JUDGMENT :

Pious obligation, a doctrine/principle of pristine Hindu law, which obliged a son to settle the debts incurred by his father, appears to be still haunting the Irrigation Department, in understanding the rights of the parties to a written contract. The petitioner, who is the Managing Partner of a partnership firm, which has executed certain works on the basis of agreements entered into with the respondents, are faced with a situation where the amounts due to them are being withheld for the reason that certain amounts are due from the mother of the Managing partner of the firm to the department, for having abandoned a work which was undertaken by her. One wonders whether the basic principles of the laws relating to partnerships and contracts will not apply when one of the contracting parties is the State.

2. Heard Sri S.Sreekumar, Senior Advocate, instructed by Sri P.Martin Jose, on behalf of the petitioner and Smt.Deepa Narayanan, Senior Government Pleader, on behalf of the respondents.

3. One Sri Sathyapalan had been undertaking civil works entrusted by the State, both in his individual capacity as well as through a partnership firm, which had been reconstituted on several