ANAND MOHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, his father and brother had jointly and severally taken a loan for purchase of a tractor from the State of Bank of India. They had defaulted. The State Bank of India initiated certificate proceedings against the three. At the time of initiation of the proceeding itself, the father and the brother had died. The initiation of the proceedings as against the father and the brother was an initiation against dead persons. Notwithstanding that the certificate was issued against all the three i.e. against the two dead persons and the petitioner.

(2.) IT appears that a petition was filed before the Certificate Officer and the Certificate Officer thinking that all the certificate debtors were dead, dropped the proceedings as a whole. A review application was then filed by the Bank which was rejected by the Certificate Officer. The State Bank of India then filed an appeal before the Collector. The Collector noticed the real facts. He noticed that two of the persons named in the certificate were dead. The third, the petitioner, was alive and had appeared in the proceedings, as such, he set aside the order of the Certificate Officer and remanded the matter to him to proceed against the petitioner. It is the legality and propriety of such an order that is challenged before this Court.

(3.) THE first contention raised on behalf of the petitioner is that once a certificate is issued against dead persons, the certificate is void and non est. That being so, it was incumbent upon the Certificate Officer to re - initiate the proceedings. Secondly, it was submitted that the liability of the petitioner would be only one third as there were three persons who had taken the loan and he cannot be saddled with the entire liability.