Present: Lascelles C.J. and Wood Renton J.

PERERA v. JOSEPH et al.

46 and 47-D. C. Colombo, 2,447.

Mortgagee proving debt in insolvency proceedings-Is he bound to share proceeds pro rata with unsecured creditors?-Who is a "trader" -Reckless trading-Books not kept.

A mortgagee who elects in the first instance to prove in the insolvency would not lose the advantage of his security, and is not bound to share pro rata with the unsecured creditors in the proceeds.

Section 109 deals with the case of a creditor who has brought an action against the insolvent in respect of a demand prior to the filing of the petition. In that case the creditor cannot prove in the insolvency without relinquishing the action, and the act of proving the claim amounts to a relinquishment of the action.

The correctness of the definition of the term " trader " in In re Kanagaratne1 doubted.

An insolvent who failed to keep books, and who was guilty of reckless trading, was in the circumstances of this case granted a certificate in the third class, which was suspended for two years.

IN this case there were two appeals. No. 46 was an appeal by a mortgage-creditor again