KHITISH CHANDRA SAHU Vs. RAJKISHORE SAHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeal is by the plaintiff against a reversing appellate decree arising out of a suit for recovery of Rs. 6,800/-with interest on allegations that the respondent who happens to be a cousin of the appellant and was carrying on timber business, approached him in Nov. 1967, for an advance of Rs. 5,000/ by way of temporary accommodation and took the amount on 6-11-1967 promising to repay the same on demand and thereafter executed a document by way of security acknowledging the receipt of the amount and stipulating to pay back the money on demand. Despite several demands, when the respondent did not repay the loan, the suit was filed on 6-11-1970 for realisation of the amount with interest by way of compensation at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of loan till the date of suit.

(2.) The defendant-respondent denied the loan and contended that the suit was hit by section 8 of the Orissa Money Lenders Act. It was further pleaded that the suit was based on a promissory note which was insufficiently stamped and thus the amount was not recoverable on the basis thereof.

(3.) The learned Subordinate Judge, who tried the suit believed the advance of the loan and held that the plaintiff not being a money-lender in regular course of advance the suit not hit by Section 8 of the Act. She also held that though the promissory note was inadmissible in evidence being insufficiently stamped, the cause of action for the suit was not founded on the hand note and the hand note not being the basis to the loan, the plaintiff was entitled to sue on the original cause of action and on the aforesaid findings, she decreed the suit for the prince pal amount and disallowed the claim fo interest on the ground that there was no stipulation for its payment.