Warnakulasooriya, D. V. Transport And General Finance Co., Ltd.

1953 Present: Gratiaen J. and Weerasooriya J.

D. WARNAKULASOORIYA, Appellant, and TRANSPORT &
GENERAL FINANCE CO., LTD., Respondent

S. C. 105-D. C. Colombo, 18,213 M
 

Contract---Illegality-Effect as between the parties-Hire-purchase-Ownership of goods-Is it a material factor ?

A transfer of property made in pursuance of an unlawful agreement cannot be upset merely on the ground of illegality.

Quaere whether a condition precedent to a hire-purchase agreement is that the person who lets goods on hire should be the lawful owner of such goods at the time the agreement is entered into.

APPEAL from a judgment of the District Court, Colombo.

E. B. Wikramanayake, Q .C., with N. Nadarasa and S. Canagarayar, for the second defendant appellant.-The plaintiff was at no stage the owner of the motor car. The evidence was that the first defendant " was buying the car through the plaintiff company". It was the first defendant who bought the car from Rajapakse. It is, besides, an implied condition of every hire-purchase agreement that the person who lets the thing on hire is the owner-Karflex v. Poole1[(193

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