Civil Appeal Nos. 5448-5449 of 2017 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 34084-34085 of 2015). Case: Vedanta Limited Vs Emirates Trading Agency LLC. Supreme Court (India)
| Case Number | Civil Appeal Nos. 5448-5449 of 2017 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 34084-34085 of 2015) |
| Judges | Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha, JJ. |
| Issue | Indian Contract Act, 1872 - Sections 7, 73 |
| Judgement Date | April 21, 2017 |
| Court | Supreme Court (India) |
Judgment:
Navin Sinha, J.
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Leave granted.
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The Respondent's Suit for breach of contract and damages was decreed on 16.04.2013 by the Principal District Court, Thoothukudi in Original Suit No. 73 of 2009 for a sum of Rs. 5,25,55,460/- with interest @ 8% from the date of the plaint till realisation. First Appeal by the Appellant was dismissed by the High Court on 04.02.2014. In Special Leave Petition (Civil) Nos. 12687-12688 of 2014 preferred against the same, liberty was granted on 12.5.2014 to approach the High Court in the review jurisdiction, on the issue whether the agreement dated 26.10.2007 between the parties constituted a concluded contract or matters rested at the stage of a proposal and a counter proposal only. Liberty was further granted to approach this Court again, if aggrieved. Review application No. 160 of 2014 was dismissed by the High Court on 09.07.2015. Thus, the present appeal.
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Sri C.A. Sundaram, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Appellant, submitted that the agreement dated 26.10.2007 was a draft proposal from the Respondent regarding supply of phosphoric acid by the Appellant in a specified duration. The Appellant made a counter proposal to the Respondent; both with regard to the quantity of supplies and the duration of supply. No concluded contract had arisen between the parties in absence of any final agreement having been executed. The draft agreement was never signed, stamped and returned by the Appellant, in confirmation, as asked for by the Respondent. The defence was taken specifically in the written statement. The Trial Court and the First Appellate Court, without proper appreciation of the draft agreement, arrived at a presumptive conclusion based on the exchange of correspondence preceding the same that it reflected a concluded contract between the parties.
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This Court on 12.05.2014, after perusal of the agreement dated 26.10.2007, having been satisfied with regard to lack of proper consideration of the issue, granted liberty to the Appellant for preferring a review application before the High Court. In the review application, objections were specifically raised that the draft agreement dated 26.10.2007 did not constitute a concluded contract, but was merely a communication of a proposal and a counter proposal. It was also urged that alterations had been made by the Appellant; both with regard to the quantity and period of supply. There was no material on record to demonstrate that any final...
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