HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE B. PRAKASH RAO AND HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R.KANTHA RAO A.S.NO.694 OF 2006 DATED: 03.06.2010 BETWEEN: R.R.K.Ranga Rao Bahadhur .. Appellant And Maturi Subbalaxmi .. Respondent HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE B. PRAKASH RAO AND HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R.KANTHA RAO A.S.NO.694 OF 2006 JUDGMENT: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice R.Kantha Rao) This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 09.08.2006 of the Senior Civil Judge, Parvatipuram in O.S.No.2 of 1997. 2. The defendant is the appellant herein. The respondent instituted the suit basing on a promissory note for recovery of an amount of Rs.8,56,665/- and the suit was decreed with costs granting subsequent interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of filing of the suit till the date of realization. Feeling aggrieved, the appellant/defendant preferred this appeal. 3. We have heard Sri K.Raghavacharyulu, learned counsel appearing for the appellant and Sri K.Somakonda Reddy, learned counsel appearing for the respondent. 4. The brief facts leading to filing of the present appeal are stated as follows: According to the respondent, the appellant borrowed money from the respondent on 30.06.1990 and executed a promissory note on 30.06.1990 in her favour and by 30.05.1991, the principal and interest due under the promissory note came to Rs.4,32,688.94ps. Subsequently, it is stated that the appellant received a further sum of Rs.20,000/- on 23.02.1991 from the respondent for legal expenses and fee payable to her advocate at Hyderabad and also received a sum of Rs.32,000/- on 10.05.1991 towards legal expenses in respect of the matters pending before the High court and that the appellant also received a sum of Rs.15,311/- on 30.05.1991 and executed a promissory note agreeing to pay the entire amount with interest at the rate of 12% per annum. Subsequently, the appellant paid an amount of Rs.2,000/- to the respondent on 11.05.1994 towards part payment of debt due under the promissory note and endorsed the same on the reverse of the promissory note on the same day by subscribing his signature. It is stated that in spite of repeated demands, the appellant failed to pay the amount due under the promissory note. 5. It is the contention of the appellant that the suit promissory note Ex.A.5 as well as Ex.A.2-endorsement thereon are forged and he also did not receive any consideration under the said promissory note. According to the appellant, due to some disputes in business transactions between PW.1, the husband of the respondent and the appellant, a false claim was laid by PW.1 through the respondent. 6. Though several issues have been framed by the learned trial Court, the only question requires to be addressed in the present appeal is whether the suit promissory note dated 30.05.1991 is true, valid and genuine and also whether the endorsement thereon dated 11.05.1994 evidencing part payment of Rs.2,000/- made by the appellant is true, valid and genuine. 7. Before the learned trial Court, the respondent examined PWs.1 to 6 and marked Exs.A1 to A.5. The appellant examined himself as DW1 and no document was marked on his behalf. 8. In the course of the trial, at the instance of the respondent, the disputed signatures of the appellant as well as some admitted signatures were sent to the hand writing expert and the hand writing expert gave an opinion that the disputed as well as the admitted signatures are that of one and the same person. PWs.2 and PW3, the attestors examined on behalf of the respondent/plaintiff, had categorically spoken to the execution of Ex.A.1 promissory note and the appellant stating before them as to the receiving of the past consideration as well as receiving an amount of Rs.15,311/- in their presence on the date of execution of Ex.A.1 promissory note. Their evidence was not discredited to any extent in the course of cross- examination on behalf of the appellant. PW.1, the husband of the respondent/plaintiff also had spoken to the fact of borrowing of money by the appellant from the respondent through him and executing Ex.A.1 promissory note and about Ex.A.2 endorsement evidencing payment of Rs.2,000/- made by the appellant. PW.1 is the person, according to the respondent actually paid the amount to the appellant. The basic version of the respondent is that he lent money to the appellant through PW.1. The learned trial Court while exercising its powers under Section 73 of the Evidence Act, compared the disputed and admitted signatures of the appellant and arrived at the conclusion that both are identical. pW.6,handwriting expert also gave his opinion that both the sets of signatures are that of one and the same person. This apart, there is evidence of PW.1, the husband of the respondent as well as PWs. 2 and 3, the attestors regarding the execution of Ex.A.5 promissory note. Since the attestor of Ex.A.5-pro-note V.Seetharama Murty, an advocate was no more, his son who is also an advocate was examined as PW.4 to identify the signature of his father. PW.4 deposed that Ex.A.5 contains the signature of his father as attestor. Considering all these aspects, the learned trial Court decreed the suit filed by the respondent as mentioned above. 9. It is the contention of the learned counsel appearing for the appellant that in the plaint, it is stated that it is the respondent, who advanced the amount to the appellant; whereas in the evidence, the respondent, who was examined as PW.5, her husband, who was examined as PW.1, and the attestor-PW.3 stated in their depositions that though the respondent lent money to the appellant, she did not directly give the money to the appellant, but the money was lent only through PW.1, who is her husband. 10. According to the leaned counsel appearing for the appellant, the evidence which was adduced before the trial Court is inconsistent with the pleadings and therefore, the entire version of the respondent has to be rejected. 11. We are unable to accept the contention urged by the learned counsel. In our view, the basic version of the respondent is one and the same in the plaint as well as in her evidence and that of her witnesses. According to her, though the amount belongs to her, she advanced the same to the appellant through her husband. She never stated either in the plaint or in the evidence that she directly handed over the amount to the appellant at any point of time. It is also borne out from the evidence that the respondent and the appellant do not know each other and they also had never seen each other. In our view, since the amount belongs to the respondent, she stated that she gave the amount to the appellant and she did not state that she directly handed over the amount to the appellant in person. Therefore, we do not find any discrepancy in the pleadings and the evidence of the respondent. 12. The other contention urged by the learned counsel appearing for the appellant is that even though PW.6-handwriting expert opined that the disputed and admitted signatures are that of one and the same person, bare comparison by the Court would indicate that the signatures on Ex.A-5 and Ex.A-2 are forged. As to this, we may state that in the present case the respondent proved execution of Ex.A.5- promissory note by examining PWs. 2 and 3. This apart, there is evidence of hand writing expert according to which both the disputed and admitted signatures are that of one and the same person. The trial Court itself compared the signatures and arrived at the conclusion that both the signatures are that of one and the same person. Even though in the present appeal, we can arrive at a different conclusion than that of the trial Court, there must be some basis in arriving at an altogether different conclusion. Unless the findings of the learned trial Court are perverse and are not based on evidence, normally we are not supposed to take a different view. Further, we ourselves compared the disputed and admitted signatures of the appellant on the relevant documents and for us the view taken by the learned trial Court seems to be correct, there may be some variance in the signatures due to lapse of time, but the basic features, in our view are not different. 13. It is also borne out from the admissions of the appellant who was examined as DW-1 that he was in the habit of borrowing amounts from PW-1 for court litigation and other purposes. Therefore, there is every possibility for the appellant to borrow the money from the respondent through PW.1 and as such, it is not possible to agree with the contention urged by the learned counsel appearing for the appellant that the respondent and the appellant are strangers to each other and there was no possibility for the appellant to borrow the amount from the respondent at all and merely because there were some disputes between PW.1 and the appellant, we do not accede to the contention that there was no scope for the appellant to borrow any amount from the respondent through PW.1. 14. Since the respondent proved the execution of promissory note- Ex.A.5 as well as the Ex.A.2 endorsement, a presumption of law is available to her under Section 118 of the Negotiable Instruments Act to the effect that the promissory note is supported by consideration. There is absolutely, no evidence adduced by the appellant in proof of the fact that no consideration was passed under Ex.A.5, the suit promissory note. Therefore, in our view, the learned trial Court has rightly decreed the suit and there are no valid grounds to interfere with the findings arrived at by the learned trial Court. 15. For the foregoing reasons, the decree and judgment passed by the trial court are confirmed and the appeal is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. ______________ B.PRAKASH RAO,J ______________ R. KANTHA RAO,J Date: 03.06.2010 Kvrm HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE B. PRAKASH RAO AND HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R.KANTHA RAO A.S.NO.694 OF 2006 Date:03.06.2010