GOVINDAPPA Vs. K NARANAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are judgment debtors 5(a) and 5(b) in Ex. case No. 488 of 48.49 on the file of the Munsiff, Sagar who filed I.A. No. II under Section 26, Mysore Debt Conciliation Act (Act VI [6] of 1937) claiming stay of execution proceedings on the ground that they had preferred an application in D.C. No. 10 of 49.50 before the Debt Conciliation Board for conciliation of the debt involved in the execution petition. The decree-holder maintained that the judgmentdebtors are not entitled to claim the suspension of the execution proceedings as the present application before the Debt Conciliation Board was the fourth of its kind in relation to the same debt and that it is neither a valid application nor otherwise maintainable according to law. The learned Munsiff refused to stay the execution proceedings.

(2.) The decree-holder obtained the decree in O.S. No. 264 of 28-29 on 15-7- 1931, more than 18 years ago, and he has not recovered the debt as the judgment-debtors obtained stay repeatedly by filing a number of applications before the Debt Conciliation Board. No attempt is made to settle the debt. O.C. No. 1 of 44-45 was dismissed on 16-3-1945, O.C. No. 6 of 45 46 was dismissed on 17-1-46 and D.C. No. 19 of 46-47 which is admittedly made by the present judgment-debtors is not pending before the Debt Conciliation Board.

(3.) Sri R.V. Sreenivasaiya on behalf of the petitioners urges that in view of the present pending application D.C. No. 10 of 49-50, it is mandatory under Section 26, Debt Conciliation Act, to stay further proceedings and that the judgmentdebtors are not precluded by the provisions of the Act to make more than one application. Section 26, Debt Conciliation Act runs as follows: