M K RANGANATHAN Vs. A S JAFFERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE former employees of the Madras Electric Tramways Ltd. , in liquidation, claiming to represent themselves and all the other former workmen of the company numbering some 1611 persons, sought leave to file a suit in 'forma pauperis to obtain various reliefs against the receivers appointed by the trustees of the mortgagee debenture holders of the company.

(2.) NOW, it has been held in this court that a representative suit cannot be filed in forma pau-peris unless all the persons sought to be represented are without the means to pay the prescribed court-fee. I take it that It must have been difficult to prove that every one of the 1613 persons, for whose benefit the suit is sought to be filed, is so circumstanced. So the secretary of the Madras Electric Tramway workers' Association appears to have invoked the assistance of the State government and on 23-3-1956 the Government issued the following notification:

(3.) WHEN a copy of this notification was placed before me I entertained doubts about its validaty, and so, on. 10-4-1956, I directed the office to number the plaint provisionally subject to the question being fully argued and decided later. It was also made clear to Mr. Mohan Kumanara-mangalam, the learned advocate for the plaintiffs, that should this question be finally decided against the plaintiffs and the requisite court-fee be not paid, the plaint would be rejected.