NARAYANAN NAMBUDIRI Vs. KURICHITHANAM EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The first defendant in O. S. 18B/56 on the file of the Subordinate Judges Court, Meenachil has filed this revision petition challenging the validity of the order passed by that court permitting the plaintiff to continue the suit as a representative suit under O.1 R.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Such a sanction was applied for sometime after the presentation of the plaint. One of the objections raised to the grant of the permission sought for by the plaintiff is that the permission should have been obtained in the first instance and the suit should have been instituted only after obtaining such permission or sanction. There is not much force in this objection. The sanction contemplated by O.1 R.8 could be given even after the presentation of the plaint. There is provision in R.8 itself for giving notice of such sanction to all persons interested in the suit in such a manner as may be directed by the court. The suit will be deemed to be representative suit under O.1 R.8, brought forward with the permission of the court, only after the issue of such notice.

(2.) For the issue of sanction under O.1 R.8 two conditions have to be satisfied, viz., there must be numerous persons interested in the suit and their interest must be same or similar. The present suit relates to the management of a High School owned by a society known as the Kurichithanam Educational Society. There can be no doubt that all the members of this society have the same interest in the management of this school. As for the membership of the Association, there appears to be some dispute between the plaintiff and the 1st defendant. According to the 1st defendant, there are only 26 members while according to the plaintiff there are 30 members. It is urged on behalf of the defendant that the number of members of the society cannot be said to be numerous so as to justify a sanction under O.1 R.8. It is difficult to prescribe a minimum number which would be sufficient to satisfy the expression numerous as used in O.1 R.8. It is a matter of discretion for the court to decide whether the number of persons having the same interest in a particular suit is so large as can be said to be numerous as contemplated by R.8 In the exercise of such discretion, the learned subordinate Judge has taken the view that the members of the Kurichithanam Educational Society are numerous and that one or more of them should be permitted to institute the present suit for and on behalf of the Society. His exercise of the discretion in the matter cannot be interfered with in revision.

(3.) Then there is no objection that the suit itself is not properly constituted and that therefore the sanction under O.1 R.8 should not have been issued. It is pointed out that the plaintiff in the suit is the Kurichithanam Educational society which is an unregistered society and that such an unregistered society is not a juridical person and cannot figure as a plaintiff. Even though the society is described as the plaintiff the individual claiming to be its present President has brought forward the suit as its representative. Since the society is itself an unregistered one, the individual claiming to be its President cannot represent the society and maintain the suit on behalf of the society. It is for curing that defect that the said individual has applied for the sanction of the court under O.1 R.8 to institute the suit for and on behalf of the society. With the issue of such sanction, the defect in the frame of the suit stands remedied. After the publication of the notice as directed by the lower court, the suit will be treated as a suit instituted with the sanction under O.1 R.8. It cannot be said that the lower court acted illegally in issuing the necessary sanction for converting the suit into a representative suit under O.1 R.8 instituted by the particular individual who claims to be the present President of the Kurichithanam Educational Society.