Lord Atkin:-

This is an appeal from the High Court at Lahore who reversed a decree of the Subordinate Judge at Delhi in favour of the plaintiffs, the present appellants. The circumstances in which the plaintiffs' claim arose are as follows: The defendant was chairman of the Delhi Sugar Mills Ltd., an Indian company which carried on business at New Delhi. The company, before December 1933, had had dealings with a Belgian company, Messrs. Atelier de Construction de J. J. Gillains who may be called the contractors, who had been engaged in providing equipment for the company and held shares in the company. Apparently in December 1933, it was desirable for the company to obtain further financial assistance as they were contemplating making an addition to their factory, and for that purpose were acquiring a lease of a site which it was proposed should be mortgaged presumably to the contractors. Negotiations were opened between the defendant and the plaintiffs, a Belgian bank. The plaintiffs were bankers of the contractors and were represented at New Delhi by Mr. Van Campenhout, the general attorney of the bank, and Mr. Delait, the manager of their office. The contractors were represented