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1982 Supreme(All) 743

Allahbad High Court
DEOKINANDAN
Kedar Nath - Appellant
Versus
Firm Rekh Chand Dasu Ram - Respondent
Decided On : 11/26/1982

Advocates:
K.M. Sinha, for Appellant:S.A. Ansari, for Respondents.

A partner of a dissolved firm has the authority to execute a decree in favor of the firm under Section 47 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932.

Headnote:

EXECUTION OF DECREE - MINORITY - CONSTRUCTIVE RES JUDICATA - JUDICIAL NOTICE - NOTORIOUS FACT - DISSOLUTION OF FIRM - AUTHORITY OF PARTNER TO EXECUTE DECREE - SECTION 47, INDIAN PARTNERSHIP ACT, 1932 - SUMMARY

Fact of the Case:

The appellant, Kedar Nath, challenged the execution of a decree against him on two grounds: (1) he was a minor when the suit was instituted and decreed, and (2) the decree was in favor of a dissolved firm, and one of the partners alone executed it without obtaining leave from the court.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the appellant's objection based on minority was barred by the rule of constructive res judicata since he did not raise it during the suit proceedings. The court also found that the appellant was an adult at the time of the suit. Regarding the second objection, the court held that under Section 47 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, a partner of a dissolved firm has the authority to execute a decree in favor of the firm.

Issues: 1. Whether the appellant's objection based on minority was barred by the rule of constructive res judicata. 2. Whether a partner of a dissolved firm has the authority to execute a decree in favor of the firm.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The appellant did not raise the objection of minority during the suit proceedings, and the suit proceeded on the basis that he was an adult. Therefore, the objection was barred by the rule of constructive res judicata. 2. Section 47 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, provides that the authority of each partner to bind the firm continues after the dissolution of the firm for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the firm and completing unfinished transactions.

Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed.

JUDGMENT : - This is a judgment-debtors Second Appeal. Two objections were raised to the execution of the decree: First that the appellant. Kedar Nath was a minor when the suit was instituted and decreed against him. His age given in the plaint was twenty years. Summons of the suit must have been served on him. He did not raise any objection to the effect that be was treated to be a man above eighteen years in the plaint and the suit proceeded and was decreed. His father was also a party to the suit. He also did not raise any objection to the effect that Kedar Nath was a minor, and a guardian ought to have been appointed for him. No objection having been taken to the age of Kedar Nath, as given in the plaint, and the suit having thereafter proceeded on the basis that he was an adult and decreed accordingly the raising of the question whether Kedar Nath was an adult or a minor in the execution proceedings was barred by the Rule of constructive res judicata. At any rate. the lower Appellate Court has, on an appraisal of the evidence on the record. Dis-believed Kedar Nath and held that he was an adult. It has not been suggested that the finding suffers from any error of law except for saying that the whole basis of the finding of the learned Judge was in his words the "notorious fact that the age of the boy is understated when he is admitted in school". That, according to the learned counsel amounted to basing the finding on no evidence. It is apparent that there was no evidence before the learned Judge to prove that the age of a boy is generally under-stated when he is admitted in school. However, the learned Judge dispensed with the need of any evidence for he thought the fact was a notorious fact and he could accordingly take judicial notice of it. Whether the fact is notorious or not depends on the experience of life gathered by a person. Here the observation seems to have been based on the experience of life gathered by the learned Judge. I cannot say that his experience was unwarranted by the facts of life prevalent in our country so as to call for any interference on this basis, with the finding arrived at by him.

2. The second objection raised was that the decree was in favour of the firm Rekh Chand Dasu Ram. It was put into execution after the dissolution of the firm by one of its partners Navrang Lal. It was urged that under Rule 15 of Order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the decree being a decree jointly in favour of the partners of the dissolved firm, one of them alone could not execute it without applying and obtaining the leave of the Executing Court under the provisions of that Rule. It is doubtful whether the provisions of R.15 of O.21 apply to the case of execution of a decree by a firm where the suit has been brought in the firm name and decreed as such. O.30. R.1 (2) provides that where persons sue or are sued as partners in the name of their firm under sub-rule (1), it shall, in the case of any pleading or other document required by or under this Code to be signed, verified or certified by the plaintiff or the defendant suffice if such pleading or other document is signed verified or certified by any one of such persons. Navrang Lal was indisputably one of the partners who carried an business as a partner in the firm named Rekh Chand Dasu Ram in which the suit was brought. An execution application is certainly a document, which is required to be signed under the Code by the decree-holder, and the decree-holder being the firm, it could be signed on its behalf by Navrang Lal.

3. The question raised, however was that the firm having been dissolved, the authority of Navrang Lal to give a valid discharge on behalf of the firm ceased with the dissolution of the firm and he could, therefore, no longer, maintain the execution application in his name alone. All the partners of the dissolved firm ought to have been joined in making the execution application so as to given the judgment-debtor an effective and complete



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