Judgment

RAY, J. :- This is an appeal by certificate from the judgment dated 10 November, 1966 of the High Court of Kerela setting aside the decree passed by the trial Court save and except for a sum of Rs. 4037.32.

2. The plaintiffs are the appellants. The appellants claimed a decree for the principal amount of Rs. 29149-2-10 and interested thereon for Rs. 1923-13-2 aggregating Rs. 31073 and further interest at 9% on the said principal amount. The appellants and the respondent had dealings and transactions in Latex rubber. The appellant s claim is found on a letter of acknowledgment dated 18th March, 1955 wherein a sum of Rs. 61,482-9-11 was found due as the price of Latex rubber supplied by the appellants to the respondent and a further sum of Rs. 17321-1-3 was mentioned to be due by the respondent to the appellants as interest in accordance with the agreement. The aggregate sum due was Rs. 78803-11-2. The appellants gave credit to the respondent for sums of money paid on divers occasions. The appellants claimed the balance sum of Rs. 31073 and further interest.

3. The defence of the respondent was as follows. The amount of interest shown as Rs. 17321-1-3 could not be interest on the principal amount of Rs. 61482-9-11 inasmuch as interest on the said principal amount was payable only from 30 August, 1954 up to 18 March. 1955 when the acknowledgment sued upon by the appellants was made by the respondent. Both the respondent and its allied concern Paratex Corporation Ltd. had dealings and transactions with the appellants. The appellants and the other concern had two accounts of such dealings and transactions. The parties however treated the two accounts as a consolidated one. In the year 1952 the respondent and the allied concern owed large sums of money to the appellants. The appellants demanded payment. Paratex Corporation by a letter dated 27 August, 1952 requested the appellants to obtain financial accommodation for Orient Central Bank Ltd. and agreed to reimburse the appellants in respect of interest to be paid by the appellants to the said Bank on loans incurred by the appellants by reason of sums remaining due and outstanding by the respondent and Paratex Corporation Ltd. to the appellants. The respondent alleged that Paratex Corporation discharged all dues to the appellants on 24 June, 1954. On 30 August, 1954 a sum of Rs. 61482-9-11 remained due by the respondent to the appellants. On 18 March, 1955 the respondent signed the acknowledgment showing the principal amount of Rs. 61482-9-11 but there was an error and mistake in regard to the interest calculated as mentioned in the letter of acknowledgment because interest was payable by the respondent to the appellants from 30 August, 1954 to 18 March, 1955 at the rate of 9 per cent per annum.

4. The trial Court came to the conclusion that Rs. 96026-9-11 was outstanding on 1 January, 1952 and interest up 28 February 1955 less remission amounted to Rs. 17321. The trial Court therefore found that the principal amount of Rs. 61482-9-11 mentioned in the letter of acknowledgment was not disputed and the amount of interest shown as Rs. 17321-1-3 represented the correct interest. The trial Court found that the words on the said principal occurring in the letter of acknowledgment were a mistake in expression and decreed the entire suit by holding that the interest amounting to Rs. 17321-1-3 was interest on the outstanding of Rupees 96026-9-11 less amounts paid from time to time.

5. The High Court held that the trial Court totally overlooked the agreement between Paratex Corporation and the respondent to pay interest to the appellants and further that the appellants collected as interest from Paratex Corporation in regard to the liability of the respondent and Paratex Corporation and therefore the appellants were not entitled to any interest from the respondent up to the end of June, 1954. The High Court found that interest was payable by the respondent to the appellants only from 30