1. The facts giving rise to this appeal are as under. Firm Messrs Singh Ram-Mata Din, defendants No. 4, drew a hundi in favour of Firm Messrs Khub Chand-Rub Chand, defendant No. 1 on the firm of Messrs Bansi Dhar-Ghansham Das of Calcutta for a sum of Rs. 12,500.00 . The said hundi was duly endorsed by defendant No. 1 in favour of the plaintiff-Bank and was handed over to the Bank along with a railway receipt for 267 bags of barley on payment of Rs. 12,500.00 by the Bank. The hundi was then sent to the Calcutta Office of the Bank and it is alleged that it reached there on 19-1-1948 because of the fact that postal arrangements were to some extent disorganised in those days.

According to the allegations of the plaintiff Bank made in their plaint the hundi was presented to the drawee firm on the 20th January 1948 but the drawee firm kept on promising payment for a long time and on the 15th February, 1948 they finally refused to pay. On 25-2-1948, the Hailey Mandhi Branch of the Bank sent a registered notice to defendant No. 1 which is Exhibit P. G., on the present record. In this notice they informed Messrs Khub Ram-Rup Chand that the hundi for Rs. 12,500.00 had been dishonored