SARSHWATI BAI Vs. ALLAHABAD BANK LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Article 227 of the Constitution which has been referred to a Division Bench by a learned single Judge of this Court because he was of the opinion that the decision in Civil Misc. Writ No. 1247 of 1956, D/- 1-10-1958, (All), Vinayakdatt Tewari v. Shom Nath Pathak, did not lay down good law. That being the decision of a learned single Judge it was thought proper to refer the matter to a Division Bench.

(2.) The facts which have given rise to this application are very short. The respondent Allahabad Bank Ltd. filed a suit in the Court of the Civil Judge Kanpur which came up for hearing before the II Addl. Civil Judge, Kanpur. This was suit No. 136 of 1960. The plaint in the case was written in English language. The defendant filed an application before the Court praying that English not being the language of the court under R. 15 of the General Rules (Civil), the plaint was liable to be rejected. This application was dismissed by the Court below relying upon the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Mohd. azim Uddin v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1959 All LJ 863 : (AIR 1959 All 459). The defendant then moved this application under Article 227 of the Constitution in this Court and prayed that the II Addl. Civil Judge Kanpur be directed, that the plaint in suit No. 136 of 1960 be rejected,

(3.) The point for consideration, therefore, is whether R. 15 of the Geenral Rules (Civil) is mandatory and the Court is bound to reject the plaint not written in the Hindi language in Devanagri Script. Rule 15 of the General Rules (Civil) is as follows: