KUNDAN LAL Vs. SANT RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS second appeal arises out of a suit for rendition of accounts. Both sides are agreed that partnership came to exist between Sant Ram and Hansaraj on one side and Kundan Lal on the other. The object of the partnership was to take contract work from certain company; but since Sant Ram and Hans Raj were not satisfied with the progress of the work they ultimately decided to dissolve the partnership. The suit was brought by Sunt Ram and Hans Raj and they obtained a preliminary decree. In the course of the proceedings relating to the final decree, the Court appointed Iqbal Hussain Advocate as the Commissioner to go into the accounts and we are told that Kundan Lal who was the accounting party handed his accounts to the Commissioner, but because of the Communal disturbances, the Commissioner left Patiala and went away to Pakistan. Nothing was known about the account books produced by Kundan Lal. The parties were, however, given an opportunity of producing evidence and after the evidence had been produced the trial Court granted the Plaintiffs a decree for Rs. 2384/ -. The amount consisted of the following items: Rs. 1850/ - that the Plaintiffs had paid to Kundan Lal as their share of the assets and Rs. 534/ - the Plaintiffs' share of profits. Against this decree Kundan Lal preferred an appeal to the District Judge, but failed. The second appeal was instituted in this Court on 27 -4 -1950.

(2.) HANS Raj, respondent died on 14 -7 -1951. On 9 -11 -1951 Kundan Lal applied that the two sons of the deceased whom he described as Amar Nath and Gattu be brought on the record as his legal representatives. On 25 -4 -1952 Widyawati, widow of Hans Raj represented to the Court that Hans Raj had left three sons whose names were Darshan Kumar, Kanwal Indar and Yash Pal and prayed that since neither they nor. she who was also an heir of her husband, had been brought on the record within the time allowed by law, the appeal should be dismissed as having abated. Kundan Lal admitted that Hans Raj had left a widow and three sons and their names were Darshan Kumar, Kanwal Indar and Yash Pal and applied on 3 -5 -1952 that all four of them be made respondents to the appeal.

(3.) THE respondents have placed on record an affidavit of Gora Lal, mukhtiar -i -khas of Mst. Widyawati and it is mentioned in the affidavit that not only Kundan Lal was related to Hans Raj deceased but he visited Hans Raj's house a few days after he had died in order to condole with the family. Kundan Lal has put in affidavit denying Gora Lal's allegations. According to him there was no relationship whatsoever between him and the family of the deceased and it was just by chance that he happened to go to the village to which belonged Hans Raj's mother's parents and that he came to know of his death and was told that he had left two sons named Amar Nath and Gattu. According to what Mr. Lachhman Dass stated at the bar we are of the opinion that there was no direct relationship between the Appellant and Hans Raj deceased but at the same time it is clear that the families were connected with each other by marriage and so it is wrong to say that they were not related at all. In the view we take, it is impossible to think that Kundan Lal could not have come to know of Hans Raj's death for four months. In any case, it was his duty to be vigilant and in my opinion he has not been able to prove that Hans Raj's death did not come to his knowledge till 4 -11 -1951. In addition I wish to point out that Amar Nath and Gattu whom Kundan Lal brought on the record in place of Hans Raj deceased on the ground that they were his sons, were not his sons and I am not satisfied that he was a victim of any kind of mistake or wrong information. His affidavit is entirely silent on this point and all that is mentioned in it was that the deceased had left two sons namely Amar Nath and Gattu, but there is not a word in it to show who gave him this information and whether he made the slightest effort to verify that the information was correct and Hans Raj had no other sons excepting Amar Nath and Gattu.