The court has the authority to impose terms for leave to defend a suit, including payment into court or giving security, to secure expeditious disposal of the suit.

( 1 ) THIS petition is directed against the order dated the 13th of March, 1972, by which the trial court while granting leave to defend a suit covered by order 37, rule 2 of the civil Procedure Code imposed the condition that the defendant should furnish a bank guarantee in the sum of Rs. 3,000. 00 by the 28th of March, 1972. The suit had been filed on the basis of a promissory note.

( 2 ) THE counsel appearing for the petitioner has read out to me the affidavit filed before the trial court. The principal defence raised was that the plaintiff was a money-lender who had not got himself registered as such and had not bean submitting six monthly statements of accounts, as required by the Punjab Regulation of Accounts Act. It was stated in the affidavit that the plaintiff should have filed the original pronote along with the plaint. At the same time in another paragraph it was stated that the promote was not sufficiently stamped. The trial court was to determine whether the grounds on which leave to defend was sought raised triable issues or not.

( 3 ) THE suits filed on the basis of bills of exchange hundis and promissory notes were placed in a separate category by the Legislature by providing that such suits will not be allowed to be defended in the ordinary manner and before defending them leave will have to be obtained from the court. The provisions in order 37 of the Civ I Pro. cedure Code (hereinafter called "the Code") indicate that the court trying the suits was firstly to determine whether leave was to be given at all or not. In case she court was to find that no leave was to be given to defend the suit it was to pass a decree in accordance with the claim put forward by the plaintiff. Where, however, the court was to find that the defence raised deserved consideration, then it had to decide as to whether, keeping in view the issues to be tried, leave was to be given unconditionally or on some terms. Sub-rule (2) in rule 3 of order 37 clarifites the Legislative intendment : Order 37 rule 3 (2):-

(2) Leave to defend may be given unconditionally or subject to such terms as to payment into Court, giving security framing and recording issues or otherwise as the Court tkinks fit. "the Legislature gave the authority to the trial court to give unconditional leave to defend the suit. At the same time it gave the authority to the same court to impose terms where it found that terms should be imposed even when leave was to be given to defend the suit

( 4 ) THE provision came in for consideration before the Supreme Court in Santosh Kumar v. Bhai Mool Singh. There the court took the view that where it was found that the defence raised triable issues leave should ordinarily be given to unconditionally defend the suit. It was observed that leave would otherwise remain illusory. Proceeding further the Supreme Court observed :-

"if the court is of opinion that the defence is not bona fide, then it can impose conditions and is not tied down to refusing leave to defend. "it was meant that even where triable issues were raised but the defence was not bona-fide, instead of refusing it, the leave to defend could be granted by subjecting it to conditions. In a latter decision after considering the law laid down earlier, the Supreme Court in paragraph 5 of (Milkhiram (India ). Private Ltd. v. Chamanlal Bros) held:-

"if upon consideration of material placed before it the court comes to the conclusion that the defence is a sham one or the fantastic or highly improbable it would be justified in putting the defendant upon terms before granting leave to defend. Even when a defence is plausible but is improbable the Court would be justified in coming to the conclusion that the issue is not a triable issue and put the defendant on terms while granting leave to defend. To hold otherwise would make it impossible to give effect to the provisions of 0. 37 which have been enacted, as rightly pointed out by Bose, J. , to ensure speedy decision in c