SAILABALA DAS Vs. JITENDRA KUMAR HAZRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is the plaintiff's first appeal from, a decision of the learned Additional subordinate Judge, Cuttack whereby he dismissed the plaintiff's suit for a declaration that she is the absolute owner in respect of certain Cash Certificates and Fixed Deposit Accounts mentioned in the plaint and that the defendants 1, 2 and 3 are mere benamidars of the plaintiff in respect of the same, in the circumstances hereinafter stated,

(2.) THE facts are few and sample; the plaintiff Miss Sailabala Das,--a social worker, aged 82 years at the time of the institution of the suit--is a resident of Cuttack town. The defendant No. 1 Jitendra Kumar Hazra, is the plaintiffs brother and defendants 2 and 3 Ananda Kumar Hazra and Sudhangsu Kumar Hazra are the sons of defendant No, 1 Jitendra Kumar Hazra, all residents of Calcutta. The suit relates to two Fixed Deposit Accounts,--both in the United Bank of India Ltd. , cuttack Branch, defendant No. 4 (hereinafter referred to as the Bank), namely,-one in the name of the defendant Jitendra Kumar Hazra for the sum of Rs. 5000/and the other in the name of the defendant Ananda Kumar Hazra for the sum of rs. 2000/-, and the suit also relates to five cash Certificates in, the said Bank, namely two in the name of the defendant Sudhangsu Kumar Hazra for Rs. 2000/each, one in the name of the defendant Ananda Kr. Hazra for Rs. 2000/-, the remaining two being joint cash Certificates--one being in the name of the defendants Jitendra Kumar Hazra and Sudhangsu Kumar Hazra jointly for Rs. 2000/- and the other in the names of the defers. Jitendra Kumar Hazra and ananda Kumar Hazra jointly for Rs. 1,000/ -. Admittedly, the source, out of which the said Fixed Deposit Accounts were opened and Cash certificates were purchased,--was money transferred from the plaintiff's saving Bank Account in the said Bank according to her directions. The plaintiffs case is that she had made the said Fixed Deposits and purchased the said Cash certificates in the names of the defendants, as she, in her old age, was frequently ailing and her hand was shaking, as a result of which one of her cheques is said to have been returned as her signature did not tally with the signature on the cheque, evidently due to her shaking hands; that she thought it advisable to keep her deposits in the names of her relations in whom she had implicit faith, so that in time of need, they would sign the necessary papers to enable her to draw such amount, as required by her; her case, briefly stated, is that it was all a benami arrangement in the names of the defendants 1 to 3, she having kept, for herself, the control over the said monies, and in fact kept with her all the papers and documents relating thereto, and indeed the interest payable on the said Fixed deposits was made payable to the plaintiff. The defence case,--on the other hand, as pleaded by the defendants 1, 2 and 3,-was that it was not benami as alleged; that it was an absolute gift made by the plaintiff; that the monies in the Fixed Deposit Accounts became the property of the said defendants by virtue of such gift and they belonged to the said defendants. The trial court dismissed the plaintiffs suit finding that it was gift in favour of the defendants and not a benami arrangement as alleged by the plaintiff and accordingly dismissed the plaintiff's suit. Hence, this appeal.

(3.) THE only questions,--for consideration ia this appeal,--are whether the aforesaid arrangement was a gift or a benami transaction, and if it was a gift, whether it was a valid gift in law.