THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SAMBASIVARAO NAIDU C.C.C.A.NOS.209 AND 229 OF 2018

COMMON JUDGMENT:

Being aggrieved by the common Judgment dated

20.12.2017 in O.S.Nos.80 and 81 on the file of the I Additional Chief Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad, M/s Gati Corporation Limited and Gati Cargo Management Services (for short, ‘Gati Corporation’)-appellant herein has filed these two appeals under Section 96 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, ‘C.P.C.’) assailing the said common Judgment on various grounds.

2. Gati Corporation has filed a suit in O.S.No.80 of 2005 against M/s Samkrg Pistons Limited (for short, ‘Samkrg Pistons’) for recovery of Rs.2,23,272/- and the said Samkrg Pistons has filed another suit vide O.S.No.81 of 2005 against Gati Corporation for recovery of Rs.5,00,000/- towards shortage in consignment along with interest at the rate of Rs.40,000/- from the date of transaction till the date of filing as well as Rs.5,00,000/- as damages towards mental agony faced by it due to theft of its stock worth Rs.5,00,000/-.

3. In fact, Samkrg Pistons has filed suit vide O.S.No.21 of

1999 against Gathi Corporation on the file I Additional District Judge, Visakhapatnam. But subsequently, after transfer of the said suit, the same was re-numbered as O.S.No.81 of 2005 and tried along with O.S.No.80 of 2005 filed by Gati Corporation and both the suits were disposed of under a common Judgment dated

20.12.2017 by the trial Court.

4. As could be seen from the impugned common Judgment, the suit filed by Gati Corporation vide O.S.No.80 of 2005 has been dismissed while the suit filed by Samkrg Pistons vide O.S.No.81 of 2005 was partly decreed by directing the Gati Corporation to pay a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- with interest at the rate of interest 6% per annum from the date of suit till the realization.

5. Being not happy with the said Judgment, Gati Corporation has filed these two appeals vide CCCA Nos.209 and 229 of 2018. Since the above appeals are against the same common Judgment and the contentions are inter-related, a common Judgment would suffice for disposal of both the appeals.

6. Before adverting to the grounds on which these appeals are filed, it is just and necessary to refer the contentions of both the parties in above referred original suits since two different suits filed by the same parties were disposed of under a common Judgment, it is proposed to decide both the appeals under a common Judgment in order to avoid confusion and for better understanding.

7. As already stated in the previous paragraphs, O.S.No.80 of 2005 has been filed by Gati Corporation on the ground that they were engaged in the business of transportation of goods and cargo from one place to another and the said Samkrg Pistons has been availing the services of Gati Corporation through its various branches and they used to send consignments to various destinations, as per terms entered between the parties. Gati Corporation has intimated that Samkrg Pistons have to pay bills within 30 days from the date of bill and it has to pay interest at the rate of 24% per annum for the bills paid beyond the stipulated period. Said Gati Corporation has claimed that Samkrg Pistons was irregular in clearing the outstanding amounts, and that there was an outstanding amount of Rs.2,23,272/- under 27 various bills, thereby, sought for recovery of the said amount together with interest at the rate of 24% per annum.

8. The record further shows that Samkrg Pistons has filed the suit in O.S.No.21 of 1999 against Gati Corporation on the ground that they are manufacturers and suppliers of piston rings and they used to send their stock to various places by availing the services of Gati Corporation and in the same practice they sent stock worth Rs.50,00,000/- to one M/s Bajaj Auto Limited during the months of January, 1998 to June, 1988 from their Visakhapatnam Branch by Gati Corporation. However, they received a complaint from their customer that there was shortage of stock worth Rs.5,00,0