The surviving trustees of a Trust Estate are competent to represent the Trust Estate in a suit, even if there is a vacancy in the number of trustees, unless the number of trustees falls below the minimum number required under the Trust Deed or there is a contrary intention derivable from the Trust Deed.

( 1 ) THIS appeal arises out of a suit for ejectment, brought by the plaintiff, a Trust Estate, represented by three trustees (who described themselves as plaintiff in the plaint), against the defendants (who are the respondents before us) in respect of the disputed premises Nos. 29 and 29/1, Armenian Street, Calcutta, which were held by the said defendants (respondents) under the aforesaid Trust Estate as tenants. It was the plaintiff's case that, the defendants had defaulted in the payment of rents on, at least, three occasions of two successive months each within a period of 18 months before the institution of the present suit and, accordingly, they were not entitled to the protection of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1950, which was then in force and which, admittedly governs the present suit. The defendants' tenancy, according to the plaintiff, had been determined by the service of a proper notice to quit, expiring with the last date of November, 1954. The suit was instituted on 4th December, 1954.

( 2 ) THE suit was contested by the defendants who denied, inter alia, all the relevant allegations of the plaintiff and contended, in the main, that the notice to quit was neither legal nor sufficient; that there were not the necessary or relevant defaults to disentitle them to the protection of the Bent Control law and, further that the suit was not maintainable at the instance of the three persons who, as trustees and plaintiffs as aforesaid sought to represent the plaintiff Trust Estate.

( 3 ) THE trial court overruled all the above defences and passed a decree for ejectment, giving the defendants six months' time to vacate the disputed premises and deliver up vicant possession of the same to the plaintiffs (trustees) on condition that"they (the defendants) went on depositing the rent falling due during the aforesaid period of six months within the 15th of each succeeding month by way of damages" and that, "in default, the decree would be executable at once. "

( 4 ) ON appeal, the Special Bench of the Small Cause Court, Calcutta, reversed the decision of the learned trial Judge only upon the ground that the suit in question was not maintainable at the instance of the three persons who purported to represent the plaintiff Trust Estate in the suit and the defence to that effect should succeed. The Special Bench, however, maintained the trial court's finding against the defendants on the question of validity and sufficiency of the notice to quit and also on the question of the relevant or necessary defaults under the Rent Control Act, which, according to them also, were sufficient to disentitle the defendants to the protection of that Act.

( 5 ) IT is against this decision of the learned Special Bench that the present appeal has been filed by the plaintiffs, that is, the three trustees, representing the plaintiff trust-estate, as aforesaid, and the only point which arises for consideration in this appeal is whether, in the present action, the plaintiff Trust Estate was properly and sufficiently represented in law by the three persons, who are the appellants as aforesaid and who, in the plaint, sought to represent the said Estate. The point arises in this way :

( 6 ) THE Trust in question was created under a deed, described as an"indenture made the 14th day of July one thousand nine hundred and forty five between Srimati Jorati Kumari Dassi (therein called the Settlor) of the One Part and the said Jorat Kumari Dassi and Radha Kissore Roy, Madhab Kissore Roy and Mohan Kissore Roy (called the trustees therein) of the Other Part". In the said deed, after making necessary provisions, whereby the Trust was created and the aforesaid trustees were duly constituted, in Clause 2, it was provided inter alia that"the said trustees shall, immediately on the execution of these presents, take possession of the Zemindary properties, messuages, lands, hereditaments and premises and sec