FIRM PEARE LAL KISHAN PRASAD THROUGH RAI SAHEB RAM ASRE PRASAD Vs. FIRM DIWAN SINGH-GANESHI LAL THROUGH ATMA RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Parties to this action are dealers in grain in Mandavi Faizganj in the City of Meerut. On Jeth Badi 12, Sambat 1982 corresponding to the 19?h of May, 1925, the plaintiff-appellant purchased from the defendant-respondent a khatti or grain pit situate in Ahata Sri Ram. The bargain struck about the purchase of 504 maunds of wheat at the rate of Rs. 5-9-3 per mauud. A quarter of the purchase- money, namely, Rs. 748-9 5 was paid by way of earnest money, It was a term of the contract that the balance of the purchase-money, namely, Rs. 2,100 was to be paid by the plaintiff to the defendant later up to Phagun Sudi 5, 17 of February, 1926, in accordance with the cu stom of the trade which prevailed in the Faizganj market. The terms of the contract were reduced to writing and were embodied in two separate documents in printed forms exchange between the parties. These documents have been the curious name of langot. The etymology of the word is not known but the langot appears to possess the incidents of bought and sold notes. Curiously enough, these documents were not produced in the Courts below either by the plaintiff or the defendant; and it was not till a later stage of the progress of arguments in this Court that the langot executed by the plaintiff in favoar of the defendant was produced in this Court The parties admitted its genuineness and it was received in evidence, The document is headed with the words "The Meerut Veopar Chamber" and contains the following entries:

(2.) The document is signed by the Secretary of the Meerut Veopar Chamber. There is a note appended to this document: "The grain pits have been purchased and sold in accordance with the rules of the "Meerut Veopar Chamber." Then follows a tabular form in which the following entries have been recorded.

(3.) The Meerut Veoparak Sabha appears to have commenced its work sometime in February, 15325. The defendant applied for membership of the Sabha on the 21 of March, 1925. The purchase and sale of the khatti was registered in the books of the Sabha on deposit of rupee one as fee on the 16 of May, 1925. The langot embodying the contract was in a printed form prescribed by the Sabha.