The defendants are in appeal.

2. The plaintiff is a co-operative society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short. The plaintiff is engaged in banking business. The plaintiff runs a daily deposit scheme for their customers and the first defendant was one of the collection agents engaged by the plaintiff for the said scheme. The case of the plaintiff is that the first defendant embezzled a sum of Rs.45,000/- from the amounts collected by her from the customers of the plaintiff between the period April 2004 to November 2004 and the suit is for realisation of the said amount with interest. It is also the case of the plaintiff that when the first defendant was engaged by the plaintiff as their agent, defendants 2 and 3 had executed an indemnity bond in favour of the plaintiff by which they have agreed to indemnify the plaintiff for the loss, if any, caused to the plaintiff by the first defendant on account of her negligence or dereliction of duty. As such, according to the plaintiff, defendants 2 and 3 are also liable to the plaintiff for the loss caused by the first defendant.

3. Though the defendants filed a