Falshaw, J.

1. This judgment will deal with two appeals in which a similar point of law arises. Two suits were instituted against the Punjab National Bank Limited of Delhi, the first by the members of a joint Hindu Family firm trading under the name of Kirpa Ram-Wishan Das, and the second by the members of a joint Hindu family firm trading under the name of Mehnga Ram-Jiwan Das. Both the suits were for rendition of accounts. In the case of the firm Kirpa Ram-Wishan Das the allegation was that the firm had been in business before the partition at Vihari in Multan District, and had a cash credit account which started in December 1946 with the Vihari branch of the defendant bank, in which the bank advanced various sums to the firm, which in turn pledged goods of various kinds with the bank as security.

The case of the firm was that in August 1947 goods of various kinds valued at Rs. 8,79,030/- were lying pledged with the bank, and while the plaintiff firm was of the opinion that the pledged goods exceeded in value the amount due at that time from the plaintiff firm to the bank, it had no means of ascertaining what this sum was in the absence of its own account books and also o