JUDGMENT

SAWANT, J. - Although the leave granted by this Court is limited to the question whether the plaintiff is entitled to an amount of Rs. 75,000 which according to him he had actually advanced and the respondents had received for the purpose of prosecuting their litigation, and, therefore, the issue to be answered lies within a narrow compass, it is necessary to state the relevant facts briefly to understand correctly the significance of the question to be answered.

2. Nawab Salar Jung III, a celebrity of the erstwhile State of Hyderabad expired on March 2, 1949 leaving behind him no issue but a vast estate. As was expected, several persons came forward claiming to be his heirs, and among them were Sajjid Yar Jung and Turab Yar Jung who claimed to be his first cousins. The Nizam by a notification of May 9, 1949, appointed a Committee to administer the estate of the late Nawab Salar Jung. On the merger of the Hyderabad State, the Central Government by the Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur (Administration of Assets) Act, 1950, continued the Committee and also provided that no suit or other legal proceeding for the enforcement of any right or remedy in respect of any asset, shall be instituted in any court by any person other than the Committee except with the previous consent of the Central Government.

3. In the meanwhile, on May 31, 1949, the Nizam had already appointed a Commission to enquire into the question of succession to the estate, and one of the questions referred to the Commission was whether the Jagir of the late Nawab Salar Jung escheated to the government and another was the ascertainment of his heirs. The Commission was unable to proceed with the inquiry as some of the claimants filed a writ petition in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the jurisdiction of the Commission to enquire into the question of succession. The High Court, by its decision of September 23, 1952 held that the Commission was not the proper forum for determining the question of succession and directed that the management of the estate should remain with the Committee until the question was settled by a civil court. The question was ultimately settled by compromise between the various claimants including the government. The compromise was incorporated in a decree dated March 5, 1959 passed in a suit being Suit No. O.S. 13 of 1958 which was filed by some of the claimants. The present proceedings are an offshoot of the said suit.

4. Sajjid Yar Jung who claimed to be one of the first cousins of the late Nawab Salar Jung did not have the wherewhithal to establish his claim to a share in the estate. He approached the plaintiff who was a businessman of Bombay for financial help to enable him to establish his claim. According to the plaintiff, he agreed to do so and Sajjid Yar Jung agreed to return all amounts to be advanced to him from time to time and also to give the plaintiff one anna share in the amount that would be received by him from the estate. The agreement was executed in writing on June 27, 1952 which is the subject matter or the present proceedings. Pursuant to this agreement Sajjid Yar Jung and his agents drew large amounts from the plaintiff fog time to time, totalling to about Rs. 75,000. Sajjid Yar Jung expired before the plaintiff received his share of the amount as per the agreement but after Sajjid Yar Jung successfully established his claim to the share in the estate. According to the plaintiff, the amount due to Sajjid Yar Jung from the estate was about Rs. 60 lakhs and hence he claimed Rs. 3 lakhs as his share (calculated at one anna in a rupee) in addition to the return of the sums advanced by him which as stated above was Rs. 75,000. The plaintiff, therefore, filed the present suit against the heirs of Sajjid Yar Jung for accounts and for administration of his estate and for distribution of the amount among the plaintiff and the defendants. He also jointed the receiver of the estate of Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur as one o