The main legal point established in the judgment is that a subscriber has the right to claim refund of subscriptions after a chitty collapse, based on the provisions of the Travancore Contract Act.

1. The plaintiff is the appellant. The suit was for recovering money due under a chitty conducted by the defendant. The plaintiff's case was there were three classes of chitties conducted by the defendant as foreman. They were earmarked A, B and C class chits. The plaintiff had subscribed to three tickets in A class (4 in B class and 3 in C class) chitties. He had obtained satisfaction in respect of these with the exception of two tickets in A class, 2 in B class and 3 in C class. There were altogether 26 instalments of subscription payable; but the chitty collapsed on the 20th instalment day. All subscriptions have been duly paid by the plaintiff till the 19th instalment day. He had made a successful bid in respect of one of his tickets in the A class chitty on the 19th instalment date. The total investment calculated on the basis of the subscriptions payable by the plaintiff would have been Rs. 1200, but the amount of his bid was only Rs. 989-14-4. This sum had to be paid to him as prize money according to the rules of the chit on the 20th instalment day. But it was not paid, because the chitty collapsed by that time. The point that was urged on behalf of the plaintiff at the trial in respect of this amount of the bid was that since the prize money was not paid to him on the 20th instalment day, he had the option of withdrawing the bid that he had made of Rs. 989-14-4 and he could insist upon the total subscriptions paid by him being refunded to him. This contention did not find favour with the trial court which held that there was authority in Travancore for the position that once there was a successful bid at a chit auction, it was not open to the subscriber who had made that bid to go back upon it and claim refund of the subscriptions paid by him. The correctness of this proposition is questioned on behalf of the appellant.

2. The point raised on behalf of the plaintiff was the subject matter of additional issue No. 6 framed at the trial which was worded as follows:

"Whether in respect of one A class number prized on the date of the 19th drawing the plaintiff may be deemed to be a non-prized subscriber if it is found that the chitty collapsed on the 20th drawing."

The trial court in paragraph 8 of its judgment says as follows about this issue:

"Additional issue 6. This issue relates to the question whether in respect of one A number which the plaintiff prized on the date of the 19th drawing, he can treat himself as a non-prized subscriber. The prize for that ticket was due only on the date of the 20th drawing and according to my finding above the 20th drawing was not held, the chitty having collapsed on that date. It is contended on behalf of the plaintiff that the discount at which the number was bid in auction was in fact not distributed among the non-prized subscribers owing to the collapse of the chitty on the 20th drawing and that as such he should be treated as a non-prized subscriber. I do not accept this contention. Having prized the ticket, he cannot waive his right to claim the prize money and be allowed to go back to his right to claim the paid up subscriptions as a non benefitted subscriber (See 11 T.L.T. page 454). This issue is found accordingly."

3. It will be seen from the extract given above that the trial court took the view that once the plaintiff has made a successful bid at an auction, it is not open to him to waive his right to claim the prize money and to go back to his right to claim the paid up subscriptions as a subscriber who had not made a successful bid at the auction. On the face of it, the contention urged on behalf of the plaintiff appellant seems to us to be well founded. As already stated, the total amount which the plaintiff could claim in case he had not bid at the auction was Rs. 1200. But he was prepared to forego over Rs. 200 on the basis that on the next instalment day which was the 20th instalment day, he would be paid in cash Rs. 989-14-4. It was in anticipation of obtaini