Gurbinder Singh and Others vs Munshi Ram and Others

1.This is a plaintiff''s appeal against an oder returning the plaint for presentation to the High Court.

The facts of the case are that on 28-3-1946 defendants Nos. 2 to 4 executed a promissory-note for Rs. 19,000/- and there was an equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds In favour of the Bank. On 13-6-1949 the Bank transferred its rights to Pritam singh, father of the plaintiffs. In the meanwhile on 3-8-1948 defendants Nos. 2 to 4 transferred their equity of redemption in favour of Munshi Bam defendant No. 1.

All the defendants raised the objection that the case was not triable by the Court at Tarn Taran because one of the parties to the suit was a Bank who was subsequently impleaded as a defendant and there are certain pleas which would affect the Bank and have been held by the Court below to be claim against the Bank and therefore are exclusively triable by this Court u/s 45B of the Banking Companies Act. I am therefore of the opinion that the learned Subordinate Judge rightly held that he had no jurisdiction to try the suit with regard to the Bank.

Mr. Gosain is not so particular about the Bank and rightly so but he is apprehensive in regard to the claim against the other defendants and the difficulty has arisen because the plaint has been returned and there is nothing pending in the Subordinate judge''s Court which can be transferred under the Letters Patent or u/s 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the claim against the Bank is exclusively triable by this Court the claim against others must also be tried by this Court. I would therefore dismiss this appeal but leave the parties to bear their own costs.