills w.e.f. 24, 26/02/1993 till 27.05.1993 against individual supply orders. Plaintiff served to the defendant No. 2 the copies of letters dated 12.03.1993 of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) along with their letters dated 12.03.1993, 13.03.1993, 20.03.1993 and 22.03.1993 claiming the payment of local freight for materials delivered within Guwahati and also to make the payment due to increase in price of materials w.e.f. 27.02.1993. But despite repeated requests by the plaintiff and assurances from the defendant No. 2, the payments were not made. Plaintiff wrote letters to the defendants on 23.03.1993, 04.03.1995, 14.03.1995, 25.08.1995, 06.10.1995, 03.11.1995, 24.05.1996, 20.07.1996, 15.02.1997, 31.03.1997, 29.04.1997, 04.06.1997, 14.07.1997, 22.06.1998 and 20.10.1999 requesting for payment of outstanding bills and ultimately by letter dated 20.10.1999 plaintiff informed the defendants that an amount of Rs. 23,697.45 was yet payable by the defendants. By that letter plaintiff contradicted that the defendant No. 2 had wrongly described the unpaid amount to be Rs. 14,012.15 and Rs. 2,500/- for supplies to Agartala and Naltoli work sites of the defendant No. 2. Payment of Rs. 33,199/- to the plaintiff was also due to increase in price as condition No. 10 and 11 of the quotation of the plaintiff. Defendant No. 2 by letter dated 22.02.1997 informed the plaintiff that the earnest money of Rs. 5,000/- would be refunded for which cheque is ready for collection by the plaintiff. By that letter defendant No. 2 informed the plaintiff that he was going to write letters to the units at Agartala, Biswanath Chariali and Naltoli for examining the claims of the plaintiff and to settle the claims. By letter dated 13.05.1997, the Manager Finance of the defendant No. 2 asked the plaintiff to correspond directly to the unit in-charges where supplies were made for outstanding payments. Thereafter by letter dated 30.06.1997, defendant No. 2 informed the plaintiff that units in-charges of the defendant No. 2 have already been requested to release the pending dues to the plaintiff and by letter dated 11.11.1999 unit in-charge of Agartala was also accordingly requested. Plaintiff manufactured and supplied the goods to defendants by taking loan from S.B.I., Main Branch and paid interest at various rates between the period from 1992 to 2000 and thereupon obtained certificates on 23.02.1996, 03.08.1998, 02.12.1998 and 22.06.1999 showing the rates of interest charged by the bankers on various dates. Plaintiff claimed that business transactions with defendants are duly maintained by them in their respective Books of Accounts in ord