SWARAN LATA GHOSH Vs. H K BANERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Birendra Krishna Ghosh - hereinafter called "Ghosh" - was practising as an attorney-at-law in the High Court of Calcutta. He died in August 1950. H. K. Banerjee - the first respondent herein - commenced in 1951 an action in the High Court of Calcutta on the original side against Swaran Lata and Arun Kumar - widow and minor son respectively of Ghosh - for a decree for Rs. 15,000/- claiming that it was the balance of "capital deposits" due to him from Ghosh and Rs. 1,535/- interest due thereon. The plaintiff claimed that he had deposited with Ghosh Rs. 6,000/- on December 10, 1946, for the "specific purpose of investing the amount" and the latter agreed to pay interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum and to repay the same or any portion thereof when demanded; that on or about February 17, 1948, he bad deposited Rs. 10,000/- with Ghosh also for "the specific purpose of investing" that sum, and the latter had agreed to pay interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum and to repay, the same or part thereof when demanded; that under the agreement Ghosh paid diverse sums of money as interest, and on July 3, 1947 Ghosh repaid Rs. 1,000/- out of Rs. 6,000/-/deposited; and that the balance of Rs. 15,000/- and Rs. 1,535,/- interest due thereon were repayable by the defendants to the plaintiff.

(2.) Swaran Lata filed a written statement denying the claim of the plaintiff. She denied that the sums of Rs. 6,000/-and Rs. 10,000/- were entrusted to or deposited with her husband as alleged by the plaintiff; she denied that her husband repaid any amounts towards interest or part payment of principal; and she submitted that the suit was in any event barred by the law of limitation.

(3.) The trial of the suit commenced before Law, J., on July 12, 1962. In support of the plaintiff's case four witnesses were examined. The plaintiff tendered in evidence extracts from certain Bank accounts and correspondence. He produced no documentary evidence in support of his case that any amount was deposited with Ghosh, on terms set out in the plaint. Apparently he relied upon the entries in the extracts from the statements of account with the United Bank of India Ltd., the Imperial Bank of India, the Hooghly Bank Ltd. and correspondence between him and Swaran Lata. The learned Judge by order dated August 17, 1962, passed the following order: