Privy Council At Peshawar
Sir John Beaumont, Sir Madhavan Nair , Justice Lord Simonds, JJ.
Sir Mohd. Akbar Khan -Appellant
Versus
Attar Singh (deceased) and others -Resopndent
Privy Council Appeals Nos.16 and 22 of 1948
Decided On : 30-07-1945
Sir John Beaumont. -
These are three consolidated appeals from the Court of the Judicial Commissioner, North West Frontier Province. Appeal No.22 covers an appeal and cross appeal from a decree of the said Court dated 10th July 1939 which varied a decree passed by the Senior Subordinate Judge, Mardan, dated 18th November 1938. Appeal No. 16 is from a decree of the Court of the said Judicial Commissioner, dated 3rd July 1941 which varied an order dated 18th September 1940 passed by the Senior Subordinate Judge, Mardan, in execution proceedings. Most of the controversy arises on Appeal No. 92 and it will be convenient to deal with that appeal first. On 1st January 1919 the appellant, Sir Mohammad Akbar Khan (herein-after called "the appellant"), and the original respondent 1 S. Attar Singh (hereinafter called "respondent 1"), entered into a deed of partnership for carrying on the business of money-lending. The appellant was to finance the business, and respondent 1 was to manage it. Under cl.(8), Hira Singh, the father of respondent 1, was to be liable as a surety for loss occasioned by the default of respondent 1. On 26th July 1929 the appellant instituted the suit out of which these appeals arise, for dissolution of the partnership and the taking of the necessary accounts. The defendants were
respondent 1, his father Hira Singh, and respondent 1's sons. The plaint alleged that all the defendants constituted a Hindu joint family, and that respondent 1 had entered into the partnership with the plaintiff on behalf of such joint family. Hira Singh died before the hearing of the suit and two of his sons, the respondents-Ishar Singh and Wazir Singh - were brought on the record as his legal representatives with respondent 1. It may be mentioned that respondent 1 died in January 1911 and respondents 2,3 and 4 are his legal representatives.
The suit came on for hearing on 6th October 1930 before the Senior Subordinate Judge, Mardan, who by his judgment, dismissed the suit against all the defendants except respondent 1, and on 15th October 1930 a preliminary decree was passed declaring the partnership to have been dissolved as from 18th July 1929 and directing various partnership accounts. The appellant appealed from the said decree to the Court of the Judicial Commissioner, North-West Frontier Province, and on 1st August 1931 the Court gave judgment upholding the dismissal of the suit as against the sons of respondent 1 but holding that Ishar Singh and Wazir Singh, as legal representatives of Hira Singh, with respondent 1 were properly sued and should be restored to the record as defendants. In passing such order the Court noted that before the final decree it would be necessary for the Court to determine the extent, if any, to which Hira Singh's estate was liable under cl.8 of the partnership deed, and whether the liability was such as could properly fall upon his legal representatives whoever they might be. The Court further directed that the costs in the lower Court should follow the result.
On 3rd May 1933 the Senior Subordinate Judge, on the application of the parties, directed that the decision of the whole case should be referred to the Hon'ble R.B. Lala Ram Saran Das as arbitrator. On 14th January 1933 the arbitrator made his report. After discussing very fully the contentions of the parties raised before him the arbitrator held that the contribution to the partnership capital of the appellant was Rs. 290,882-11-3, which sum, together with interest at annas 7 per cent, per month (the rate agreed in the partnership deed) up to 31st July 1929 came to Rupees 4,35,415-0-3 and that out of that sum the appellant had already withdrawn Rs. 93,843-12-0 on 11th July 1929 so that the balance due to him was Ra. 3,41,672-3-0. After adding various sums which the arbitrator held that the appellant was entitled to, the arbitrator found the total sum due to the appellant as Rupees' 4,50,920-15-0 for which sum he purported to pass a decree in favour
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