This revision petition arises under the following circumstances. The first respondent is a firm of merchants carrying on business at Madras. One hundred and one bundles of buffalo-skins were shipped from Calcutta through the Great Eastern Shipping Company, Limited, the petitioner, in March, 1953, for being delivered to the first respondent. The goods were brought by the petitioners by a steamship S.S. Jal Ganga and in due course the goods arrived at Madras. The second respondent, the Port Trust of Madras, took delivery of the goods and delivered only 97 bundles to the first respondent. Thereupon the first respondent filed a suit for recovery of a sum of Rs. 1153, Rs. 1048 being the value of the four bundles not delivered and Rs. 105 being towards damages. The claim for damages was, however, given up at the stage of the trial. The petitioner registered the claim of the 1st respondent mainly on two grounds, (1) that the suit was barred as the consignee did not file a claim with them within the time limited by the bill of lading and (2) that the shipping Company was discharged from its liability as it had delivered the goods to the Madras Port Trust, the second respondent. T