Defendants 4 to 9 wore partners carrying on business as Messrs. ‘Ramakrishna Metal and Alloy Industries, the 2nd defendant. The fourth defendant was also the sole proprietor of the third defendant, namely, Messrs. General Pump Factory. It is the common case of both sides that subsequent to the events which have taken place constituting the cause of action of the plaintiff, the businesses of the second and third defendants were taken over by the first defendant.

Before dealing with the contentions raised in the present appeal, it is necessary to set out certain facts as providing the background for instituting the suit which gave rise to the second appeal. The managing director of the first defendant filed O.S. No. 1243 of 1959 for recovery of a sum of Rs. 2,302-99 from the plaintiff in the suit. The plaintiff also filed O.S. No. 1419 of 1959 against all the defendants in the present suit for production of their accounts of sale etc., for the period from 1st February, 1957, for appointment of a Commissioner to examine the accounts and for arriving at the amount due to the plaintiff, including damages and for ordering the defendants in that suit to pay the amounts so found