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It was urged on behalf of the appellants that (1) the plaint as filed was a nullity. The suit, therefore, was incompetent. To bring on the record the partners of the firm amounted to addition of new parties and if on the date these partners are added as parties and the period of limitation had elapsed then the entire suit would be time barred; (2) even if it be held that the plaint is not a nullity, neither the provisions of 0. 1, r. 10 nor those of

0. VI, r. 17 have any application to the case; (3) having regard to the provisions of s. 45 of the Indian Contract Act a suit by only one partner or one promisee is bad to start with. There being within the period of limitation no suit by all the partners, any amendment, if allowed, would convert the old suit into a new suit and the new suit would be barred by limitation if the amendment was allowed on a date which was beyond the period of limitation prescribed for such a suit; (4) if the amendment was allowed it would be a case of adding or substituting new plaintiffs and as regards them it would be deemed to have been instituted when they were made parties. Reference to s. 22(1), Indian Limitation Act, was made in this connection. In the present case, so far as the new plaintiffs were concerned, the suit was barred by time at the date when they were sought to be made parties; (5) the circmstances of the case indicated that there was no suit in the eyes of the law, nor was the plaint verified or signed as required by law. Consequently, there was no proceeding before the court in which any amendment could be sought and (6) even if it was held that the plaint was not a nullity the plaint had been signed and verified on behalf of the firm Manilal & Sons by Dunderdale on a Power of Attorney executed by one of the partners only. It was therefore not manifest that all the partners intended to sue. Furthermore, the Power of Attorney executed in favour of Dunderdale by one of the partners could not be regarded as authorizing him to to act on behalf of the firm of Manilal & Sons.

prevents such an objection being taken because it permits two or more persons carrying on business of the firm to sue or be sued in the name of the firm but the firm must be carrying on business in India. The introduction of this provision in the Code was an enabling one which permitted partners constituting a firm to sue or be sued in the name of the firm. This enabling provision, however, accorded no such facility or privilege to partners constituting a firm doing business outside India. The existence of the provisions of 0. XXX in the Code does not mean that a plaint filed in the 'name of a firm doing business outside India is not a suit in fact by the partners of that firm individually.

" (1) Any two or more persons claiming or being liable as partners and carrying on business in India may sue or be sued in the name of the firm (if any) of which such persons were partners at the time of the accruing Of the cause of action, and any party to a suit may in such case apply to the Court for a statement of the names and addresses of the persons who were, at the time of the accruing of the cause of action, partners in such firm, to be furnished and verified in such manner as the Court may direct. (2) Where persons sue or are sued as partners in the name of their firm under sub-rule (1), it shall, in the case of any pleading or other document required by or under this Code to be signed, verified or certified by the plaintiff or the defendant, suffice if such pleading or other document is signed, verified or certified by any one of such persons ".

Provided that all the proceedings shall nevertheless continue in the name of the firm ".

This makes it obligatory, in the case of a suit instituted by the partners in the name of the firm, on demand in writing by or on behalf of any defendant, to declare in writing the names and places of residence of all the persons constituting the firm on whose behalf the suit is instituted. If the plaintiffs fail to comply with the demand made under sub-r. (1) of this rule, all the pro- ceedings in the suit may be stayed on such terms as the court may direct. Under sub-r. (3) if the names of the partners are declared in the manner referred to in sub-r. (1) the suit shall proceed in the same manner and the same consequences in all respects shall follow as if they had been named in the plaint, provided that all the proceedings shall nevertheless be continued in the name of the firm. Rule 1 of 0. XXX is a general provision. Rule 2, however, is confined to a suit instituted by partners in the name of the firm. It is clear from this rule that although the suit is filed in the name of the firm a disclosure has to be made, on demand in writing by or on behalf of any defendant, of names and places of residence of all the persons constituting the firm on whose behalf the suit is instituted. The provisions of r. 2 would indicate that although the suit is filed in the name of a firm, it is nonetheless a suit by all the partners of the firm because if a disclosure of the names of the partners is asked for by any defendant, on such disclosure, the suit shall proceed as if the partners had been named as plaintiffs in the suit, even though the proceedings shall nevertheless be continued in the name of the firm. It is clear, therefore, that the provisions of 0. XXX, r. 1 and r. 2 are enabling provisions to permit several persons who are doing business as partners to sue or be sued in the name of the firm. Rule 2 would not have been in the form it is if the suit instituted in the name of the firm was not regarded as, in fact, a suit by the partners of the firm. The provisions of these rules of 0. XXX, being enabling provisions, do not prevent the partners of a firm from suing or being sued in their individual names. These rules also do not prohibit the partners of a firm suing in India in their names individually although they may be doing business outside India. Indeed, this was not disputed on behalf of the appellant. Since, however, a firm is not a legal entity the privilege of suing in the name of a firm is permissible only to those persons who, as partners, are doing business in India. Such privilege is not extended to persons who are doing business as partners outside India. In their case they still have to sue in their individual names. If, however, under some misapprehension, persons doing business as partners outside India do file a plaint in the name of their firm they are misdescribing themselves, as the suit instituted is by them, they being known collectively as a firm. It seems, therefore, that a plaint filed in a court in India in the name of a firm doing business outside India is not by itself a nullity. It is a plaint by all the partners of the firm with a defective description of themselves for the purposes of the Code of Civil Procedure. In these circumstances, a civil court could permit, tinder the provisions of s. 153 of the Code (or possibly under 0. VI, r. 17, about which we say nothing), an amendment of the plaint to enable a proper description of the plaintiffs to appear in it in order to assist the court in determining the real question or issue between the parties. Strictly speaking 0. 1, r. 10(1) has no application to a case of this kind because the suit has not been instituted in the name of a wrong person, nor is it a case of there being a doubt whether it has been instituted in the name of the right plaintiff. The provisions of 0. I, r. 10(2) also do not apply because it is not a case of any party having been improperly joined whose name has to be struck out or a case of adding a person or a party who ought to have been joined or whose presence before the court is necessary in order to enable the court effectually and completely to adjudicate upon and settle all the questions involved in the suit. The suit has been from its very inception a suit by the partners of the firm and no question of adding or substituting any person arises, the partners collectively being described as a firm with a particular name.