The plaintiff entrusted on nth December, 1943, a parcel of iron screws to the South Indian Railway, Ernakulam., and consigned it to a client at Vizhakapatnam. To Vizhakapatnam the parcel would have had to travel over the lines of the South Indian Railway up to Jalarpet, on the M. & S.M. Railway from Jalarpet to Waltair, and on the B.N. Railway from Waltair to Vizhakapatnam. The South Indian Railway were able to satisfy the plaintiff that the parcel had been safely handed over to the M. & S.M. Railway authorities, Jalarpet. In answer to interrogatories, the M. &.amp; S.M. Railway stated that they had entrusted the goods to the B.N. Railway at Waltair, but they produced no evidence in support of this, and the case proceeded on the basis that the parcel was in the custody of the M. & S.M. Railway, who are the petitioners here, at all relevant dates. After much correspondence the plaintiff sent a notice on 29th September, 1945, purporting to be a suit notice addressed to the Secretary of State for India. At that time the proper authority to whom notice should have been given was the Governor-General-in-Council. It was however received by the authority empowered to receive notic