Judgement

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. : - The question is "Is a prize-less chit a prize chit?" So posed the answer appears to be self-evident. That is what it is in the ultimate analysis.

2. The Peerless General Insurance and Investment Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1932. After the nationalisation of the business of life insurance the name of the company was changed to the Peerless General Finance and Investment Co. Ltd. For over a quarter of a century now, the business of the company has been that of finance and investment. The company offers three schemes, the principal of which is the Endowment Certificate Scheme. Under this scheme, a subscriber is required to pay a fixed annual subscription for a fixed number of years varying between the minimum of 10 years and the maximum of 30 years. On the expiry of the period, the subscriber will be paid by the company a sum of money called the Endowment Sum which is the face value of the Certificate. The subscriber is also entitled to be paid a guaranteed fixed bonus. For example, an annual subscription of Rs. 77/- for 10 years will fetch the subscriber at the end of the 10 years period a sum of Rs. 1,000/- as endowment sum and a sum of Rs. 100/- as