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  • Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act
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  • Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act
Smart Summary

Structured Summary of the Opinion (Shearer, J.)

Factual and Procedural Background

This is a second appeal brought by defendant 1 against a decree in a suit for specific performance of an agreement to sell 9.70 acres of land. The sequence of material events, as stated in the opinion, is:

  • An agreement to sell the land was dated 8 January 1912 and purportedly entered into by defendant 3 as mother and guardian of her minor son, defendant 2.
  • On 20 January 1912 defendant 3 executed and registered a sale deed conveying the land to defendant 1.
  • The defence at trial was that the agreement (although dated 8 January 1912 on its face) did not in fact come into existence until after 20 January 1912, i.e., after the deed of sale had already been executed and registered. The trial Court accepted that defence and dismissed the suit.
  • On first appeal the Subordinate Judge held that the agreement had been entered into on 8 January 1912 and that defendant 1, when he took his conveyance, was aware of it; the lower appellate Court therefore granted the plaintiff the decree for specific performance which he sought.
  • In this second appeal the appellant (defendant 1) raises, for the first time, a pure point of law: that specific performance ought to have been refused because there was an absence of mutuality in the contract for sale, the contract having been entered into by the guardian on behalf of a minor.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether a contract entered into by a guardian on behalf of a minor (in particular a Hindu minor) is enforceable by specific performance, or whether such a contract is void under the Contract Act and, if void, whether specific performance can be decreed either against or in favour of the minor.
  2. Whether distinctions of personal law (Hindu vs. Muhammadan) affect the validity or enforceability of contracts entered into on behalf of minors, particularly with respect to the guardian's power to alienate a minor's immovable property for legal necessity or benefit.
  3. Whether, where the person who undertook to convey the land has subsequently conveyed it to a third person (here defendant 1), specific performance should be sought and enforced against that third person rather than against the original owner (defendant 3).
  4. Whether the plaintiff's remedy should be specific performance against the purported vendor or damages (or some other relief), given the facts of conveyance to a third party and the doctrine of mutuality.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellant's Arguments (Mr. L.K. Jha)

  • The appellant raised, as a pure point of law, that because there was an absence of mutuality in the contract (it was entered into by or on behalf of a minor), specific performance should have been refused on equitable principles.
  • He relied principally on the decision of the Judicial Committee in Mir Sarwarjan v. Fakhruddin Mohamad Chowdhuri (39 Cal. 232 : 39 I.A. 1 P.C.), and on subsequent cases including Abdul Huq v. Mohammed Yehia Khan (A.I.R. 1924 Pat. 81) and other Calcutta and Nagpur decisions (Srinath Bhattacharjee v. Jotindra Mohan Chatterjee and Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma v. Seth Rishabha Kumar) to support the proposition that contracts entered into by minors (or on their behalf) are void and cannot be enforced by specific performance.

Respondent's Arguments (Sir Iqbal Ahmad)

  • The respondent's counsel argued that Mir Sarwarjan was distinguishable because that case concerned an agreement to purchase and involved a Muhammadan minor, whereas in the present case the guardian was the mother of a Hindu minor and a Hindu mother may be able to alienate for legal necessity or for the benefit of the minor's estate.
  • It was further contended that under the facts the executed sale (the conveyance executed on 20 January 1912) demonstrated the validity of an antecedent executory agreement, and that specific performance had been decreed in other cases where guardians (or similar fiduciary figures) had contracted for or effected transfers involving minors.
  • Said that under the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act defendant 3 had a life interest in the property and argued there was no reason why she should not be compelled to convey that life interest to the plaintiff.
  • Noted that the decree as drawn required defendant 3 (the original vendor) to execute the conveyance and that defendant 3 had not appealed; argued implicitly that the suit for specific performance was properly directed against defendant 3 rather than against defendant 1.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Mir Sarwarjan v. Fakhruddin Mohamad Chowdhuri, 39 Cal. 232 : 39 I.A. 1 P.C. Establishes that the doctrine of mutuality applies in India and addresses enforceability of contracts involving minors. The Court treated this decision as establishing that contracts entered into by or on behalf of minors are void and that the doctrine of mutuality operates in India; the decision is relied upon by the Court as a settled authority.
Patohu Ramajogayya v. Vajjula Jagannadham, 42 Mad. 185 : A.I.R (6) 1919 Mad. 641 F.B. Wallis, C.J.'s view that the validity of a contract must be determined by the provisions of the Contract Act (with personal law entering only indirectly). The Court records and adopts the view that validity should be determined under the Contract Act rather than by direct application of personal law except insofar as personal law affects matters like "necessaries".
Kasivasi Chidambara Swamigal v. Ramakrishna Reddiar, A.I.R (11) 1924 Mad. 863 : 82 I.C. 926 A single-judge decision decreeing specific performance of a contract entered into by the mother of a minor Hindu where proceeds were to pay father's debts (invoking personal law considerations). The Court noted the decision but recorded that it had been reversed on appeal, and that the reasoning was not ultimately followed in the appellate decision.
Ramakrishna Reddiar v. Kasivasi Chidambara Swamigal, A.I.R (16) 1928 Mad. 407 : 108 I.C. 282 Reversed the single-judge decision and held that the minor was not obliged to sell or mortgage immovable property merely because of debts of the father; questioned the applicability of the "legal necessity" rationale in that context. The Court relied on this appellate decision to show that the earlier single-judge reasoning (permitting specific performance in such circumstances) was not sustained on appeal.
Brahamdeo Sao v. Haro Singh, A.I.R (22) 1935 Pat. 237 : 157 I.C. 327 Decision where specific performance was decreed of a contract entered into by the guardian of a minor Hindu; Wort, J. observed a distinction between contracts for legal necessity and those that are not. The Court referred to this as an instance where specific performance was decreed, but treated the decision as part of a line of authorities that do not displace the general principle that contracts by or on behalf of minors are void.
Hunooman Persaud Pandey (6 M.I.A. 393 : 1 Sar. 552 P.C.) Referenced in Wort, J.'s discussion; cited in argument about enforceability and legal necessity. Mentioned as part of the jurisprudential background cited by Wort, J.; the Court quotes Wort, J.'s reliance on this material in considering the distinction of legal necessity.
Khairunnessa Bibi v. Loke Nath Pal, 27 Cal. 276 One of the few cases in which specific performance was decreed for a contract entered into on behalf of a minor; followed Krishnasami v. Sundarappayyar. The Court noted this decision but explained it followed an earlier view (Krishnasami) which assumed a contract by a minor to be voidable and that mutuality did not apply — positions since superseded.
Krishnasami v. Sundarappayyar, 18 Mad. 415 : 5 M.L.J. 161 Earlier assumption (referred to in later cases) that a contract entered into by a minor was voidable and that the doctrine of mutuality did not apply. The Court observed that subsequent law had settled that contracts by minors are void and that the doctrine of mutuality does apply in India, thereby distancing the present law from the assumptions in Krishnasami.
Abdul Huq v. Mohammed Yehia Khan, A.I.R (11) 1924 Pat. 81 : 78 I.C. 483 Decision relied on by appellant counsel; Das, J.'s reasoning held that directing a contract to be carried into effect against minors would sanction a breach of trust by the de facto guardian. The Court expressed respectful agreement with Das, J.'s decision and reasoning, adopting it as supportive of the proposition that specific performance against or in favour of minors is not appropriate where it would sanction a breach of trust.
Srinath Bhattacharjee v. Jotindra Mohan Chatterjee, A.I.R (13) 1926 Cal. 445 : 89 I.C. 892 Calcutta decision cited by the appellant as directly in point on the enforceability of contracts involving minors. The Court treated this decision as directly in point and relied on it, along with other decisions, to support the conclusion that contracts entered into by or on behalf of minors are void and not enforceable by specific performance.
Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma v. Seth Rishabha Kumar, A.I.R (26) 1939 Nag. 265 : I.L.R (1940) Nag. 55 Nagpur decision relied on by appellant counsel on the issue of enforceability of guardian-made contracts on behalf of minors. The Court regarded this decision as directly in point and as corroborating the conclusion that the contract in the present case could not be specifically enforced.
Mt. Dhapo v. Ramchandm, 57 All. 374 : A.I.R (21) 1934 All. 1019 Observations of Sulaiman, C.J. on the distinction between a karta's powers and those of a guardian; cited in discussing analogy dangers. The Court cited Sulaiman, C.J.'s observations to caution against analogies between the karta of a joint Hindu family and the guardian of a minor when considering the competency to bind the estate.
Lumley v. Ravenscroft, (1895) 1 Q.B. 683 : 64 L.J.Q.B. 441 English authority for the general rule that where a person is jointly interested in an estate and purports to deal with the entirety, specific performance will not ordinarily be granted against him as to his share; plaintiff's remedy is damages. The Court cited this rule to support the proposition that where a person jointly interested deals with the entire estate, specific performance against him as to the entire estate is generally not granted and the plaintiff's remedy may be limited to damages.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Court's analysis proceeds by concentrating on established principles concerning contracts entered into by or on behalf of minors and the equitable doctrine of mutuality. The key steps in the Court's reasoning, as explained in the opinion, are:

  1. The Court accepts the general proposition that, under the Contract Act, a contract entered into by a minor is void. Whether the contract is to purchase or to sell, and whether the minor is a Muhammadan or a Hindu, the Contract Act renders such contracts void; they cannot be enforced either against the minor or in his favour on well-settled equitable principles.
  2. Personal law (Hindu or Muhammadan) may only enter indirectly in determining issues such as whether something supplied to a minor amounts to "necessaries" for which the minor may be liable; it does not displace the Contract Act's rule that contracts by minors are void. The Court cites Wallis, C.J.'s view in Patohu Ramajogayya to this effect, while noting other judges have stated broader propositions about personal law exceptions.
  3. The Court examined decisions that had attempted to distinguish Hindu minors (and their guardians) from the general rule — including cases where specific performance was decreed by reference to "legal necessity" or perceived benefits to the minor. The Court concluded that the doctrine of legal necessity properly belongs to the law of transfer of immovable property rather than to contract law, and that earlier cases decreeing specific performance in such circumstances were either not followed on appeal or rested on assumptions since corrected by later authority.
  4. The Court specifically aligned itself with the Patna decision of Abdul Huq v. Mohammed Yehia Khan and Das, J.'s reasoning that it would be improper to direct a contract to be carried into effect against minors because doing so would, in effect, sanction a breach of trust by the guardian who purported to bind the minor.
  5. The Court rejected the respondent's argument that an executed conveyance to defendant 1 necessarily validates an antecedent executory contract of sale such that specific performance must follow. The Court observed that a conveyance of land is not to be equated with an executed contract of sale in the same way as a completed sale of movables is; the analogy is therefore weak.
  6. The Court noted practical and procedural difficulties: the decree as framed sought specific performance against defendant 3 (the vendor) though after the agreement she had conveyed the property to defendant 1. The opinion states that, in such circumstances, specific performance should be sought against the third-party purchaser (defendant 1) rather than the original owner whose legal title has vested in the third person. The plaintiff had instead sought a decree against defendant 3 and a declaration that defendant 1 acquired no interest under his deed.
  7. Regarding the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act (invoked by respondent counsel to argue that defendant 3 had a life interest that could be compelled), the Court identified two obstacles to granting relief on that basis: (a) the general rule that one jointly interested who purports to deal with the entirety will not be compelled to convey his share (the plaintiff's remedy being damages), and (b) the Act is not retrospective and there was no evidence about whether defendant 3's husband died before or after the Act came into force.
  8. On balance, having applied the Contract Act principle that contracts by minors are void, the equitable doctrine against sanctioning breaches of trust by guardians, and the procedural point that the plaintiff sought relief against the wrong party in the face of a conveyance to a third person, the Court concluded that the decree for specific performance should be set aside.

Holding and Implications

APPEAL ALLOWED; SUIT DISMISSED WITH COSTS.

Direct effects and implications, drawn from the opinion:

  • The Court allowed the second appeal by defendant 1 and dismissed the plaintiff's suit for specific performance with costs throughout.
  • The Court set aside the decree previously given in favour of the plaintiff; it observed it was open to the Court to set aside the decree not merely as against defendant 1 but also as against defendant 3, given the circumstances of the subsequent conveyance to defendant 1.
  • The opinion reinforces the proposition (as applied in this case) that contracts entered into by or on behalf of minors are void under the Contract Act and cannot, generally, be specifically enforced; equity will not enforce such contracts where to do so would sanction a breach of trust by a guardian.
  • Procedurally, where a person who agreed to convey land has conveyed it to a third person, specific performance ought to be sought against that third person (the legal owner), not against the original owner whose legal title has passed.
  • On the specific statutory point invoked, the Court noted the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act is not retrospective and there was no evidence on the operative timing to justify compelling the purported life interest under that Act.

The opinion does not state that it sets any novel legal precedent beyond applying and reconciling existing authorities; its conclusions are expressed as applications of settled principles to the facts of this case.

Opinion summarized exclusively from the provided text of Shearer, J.; all content above reflects only material contained in that opinion.

    Rambilas Singh And Others v. Lokenath Chaudhuri And Others

    Shearer, J.:— This second appeal, which is by defendant 1, arises out of a suit to obtain specific performance of an agreement to sell 9.70 acres of land. The agreement was entered into on 8th January 1912, by defendant 3 as mother and guardian of her minor son, defendant 2. On 20th January 1912, defendant 3 executed a sale deed conveying the land to defendant 1. The defence set up was that, while the agreement purports on the face of it to have been entered into by defendant 8 on 8th January 1942, it did not in fact come into existence until some time after 20th January 1912, when she had already executed and registered the deed of sale. This contention was accepted by the trial Court, which accordingly dismissed the suit. On appeal, however, the learned Subordinate Judge came to the conclusion that the agreement was really entered into on 8th January 1942, and further that, when defendant 1 took his conveyance, he was aware of it. The lower appellate Court therefore gave the plaintiff the decree for which he asked. The point taken by Mr. L.K Jha, on behalf of the appellant, was not taken in either of the Courts below, but it is a pure point of law and Mr. Jha is entitled to raise it in second appeal. What is now contended is that, as there was an absenoe of mutuality in the contract for sale, specific performance ought, on well accepted equitable principles, to have been refused. The learned advocate for the appellant relies mainly on the decision of their Lordships of the Judicial Committee in Mir Sarwarjan v. Fakhruddin Mohamad Chowdhuri, 39 Cal. 232 : (39 I.A 1 P.C). Sir Iqbal Ahmad, for the respondent, has pointed out that, in that case the agreement was an agreement to purchase, and not to sell, land and that the minor was a Muhammadan and not a Hindu. While the mother of a minor Muhammadan has no power to alienate any part of the property of her minor son, a Hindu mother may, it is said, alienate it for purposes of legal necessity, or for the benefit of the minor's estate. In view of this, it is suggested, the decision of their Lordships of the Judicial Committee is not directly in point. Under the Contract Act, however, it is immaterial whether the contract is a contract to purchase land or to sell land and also whether the minor is a Mahammadan or a Hindu. In either case, a contract entered into by a minor is void, and in consequence, although the contract may be binding on the other party to it, and that other party, if he fails to perform it, may be liable to pay damages to the minor, it is not binding on the minor and cannot, on a well-settled principle of equity, be enforced either against him or in his favour. It is true that in this particular case, the contract was not entered into by the minor personally but was entered into by his mother as his guardian and on his behalf. This, however, can make no difference because a person who is himself under a legal disability and incapable of making a valid contract cannot bind himself by getting an agent to make the contract for him.

    2. As I have just indicated, the sum and substance of the argument which has been addressed to us by Sir Iqbal Ahmad for the respondents, is that a contract entered into by the guardian of a Hindu minor may be binding on the minor by reason of the personal law to which he is subject, although a similar contract entered into by the guardian of a minor who is subject to another personal law may be void.

    3. I am inclined myself to take the view that the validity of a contract must be determined by the provisions contained in the Contract Act; and that, if the personal law to which the contracting parties or either of them are subject, enters into the matter at all, it does so only very indirectly, as, for instance, in determining whether goods or money supplied to a minor are necessaries and the minor is liable to the party who supplied them. That was, substantially, the view taken by Wallis, C.J in Patohu Ramajogayya v. Vajjula Jagannadham, 42 Mad. 185 : (A.I.R (6) 1919 Mad. 641 F.B). The other two learned Judges who were parties to that decision, however, laid down a somewhat broader proposition which is really the foundation of the argument which has been addressed to us on behalf of the respondents. Seshagiri Ayyar, J. there said:

    “No decree should be passed against the minor or his estate on a contract entered into on his behalf by a guardian, under which covenant no charge is created on the estate except in cases in which the minor's estate would have been liable for the obligation incurred by the guardian under the personal law to which he is subject.”

    4. Devadoss, J. sitting singly, in Kasivasi Chidambara Swamigal v. Ramakrishna Reddiar, A.I.R (11) 1924 Mad. 863 : (82 I.C 926), greatly extended this doctrine and decreed specific performance of a contract into which the mother of a minor Hindu had entered to sell certain of his immovable property. The ground on which Devadoss, J. did so was that the money which was to be paid for the conveyance was to be used to pay off debts which had been contracted by the father of the minor and which, under the personal law to which he was subject, the minor was bound to liquidate. An appeal under the Letters Patent was, however, preferred against this decision and was successful: Ramakrishna Reddiar v. Kasivasi Chidambara Swamigal, A.I.R (16) 1928 Mad. 407 : (108 I.C 282). Wallace, J. there pointed out that, although the minor had been under an obligation to pay the debts of his father he had not been under an obligation to do so by selling or mortgaging any of his immovable property and that the proposition laid down by Sashagiri Ayyar, J. in the earlier decision had no application. The only other recent decision, which is directly in point and on which reliance has been placed by the learned advocate for the respondents, is a decision of Wort, J., sitting singly, in Brahamdeo Sao v. Haro Singh, A.I.R (22) 1935 Pat. 237 : (157 I.C 327). There also specific performance was decreed of a contract entered into on behalf of a minor Hindu by his guardian. Wort, J., after referring to the well known case of Hunooman Persaud Pandey. (6 M.I.A 393 : 1 Sar. 552 P.C) observed:

    “I cannot agree that the contract is not enforceable solely because the form of relief, that is to say, specific performance, cannot be had as against the minor. It seems to me that the distinction is between a contract which is for legal necessity and one that is not.”

    5. The doctrine of legal necessity is, however, part of the law relating to the transfer of immovable property and not part of the law relating to contracts. That this is so will, I think, clearly appear, when it is remembered that under the Hindu law, as it was originally and before it was developed by judicial exposition, a person, who had taken a conveyance of immovable property from the guardian or manager of an infant or from a qualified owner, bad, when the alienation was impugned, not merely to show the existence of legal necessity but had also to show that the money which he had given for his conveyance had been duly applied to the purpose for which it had been taken. Sir Iqbal Ahmad or the respondents, while pursuing much the same line of reasoning as Wort, J., put the matter somewhat differently by saying that, if an executed contract for sale was valid, the executory contract for sale which may be presumed to have preceded it, must necessarily also be valid, and that if it was valid, specific performance on it could not, or ought not to be refused. When movables are bought and sold, the price being paid at once and the goods being handed over, it, is no doubt correct to say that there has been an executed contract of sale. A conveyance of land cannot, however, properly be described as an executed contract of sale and the argument put forward by the learned advocate for the respondents is not, in my opinion, as logical as it would, at first sight, appear to be. Sir Iqbal Ahmad pointed out that specific performance has been de steed of contracts entered into by the karta of a joint Hindu family. The argument from analogy is, however, always dangerous, and there is in any case, no very real or close analogy between the position of the karta of a joint Hindu family and the guardian of a Hindu minor. In this connection I may refer to the observations of Sulaiman, C.J in Mt. Dhapo v. Ramchandm, 57 ALL. 374 at P. 332 : (A.I.R (21) 1934 ALL. 1019). The ground on which specific performance of a contract entered into by the karta of a joint family is decreed is that the joint family is in a sense or resembles a corporation, and the karta is its chief officer and is competent to enter into contracts on its behalf. Prior to the decision of their Lordships of the Judicial Committee in Mir Sarwarjan v. Fakhruddtn Mohamad Chaw, dhuri, 39 Cal. 232 : (39 I.A.L.P.C) there had been a number of instances in which the Courts in this country had been asked to decree specific performance of contracts entered into on behalf of minors by their guardians. These cases are to be found collected in Trevelyan on the Law relating to Minors, 6th edition, page 167. When however, the decisions are examined, it will be found that in the majority of cases the Court declined to grant specific performance on the ground that the contract was not for the benefit of the minor. One of the very few cases in which specific performance was decreed is Khairunnessa Bibi v. Loke Nath Pal (27 Cal. 276) which was referred to by Sir Iqbal Ahmad in the course of his argument. This decision, however, merely followed Krishnasami v. Sundarappayyar, 18 Mad. 415 : (5 M.L.J 161). The learned Judges who were parties to the latter decision assumed that a contract entered into by a minor was not void but merely voidable, and also that the doctrine of mutuality did not apply in this country. Since then it has, however, been settled that a contract entered into by or on behalf of a minor is void, and since the decision of their Lordships of the Judicial Committee in Mir Sarvarjan's case (39 Cal. 232 : 39 I.A 1 P.C), it must also be taken as settled that the doctrine of mutuality applies in India. Mr. L.K Jha for the appellants, relied mainly on Abdul Huq v. Mohammed Yehia Khan, A.I.R (11) 1924 Pat. 81 : (78 I.C 483), Srinath Bhattacharjee v. Jotindra Mohan Chatterjee, A.I.R (13) 1926 Cal. 445, (89 I.C 892) and Pandit Krishna Chandra Sharma v. Seth Rishabha Kumar, A.I.R (26) 1939 Nag. 265 : (I.L.R (1940) Nag. 55). The Calcutta and Nagpur decisions are directly in point and it is not in my opinion, and for the reasons already given, possible to distinguish the decision in Abdul Haq v. Mohammad Yehia Khan, A.I.R (11) 1924 Pat. 81 : (78 I.C 483), on the ground that the minor in that case was a Muhammadan and toft a Hindu. I respectfully agree with the decision of Das, J. and in general with the line of reasoning by which it was supported. Das, J. in the course of his argument remarked that

    “to direct the contract to be carried into effect as against the minors is to sanction a plain breach of trust on the part of the de facts guardian and this I apprehend, this Court will not do.”

    6. There is I think, force in this observation and it may be pointed out that in England the Court of Chancery has, on occasions, declined to permit the immoveable property of a minor to be sold even where it was Bhown that prima facie the sale was for the benefit of the infant: (see Simpson on the Law of Infants, 4th edition, pages 223-4).

    7. Sir Iqbal Ahmad said that in consequence of the enactment of the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act defendant 3 had a life interest in this property and contended that there was no reason why she should not be compelled to convey at least that life interest to his client. There are however, two difficulties in the way of granting the plaintiff this relief. One is that it is

    “the general rule that where a person if jointly interested in an estate with another person and purports to deal with the entirety specific performance will not be granted against him as to his share. The plaintiff's only remedy is by way of damages.”

    8. [See Lumley v. Revens croft, (1895) 1 Q.B 683 : (64 L.J.Q.B 441)], a decision which was cited with approval and followed by Das. J in Abdul Eaq v. Mohammad Yehia Khan, (A.I.R (11) 1924 Pat. 81 : 78 I.C 483). The other is that the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act is not retrospective and there is no evidence to show whether the husband of defendant 3 died before or after the Act came into operation.

    9. Lastly, Sir Iqbal Ahmad pointed out that under the decree it is the defendant 3 and not defendant 1 who is to execute the conveyance and that defendant 3 has not appealed. It is obvious that, when specific performance is sought of an agreement to convey land, and when subsequent to the agreement, the person who has undertaken to convey the land has conveyed it to a third person, specific performance ought to be Bought as against that third person and not as against the original owner as by reason of the conveyance the legal title to the property has vested in the third person. Instead of taking this course, the plaintiff asked for a decree for specific performance as against defendant 3 and for a declaration that defendant 1 had under his sale deed acquired no interest in the property. It is quite clear that, in the circumstances defendant 1 was entitled to prefer an appeal and that it is open to this Court to set aside the decree not merely as against defendant 1 but also as against defendant 3. In the result then, I would allow this appeal and dismiss is suit with costs throughout.

    Imam, J.:— I agree.

    R.G.D

    10. Appeal allowed.

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    Rambilas Singh And Others v. Lokenath Chaudhuri And Others
    (Jan 8, 1948)