Panchapakesa Ayyar, J.-This is an appeal by one P.E. Warne, the plaintiff in O.S. No. 153 of 1949, on the file of the Subordinate Judge, Ootacamund, against the judgment and decree therein.

The facts were briefly these:The plaintiff had brought the suit for recovering Rs. 64,844-7-9 as damages for his wrongful dismissal by the defendants, the Ouchterlony Valley Estates Ltd., with their registered office at Calicut. His case was this: The defendants were badly in need of the services of an experienced planter like him. As a result of negotiations between him and the defendants, he was entertained as the Manager of the New Hope Estates, under the defendants, as per the terms contained in Exhibit A-7 the defendant’s letter dated 23rd August, 1947, accepted by the plaintiff by the letter, Exhibit B-10, dated 25th September, 1947. The terms of service, as per Exhibit A-7, were shortly these: The plaintiff was to be paid at Rs. 900 per mensem for a probationary period of six months. When the probationary period was satisfactorily completed, he was to be confirmed and paid at Rs. 950 per mensem for the first year, and at Rs. 1,000 per mensem for the second, third and fourth years, besides a dearness allowance of Rs. 350 per mensem. On confirmation, he was given the right to his share in the 5 per cent, of the net profits set apart for paying commission to the staff, the defendants’ board to allocate the commission for each manager. The plaintiff was to be given free medical aid on the estate, and leave in India for one month, exclusive of the casual leave, and leave outside India for six months, within a period of four years, after confirmation, on full pay, and passage allowance at Bibby rates. He was to be given a cooly allowance to defray the cost of three coolies to serve under him. He was to contribute com-pulsorily Rs. 100 per month towards his provident fund, and the defendants were to contribute an equal amount. He was to be paid Rs. 100 per month to maintain a suitable horse for going round the estate and supervising. In case he kept a car, he was to be paid an extra allowance of Rs. 10 per month. He was not to undertake any outside work without the special sanction of the defendants’ board. The contract of service could be terminated by giving three calendar months’ notice in writing on either side.

The plaintiff entered the service of the defendants on the 3rd of October, 1947. He completed his probation satisfactorily. About the 15th August, 1948, he purchased a car, and the defendants lent him Rs. 6,000 for that purpose, by a letter dated 17th August, 1948, and he was to repay the loan at not less than Rs. 200 per month to be deducted from his salary, and the loan amount was to be credited with full amount of any commission he might be entitled to, and was in any case to be fully repaid before 17th August, 1950, the loan being interest free.

The plaintiff continued to discharge his service to the satisfaction of the defendants and drew his increments, as contemplated in Exhibit A-7, and was drawing Rs. 1,000 per month from 1st April, 1949. But his efficient services and improvement of the estate, and the satisfaction he gave to the employers created jealousy and ill-will in one Mr. J.H. Wilkes, the General Manager of the defendant-company, residing in an estate near the New Hope Estate. Mr. Wilkes sent confidential reports of a malicious and false nature against the plaintiff, and created animosity towards him on the part of the defendants. No charges were framed against him, nor was any explanation demanded from him about any of the charges made by Mr. Wilkes in his confidential reports. Suddenly, on 31st May, 1949, Messrs. Pierce Leslie & Co. Ltd., the Managing Agents and Secretaries of the defendant-company, purporting to act on behalf of the defendants, wrote a letter, Exhibit A-13, to the plaintiff, terminating his services as and from 30th June, 1949, as they were no longer required and enclosed a cheque for a miserab

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