1. The petitioner plaintiff consigned a bale of piecegoods valued at Rs. 460.26 by rail from Cannanore on the Southern Railway to Harinagar on the North Eastern Railway, both railways, as also all railways over which the goods had to pass in transit being railways owned and administered by the Central Government. The evidence shows that the goods were lost by the railway administration after they had reached Harinagar, and, on 10-5-1957, the plaintiff by his letter Ext. A8 made a claim for their value to the Chief Commercial Superintendent of the North Eastern Railway. Not obtaining satisfaction, he sued on the small cause side of the court of the Munsiff of Cannanore for the recovery of Rs. 463,26 as damages, after due compliance with the requirements of S.80 of the Civil Procedure Code. His suit was laid against, "The Union of India as the owner of the North Eastern Railway represented by the General Manager, North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur." After over-ruling the objection of the defendant that the suit was bad for want of a valid and proper notice under S.77 of the Indian Railways Act, the court below dismissed it on the ground that it had no territorial jurisdicti