( 1 ) THE petitioner No. 1 is a firm duly registered under the Indian Partnership Act carrying on business as financiers and investors and has its principal office and/or place of business at Nos. 5 and 6, Fancy Lane, Calcutta,

( 2 ) THE petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 are partners along with one Swapan Kumar Guha of the petitioner No. 1 firm and are citizens of India.

( 3 ) IN its business of financiers and investors, the petitioner firm accepts loans and/or deposits from all kinds of persons for different periods repayable with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum.

( 4 ) UNDER the terms of the deposit, the depositors have the right to withdraw the sum deposited with the firm at any time before the expiry of the original period of deposit in the case, however, of such premature withdrawal, the depositor loses interest of 1% and is paid interest at the rate of 11% per annum. All such deposits as are made by depositors and accepted by the firm are repaid by the firm with stipulated interest upon the expiry of the original period of deposit, There are other terms of the loan agreement which are not material for our purposes. According to the petition, in the conte