Judgment

SIKRI, J.: This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court Dhavan, J.) allowing the revision under S. 115, C. P. C., and dismissing the suit brought by the appellants - hereinafter referred to as the plaintiffs.

2. The relevant facts for the purpose of appreciating the points raised before us are as follows: The four plaintiffs, out of which three are appellants before us, the fourth having died, brought a suit for damages against the six defendants (one defendant had in the meantime died and four are respondents before us). The allegations in the plaint, in brief, were that the plaintiffs and the defendants were members of an association called Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman; that the defendants, along with some other members of the association, formed a group and each of them conspired among themselves to injure and harass the plaintiffs and a few others in various ways, that at a meeting held on May 5, 1954, in connection with the election of Trustees, when defendant N. A. Guzder occupied the chair, he gave a ruling that the plaintiffs Kershasp S. Gandhi and B. T. J. Shapoorji, since deceased, were unfit candidates for the office of Trustees and thus prevented them from seeking election, any contrary to the rule of the Anjuman and without taking votes declared the defendant, F. J. Gandhi, and one A. F. Cama duly elected. It was further alleged that on July 3, 1954, another meeting of the Anjuman was held when the plaintiffs Khushro S. Gandhi and Framroze S. Gandhi were candidates for election to the office of the trustees, and defendant F. J. Gandhi gave a perverse ruling rejecting the nominations of the above plaintiffs and after taking votes declared G. T. Shappoorjee as duly elected trustee; that by the aforesaid rejections the plaintiffs had suffered an injury for which defendants Nos. 1 to 6 were jointly and severally liable and the plaintiffs were entitled to recover damages from the defendants.

3. The plaint was filed on January 21, 1955. Before any written statement was submitted, on February 13, 1955, the sixth defendant S. Rabadi, entered into a compromise with the plaintiffs. The terms of the compromise were:

1. I, Shavak Dorabjee Rabadi, defendant No. 6 have considered the subject matter of the suit and am sincerely sorry and apologise to the plaintiffs unconditionally for whatever I have done. I realise that I was in error and was misguided.

2. The plaintiffs above named accept the apology tendered by Shri Shavak Dorabjee Rabadi defendant No. 6 and the suit against him may be disposed of treating the aforesaid apology and its acceptance by the plaintiffs as a settlement of the dispute between the plaintiffs and the defendant No. 6.

3. The plaintiffs do not claim any costs against the defendant No. 6 and defendant No. 6 will bear his own costs.

It is therefore prayed that the claim against defendant No. 6 may be disposed of in terms of the above settlement.

A decree was passed in terms of this compromise against defendant No. 6.

4. On May 14, 1955, the other defendants filed a written statement and inter alia alleged:

That the release of defendant No. 6 Sri S. Rabadi, an alleged joint tortfeasor and the compromise entered into behind the back of the answering defendants with him in full settlement of their suit for damages, appears to be collusive and dishonest and the release by the plaintiffs of defendant No. 6 from his joint liability as a tort feasor has in law extinguished the plaintiffs rights to sue the other remaining defendants and claim damage from them.

It was further alleged that the four plaintiffs could not be legally allowed to totalise the sum of their individual damage, alleged to have been suffered, any thereby procure the trial of the suit in the court of higher jurisdiction, and that the suit had been purposely overvalued.

5. In a statement dated March 17, 1956, the plaintiffs clarified that the damages are being claimed by the plaintiffs in resp