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HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
GHOSH
CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA - Appellant
Versus
SRISH CHANDRA GUHA - Respondent
Suit 248 Of 1970
Decided On : NOVEMBER 15, 1971
{'KEYWORD': 'Amendment of Petition', 'SUBJECT': 'Pro Interesse Suo', 'ACT SECTION LIST': ['Order 30 of the Civil P. C.']}
Fact of the Case:
Assam Bengal Cereals Ltd. (ABCL) filed a petition in pro interesse suo seeking to examine their right, title, and interest in certain goods over which Joint Receivers were appointed by the court. ABCL claimed to be the absolute owner of the goods and sought a declaration to that effect. The court had previously ordered ABCL to furnish a bank guarantee for the controlled price of the goods and directed the Joint Receivers to hand over the goods to ABCL upon furnishing such guarantee.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the Indian Tea Association (ITA), an unregistered association of members, could not be added as a party petitioner in the pending application filed by ABCL. The court found that ABCL had already taken delivery of the goods by furnishing the bank guarantee and that the rights of the parties in the goods had shifted to the monies covered by the bank guarantee. The court also found that ITA had knowledge of the suit and proceedings but had not taken any steps in the matter, showing a lack of diligence.
Issues: 1. Whether ITA could be added as a party petitioner in the pending application filed by ABCL. 2. Whether ABCL could amend its petition to claim a declaration of ownership of the goods in the alternative of ITA's ownership.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. A proceeding in pro interesse suo is a personal right of the person claiming to be the owner of the goods or property over which the court has appointed a Receiver. 2. The right, title, and interest of the parties in the goods shifted to the monies covered by the bank guarantee furnished by ABCL. 3. ITA had knowledge of the suit and proceedings but had not taken any steps in the matter, showing a lack of diligence. 4. An examination pro interesse suo is never ordered unless the applicant shows diligence.
Final Decision: The court allowed ABCL to amend its petition as shown in red ink in paragraph 3-A of the draft petition being Annexure 'd' thereto. The court also allowed ABCL to re-verify the petition after such amendments are effected. The court denied the application to add ITA as a party petitioner.
( 1 ) THIS is an application for amendment of a petition filed in pro-inter esse-suo seeking inter alia to add in the said proceedings Indian Tea Association stated to be an unregistered Association of members. The petition was filed by Assam Bengal Cereals Limited, an existing Company within the meaning of Companies Act, 1956 of No. 10, Netaji Subhas Road. In the said petition the Assam Bengal Cereals Limited claimed inter alia to be examined pro-inter-esse-suo as to their right, title and interest in 19139 Quintals 87 Kilogramms and 805 gramms of wheat and/or Bhushi fully described in An-nexure (a) to the said petition. The petitioner in the said petition also claimed a declaration to the effect that it was the absolute owner of the said goods.
( 2 ) THE petition was necessitated because of the fact that on the aforesaid goods Joint Receivers were appointed by this Court on the application of the plaintiff in the Suit No. 248 of 1970. that is to say Central Bank of India. The Central Bank of India claimed to be the hypothecatee or pledgee in respect of the said goods. The hypothecation or pledge was alleged to have been created by the defendants in the suit. Srish Chandra Guha and Debabrata Guha carrying on business under the name and style of Guha Rice Co.
( 3 ) AFTER the petitioner Assam Bengal Cereals Limited made the said application in pro-inter-esse-suo an order was made on the said application by me on July 20, 1970 inter alia to the following effect to wit :--"the petitioner shall be at liberty to take delivery of the goods claimed by it on furnishing bank guarantee for the controlled price of the goods. The form of the guarantee shall be settled by Mr. S. C. Mitter of Messrs. C. C. Basu and in case of dispute as to the form, the matter may be mentioned in Court. The rights of the parties in the goods so taken delivery of by the petitioner shall shift to the monies covered by the bank guarantee".
( 4 ) PURSUANT to the said order the bank guarantee in terms thereof was duly furnished by the petitioner viz. , Assam Bengal Cereals Limited. A part of the goods claimed by them were handed over to them by the Joint Receivers accord-ins to the petitioner. The ioint Receivers are not in possession of any goods now. Pursuant to the directions given bv Court affidavits were duly filed by the parties. Thereafter the matter was directed to be tried on evidence.
( 5 ) THE parties duly disclosed their documents, inspection whereof were given and taken by them respectively. In fact Examination De Benese of one of the witnesses of the petitioner is going on before Mr. Justice R. M. Datta.
( 6 ) BY the proposed amendment, petitioners seek to claim a declaration in the alternative of the ownership of Indian Tea Association of the said goods upon examination of the members of the said Association in pro-inter-esse-suo.
( 7 ) THE order for appointment of Receivers was made in this suit on June 18, 1970 for the first time and the application in pro-inter-esse-suo was moved before the Court for the first time on July 20. 1970. Notice of motion in the instant case was taken out by special leave of the Court on August 31. 1971 i. e. after more than a year from the date of making of the said application in pro-inter-esse-suo, by the Assam Bengal Cereals Limited, as well as the Indian Tea Association, an unregistered association of members. The applicants i. e. , Kamal Mcnair Kidwai and Joseph Cajetan D'souza, the Vice-Chairman and Secretary of the Indian Tea Association have applied to be added as party petitioners in the instant application in the pending application made by Assam Bengal Cereals Limited in a representative capacity, that is to say. on behalf of all the members of the said Association.
( 8 ) MR. Shankar Ghosh, appearing on behalf of the applicants submitted that from the documents disclosed in the proceedings a view may be taken that Assam Bengal Cereals Ltd. were not the owners of the said goods but were the
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