DAYARAM SURAJMAL Vs. CHANDULAL DAYABHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff alleged that he was a holder in due course of a shah jog hundi for Rs. 900, dated February 10, 1922, drawn by one Jaggannath Gordhandas of Poona on Joraji Deoraj, the second defendant Firm of Bombay, in favour of Venkatesh Ramchandra Shivnoor of Belgaum. The plaintiff transmitted the said hundi from Gulberga to his branch firm at Secunderabad. In the course of transmission to Secunderabad the said hundi was stolen by some person not known to the plaintiff. It then came into the hands of the first defendant firm, who presented it for payment to the drawees, the second defendant firm. The first defendant received payment from the second defendant. The plaintiff claimed that the first defendant had no title to the hundi, and that the first defendant was bound to pay the same with interest as moneys had and received for and on behalf of the plaintiff. The plaintiff further submitted that the second defendant firm was not entitled to pay the amount to the first defendant firm as they had no title to the same. The plaintiff, therefore, prayed that the defendants be ordered to pay to the plaintiff the sum of Rs. 1,035 with interest on Rs. 900 at the rate of nine per cent. per annum from October 10, 1923, till judgment, and costs of the suit.

(2.) We are not concerned with any other issues which were raised at the trial, except the issue whether the hundi was properly stamped. The Judge found on this issue that the instrument was unstamped, and, therefore, was inadmissible in evidence. The plaintiff's suit was then dismissed.

(3.) According to the evidence the hundi bore an uncancelled one anna stamp when it came into the hands of the first defendant firm. It was not, therefore, duly stamped at the time of execution. Under Section 12(2) of the Indian Stamp Act: "Any instrument bearing an adhesive stamp which has not been cancelled so that it cannot be used again, shall, so far as such stamp is concerned, be deemed to be unstamped." Under Section 17: All instruments chargeable with duty and executed by any person in British India shall be stamped before or at the time of execution.