GENDALAL COTTON MILLS LTD Vs. BASANT KUMARIBAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application for revision under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the order of the Court below holding that the Official Liquidators of a limited liability company have no right to institute a suit in forma pauperis for obtaining possession of the property belonging to the Company.

(2.) AS has been pointed out by the Court below there is a conflict of Judicial opinion on this question. There is a group of cases in which it has been held that a Corporation cannot be allowed to sue in forma pauperis, while there is another group of cases in which it is said that it can be so allowed. The learned Judge of the Court below accepted the view of the High Courts of Calcutta, Rangoon and Punjab which is to the effect that a Corporation cannot be allowed to institute a suit as a pauper and dismissed the application made before it by Official Liquidators for being permitted to institute a suit on behalf of the petitioners, The Gendalal Cotton Mills Ltd.

(3.) MR. H. R. Gokhale, who appears for the petitioners, relies strongly upon the view taken by the High Court of Madras in ILR (1937) Mad 784 : (AIR 1937 Mad 549) (FB), Swaminathan v. Official Receiver of Ramnad and ILR 41 Mad 624 : (AIR 1918 Mad 362), Perumal Koundam v. Tirumalarayapurma Jananukoola Dhanasekhara Sanka Nidhi Ltd. as well as the view taken by the Hyderabad High Court in AIR 1951 Hyd 124, Syed Ali v. Deccan Commercial Bank, Ltd. , and contends that a Corporation being a person in the eye of the law is entitled to the benefit of the provisions of Order XXXIII, Rule 1, C. P. C. , and to institute a suit in forma pauperis. He also referred to three other decisions which support the aforesaid contention. Two of those cases are AIR 1944 Oudh 248, Sripal Singh v. U. P. Cinetone, Ltd. and AIR 1930 Rang 272, D. K. Cassim and Sons v. Abdul Rahman. Before examining the decisions upon which Mr. Gokhale relies, I think it would be better to consider those decisions which have found favour with the Court below.