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Second Title of Law. Deposits
Second Title of Law. Deposits
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Second Title of Law. Deposits

SECOND TITLE OF LAW.

DEPOSITS.

* 1. 1 Where a man entrusts any property of his own with another in confidence and without suspicion, it is called by the learned a Deposit, a title of law.

2. 2 A sensible man should make a deposit with one who belongs to a respectable family, and who is virtuous, acquainted with his duties, veracious, influential, wealthy, and honourable.

3. 3 In whatever manner a man may have delivered

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any of his effects to another, in the same manner shall that article be restored to him. Delivery and receipt ought to be equal.

4. 4 If the depositary fails to restore the deposit to the depositor as he ought, he shall be compelled to restore it by forcible means, after his guilt has been proved by ordeals or other (modes of proof).

* 5. 5 If one article hidden in another is deposited in another man's house, without stating (what it is), it is termed an Aupanidhika deposit.

* 6. 6 Deposits are again divided into two species, attested and unattested ones. They must be restored precisely in the same condition (as they were in at the time of their delivery). Otherwise an ordeal must take place.

* 7. 7 The wicked man who does not return a deposit, on being asked to do so by the depositor, shall be punished by the king. If the deposit has

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been lost or destroyed, he shall make good its value.

* 8. 8 If he derives profit from a deposit, by using it without the consent of the depositor, he shall be punished likewise, and shall restore the profit, together with interest, to the depositor.

* 9. If a deposit is lost, together with the property of the depositary, the loss shall be the depositary's. The same rule shall obtain, if the loss has been caused by fate or by the king; unless (the depositary) should have acted fraudulently.

10. 10 The depositor being dead, if the depositary restores the deposit to his next-of-kin, of his own accord, he must not be harassed either by the king or by the relations of the depositor.

11. 11 (The rightful owner) shall try to recover it amicably, without resorting to stratagems. Or he shall explore (the depositary's) mode of living, and cause him to restore it by friendly expostulations.

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12. 12 What has been stolen by thieves, carried away by water, or burnt by fire, need not be restored (by the depositary), unless he should have appropriated something out of it.

* 13. 13 He who fails to restore a deposit, and he who demands what he never deposited, shall both be punished like thieves, and shall be made to pay a sum equal (in amount to the value of the deposit).

* 14. 14 The same law applies in the case of Yâkita, Anvâhita, and other such deposits, articles made over to an artist, Nyâsa and Pratinyâsa deposits.

* 15. 15 If a man takes charge of a wealthy boy, the law is also the same. These six cases are equal (from a legal point of view).

Footnotes
  1. 120:1

    II, 1. With one in whom he places no confidence, a man will not deposit a single cowry even, without the guarantee of a written receipt or of witnesses. On the other hand, he will deposit a thousand Suvarnas even, without a receipt or witnesses, with one in whose honesty he places implicit reliance. A.

  2. 120:2

    A prudent man may entrust a deposit to one endowed with the seven qualities here mentioned, because he feels sure that he may recover his property at any time. A. The term mahâpaksha, 'influential,' means literally one who has many friends and relations. Identical with Manu VIII, 179.

  3. 120:3

    Thus, e.g. a sealed deposit must be returned with the seal, a deposit made before witnesses must be restored in the presence of the same witnesses. See Jolly, translation of Book VIII of the Code of Manu. Identical with Manu VIII, 180.

  4. 121:4

    Where the depositary, actuated by interested motives, refuses to restore the deposit, and is convicted of his guilt in a court of justice, by an ordeal or by other proof, he must restore it and pay twice its value as a fine. A. Manu VIII, 190.

  5. 121:5

    'One article hidden in another,' such as e.g. a pearl necklace tied up with a particular sort of knot in a cloth. Such a deposit must be restored in the same condition as before, and tied with those very knots with which it was originally delivered. A. Yâgñavalkya II, 65.

  6. 121:6

    If a deposit has been handed over to the depositary in the presence of witnesses, it must be restored before witnesses. If no witnesses were present at the time of its delivery, they may be equally dispensed with at the time when it is returned to the depositor. If it is not returned to him, the depositary must perform an ordeal or make an oath, &c. A.

  7. 121:7

    The last clause concerns a deposit which has not been returned on demand. In that case, a calamity arising through fate or the king affects the depositary, and not the depositor. A. Manu VIII, 191; Vishnu V, 169-171.

  8. 122:8

    If the depositary without the knowledge of the depositor derives gain from the use of the deposit he shall be punished, and shall make over his gain, together with interest, to the depositor. A. Yâgñavalkya II, 67.

  9. 122:10

    If, the depositor being dead, the depositary through honesty restores the deposit to his nearest relative and heir, without having been asked to do so, or without the existence of the deposit being known to the heir, he must not be harassed by the relatives of the depositor asserting, 'He has not restored all,' or by the king. A. Manu VIII, 186.

  10. 122:11

    Nârâyana, in commenting on Manu VIII, 187, observes that this rule applies to one who believes a deposit to be with another, but has not made it over himself. He shall try to recover the deposit amicably; or he shall ascertain whether the depositary has made extraordinary expenses, and may therefore be suspected to have embezzled the deposit. Other commentators explain this text in a different manner. See Professor Bühler's note on Manu VIII, 187. Nearly identical with Manu VIII, 187.

  11. 123:12

    If, however, he is convicted, by the performance of an ordeal, of having derived some profit from the deposit, he shall restore his gains. A. Nearly identical with Manu VIII, 189.

  12. 123:13

    Either of the two criminals here mentioned must be punished like a thief and pay the value of the deposit as a fine. A. Nearly identical with Manu VIII, 191.

  13. 123:14

    Yâkita is what has been borrowed for use, especially clothes and ornaments, which have been borrowed on the occasion of a wedding or other festival. Anvâhita is a deposit, which has been delivered by the depositor to a third person, on condition of its being returned afterwards to the owner. 'Articles made over to an artist' are materials to be worked by an artizan, as e.g. gold delivered to a goldsmith to be made into an earring. Nyasa is a secret deposit, which has been handed over to some one inhabitant of the house, behind the back of the house-owner. Pratinyâsa is a mutual bailment, both parties exchanging deposits with one another. Asahâya, Vigñânesvara, Mitramisra, &c. Yâgñavalkya II, 67.

  14. 123:15

    If a man takes a wealthy boy who has no guardian into his house, the property of the boy is subject to the above rules regarding deposits. A.

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