The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of the Limitation Act and the Civil Procedure Code in determining the time-bar for execution and the joint entitlement of decree-holders.

JUDGMENT

Page, J. - This is an appeal from an order of the learned Subordinate Judge of Asansole of the 7th August 1925, dismissing an objection by a judgment-debtor to the execution of a decree passed by the High Court of Patna on the 6th December 1920. The present execution proceedings were commenced on the 23rd March 1925, and, therefore, prima facie were time-barred. The decree-holders contended that the present application for execution was not barred by limitation, because (1) on two previous occasions, 15th April 1921, and the 11th January 1924, applications had been made "in accordance with law" to execute the said decree in the proper Court," namely, the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Dhanbad and, therefore, under Article 182(5), Statute of Limitation (Act 9 of 1908), the present application was presented within the time limited by the Statute; (2) on the 6fch December 1920, when the decree which it is now sought to execute was passed, two of the three decree-holders were, and still are, minors, and the three decree-holders being jointly entitled to make an application for execution of the decree, and the adult decree-holders not being able to give a discharge to the judgment-debtors without the concurrence of the minor decree-holders the present application was saved from the bar of limitation by the provisions of Sections 6 and 7, Limitation Act. The first contention raised by the decree-holders cannot be supported, for it has not been proved that either of the two previous applications was made (a) in accordance with law; (b) to the proper Court. u/s 37, Civil P.C. "the Court which passed the decree" of the 6th December 1920, is deemed to be the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Purulia and that Court did not send the decree to the Court of Subordinate Judge of Dhanbad for execution as required by Sections 38 and 39 and Order 21, Rule 6, Civil P.C. As the decree-holders have failed also to prove that the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Purulia had

ceased to exist or to have jurisdiction to execute the decree

the two previous applications to the Dhanbad Court for execution were not made in accordance with law" or to the proper Court," and are not to be regarded as steps-in-aid of execution within Article 182(5), Limitation Act. It was established, however, that the decree was duly sent to the Court of the Subordinate Judge at Asansole for execution by the Court at Purulia, and that the present application for execution presented in compliance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code.

2. With respect to the second contention that has been raised before us by the decree-holders it is necessary to refer to certain material facts that are not in dispute in order that the nature of the proceedings may be appreciated. It is to be observed that the judgment-debtors' objection to the execution of this decree is utterly devoid of merit, and is based solely upon technical grounds. It appears that the defendants in the suit were officials employed in the management of the estate of one Prosanna Kumar Roy, a trader of Keshalpur, and that, after the death of Prosanna the present suit No. 198 of 1911 was brought in the Court of the Subordidate Judge of Purulia inter alia to compel the defendants to render an account of the moneys that they had received in the course of stewardship. The plaintiffs were two of the sons of Prosanna; (1) Bireswar Roy an adult, (2) Butto Kristo Roy, then a minor, by his next friend and brother Bireswar. The third son of Prosanna, Bhola Nath Roy also a minor was made defendant 7 and appears through his mother Sarojini Debya as next friend and guardian ad litem. The suit was decreed on 16th September 1916, in favour of the plaintiffs and defendant 7 against the judgment-debtor or his predecessors-in-title. The decree-holders, regarding the sum decreed as inadequate, appealed to the High Court at Patna. Meanwhile Butto Kristo had attained his majority and Bireswar had died, and on the 6th Decembe