Ports Act, 1908 – s.14 – Raising or removal of wreck impeding navigation within limits of port – Appellant called upon to deposit a sum of Rs.70 lakhs for removal of wreck of a barge belonging to respondent no.3 which capsized while ferrying iron ore from the ship of the appellant to the port concerned – Writ petition by the appellant praying for prohibiting the respondents from insisting upon the appellant to remove the wreck of the barge and to deposit any amount as costs of such wreck – Case of the appellant that the Act places liability on the owner of the vessel concerned and, the owner of the vessel was respondent no.3 and not the appellant – High Court allowed respondent no.1-Mumbai Port Trust to withdraw the amount deposited in the court by the appellant and disposed of the petition as being infructuous – Sustainability:
Held: Not sustainable – The way the High Court approached the issue appears to be erroneous since the lis was very much alive, as a pure question of law stood raised was on whom the liability for clearing the wreckage was to be fastened – Impugned order did not deal with this fundamental issue – When on a purely legal issue, the appellant raised a legal objection, and also deposited the amount demanded by respondent no.1 in the High Court, the High Court was required to answer the question of law – No exercise was required involving disputed factual questions – Efflux of time is a result of systemic delay, not due to any laches on the part of the appellant – Impugned order set aside – Matter remanded back to High Court to dispose it expeditiously – Constitution of India – Art. 226. [Paras 6-9]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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