Statutory lien for port charges permits release on payment, but demurrage may stop when continued storage becomes unreasonable.

Statutory lien under the Major Port Trusts Act allowed the Port Trust to insist on payment of port charges and demurrage before releasing goods, and the analogy to a bailee's lien under the Contract Act was rejected. On the facts, however, demurrage could not continue indefinitely once it became clear that the appellant was not paying and the goods were blocking storage space; recovery was limited to 10 January 1992. The separate issue of customs reimbursement was left undecided as it fell outside the appeal. The respondent retained its statutory remedies if the goods were not cleared.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was liable to pay the port charges and demurrage claimed by the Port Trust, and whether the respondent was entitled to recover such charges only up to 10 January 1992 or for the entire period the goods remained in its custody.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Sections 58 and 59 of the Major Port Trusts Act requires payment of rates before removal of goods and confers a lien on the Board for unpaid rates and rent. The refusal to permit clearance without payment did not extinguish the respondent's right to recover charges, and the analogy drawn with a bailee's lien under Section 171 of the Indian Contract Act was rejected as inapplicable to a statutory lien exercised for non-payment of storage charges. The Court further held that, on the facts, the respondent should have sold the goods when it became clear that the appellant was not paying the charges and that further storage space was being blocked, so demurrage after 10 January 1992 should not be recovered. The Court also declined to decide the separate question of reimbursement by customs, as it was outside the appeal.

Conclusion: The appellant was required to clear the goods by paying the respondent's charges only up to 10 January 1992, and the respondent was not entitled to demurrage thereafter. The respondent was entitled to invoke statutory remedies if the appellant failed to clear the goods.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was disposed of by modifying the period for which the Port Trust could recover charges, while affirming the respondent's statutory right to insist on payment before release and to proceed under the Act if the goods were not cleared.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory lien for unpaid port charges under the Major Port Trusts Act permits the port authority to insist on payment before release of goods, and on the facts of the case demurrage could not continue indefinitely once the authority ought reasonably to have resorted to sale under the Act.

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