JNANENDRA NATH BHATTACHARJEE Vs. CHANDI CHARAN SAHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff is the licensee of a country liquor shop. His son is the licensee of an imported liquor shop. He brought a suit against the defendant, now appellant, for accounts alleging that the defendant was his servant or karmachari. In the alternative he asked that if the defendant was found to be a partner, the partnership should be dissolved and an account in respect of the partnership taken.

(2.) The defendant appeared and said that he was a partner, and the learned Munsif found that he was a partner to the extent of 8 annas and he passed a decree accordingly.

(3.) Then the plaintiff preferred an appeal to the District Judge and the learned Judge held that the defendant could not be a partner, because the license of a liquor shop is a personal privilege and the licensee cannot take any one as a partner into the business. He also held that as the license for the imported liquor shop stood in the name of plaintiff s son, the plaintiff could proceed with the suit only with regard to the country liquor shop. Having found that the defendant could not be a partner, he proceeded to ascertain what he really was. He came to the conclusion that he was not an ordinary servant but that he was an agent and he ordered that he should render an account.