AHAMAD ABDUL SUKKOOR Vs. VALLABHADAS KANJI FIRM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is by the plaintiff against the order of the Subordinate Judge of Coimbatore in I. A. No. 169 of 1948 in O. S. N. 80 of 1946 on his file.

(2.) The plaintiff has filed this suit against the respondents for damages for malicious and wrongful institution of insolvency proceedings against him by the defendants. I. P. no. 20 of 1942 was filed by the defendant against the plaintiff and the same was dismissed on the ground that no debt was payable by the plaintiff to the defendants. The defendants thereupon filed two suits O.S. Nos. 132 and 133 of 1945 against the plaintiff for the recovery of the sum due under the contract. The two suits were dismissed on the ground that the contracts were of a wageriag character. The defendants have filed appeals against the decision in the two suits and they are A. S. Nos. 164 and 188 of 1948 pending in this Court. This suit, as already stated, is for recovery of damages for instituting the insolvency proceedings. One of the questions that will have to be determined in this suit will be whether any sum was due by the plaintiff to the defendants and the question whether the defendants were justified or had reasonable or probable cause for instituting the insolvency proceedings will depend largely on the liability or otherwise of the plaintiff to the defendants. This latter question is now pending decision in the appeal. As pointed out by the learned Subordinate Judge a good deal of time will be saved by the decision of that question by this Court.

(3.) Apart from this, as the learned Judge has stated in para. 8 of his judgment that if on the evidence to be adduced, the Court comes to a different conclusion on the question of indebtedness of the plaintiff, it will lead to conflict of decisions. There is no doubt, therefore, that the ends of justice require that the suit should be stayed pending the decision of the appeals by this Court.