1. The petitioners suit on a promissory note dated 26th June 1940 was dismissed because the document was not properly stamped. The promissory note was stamped with two one anna stamps, which would be correct if the promissory note were one payable on demand. The relevant clause of the document runs thus, "I shall pay to you or to your order within two years the said sum " This must mean that the promisor is allowed two years within which to pay the money and within which the promisee cannot enforce the debt. Mr. Ramanatha Aiyer argues that as the wording is "within two years" and not "after two years," it must mean that the plaintiff is entitled to demand the money at any time within two years and that the document is therefore really a promissory note payable on demand. If the debt could be demanded at any time within two years, then the words "within two years" would have no meaning at all. It seems clear to me that these words were introduced to give the debtor time within which to pay the debt and that within that time the promisee could not enforce the debt. It follows that the promissory note is not one payable on demand.

2. The definition of promissory note in the Sta