1. In connection with certain contract for the sale of cotton by the plaintiff-respondent Firm to the defendant-petitioner, a suit was filed by the petitioner Firm at Kanpur on April 29, 1972, for the recovery of Rs. 2,125. Subsequently, on August 17, 1972, the respondent-Firm filed a suit for the recovery of Rs. 5,454.21 paise at Dhuri. In the suit filed at Kanpur, Dharam Chand described himself as the sole-proprietor of Messrs. Rup Chand Dharam Chand. The only defendant in that suit is the Firm Messrs. Basant Lal Banarsi Lal of Dhuri. In the suit filed at Dhuri by Messrs. Basant Lal Banarsi Lal, Messrs. Rup Chand Dharam Chand is the first defendant and one Hans Raj Sharma is arrayed as defendant No. 2. Whereas the Kanpur suit mentions the date of the contract in dispute as August 25, 1969, the relevant date cited in paragraph 3 of the plaint of this suit is August 23, 1969. The description of the goods and the rates etc. are, however, the same. In the suit filed at Dhuri, a sum of Rs. 64.07 has been claimed on account of the balance of some previous dealings in addition to the damages claimed for breach of the contract in dispute.

2. On the date fixed for filing the defen