Report No. 151

5. Jurisdiction in personam.-

(1) The Admiralty Court shall not entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies UNLESS

(a) the defendant at the commencement of the action, actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain in India;

(b) the cause of action wholly or in part arose in India including in land waters of India or within the limits of a Port of India; or

(c) an action arising out of the same incident or series of incidents is proceeding in the Admiralty Court or has been heard and determined in the Admiralty Court.

(2) The Admiralty Court shall not entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies until any proceedings previously brought by the plaintiff in any Court outside India against the same defendant in respect of the same incident or series of incidents, have been discontinued or otherwise come to an end.

(3) The preceding provisions of this section shall apply to counter claims (not being counterclaims in proceedings arising out of the same incident or series of incidents) as they apply to actions in personam but as if the reference to this plaintiff and the defendant were respectively references to the plaintiff on the counterclaim and the defendant to the counterclaim.

(4) The preceding provisions of this section shall not apply to any action or counterclaim if the defendant thereto submits or has agreed to submit to the Jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court.

(5) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) of this section, the Admiralty Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies whenever any of the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) sub-section (1) of this sections are satisfied, and the Rules of the Court relating to the service of process outside the Jurisdiction shall make such provisions as may appear to the rule-making authority to be appropriate having regard to the provisions of this sub-section.

(6) The claim to which the section applies are claims for damage, loss of life or personal injury arising out of a collision between ships or out of the carrying out of or omission to carry out a manoeuvre in the case of one or more of two or more ships or out of non-compliance on the part of one or more of two or more ships, within the Collision Regulations.

(7) In this section-

"Inland Waters" includes any part of the sea adjacent to the Coast of India within the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of India; "Port" means any port, harbour, river, estuary, haven, dock, canal or other place so long as a person of body of persons is empowered by or under an Act to make charges in respect of ships entering it or using the facilities therein and "limits of a port" means the limits thereof as fixed by or under the Indian Ports Act or the Major Port Trusts Act; "Collision Regulation" means regulations and rules made under the Merchant Shipping Act and any Rules, Bye laws and/or Regulations made under the Indian Ports Act, 1908 or the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.