New Delhi, September 1: The Delhi High Court has Ruled in Favour of Homegrown Textile Company TT Ltd. in its long-standing dispute with Singapore-based importer M I Textiles Pte Ltd. The case related to a cancelled shipment of cotton fabric exported more than two decades ago.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, while pronouncing the Judgment, confirmed that the importer was liable to compensate TT Ltd. for recalling the consignment and selling it in India at a reduced price. The court made it clear that minor document errors or a short delay could not be treated as valid grounds to reject an international shipment.
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Dispute Over Third Export Order
Back in 2004, TT Ltd. had received three large orders from M I Textiles. The first two were accepted and duly paid for. Trouble began with the third order, when the exporter shipped over 16,000 kilograms of fabric from Tuticorin to Alexandria. The importer refused to take delivery, claiming late shipment and discrepancies in the Letter of Credit. Left with no choice, TT Ltd. Had to recall the Goods and sell them locally, Incurring Heavy Losses.
In 2014, A Delhi trial Court had Ordered M I Textiles to pay around ₹7.89 lakh with 12% annual interest. The Company Challenged this verdict before the High Court, arguing that its counsel Mishandled the trial and that the Documents Contained Serious errors.
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Justice Pushkarna Rejected these Arguments, Noting that the importer had earlier accepted Delayed Shipments Without Protest.
"Mere fixation of a shipment date does not automatically make time the essence of the contract," the court observed, adding that a delay of two days was negligible.
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The Judgment also pointed out that the refusal was more connected to the importer's issues with its own customer rather than any default by TT Ltd.
The court remarked,
"The importer cannot shift the burden of its disputes with third-party buyers onto the exporter, who had fulfilled contractual obligations within reasonable time."
Case Title: M/s M I Textiles Pte Ltd. vs. M/s T T Ltd. & Anr.
Case No.: RFA 131/2015, CM APPL. 3794/2015 & CM APPL. 1117/2016
