Quick Referencer forJudicial Service
Q. The defendant Ram Charan Ram Gopal entered into 5 contracts with the plaintiff under which he undertook to supply to the plaintiff 184 bales of specified cloth manufactured by the New Victoria Mills, Kanpur and Raza Textile Mills, Kanpur as soon as prepared by the Mills. There was no clause in the agreements that the supply would depend on the delivery of goods from the Mils. When the remaining 61 bales were not supplied, the plaintiff gave notice but the defendant failed to reply and did not even supply the goods. The main plea in the suit was that the goods were not delivered by the Mills and the performance of the contract was not possible due to the circumstances beyond its control Write down your decisions giving reasons.
U.P. Judicial Service Exam. 1988 Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service Exam. 2005
Ans: The plea of the defendant is not sustainable in the eye of law—Supreme Court in Ganga Saran v. Ram Charan Ram Gopal, AIR 1952 SC 9.
Reasons: Facts of this problem have been taken from the famous case of Ganga Saran v. Ram Charan referred above. In this case the Supreme Court held that doctrine of ‘Frustration’ will not apply in this case because receiving bales of clothes from the concerned Mills was not a condition precedent for the supplying goods to the plaintiff. The Supreme Court further held—
“The agreement does not seem as to convey the meaning that the delivery of the goods was made contingent on their being supplied to the respondents by the Victoria Mills (Kanpur). We find it difficult to hold that the parties ever contemplated the possibility of the goods not being supplied at all. The words ‘prepared by the mills’ are only a description of the goods to be supplied, and the expression ‘as soon as they are prepared’ and ‘as soon as they are supplied to us by the said mills’, simply indicate the process of delivery”.
On the basis of above discussions it can be said that in the given problem the plea of defendant that performance of contract is not possible because of the circumstances beyond his control is not sustainable in law.
Source: Kishor Prasad, Problems & Solutions on Civil Law, Universal Law Publishing
