SPECIES BANK CASE - 1911   Another gigantic matter involving intricate and voluminous proceedings in the High Court arose out of the liquidation of the Species Bank in 1911.  Chunilal Saraya, the Manager of the Bank, was a qualified doctor holding a medical degree of the Bombay University; but instead of sticking to his pills, powders and plasters (as an ill-natured critic in the "Edinburgh Quarterly Review" advised poor Keats to stick to, instead of dabbling in poetry), Chunilal's inordinate avarice and ambition led him to dabble in high finance and become a banker.  Besides making a great fortune, his ambition was to blossom forth into a financial magnate.  He studied medicine; but his natural bent was towards high finance.  He first took up service in the Bank of Bombay, and proved a very efficient officer.  Not content with a subordinate role, he conceived the idea of starting a bank of his own; and so he founded the Indian Species Bank.  For some time everything appeared to be going on well; but Chunilal's boundless ambition and reckless speculative spirit led him to attempt a corner in silver.  He purchased large quantities of silver with the Bank's money, and entered them in the books of the bank in a fictitious name.  He had counted upon the price of silver going up; but unluckily, the Government of India released a large quantity of silver for sale in the market, with the result that the prices fell heavily.  The bazar was thick with rumours with regard to the affairs of the Species Bank.  A petition for winding it up was presented to the High Court.  When the petition came up for hearing before Davar J., Chunilal swore on oath that the Bank had not purchase an ounce of silver, and he produced the Bank's books to show that the silver was purchased by one Nanalal, and the Bank had merely advanced money on the security of the silver.  Of course, Nanalal was a man of straw, and the real purchaser of the silver was the Bank  The petition was accordingly dismissed.   However, the rumours continued; and after a time, a fresh petition for winding up was presented.  The crash had come, and the Bank was ordered to be wound up.  The affairs of the Bank were so complicated, and the accounts so voluminous, that J. Sandars Slater, retired Chief Presidency Magistrate, was appointed special Liquidator, and Macleod J. was appointed to go into these liquidation proceedings. Bhaishankar Nanabhai, a most able and experienced solicitor, well versed in accounts, was also specially appointed to examine the accounts and affairs of the Bank and assist the court.  Various proceedings were instituted, mainly misfeasance summonses against the directors of the Bank.  In the meanwhile, Chunilal died suddenly in his house at Bandra it was generally believed that he had committed suicide.  His ruin came because he had not kept in mind Wolsey's famous admonition: "Cormwell, I charge thee fling away ambition; by this sin fell the angels"; and so fell Chunilal Saraya by reason of his boundless ambition and avarice, like Lucifer, never to rise again.   * * * * *