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2022 (11) TMI 1461 - SUPREME COURTRecovery of demurrage charges - whether the demurrages imposed on the Corporation by the Railways can be, in turn, recovered by the Corporation from the contractors as "charges" recoverable Under Clause XII (a) of the contract? - does contractors' liability for "charges", if any, include demurrages? - HELD THAT:- The contracts delegating the responsibility of loading and unloading of foodgrains from railway wagons, as an integral part of the contract, include a clear and distinctive Clause for the imposition of liability, inter alia, on account of demurrages. Evidently, the liability Clause in these contracts, termed the Handling and Transport Contracts, is starkly distinct from the present Road Transport Contracts. There are reason to believe that the Corporation, statutorily obligated to procure and distribute foodgrains across the nation, enters into contracts depending on the services it requires. These contracts naturally vary depending on the needs and purposes of the Corporation. With the aid of the provisions in the Handling and Transport Contract from 2010, we are able to understand the intention of the parties while entering into the present Road Transport Contracts. As the present contracts do not involve the task of loading and unloading of foodgrains from the railway wagons as a part of the contractors' responsibility, there is no Clause enabling the recovery of demurrages from them by the Corporation. Thus, our interpretation of the expression "charges", as exclusive of liability for demurrages, stands confirmed. The Handling and Transport Contract from 2018, similarly involved loading and unloading of foodgrains from the railway wagons within the scope of contractors' duties, thereby necessitating the inclusion of demurrages as a penalty for non-performance of contractual duties. Thus, the present Road Transport Contract is distinct from the Handling and Transport Contract from 2018, as the responsibility of loading and unloading of foodgrains from railway wagons is absent in the present contract. For this reason, the Corporation in the present contract has chosen not to include the power to recover demurrages and as such the expression "charges" cannot be interpreted to include demurrages. Appeal dismissed.
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