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(ii) In Sri Nasiruddin v/s. State Transport Appellate Tribunal 1 and Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd. v/s. Union of India 2, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that if the cause of action arises in part within one area and another part arises in another area it would be open to the litigant, who is the dominus litis, to have his forum conveniens. The litigant has the right to go to a Court where part of his cause of action arises. In such cases, it is incorrect to say that the litigant chooses any particular Court. The choice is by reason of the jurisdiction of the Court being attracted by part of cause of action arising within the jurisdiction of the Court. Therefore, if the cause of action can be said to have arisen partly within one area and partly outside the said area, the litigant will have the choice to file writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India before either of the two High Courts.

Ltd.7 and Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd. (Supra) the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that even if a small part of the cause of action arises within territorial jurisdiction of a High Court, the same by itself could not have been a determinative factor.

(iii) The Larger Bench of Delhi High Court (5 judges) in Sterling Agro Industries Ltd. v/s. Union of India 8 has held that while entertaining a writ petition, the doctrine of forum conveniens and the nature of cause of action are required to be scrutinized by the High Court depending upon the factual matrix of each case.

FINDINGS :

13 It is the submission of petitioners that since the impugned orders have been passed by the Revisionary Authority who is located within the territorial jurisdiction of the Principal Seat of this Court, if not the whole, certainly a significant part of the cause of action arises herein. In such a scenario, petitioners submitted that petitioner has the right to choose whether he wishes to approach the Principal Seat of this Court or go before the High Court or the Bench of this Court at Nagpur or Goa within whose territorial jurisdiction the original adjudication arose. Such a choice is not forum shopping but his right of choice as an aggrieved litigant. This position is directly covered by the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sri Nasiruddin (Supra) and Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd. (Supra).

23 Relying on Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd. (Supra) and the decision of the Five Judge Bench of the Delhi High Court in Sterling Agro Industries Ltd. (Supra) it was submitted by respondents that petitioners are unsuited by the principle of forum conveniens. This was made relying on paragraph 30 of Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd. (Supra) that is quoted in paragraph 16 above.

In our view that has no application to the facts and circumstances of the matter at hand. In the present case, it is not that only a small part of the cause of action arose in Mumbai. Rather the order of the Revisionary Authority is a significant part of the cause of action of petitioner. This is the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in East India Commercial Co. Ltd. (Supra).