(1.) THIS appeal has been preferred by the defendant against the judgment and decree of the Senior Subordinate Judge, Jullundur, dated March 30, 1962.
(2.) THE facts giving rise to the present appeal are that an amount of Rupees 20,097/14/- was deposited in Fixed Deposit vide receipt No. 916/54/47, dated July 11, 1947, in favour of Karamjit Singh, minor deceased, son of Shri Jagtar Singh through Smt. Iqbal Kaur widow of Shri Ajit Singh of Chak No. 132/r. B. , Sahuwalia, district Lyallpur, with the Hindustan Commercial Bank Ltd. , Jullundur City, hereinafter referred to as the Bank, for a period of twelve months. The amount carried interest at the rate of 2 3/4% per cent, per annum. Karamjit Singh thereafter died. Jagtar Singh plaintiff obtained a succession certificate for the said amount and interest from the Court on January 20, 1951. Smt. Iqbal Kaur instituted a suit on January 24, 1951, in the Court of Subordinate Judge 1st Class, Jullundur, against the plaintiffs, the Bank and the Punjab National Bank Ltd. , Jullundur City, with whom another amount of Rupees 17,150/had been deposited in Fixed Deposit vide receipt dated February 17, 1947, in the name of Karamjit Singh minor-deceased, stating that she was the owner of those amounts and Karamjit Singh was merely a benamidar and prayed for permanent injunction restraining Jagtar Singh plaintiff to realise the amounts, and the Bank and the Punjab National Bank Ltd. from making the payments to him. She filed an application in that suit for temporary injunction on January 24, 1951, with a prayer that Jagtar Singh plaintiff be restrained from realising the amount from the Bank and the Punjab National Bank Ltd. , and that the Bank and the Punjab National Bank Ltd. be restrained from making the payments to him during pendency of the suit. The amount remained with the Bank till decision of the suit which was dismissed on August 18, 1958. In that suit, it was declared that the succession certificate had been rightly granted to the plaintiff and Smt. Iqbal Kaur had nothing to do with that amount. The plaintiff thus became entitled to recover the amount from the Bank for which he served a notice on December 1, 1959, demanding the amount with interest thereon. The Bank showed its readiness to make payment of the Fixed deposit amount of Rupees 20,097/14/- in full and final payment of the claim, but stated that the Bank was not liable to pay interest for the period during which the litigation between the parties remained pending in the Court, and that the plaintiff was entitled to claim from the party who had filed a suit against him. Ultimately, the defendant Bank paid an amount of Rupees 20,097/14 as principal and Rs. 522. 67 as interest from July 11, 1947 to July 11, 1948, without prejudice to the right of the plaintiff to institute a suit for recovery of the interest due to the plaintiff from the Bank on the principal amount. The plaintiff is entitled to recover the following amounts on account of interest from the Bank:-
(3.) THE trial Court held that the suit was within limitation and that the plaintiff was entitled to recover interest at the rate of 2 3/4 per cent, per annum from 11-7-1948 to 18-8-1959 and at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum from August 18, 1959 to the date of institution of the suit. Consequently, it decreed the suit of the plaintiff for Rupees 7,450. 59 with proportionate costs. The Bank has come up in the appeal against the judgment and decree of the trial Court to this Court.