Guardians as representative partners can support valid firm registration, even though minors themselves cannot be full-fledged partners.

Partnership deeds that describe newcomers as guardians representing minor wards can validly treat the guardians, not the minors, as the contracting partners. A minor cannot be made a full-fledged partner, but a guardian may enter the firm in a representative capacity, and the internal obligation to account to the minor does not alter the partnership's legal character. On that basis, the partnership remained genuine for registration purposes, and the refusal of registration was unsustainable because the legal relationship existed between the guardians and the other partners, not the minors.

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Issues: Whether, on a proper construction of the partnership deeds, the guardians alone were the partners of the firms so that the firms were entitled to registration, or whether the minors represented by them were to be treated as full-fledged partners.

Analysis: The deeds described the newcomers as guardians representing their minor wards, and the Court treated the guardians as benamidars or representative partners. On that view, the legal relationship within the firm was between the guardians and the other partners, while any internal liability to account to the minors was outside the partnership arrangement. A minor cannot be made a full-fledged partner, but a guardian can validly enter into partnership in a representative capacity. The earlier authorities refusing registration were distinguished because, on the facts here, the guardians themselves, and not the minors, were the contracting partners.

Conclusion: The guardians were the partners in law, the minors were not partners, and refusal of registration was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: A person who enters into a partnership as a guardian or benamidar has a real legal existence as partner vis-a -vis the other partners, and the internal arrangement with the minor beneficial owner does not affect the validity or genuineness of the partnership for registration purposes.

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