The petitioner is the plaintiff, a merchant of Bezwada, who sued the Nizam State Railway of Hyderabad for the

recovery of Rs. 305 being the value of some machinery he consigned on 21st August, 1944, from Bezwada to the

Circar Engineering Company, Lahore. It is common ground that the goods had to be carried over three railways.

Plaintiff received from the consignee a letter Exhibit P-1 dated 7th November, 1944, to the effect that the goods had not

reached him. He sent a notice to the railway company on 8th February 1945, complaining that the goods had not been

delivered and asking for payment of their value. To this letter he was not vouchsafed any reply. He then, after going

through the necessary formalities, filed this suit on 31st October, 1945. The learned Subordinate Judge dismissed it as

time barred under Article 31 of the Limitation Act which prescribes as the period of limitation for a suit against a carrier

for compensation, non-delivery or delay in delivering goods one year from the date “when the goods ought to be

delivered”. The learned Subordinate Judge attached importance to the evidence of a parcels clerk of the Bezwada

railway station who deposed that it woul