Case: State Of Andhra Pradesh Vs. Gundugola Venkata Suryanarayana Garu

represent. Section 80 requires that the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff must be set out in the notice and not of persons whom he seeks to represent. A suit filed with permission to sue for and on behalf of numerous persons having the same interest under O. 1, R. 8 is still a suit filed by the person who is permitted to sue as the plaintiff : the persons represented by him do not in virtue of the permission become plaintiffs in the suit. Such other persons would be bound by the decree in the suit, but that is because they are represented by the plaintiff, not because they are parties to the suit unless by express order of the Court they are permitted to be impleaded.14. In the present case G. V. Suryanarayana Garu has served the notice under S. 80 Code of Civil Procedure and he has also instituted the suit : the plaint complies with the requirements of S. 80, and the fact that Yegneswara Sastri had joined in serving the notice, but not in seeking permission of the Court, does not render the plaint and the proceedings in suit defective. The principle of the two decisions of the Privy Council : Vellayan Chettiar v. Govt. of the Province of Madras, [74 Ind App 223 : (AIR 1947 PC 197 ) and Govt. of the Province of Bombay v. Pestonji Ardeshir Wadia, 76 Ind App 85 : (AIR 1949 PC 143 ) on which reliance was placed by counsel for the State has no bearing on the case before us. Vellayan Chettiars case, 74 Ind App 223 : (AIR 1947 PC 197 ) was one in which notice was given by one plaintiff stating the cause of action, his name, description and place of his residence and the relief which he claimed, and that the suit was instituted by him and another. The Privy Council observed that :"The section according to its plain meaning, requires that there should be identity of the person who issues the notice with the person who brings the suit : see Venakta Rangiah Appa Rao v. Secy, of State, ILR 54 Mad 416 : (AIR 1931 Mad 175 ) and on appeal, AIR 1935 Mad 389 , to hold otherwise would be to admit an implication or exception for which there is no justification."Two persons had, it is clear, sued for a declaration that certain lands belonged to them, and for an order setting aside the decision of the Appellate Survey Officer in regard to those lands. It was found that one alone of the two had served the notice, the relief claimed by the two persons was personal to them and the right thereto arose out of their title to the land claimed by them. It was held that without a proper notice the suit could not be instituted under S. 80 for to hold otherwise would be to admit an implication or exception for which there was no justification. In Prestonji Ardeshir Wadias case,76 Ind App 85 : (AIR171949 PC 143) two trustees of a Trust served a notice in October 1963 upon the Government of Bombay under S. 80 intimating that the trustees intended to institute a suit against the Government on the cause of and for the relief set out therein. One of the trustees dies before the plaint was lodged in Court, and two more trustees were appointed in the place of the deceased trustee. Thereafter the two new trustees-and the surviving trustee filed the suit out of which the appeal arose which was decided by the Privy Council. No notice was served on the Government on behalf of the two new trustees. The Privy Council accepted the view of the High Court that where there were three plaintiffs, the names and addresses of all of them must be given in the notice. Their Lordships observed that:"the provisions of S. 80 of the Code are imperative and should be strictly complied with before it can be said that a notice valid in law has been served on the Government in the present case it is not contended that any notice on behalf of plaintiffs 2 and 3 was served on the Government before the filing of the suit. "In both these cases the suit was instituted by two or more persons but not all had served the statutory notice. In the present case the person who instituted the suit had in fact served the notice. He had intimated the Government by the notice that a cause of action had arisen in favour of the Inamdar, and that proceedings would be started on behalf of the Inandars for relief set out in the notice. The cause of action as set out in the notice remained unchanged in the suit, and it is not, claimed that the relief set out in the plaint is different from the relief set out in the notice. The only discrepancy between the notice and the plaint is that the notice was given by two persons intimating that an action would be started against the Government for and on behalf of the Inamdars on the cause of action and relief set out therein, the action was instituted by one person but with the permission of the Court for and on behalf of the inamdars on the same cause of action and for the same relief15. The other contention raised by counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh that in a suit which is to be instituted against the State after notice under S. 80 Code of Civil Procedure the plaintiff must first obtain the permission of the Court before serving a notice, is in our judgment futile. The permission of the Court has to be obtained for instituting a representative suit and not for serving the notice. The Code contains no machinery for granting permission to a party seeking to serve a notice upon the Government or a public servant.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]The evidence therefore clearly establishes that the grant was not of the entire village and the Trial Court and the High Court were, in our judgment, right in declining to accept the case of the State.The notice in the present suit was served by the plaintiff and Yegneswara Sastri. They raised a grievance about the notification issued by the Government of Madras on May 16, 1950 : it was not an individual grievance of the two persons who served the notice but of all the Inamdars or agrahararndars. The relief for which the suit was intended to be filed was also not restricted to their personal claim. The notice stated the cause of action arising in favour of all the Inamdars, and it is not disputed that the notice set out the relief which would be claimable by all the Inamdars or on their behalf in default of compliance with the requisition. The plaintiff it is true alone filed the suit, but he was permitted to sue, for and on behalf of all the Inamdars by an order of the Court under O. 1, R.8 Code of Civil Procedure. The requirements as to the cause of action, the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff was therefore complied with and the relief which the plaintiff claimed was duly set out in the notice. The only departure from the notice was that two persons served a notice under S.80 informing the Government that proceedings would be started, in default of compliance with the requisition, for violation of the rights of the Inamdars, and one person only out of the two instituted the suit. That in our judgment is not a defect which brings the case within the terms of S. 80. The right to institute a representative action may be exercised by one or more persons having an interest which is common with the others but it can only be exercised with the permission of the Court. If the Court grants permission to one person to institute such a representative action and if that person had served the notice under S. 80, the circumstance that another person had joined him in serving the notice but did not effectuate that notice by joining in the suit, would not in our judgment be a sufficient ground for regarding the suit asthere is nothing in S. 80 of the Code or O. 1, R. 8 Code of Civil Procedure which supports this submission, and there is inherent indication in O. 1, R. 8 to the contrary. To enable a person to file a suit in a representative capacity for and on behalf of numerous persons where they have the same interest, the only condition is the permission of the Court. The provision which requires that the Court shall in such a case give, at the plaintiffs expense notice of the institution of the suit to all persons having the same interest, and the power reserved to the Court to entertain an application from any person on whose behalf or for whose benefit the suit is instituted, indicate that no previous sanction or authority of persons interested in the suit is required to be obtained before institution of the suit. Nor is there anything in S. 80 that notice of a proposed suit in a representative capacity may be served only after expressly obtaining the authority of persons whom he seeks to represent. Section 80 requires that the name, description and place of residence of the plaintiff must be set out in the notice and not of persons whom he seeks to represent. A suit filed with permission to sue for and on behalf of numerous persons having the same interest under O. 1, R. 8 is still a suit filed by the person who is permitted to sue as the plaintiff : the persons represented by him do not in virtue of the permission become plaintiffs in the suit. Such other persons would be bound by the decree in the suit, but that is because they are represented by the plaintiff, not because they are parties to the suit unless by express order of the Court they are permitted to be impleaded.14. In the present case G. V. Suryanarayana Garu has served the notice under S. 80 Code of Civil Procedure and he has also instituted the suit : the plaint complies with the requirements of S. 80, and the fact that Yegneswara Sastri had joined in serving the notice, but not in seeking permission of the Court, does not render the plaint and the proceedings in suitboth these cases the suit was instituted by two or more persons but not all had served the statutory notice. In the present case the person who instituted the suit had in fact served the notice. He had intimated the Government by the notice that a cause of action had arisen in favour of the Inamdar, and that proceedings would be started on behalf of the Inandars for relief set out in the notice. The cause of action as set out in the notice remained unchanged in the suit, and it is not, claimed that the relief set out in the plaint is different from the relief set out in the notice. The only discrepancy between the notice and the plaint is that the notice was given by two persons intimating that an action would be started against the Government for and on behalf of the Inamdars on the cause of action and relief set out therein, the action was instituted by one person but with the permission of the Court for and on behalf of the inamdars on the same cause of action and for the same relief15. The other contention raised by counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh that in a suit which is to be instituted against the State after notice under S. 80 Code of Civil Procedure the plaintiff must first obtain the permission of the Court before serving a notice, is in our judgment futile. The permission of the Court has to be obtained for instituting a representative suit and not for serving the notice. The Code contains no machinery for granting permission to a party seeking to serve a notice upon the Government or a public servant.