USMAN A.GHAFOOR and 2 others vs Messrs ATTOCK TEXTILE MILLS LTD. and 2

ORDER

1. ' USMAN ALI SHAH, J.--Leave to appeal is sought through this petition against the order of the Lahore High Court, dated 24-10-1988, by which TA. No,718/C of 1988 of the respondents, for transferring the suit of the petitioners from Rawalpindi to Lahore, was accepted by the impugned order.

2. ' The petitioners Mills, previously Attock Textile Mills Ltd. And now Sibbacc Industries was damaged due to fire. A civil suit for the recovery of losses of insured goods to the tune of Rs,2,37,61,616.20 by the petitioners was already pending before the Senior Civil Judge, Lahore against the Premier Insurance Company of Pakistan Ltd. Lahore and others. The respondents are the beneficiaries as well as surveyors of the said insurance companies. During the survey report prepared by them on the claim of the petitioners on the basis of the insurance policy against the company, allegedly used some defamatory remarks on the basis of which the petitioners filed the present suit for damages for Rs,2,00,00,000.00 in the Court of Senior Civil Judge Rawalpindi. The respondents filed T.A. No, 718/C of 1987 before the Lahore High Court for transfer of the said suit before the Senior Civil Judge, Lahore, for hearing and consolidating with the previous case of M/s. Sibbacc Textile Industries Ltd. v. M/s. Premier Insurance Co. Of Pakistan and 5 others which was already pending before the Senior Civil Judge, Lahore. The learned Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court vide his order dated 24-10-1988 accepted the same and transferred the case to the said Court at Lahore, with no costs basis. The learned counsel for the petitioners raised the same arguments before us which he raised before the High Court. But the impugned order of the ahore High Court clearly indicated that the petitioners filed a civil suit for the recovery of insurance money for the damage of the goods insured with the respondents companies at Lahore. The other suit for claiming compensation by way of damageS on having been defamed by the surveyors in their reports, has been filed before the Senior Civil Judge, Rawalpindi. The learned High Court held that it is not necessary to comment whether the professional surveyor can be sued like this but the Court where the previous suit between the parties is pending should also adjudicate the matter regarding the report made by the surveyor.

3. We have examined the judgment of the learned High Court in the light of the arguments raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners. In our view, no legal question is involved in this case but the point involved is of discretionary nature which the learned High Court has arrived at judiciously keeping in view the convenience of both the parties. The learned counsel for the petitioners did not show us any legal defect in it. We do not, therefore, think that this is a fit case for further consideration of this Court. The petition is consequently dismissed. Leave to .