# STATE BANK OF INDIA v. GHAMANDI RAM (DEAD) THROUGH SHRI GURBAX RAI

- **Citation:** [1969] 3 S.C.R. 681
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1969-02-13
- **Case number:** Civil Revision No. 104-D of 1958
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/state-bank-of-india-v-ghamandi-ram-dead-through-shri-gurbax-rai-4628
- **Pages:** 9

## Headnote

A
681
STATE BANK OF INDIA
v.
GHAMANDI RAM (DEAD) THROUGH SHRI GURBAX RAI
February 13, 1969
B
[I. C. SHAH, V. RAMASWAMI AND A. N. GROVER, II.]
c
D
E
I'
G
H
Hindu Law-Joim Hindu family firm-I/ ·~rsol( or 'body of individuaJs not incorporated'.
Private International Law-Priority between voluntary and involur.-
tary assignments of debts.
The respondent was the karta of a joint Hindu family firm carrying on
business, before the partition of India, in area now forming part ot Pakistan. The firm had a cash credit account with the Imperial Bank (now
State Bank of India) in that area and had pledged its goods with the Bank
as security for repayment of the advances. After the partition, the family
and its members came away to India and became evacuees in relation to
Pakistan. The Bank sold the pledged goods in 1948, and after adjusting
the amounts due to it credited the surplus amount in the account of the
firm. The Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Ordinan.ce,
1949, was promulgated on October IS, 1949 and was amended by the
Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Amendment Act, 1951.
Under s. 6( I) of the Ordinance all evacuee property shall vest and shall
be deemed to have vested in the Custodian in Pakistan from March I,
1947. By a notification dated February 19, 1952 the Pakistan Government exempted, 'from the operation of tho provision of the Ordinance 'cash
deposits made in Banks by persons other than companies or associations
or bodies of individuals whether incorporated or not'.
The respondent applied under s. 13 of the Displaced Persons (Debts
Adjustments) Act, 1951 (Indian Act) before the Tribunal constituted
under the Act, claiming the amount in the Bank credited in the account
of the family.
The Tribunal dismissed the application.
In revision, the
High Court allowed the claim on the ground that the amount was a 'cash
deposit made by an individual' in terms of the Pakistan Notification dated
February 19, 1952.
In appeal to this Court,
HELD: (I) Having regard to the juristic nature of the Hindu Joint
family under the Mitakshara Law, the family firm could not be treated as
a 'person' within the meaning lit the Pakistan notification. The firm was
'a body of individuals not incorporated'
and hence the amount in the
Bank was evacuee property and had become vested in the Custodian of
Evacuee Property, Pakistan, with effect from March I, 1947. (687 E-F]
Sundar•anam Maistri v. Nara.rimhulu Maistri, I.L.R. 15 Mad. 149, 154,
referred to.
(2) The rule of Private International Law i& that where an involuntary
usignment occurs after a voluntary assignment has already been made, the
question whether the righb of the voluntary assignee have been postponed
or def~ WO!Jld be govern~ by tho. kx situs lit the debt. In. the piaent
case, smce \he mvoluntary us1gnment 10 favour of tho eu.todian in Pakistan occurred in 1949, when the Ordinance was promulaated after the voluntarf •ssillD'llent by the Bank in favour of the ftrm In 1948 and the lftus of
682
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969) 3 S.C.R.
the debt was Pakistan (the Bank having gamishable assets of the responA
dent in Pakistan which could be attached by the Custodian in Pakistan). the
question of priority would be governed by the law in Palilitan, namely, the
provisions of the Ordinance; and under the Ordinance, the amount vested in
the Custodian in Pakistan with effect from March I, 1947. Therefore, the
liability of the Bank to the firm must be deemed to have been extinguished.
[687 H; 688 G; 689 F]
Re: Queensland Mercantile and Agency Co. [1891] 1 Ch. 536 and
B
Arab Bank Ltd. v. Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial
and
Overseas)
[1954] AC. 495, applied.
Dicey, Conflict of Laws, 8th Edn. p. 780, referred to.

## Text

A
681
STATE BANK OF INDIA
v.
GHAMANDI RAM (DEAD) THROUGH SHRI GURBAX RAI
February 13, 1969
B
[I. C. SHAH, V. RAMASWAMI AND A. N. GROVER, II.]
c
D
E
I'
G
H
Hindu Law-Joim Hindu family firm-I/ ·~rsol( or 'body of individuaJs not incorporated'.
Private International Law-Priority between voluntary and involur.-
tary assignments of debts.
The respondent was the karta of a joint Hindu family firm carrying on
business, before the partition of India, in area now forming part ot Pakistan. The firm had a cash credit account with the Imperial Bank (now
State Bank of India) in that area and had pledged its goods with the Bank
as security for repayment of the advances. After the partition, the family
and its members came away to India and became evacuees in relation to
Pakistan. The Bank sold the pledged goods in 1948, and after adjusting
the amounts due to it credited the surplus amount in the account of the
firm. The Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Ordinan.ce,
1949, was promulgated on October IS, 1949 and was amended by the
Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Amendment Act, 1951.
Under s. 6( I) of the Ordinance all evacuee property shall vest and shall
be deemed to have vested in the Custodian in Pakistan from March I,
1947. By a notification dated February 19, 1952 the Pakistan Government exempted, 'from the operation of tho provision of the Ordinance 'cash
deposits made in Banks by persons other than companies or associations
or bodies of individuals whether incorporated or not'.
The respondent applied under s. 13 of the Displaced Persons (Debts
Adjustments) Act, 1951 (Indian Act) before the Tribunal constituted
under the Act, claiming the amount in the Bank credited in the account
of the family.
The Tribunal dismissed the application.
In revision, the
High Court allowed the claim on the ground that the amount was a 'cash
deposit made by an individual' in terms of the Pakistan Notification dated
February 19, 1952.
In appeal to this Court,
HELD: (I) Having regard to the juristic nature of the Hindu Joint
family under the Mitakshara Law, the family firm could not be treated as
a 'person' within the meaning lit the Pakistan notification. The firm was
'a body of individuals not incorporated'
and hence the amount in the
Bank was evacuee property and had become vested in the Custodian of
Evacuee Property, Pakistan, with effect from March I, 1947. (687 E-F]
Sundar•anam Maistri v. Nara.rimhulu Maistri, I.L.R. 15 Mad. 149, 154,
referred to.
(2) The rule of Private International Law i& that where an involuntary
usignment occurs after a voluntary assignment has already been made, the
question whether the righb of the voluntary assignee have been postponed
or def~ WO!Jld be govern~ by tho. kx situs lit the debt. In. the piaent
case, smce \he mvoluntary us1gnment 10 favour of tho eu.todian in Pakistan occurred in 1949, when the Ordinance was promulaated after the voluntarf •ssillD'llent by the Bank in favour of the ftrm In 1948 and the lftus of
682
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969) 3 S.C.R.
the debt was Pakistan (the Bank having gamishable assets of the responA
dent in Pakistan which could be attached by the Custodian in Pakistan). the
question of priority would be governed by the law in Palilitan, namely, the
provisions of the Ordinance; and under the Ordinance, the amount vested in
the Custodian in Pakistan with effect from March I, 1947. Therefore, the
liability of the Bank to the firm must be deemed to have been extinguished.
[687 H; 688 G; 689 F]
Re: Queensland Mercantile and Agency Co. [1891] 1 Ch. 536 and
B
Arab Bank Ltd. v. Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial
and
Overseas)
[1954] AC. 495, applied.
Dicey, Conflict of Laws, 8th Edn. p. 780, referred to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 449 of
196.6.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment a!Dd order dated
C
September 12, 1963 of the Punjab High Court Circuit Bench at
Delhi in Civil Revision No. 104-D of 1958.
Niren De, Attorney-General, S. V. Gupte, H. L. Anand and
K. B. Mehta, for the appellant.
Bishambar Lal, M. R. Garg, H. K. Puri and Radha Kishan
Makhija, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Ramaswami, J. Mis. Ghamandi Ram Gurbax Rai, a iomt
Hindu family firm consisting of Ghamandi Ram, since deceased,
Gurbax Rai, Chaman Lal and Jagan Nath, used to carry on business in Bhawalpur State now forming part of West Pakistan, be·
fore the partition of India. Shri Ghamandi Ram was the manager and karta of the said joint Hindu family firm during the mate·
rial period. Before the partition of India, the joint Hindu family
firm had a cash credit account in its name in the then Imperial
Bank of J,ndia, Bhawalpur State ·now within Pakistan territory.
The said firm had pledged goods as security for the repayment of
the advances made in the said account. On the partition of India,
the joint Hindu family and its members admittedly became evacuees and the then Imperial Bank of India, Blrawalpur State, sold
the pledged goods in the year 1948 for the realisation of its dues
1n the said cash credit account and credited a sum of
Rs. 2,541/ 11/- left as surplus balance after the adjustment of the
dues of the Imperial Bank of India in the said account.
On
October 15, 1949, the Pakistan Government promulgated Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee property) Ordinance, 1949
(Ordinance No. XV oi 1949) whereby all property in Pakistan
in which an evacuee had any right or interest vested in lhe Custodian of Evacuee Property with retrospective effect from March 1,
194 7. The expression 'evacuee property' was defin.ed by s. 2
sub-s. ( 3) of the Ordinance to include any right or interest in
joint Hindu family property. 'Ca5h deposits in Banks' were howD
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STATE BANK v. GURBAX RA! (Ramaswami, J.)
683
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ever excepted from the definition oi. the term 'property' by s.
2(5) of the Ordinance.
The Ordinance was amended in 1951
by the Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Amendment
Act, 1951 (Act No. VI of 1951) whereby s. 2(5) of the Or~i
nance was amended so as to brimg cash deposits in Banks withm
the definition of the term 'property'.
By a notification dated
B
February 19, 1952, the Pakistan Government exempted from the
operation of the provisions of the said Ordinance 'cash deposits
made at Banks by persons other than compamies or associations or
bodies of individuals whether incorporated or not'.
c
On May 9, 1953, Shri Ghamandi Ram (now deceased) as
manager and karta of the joint Hindu family firm filed an application lljllder s. 13 of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustments)
Act, 1951 (Act No. 70 of 1951) before the Tribunal constituted
under the said Act at Delhi claiming Rs. 3,165/11/-
including
Rs. 2,341/11/- on account of the said principal and interest at
6% per annum on , the ground that the said amount had not beD
come evacuee property and the liability of the Imperial Bank of
India had not therefore ceased. During the pendency of the proceedings before the Tribunal the appellant Bank was constituted
Ujll.der the provisions of the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (Act
No. 23 of 1955) and succeeded to the entire rights and liabilities
of the Imperial Bank of India.
The appellant was accordingly
E
substituted in the said proceedings for the Imperial Bank of India.
By its order dated November 1, 1956, the Tribunal dismissed the
application of the respondent on the ground that m terms of the
law enforced in Pakistan the deposit in the Bank in the account
of the firm had become an evacuee property and would be deemed
to have vested in the Custodian with effect from March I, 194 7
and by virtue of the said vesting the liability of the Bank had
F
ceased. The Tribunal fUrther held that the only property in the
pledged goods, which belonged to the firm, was the equity of
redemption and that had vested in the Custodiain being a 'property' within the meanin~ of the said Ordinance. The respondent
took the matter in revis10n before the Punjab High Court being
Civil Revision No. 104-D of 1958. The application was allowed
by Mr. Justice D. K. Mahajan by his judgment dated 12th September, 1963 on the ground that the amount claimed by the resG
H
pondent was cash deposit made by an individual in terms of the
notification dated February 19, 1952 and was thus beyond the
purview of the provisioni; of the Ordinance. The learned Judge
accordi~gly set aside the order oi. the Tribunal and granted a
decree m favour of the respondent for the amount claimed. This
~ppeal. is brought by special leave from the judgment of the Pun1ab High Court dated 12th September, 1963 in Civil Revision
No. 104-D of 1958.
684
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
{1969] 3 S.C.R.
Section 2 sub-section ( 3) of the Pakistan (Administration of
Evacuee Property) Ordinance, 1949 (Ordinance No. 15 of 1949)
defiines the term 'evacuee property' as meaning any property in
which an evacuee has any right or interest, or which is held by or
for him in trust, and includes-
(a) any right or interest in joint Hindu family pr~
perty which would accrue to the evacuee up0n the
partition of the ~ame, or
(b) property obtained from an evacuee after the
twentyeighth day of February, 194 7, until confirmed by
the Custodian,
but does not include-
(i) any movable property in the immediate physical
possession of any evacuee, or
(ii) any property belonging to a joint stock company the head office of \l(hich was situated, before the
fifteenth day of August, 1947, in any place in the territories now comprising Indta, and continues to be so
situated after the said date".
Section 2 sub-section (5) defines the term 'property' as follows:-
" 'property' means property of any kind, and includes
ainy right or interest in such property and any debt or
actionable claim, but does not include a mere right to
sue or a cash deposit in a bank",
Section 2(5) of the Ordinance was amended by Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Amendment Act, 1951 (Act ;No.
VI of 1951) in the following mall(ller:
"2(b) in clause (5) the words 'or a cash deposit in
Bank' shall be omitted".
Section 6 of the Ordinance states :
"6 ( 1) All evacuee property shall vest and shall be
deemed always to have vested in the Custodian with
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effect from the first day of March, 1947.
G
"
The notification of February 19, · 1952 issued by the Pakistan
Government in exercise of the powers conferred by section 45 of
the Ordinance is in the following terms :
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 45
of the Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property)
Ordinance XV of 1949, the Central Government in
H
STATE BANK v. GURBAX RA! (Ramaswami, 1.)
685
A
supersession of its Ministry's notification F. 22(1)51-P
dated the 9th May, 1951 is pleased to exempt from the
operation of the provisions of the said Ordinance cash
deposits made at Banks by persons other than companies
or associatiQnS or bodies of individuals whether incorporated or not".
B Section 7 of the Ordinance states :
"7. ( 1) Every person who is, or has at any time
after the twentyeighth day of February, 1947, been in
possession, supervision or management of any evacuee
property, shall be deemed to hold or to have held, as
the case may be, such property on behalf of the CustoC
dian,
D
E
( 2) Every person who is in possession, supervision
or management of any evacuee property or property
which he knows or has reason to believe is evacuee
property shall, as soon as may be but not later than
sixty days from the commencement of this Ordinance,
iintimate to the Custodian in writing his willingness to
surrender such property to the Custodian or to
any
person authorised by the Custodian in this behalf upon
receipt of a notice from the Custodian that the property
is evacuee property, and shall surrender the same if
called upon by the Custodian or any person authorised
as aforesaid.
( 3) The provisions of sub-section ( 2) shall
~t
apply to any person who is in possession, supervision or
management of any evacuee property by virtue of an
allotment made by a Rehabilitation Authority".
Section 7 of the Ordinance was amended i(Jl 19 51 in the followF
ing terms :-
G
H
"5. In sub-section (2) of section 7 of the Ordinance,
for the words 'sixty days from the commencement of
this Ordinance' the words 'such date as may be notified
by the Central Government i.n the Official Gaz.ette' shall
be substituted, a!Jd the words 'upon receipt of a notice
from the Custodian that the property is evacuee property' shall be omitted".
Section 11 of the Ordinance states :
"11. ( 1) Any amount due to any evacuee or payable in respect of any evacuee property, shall' be paid
to the Custodian by the person Hable to pay the same.
(2) Any person who makes a payment under subsection ( 1) shall be discharged from further !iability
to pay to the extent o( the payment made.
LIOSup./69-9
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969) 3 S.C.R.
(3) Without prejudice to any penalty to which he
may be liable under section 29, any person who makes
or has made any payment otherwise than in accordance
with suli-section ( 1) or any law for the time bei(ng in
force requiring payment of any such amount as is mentioned in sub-section ( 1) to be made to the Custodian
shall not be discharged from his obligation to pay the
amount due, and the right of the Custodian to enforce
such obligati~ against such person shall remain unaffected".
The first question involved in this appeal is whether upon a
correct interpretation of the notification of the Pakistan Government dated February 19, 1952, the joint Hindu family firm
"Ghamandi Ram Gurbax Rai" was 'a body of individuals' within
the meani.ng of the notification and whether the amount in dispute
had accordingly become
vested in the Custodian of Evacuee
Propeny, Pakistan with effect from March 1, 1947 by virtue of
the provisions of the Ordinance thereby divesting the said joint
Hindu family firm of its interest therein.
According to the Mitakshara School of Hindu Law all the
propeny of a Hindu joint family is held in collective ownership
by ·all the coparceners in a quasi-corporate capacity.
The textual
authority of the Mitakshara lays . down in express terms that the
joint family property is held in trust for the joint family members
then living and thereafter to be born (See Mitakshara,
Ch. 1.
1-27). The incidents of co-parcenership under the Mitakshara
-
law are : first, the lineal male descendants of a person up to the
third generation, acquire on birth ownership
in the
ancestral
properties is common; fifthly, that no aiienation of the propeny
any time work out their rights by asking for partitiom; thirdly,
that till partition each member has got ownership extending over
the entire propeny, conjointly with the rest; fourthly, that as a
result of such co-ownership the possession and enjoyment of the
properties is common; fifthly, that no alienatiQa of the property
is possible unless it be for necessity, without the concurrence of
the coparceners, and sixthly, that the interest of a deceased meml»r lapses on his . death to the survivors.
A coparcenary under
the M1takshara School is a creature of law and cannot arise by
!let of parties except in so tar that on adoption the adopted son
becomes a co-parcener with his adoptive father as regards the
ancestral
properties of the latter. In Sundarsanam Maistri v.
Narasimhulu Maistri an/i Anr.( 1) Mr. Justice Bhashyam Ayyangar stated the legal position thus :-
·
"The Mitakshara doctrine of joint family propcny is
founded upon the existence of an undivided family, all
(I) I.L.R. 25 Mad, 149, 154.
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STATE BANK v. GURBAX RAl (Ramaswami, J.)
68'.
a corporate body [Gan Savant Bal Savant v. Narayan
Dhond Savant(') and Mayne's 'Hindu Law and Usage',
6th edition paragraph 270] and the possession ot property by su~h coipor'.lte body. The ~t req~ite therefore is the family urut; and the possess10n by 1t of property is the second requisi~e. For the present putp?se,
female members of the family may be left out of consideration 8jDd the conception_ of a Hindu family is a
common male ancestor with his lineal descendants in the
male line, and so long as that family is in its normal
condition viz., the undivided state-it forms a corporate
body. Such corporate body, with its heritage; is purely
a creature of law and cannot be created by act of parties, save in so far that, by adoption, a stranger may
be affiliated as a member of that corporate family".
Adverting to the nature of the property owned by such a family
the learned Judge proceeded to state :
"As regards the property of such family, the 'un·
obstructed heritage' devolving on such family, with its
accretions, is owned by the family as a corporate body,
and one or more branches of that family, each forming
a corporate body within a larger corporate body, m'1y
possess separate 'unobstructed heritage' which, with its
accretions, may be exclusively owned by such branch as
a corporate body".
Having regard to the juristic nature of the Hindu joint family,
according to the doctrine of_ Mitakshara, we are of the opinion
that the Hindu joi,nt family firm of Ghamandi Ram Gurbax Rai
cannot be treated as an 'individual' within the meaning of the
notification of the Pakistan Government dated 19th February,
1952, but the said firm must be treated as 'a body of i,ndividuals
F
whether incorporated or not' within the meaning of that notification.
We proceed to consider the next question arising in this appeal
viz., whether the liability of the appellant to the respondent in
India would be deemed to be extiμguished in view of the operaG
lion of the Pakistan Evacuee Property Ordinance and in view of
our finding that the amount in dispute had become vested in the
Custodian of Evacuee Property, Pakistan with effect from March
1, 194 7 by virtue of the provisions of the Ordinance. It is oot
disputed that the appellant had got gamishabk assets in Pakistan
out of which the Pakistan Government could realise the amount by
attachment of the property of the appellant. The question is :
H what is the rule of Pnvate International Law iln such a case of
involuntary assignment of debts ?
The question has arisen in
(I) l.L.R. 7 Born. 467.
688
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R.
English Courts with regard to the legislation passe4 during or after
a war by which the contractual rights of the enemies vested in the
public authorities such as custodians or admWiistrators of enemy
property.
It was held in English Courts tl:iat in such a case the
question whether a given contractual right, e.g., a W:bt, is transferred under such legislation and whether therefore payment to a
custodian or administrator has the effect of discharging the debtor,
depends on the situs of that right and not oo much on the proper
law of the contract from which the right arises.
(See Dicey Conflict of Laws, 8th Ed. p. 780). For example in Arab Bank Ltd.
v.
Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) (1), the
appellant Bank had a credit balance on the current account with
the respondent bank's branch in Jerusalem. The British Mandate
over Palestine expired at midnight on May 14, 1948, and thereupon the Provisional Council of State and the Provisional Government of the State of Israel were constituted. War broke out
between Israel and the Arab States, which rendered the further
performance of the contract of current account impossible. From
the date of the termination of the Mandate the appellant B.ank's
premises were situate in Arab controlled territory and the resJ;>C!ndent Bank's premises were situate in Israel territory. By legislation the State of Israel vested in an official c'alled the 'Custodiap
of the Property of Absentees', the property in the State of Israel
belonging to a class of persons and corporations which included
the Arab Bank.
The respondents paid the appellants' credit
balances, amount'1g to some £ 5,83,000 to the custodian. In
1950 the appellants sued the respondents for this sum.
It was
held that the right to be paid the credit balance survived the outbreak of wm:, remaining in existence subject to the suspension of
the appellant bank's right to recover it.
Being locally situate in
Israel, it became subject to the legislation of that State ~
vested
in the custodian, and was not recoverable by the appellant bank
from the respondent bank.
The key to the problem lies in distinguishing between ( 1) questions of assignability,
which
are
governed by tlie proper law of the debt, ·aipd (2) questions of
attachment or garnishment (involuntary assigmnent) governed
by the lex situs of the debt. If, for example, an involuntaty
assignment occurs after a voluntary assignment has already beein
made, the lex situs determines whether the rights of the voluntaty
assignee have been postponed or defeated.
If the voluntary
assignment occurs first, the lex situs determines what rights, if any,
the voluntary assignee has acquired.
A question of priorities.
arose in the case of Re : Queenlrland Mercantile and Agency
Co.( 2), the facts of which were as follows :-
"The Union Bank of
Australia held debentures
issued by the Queensland Company charging the shares
(I) [19541 A.C. 495.
(2) [1891] 1 Ch. 536.
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B
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STATE BANK v. GURBAX RA! (Ramaswami, J,)
689
in that compll\ll'y that were not fully paid up. The Bank
was domiciled in England and the company in Queensland. After the capital had been called up, but before
it was paid by the shareholders, who
thus
became
debtors of the company, the X Company domiciled in
Scotland, began an action for rregligence in Scotland
against the Queensland Company,
and
immediately
issued the Scottish process of arrestment against numerous shareholders who were domiciled
in
Scotland.
The effect of this process according to Scottish law was
to prevent the shareholders, pendiJng a decision in the
action of negligence,
from
paying the cails to the
company".
The question that fell to be decided was whether the Union Bank,
· as debenture-holders, were entitled to be paid first out of the unpaid shares, according to the Jaw of England llllid of Queensland;
or whether the X Company in accordance with the law of Scotland, had a prior right over the snares to the extent of the damages
D
that they might be awarded in the action of negligence.
A question of priorities betweetr two assignees was thus raised.
The
Union Baink contended that the. question fell to be decided by the
law of Queensland, since the Queerol>tand Company was a creditor
in respect of the u,npaid shares and any assignment by it must be
teSted bv the law of its domicil.
North, J., however, applied
'I Scottish Jaw. His reasoning was that since the debtors were residf\D't in Scotland and therefore the unpaid calls which formed
the subject-matter of the assignments were situated in that country, the assignment must rank in the order prescribed by Scottish
law.
He assimilated choses in action to tangi'ble movables,
assertini! that 'an assignment of the latter class of nroperty was
.governed by the lex situs.
In our opiinion the same legal position
r
prevails in India and therefore the liability of the appellant in this
case to the respondent in India must be deemed to have been
extinguished.
G
For these reasons we hold that this apJieal should be allowed,
the iudgment of the Punjab High Court dated 12th September.
1963 in Civil RevisiQn No. 104-D of 1958 should be set aside
and the iudii;ment of the Tribunal under the Displaced Person<
(Debt Adjustment) Act in case No. 74./11/13 of 1956/1952
should be restored dismissine: the claim of the respondent. There
will be no order with regard to costs in the High Court. But as
directed by this Court on 30th October 1964, while grantine: spechil leave, appelfant will pay the cost of respQlldents in this Court.
V,P,S,
Appeal al/owed,