- (1.)This is an appeal from the judgment of Mr. Justice Bhagwati dated September 17, 1945.
(2.)In the action the plaintiff, respondent No. 1 in this Court, sought a declaration and consequential relief with the object of establishing that certain alleged liens claimed by and in favour of the Asian Assurance Company, Ltd., (defendant No. 1 and respondent No. 2 to this appeal) upon 26,000 shares in that company do not attach to the shares. The Official Assignee (defendant No. 5 and the appellant in this Court) filed a counter-claim for redemption of the shares claiming that the equity of redemption was vested in him as trustee of the property of Mr. Meyer Nissim who was adjudicated an insolvent on July 16, 1940. In the Court below, the plaintiff was successful in his claim, and the learned Judge granted him certain relief against which there is no appeal, but the Official Assignee s counter-claim was dismissed with costs, and it is against that dismissal that this appeal has been brought.
(3.)The shares in question are of Rs, 25 each of which Rs. 5 only has been paid up and they still stand in the books of the Assurance Company registered in the name of Mr. Meyer Nissim, because by its articles the Assurance Company has an absolute right to refuse the transfer and consequential registration of any share in the company and in exercise of such right the Assurance Company has refused to transfer the shares, not, I think without good reason, since questions with regard to these 26,000 have been under litigation for over five years. The Official Assignee does not dispute that the plaintiff has some interest in the shares, but he alleges that the plaintiff is not the absolute owner thereof but the pledgee of them, by subrogation to the rights and interests of the New Citizen Bank of India, Ltd., (defendant No. 2 to this action, and respondent No. 3 to this appeal). Hence the counter-claim for redemption.
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