RAJA GANGA PRATAP SINGH Vs. ALLAHABAD BANK LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent, a schedule bank, sued the appellant in the court of the Civil Judge, Sitapore in Uttar Pradesh, for the recovery of money due under an instrument of mortgage. The appellant contested the suit on several grounds one of which was, that he was entitled to relief under the Uttar Pradesh Zamindar's Debt Reduction Act (U. P. XV of 1953) which reduced the amount recoverable on a debt as defined in it. Now a debt was defined in the Act in these terms:

(2.) This defence, therefore raised a question as to the validity of a provision in the Act. So the appellant made an application to the Civil Judge, Sitapur, under the proviso to S. 113 of the Code of Civil Procedure asking him to state a case for the opinion of the High Court at Allahabad to which he was subordinate as to the invalidity of the impugned portion of the definition. That proviso is in these terms:

(3.) The appellant then made an application to the High Court at Allahabad for a revision of the order of the learned Civil Judge. He at the same time made another application to the High Court under Art. 228 of the Constitution. That article is in these terms.