BHUPENDRA SINGH Vs. GULAB SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a civil regular first appeal by the defendant Mangal Singh in a suit for recovery of money which has been partly decreed by the District Judge, Jaipur City, by his judgment dated the 23rd December, 1957, for a sum of Rs. 6613/7/3. The appellant having died during the pendency of the appeal in this Court is now represented by his son Bhupendra Singh.

(2.) THE facts in so far as they are relevant for the decision of this appeal lie within a narrow compass. It is admitted before us that there were money dealings between the defendant Mangal Singh's father Baney Singh who was a jagirdar of Thikana Barnala in the former State of Jaipur and the plaintiff's father Bhur Singh commencing from 1933. On the 10th of July, 1942, Baney Singh went into accounts with Bhur Singh and found that a sum of Rs. 7540/14/6 was due by him to the latter and signed the Khata Ex. 21 in lieu thereof. It is further common ground between the parties that Baney Singh died some time in the early part of 1943 as a result of which his Jagir was placed under the management of the Court of Wards of the Jaipur State. In pursuance of a notification issued by the Court of Wards under sec. 18 of the Jaipur Court of Wards Act, 1925 (hereinafter called the Act of 1925), Bhur Singh [instituted a claim for the amount due to him before the Court of Wards on the 3rd April, 1943. THE Court of Wards accepted the claim for Rs. 6618/11/3 which was the principal amount due to Bhur Singh from Baney Singh and rejected the rest of the claim which consisted of interest. It further appears that a sum of Rs. 1000/- each during the years 1945 and 1946 was received by the Court of Wards from the defendant's estate for being paid to Bhur Singh and although this amount was deposited in his account, it was somehow never paid to him. Bhur Singh died some time in 1950 and the name of his son Gulab Singh was substituted in the list of creditors in the Court of Wards in the beginning of 1951. In spite of all the efforts made by Bhur Singh and Gulab Singh to recover the money from the Court of Wards, which the latter had accepted as being due to them from Baney Singh, they were not able to recover anything whatever. Eventually Gulab Singh plaintiff respondent after giving the requisite notice to the Court of Wards instituted the suit, out of which this appeal arises, for the recovery of a sum of Rs. 6618/11/3 as principal and further sum of Rs. 5692/3/- as interest at the rate of one percent per annum, the total amounting to Rs. 12310/14/3 in the court of the District Judge, Jaipur City, on the 2nd February, 1952.

(3.) THIS brings us to the next question which is whether the further condition laid down by sec. 14 to the effect that the previous court was unable to entertain the suit or claim from defect of jurisdiction or other cause of a like nature is fulfilled in the present case.