Raj Rajendra Sardar Maloji Marsingh
Rao Shitole Vs. Sri Shankar Saran & Ors [1962] INSC 174 (30 April 1962)
30/04/1962 KAPUR, J.L.
KAPUR, J.L.
SARKAR, A.K.
GUPTA, K.C. DAS AYYANGAR, N. RAJAGOPALA
MUDHOLKAR, J.R.
CITATION: 1962 AIR 1737 1963 SCR (2) 577
CITATOR INFO :
RF 1963 SC1180 (1,3) D 1971 SC 974
(3,12,14,16,29,31) D 1977 SC 164 (5)
ACT:
Foreign Decree-Decree passed in Gwalior in
November 1948Transfer for execution to U. P. in September 1951-Execution
application in U. P.-Maintainability of-"Civil Court in a Part B
State," connotation of-Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908), ss. 2
(5), 2 (6), 13, 38, 39, 43 and 44-Code of Civil Procedure (amendment) Act, 1951
(11 of 1951)Constitution of India, Art. 261 (3).
HEADNOTE:
The appellant instituted a suit for the
recovery of money against the respondents in a Court in Gwalior State in May
1947. The respondents who were residents in U. P. did not appear before the
court and in November 1948 the Gwalior Court passed an expart decree. On September
14, 1951, the Gwalior Court transferred the decree for execution to Allahabad,
and on October 16, 1951, the appellant filed an application for execution of
the decree before the Allahabad Court. The respondents contended that the
decree being a decree of a Foreign Court to whose jurisdiction they had not
submitted was a nullity and the execution application in respect thereof was
not maintainable.
Held, that the decree was not executable at
Allahabad.
Per Kapur, Ayyangar and Mudholkar, JJ.The
decree of the Court in Gwalior State sought to be executed was a foreign decree
which not change its nationality inspite of subsequent constitutional changes
or amendments in the Code of Civil Procedure. On the day on which it passed the
decree the Gwalior Court was a foreign Court within the meaning of s. 2 (5) of
the Code. None of the conditions necessary to give its judgment
extra-territorial validity existed (i) the respondents were not the subjects of
Gwalior; (ii) they were not residents in Gwalior at the time the suit was
filed, (iii) they were not temporarily present in gwalior when the process was
served upon them, (iv) they did not select the forum which passed the decree
against them, (v) they did not voluntarily appear before the court, and (vi)
they had not contracted to submit to the jurisdiction of the 579 by the Indian
Code, was a different court from that which passed the decree under the Local
Code, and was not the court. which passed the decree within the meaning of S.
39.
Sections 37 to 42 of the Code deal with
execution of decree., passed by the courts governed by the Indian Code.
The decree could not be executed under the
provisions of s.
43 of the Code at any time. After its
adaptation in June 1950, s. 43 applied to "a decree passed by a Civil
Court in a Part B State". There were no Part B States at the time when the
decree was passed and these words could not be read as "a decree passed by
a civil court in what became a Part B State". Nor could the decree be
executed under s. 44 as that section was also inapplicable to this decree.
Article 261 (3) which provides that the final judgments or orders of Civil
Courts in any part of the territory of India shall be capable of execution
anywhere within that territory is inapplicable to the decree of the Gwalior
court as the, provision is prospective and not retrospective.
Per Sarkar and Das Gupta, JJ.-Even in the
decree passed by Gwalior Court was not a foreign decree the Allahabad Court had
no power to execute it either under s. 38 or under ss. 43 or 44 of the Code of
Civil Procedure. Section 38 provides that a decree may be executed either by
the court which passed it or by the court to which it is sent for execution.
The Allahabad Court was not the court which passed the decree. Section 39 empowers
the court which passed the decree to transfer it for execution to another
court. The word "court" in the phrase "court which passed the
decree" in s. 39 contemplates only courts governed by the Indian Code of
Civil Procedure. The Gwalior ,.Court which was governed by the Gwalior Code
when it passed the decree had a distinct identity from the court at Gwalior
after it came to be governed by the Indian Code. The Court which transferred
the decree was accordingly not the court which passed the decree and the order
of transfer was not a valid order.
Section 43 of the Code provided for the
execution of decrees passed by the Civil Courts in places where the Indian Code
did not extend. The decree of the Gwalior Court did not fall within this
section as it stood before the Constitution. A, After the adaptation in 1950
the section applied to a decree passed "by a Civil Court in a Part B
State". These words could not be read as "by a civil court in an
Indian State which has later been included in a Part B State". The Gwalior
Court which passed the decree was not a Civil Court in a Part B State. 'Section
44 was equally inapplicable to the decree,. The section after adaptation in
1950 580 applied only to decrees of revenue courts. Before the adaptation it
could apply only if there was a notification issued by the U. P. Government but
no such notification was issued.
CIVIL APPELLATE ,JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal
No. 24 of 1960, Appeal from the judgment and decree dated August 1, 1957, of
the Allahabad High Court in Special Appeal No. 249 of 1955.
B. Sen, P. W. Sahasrabudhe and 1. N. Shroff,
for the appellant.
G. S. Pathak and O. C. Mathur, for the
respondents.
1962. April 30. The Judgment of Kapur,
Ayyangar and Mudholkar, JJ., was delivered by Kapur, J. The Judgment of Sarkar
and Das Gupta, JJ., was delivered by Das Gupta, J.
KAPUR, J.-This its an appeal against the
Judgment and order of the High Court of Allahabad holding that the execution of
the decree passed by the Additional District Judge, Gwalior, dated November 18,
1948, in favour of the appellant against the respondents was not executable at
Allahabad. The appellant in this court is the decree holder and the respondents
are the judgment debtors.
For the decision of this appeal it is
necessary to deal with the various Statutes, Orders and agreements as a result
of which the erstwhile Indian State of Gwalior became a part of the territories
of the Union of India governed by one Civil Procedural law. It will also be
necessary to refer to the various changes in the law of civil procedure
applicable at the various stages of the litigation leading to this appeal.
We shall first deal with the integration of
the Indian State of Gwalior with the Indian Union.
581 Upto August 15, 1947, i.e. before the
independence of India under the Indian Independence Act (10 & 11 Geo, Ch.
30) Gwalior was what was termed under the Government of India Act of 1935 an
Indian State and its Courts were 'foreign courts' within s. 2 (5) of the Indian
Code of Civil Procedure. After independence by s. 7 (i) (b) of that Act the
suzerainty of the British Crown lapsed and so also all treaties, agreements and
obligation which had previously been entered into between the Rulers of Indian
States and the British Crown. The second Question can conveniently be dealt
with at a later and appropriate stage.
By the Instrument of Accession which by
August 15, 1947, (p. 36 of White Paper on Indian States) was entered into
between the Ruler of the State of Gwalior and the Dominion of India certain
subjects mentioned in the schedule to that Instrument were transferred to the
Dominion of India but Civil Procedure was not one of them. By a covenant signed
in April 1948, the Rulers of Gwalior, Indore and certain other States in
Central India formed the United State of Gwalior, Indore and Malwa which was
termed United State (Madhya Bharat). By a fresh , Instrument of Accession
executed on July 19, 1948, the United State acceded to the Dominion of India
and when the Constitution came into force it became Madhya Bharata Part B
State-and was governed by the provisions of the Constitution as applicable to
such States.
This then was the process of transformation
of the Indian State of Gwalior into a part of the Republic of India.
On May 15, 1947, the appellant instituted a
suit in the Court of the District Judge, Gwalior, for recovery of Rs.
6,92,236.15-0 against the respondents, who
are the sons and legal representatives of the late Munshi Ishwar Saran. The
writs of summons were served on the respondents on 582 September 12, 1947, but
they did not appear in the Court of the Additional District Judge who actually
tried the suit.
On, November 18, 1947, the trial Judge
ordered suit to proceed ex parte and on November 18, 1948, the claim was
decreed with costs and interest. On August 9, 1949, the appellant made an
application to the Court of the Additional District Judge praying for transfer
of the decree for execution to the Court of Civil Judge, Allahabad, where the
properties of the father of the respondents were situate.
On April 25, 1950, the Court passed the
following order-"I order transfer of this execution care. A certificate of
transfer relating to non-satisfaction of decree be issued to the Civil Judge,
1st Class, Allahabad, for execution proceedings. This execution case be
dismissed".
On September 14, 1951, another order was made
sending the decree for execution to the Court of the Civil Judge, 1st Grade,
Allahabad. Along with it a copy of the order dated April 23, 1950, was also
sent. The order was as follows "Order dated 14th September, 1951 for
transfer of decree to another court for execution".
Whereas in the above mentioned case the
applicant submitted that the Judgment Debtor resided or held property within
the local limits of the jurisdiction of the court of Civil Judge, ist Grade,
Allahabad and prayed for the sending of a certificate to that court for
execution of the said decree and it being considered necessary and proper, the
said certificate be sent to that court under Order XXI, Rule VI.
A copy of this order along with copies of
decree, certificate of non-payment of decretal 583 amount and other orders
passed in connection with execution be forwarded directly to the court of the
Civil Judge, 1st Grade, Allahabad.
Dated 14th September 1951.
Enclosures:1. Certificate.
2. Application of the decree holder 3. Copy
of decree in the case.
4. Copy of order, dated 25th April, 1950.
Sd. B. K. Mehra.
Addl. District & Sessions Judge District
Gwalior, Madhya Bharat".
The parties were not in accord as to which of
these orders was the real order for transfer. It is unnecessary to resolve this
controversy because we shall proceed on the assumption that the order of
transfer was the later one which the appellant has relied upon i.e. of
September 14, 1951.
On October 16,1951, the appellant filed in
the Court of Civil Judge, Allahabad, an Application for execution of the decree
for realisation of the amount due under it which by then had amounted to Rs.
8,98, 7 7-0. This was registered as Execution Case No.47 of 1951 'rho
respondents filed their objections under s. 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure
on February 8, 1952. They pleaded that the Gwalior Court was a Foreign Court,
to the jurisdiction of which, they had not submitted and the decree was, therefore,
an absolute nullity; that the decree was not in accordance with law and that
the application for execution was not maintainable. By an order of the High
Court under s. 34 of the Civil Procedure Code, the execution case was
transferred to the High Court and 584 registered as Extraordinary Miscellaneous
Case No. 1 of 1954. The matter was beard by Brij Mohan Lal J., who bold that
the decree was passed by a Foreign Court, to The jurisdiction of which, the
respondents had not subsisted;
that the decree was not binding on the
respondents and could not be executed in the territories of Uttar Pradesh. The
execution application was, therefore, dismissed. On appeal against that
judgment the Appeal Court upheld the judgment of the learned Single Judge
holding that the rule in Sirdar Gurdial Singh v. Maharaja of Faridkot (1) was
applicable to the case; that Gwalior was a foreign State on the date of the
decree and its status as a foreign State was' not affected by the Indian
Independence Act, 1947, the Standstill Agreement, 1947 the First Instrument of
Accession 1947, the 1948 Covenant by which the United State of Madhya Bharat
which included Gwalior was formed or the Second Instrument of Accession, 1948,
an that Gwalior State ceased to be a foreign State only on the coming into
force of the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950. It also held that the
District Judge's court passing the decree was a foreign Court at the time of
the suit. As the appellant had not submitted to the jurisdiction of the Gwalior
District Judges Court the decree passed by it was an absolute nullity;that even
if the Gwalior law authorised the passing of such a decree, the decree was a
nullity and it was not correct to Pay that as a result of the various
constitutional changes, the impediment in the way of its execution was removed;
that there was no provision of law by which a decree passed by the Gwalior
Court could be executed in Uttar Pradesh; that Art. 261(3) of the Constitution
was not retroactive and did not operate on the decree in question to make it
executable; that s. 43 of the Indian Civil procedure Code as it stood after the
Amendment Act II of 1951 was inapplicable; that the right to resist the
execution (1) (1894) L. R 21 I. A. 171.
585 of the decree on the ground that it was a
nullity was not taken away by the political changes and, therefore, the
judgment of the learned Single Judge was upheld. Against this judgment and
Order the appellant has come in appeal to this Court on a certificate under
Art. 133(i) (a) and (e) of the Constitution;
The vital question for decision is whether
the decree passed by the Gwalior Court on November 18, 1948, was executable in
the State of Uttar Pradesh which, was at one time, a part of what was British
India, Gwalior at the relevant time being a part of the United State aforesaid.
For this purpose, the questions that arise are:
1. Was the decree a decree of a foreign
court?
2. Could the Court at Gwalior order the
transfer of the decree for execution in the Allahabad Civil Court?
3. If it could not, then was the decree
executable at Allahabad under ss. 43 & 44 of the Code of Civil Procedure?
and
4. Could the respondents-judgment debtors
take an objection to the execution of the decree on the ground that it was an
absolute nullity, being the decree of a foreign Court? We shall first enquire
into the nationality of the decree passed in favour of the appellant which
necessitates a determination of the Court passing the decree i.e, whether it
was or was not a Court falling within s. 2(5) of the Indian Code of Civil
Procedure (Act V of 1909) which shall hereinafter be termed the 'Indian Code. At
the. time when the suit was brought i. e. 586 May 15, 1947, the definition of
"Foreign Court" in s. 2(b) of the Indian Code was:""Foreign
Court" means a court situate beyond the limits of British India which has
no authority in British India and is not established or, continued by the
Central Government or the Crown representative." As a result of the
Adaptation Order of March 23, 1948, the definition was:" "Foreign
Court" means a court situate beyond the limits of provinces which has no
authority in the provinces and is not established or continued by the Central
Government." By the Adaptation Order of January 26, 1950, there was a further
change in the definition of "Foreign Court" and it then stood as
follows:""Foreign Court" means a court situate beyond the limits
of the States which has no authority in States and is not established or
continued by the Central Government." After Act II of 1951 came into force
on April 1, 1951 the section read as follows:-"Foreign Court" means a
court situate outside India and not established or continued by the authority
of the Central Government." At the time of the passing of the decree on
November 18, 1948 the definition of the Foreign Court was as amended by the
Adaptation order of March 23, 1948 i. e. a court situate beyond the limits of
the provinces which means the provinces of what was British India and which had
no authority in the provinces (of British India) and was not established or
continued by the Central Government. The court at Gwalior fell 587 within this
definition and therefore on a plain reading, of the definition it was a foreign
court and a judgment passed by it would be a foreign judgment as defined in s.
2(6) where the expression "foreign judgment" is defined as the
judgment, of a foreign court.
Under the Indian Code the judgment obtained
by the appellant in Gwalior court would be governed by s. 13 of that Code and
its conclusiveness is governed by cl. (a) to cl. (f) of that section. The rules
laid down in that section are rules of substantive law and not merely of
procedure. It is to be noted that in the present case the respondents did not
submit to the jurisdiction of the Gwalior Court. In Halsbury.'s Laws of England
Vol. VII p. 144, paragraph 257 (3rd Ed.) conditions necessary for giving
jurisdiction to a foreign court are set out and at least one of them is
required to be satisfied before a foreign judgment is regarded as having
extra-territorial validity. None of them was satisfied in the present case.
Firstly the respondents were not the subjects of Gwalior; they did not owe any
allegiance to the Ruler of Gwalior and therefore they were under no obligation
to accept the judgments of the courts of that State. Secondly the were not
residents in that State when the suit was instituted. Thirdly they were not
temporarily present in that State when the process was served on them. Fourthly
they did not in their character as plaintiffs in the foreign action themselves
selected the for-am where the judgment was given against them. Fifthly they did
not voluntarily appear in that court. Sixthly they had not contracted to submit
to the jurisdiction of the foreign court. The Gwalior Court therefore was not a
court of competent jurisdiction. The judgment of Gwalior Court was therefore a
nullity outside the United State (Madhya Bharat). See Gurdyal Singh v. Raja 588
of Faridkot (1). Lord Selborne there observed as follows:
"Under these circumstances there was, in
their Lordships' opinion, nothing to take this case out of the general rule,
that the plaintiff must one in the court towhich the Defendant is subject at
the time of suit ("Actor sequitor forum rai"); which is rightly
stated by Sir Robert Phillimore (International Law, Vol. 4, s. 891 to "lie
at the root of all international, and of most domestic, jurisprudence on this
matter". All jurisdiction is properly territorial and "extra
territorium jus dicenti, imprime non paretur".
Territorial jurisdiction attaches (with
special exceptions) upon all persons either permanently or temporarily resident
within th e territory while they are within it; but it does not follow them
after they are living in another independent country. It exists always as to land
within the territory and it may be exercised over moveables within the
territory;
and, in questions of status or succession
governed by domicil, it may exist as to persons domiciled, or who when living
were domiciled, within the territory. As between different provinces under one
severeignty (e.g., under the Roman Empire) the legislation of the sovereign may
distribute and regulate jurisdiction; but no territorial legislation can give
jurisdiction which any foreign Court ought to recognise against foreigners, who
owe allegiance or obedience to the power which so legislates".
But it was submitted by the appellant that
the Court at Gwalior ceased to be a foreign court because firstly as a
consequence of the constitutional. Documents executed by the Rulers of Indian
States the 'United State (Madhya Bharat) (1) (1894) 1. R. 21 LA. 171, 423 589
become a part of the Dominion of India and therefore a decree passed by a court
of the State could not be the decree of a foreign court; secondly as a result
of the coming into force of the Constitution of India what was United State (of
Madhya Bharat) became a Part B State of the Union of India and therefore a
decree passed by the Gwalior Court even though a nullity in the erstwhile
province of U. P. ceased to be so and took Indian nationality and thus became
executable in the State of U. Thirdly it was submitted that the decree passed
by the Gwalior Court was a valid decree in the United State (Madhya Bharat) and
therefore was not an absolute nullity but there was in impediment to its
executability which was removed as soon as the United State (Madhya Bharat)
became a part of the Union of India and fourthly it was submitted that
subsequent changes in the Indian Code consequent upon the promulgation of the
Adaptation Order of January 26, 1950 under Art. 372 of that Constitution and
subsequent amendment of the Order of June 5,1950, which became retrospectively
operative from January 26, 1950 and by a subsequent Act [Civil Procedure
Amendment Act (Act II of 1951] the Gwalior Court became competent to transfer
its decrees for execution to the Court at Allahabad; and under the provisions
of the Indian Code relating to execution amended from time to time the decree
sought to be executed became executable by the Court at Allahabad.
The first contention is unsustainable because
the constitutional changes did not effect any change in the status or
nationality of the Gwalior Court till after the passing of the decree of
November 18, 1948 and there being no specific provision to the contrary those
change left the decree unaffected. The United State (Madhya Bharat) had not
become a part of the Dominion of India despite the various 590 constitutional
documents executed by the Rulers of the Indian States. The effect of these
Constitutional documents was examined and decided in Rao Shiv Bahadur Singh v.
The State of Vindhya Pradesh(1); Virendra Singh v. The State of Uttar
Pradesh(1) and Prem Nath Kaul v. The State of Jammu & Kashmir(3).
In Rao Shiv Bahadur Singh's case it was held
that in spite of the Instrument of Accession by which all subjects enumerated
in Lists I and III of Schedule VII of the Government of India Act 1935 were
banded over to the Dominion Government and in spite of the Covenant by which
the Rajpramukh had declared that the Constitution of India which was to be
adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India shall be the Constitution for
Vindhya Pradesh and specifically superseded and abrogated other constitutional
provisions inconsistent therewith which were then in force in the State, those
arrangements brought about an integrated United State of Vindhya Pradesh within
the framework of the Dominion of India "but only by way of
accession".
In Virendra Singh's case Bose J., observed as
follows:((Despite the readjustment, the sum total of the sovereignties; which
had resided in each (ruler) before the covenantnow resided in the whole and its
component parts; none of it was lost to the Dominion of India". (P. 419) A
somewhat similar view was taken by the Court of Appeal in Sayco v. Ameer Ruler
Sadiq Mohammad of Bahawalpur where an objection was taken by the Ruler of
Babawalpur State that he still retained his independent status and the State of
Bahawalpur was not within His Majesty's Dominion (1) [1953]1 S.C.R. 415,418,419.
(2) [1959] Supp 2 S.C.R. 275.
(3) [1952] 2 Q. B. 390, 394.
591 in spite of the Ruler of Babawalpur
having acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan.
At the relevant date i.e. on November 18,
1948, the various constitutional changes did not affect the position and status
of the United States (Madhya Bharat) which comprised Gwalior also; it did not
become a part of the Dominion of India but continued to retain its status. The
United State (Madhya Bharat) was not comprised in the ','Territory of
India" till after the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
This Court has hold that the Constitution is prospective and not retrospective:
Janardhan Reddy v. The State of Hyderabad(1); Lachamandas Kewal Ram Ahuja v.
The State of Bombay (2); [Keshavan Madhua Menon v. State of Bombay(,). Before
the Constitution, Madhya Bharat was not a Part B State but became one as a
consequence of the Constitution. Therefore the decree which was sought to be
executed remained a decree of a foreign court as defined in s. 2(5) of the
Indian Code then applicable and its judgment had to be enforced in the manner
that foreign judgments were enforceable i. e. either a suit had to be brought
on the basis of that judgment or if there was a provision in the Indian Code it
had to be executed in accordance with that provision; Mull's C. P. C. p.96;
Dicey, Conflict of Laws, Rule 162(7th Ed.). A Judgment which is governed by the
rule in Sirdar Gurdyal Sing's (4) case not being by a court of competent
jurisdiction in the international sense i. e. according to the principles of
International Law (Cheshire, Private International Law, p. 641, 6th Ed.) and
the respondent not having submitted to its jurisdiction is a nullity outside
the territory of the State in which the, court passing the decree is situate.
In that case it was said:
(1) (1951) S C. R. 344, 368 (2) (1952) S. C.
R. 710, 730.
(3) (1951) S. C. R 288. (4) (1894) L.R. 21
I.A. 171.
592 "In a personal action to which none
of these causes of jurisdiction apply, a decree pronounced in absentem by a
foreign Court, to the jurisdiction of which the Defendant has not in any way
submitted himself, is by international law an absolute nullity. He is under no
obligation of any kind to obey it; and it must be regarded as a mere nullity by
the Courts of every nation except (when authorised by special local
legislation) in the country of the forum by which it was pronounced".
On the basis of such a decree therefore no
action could be brought in what was British India the decree being of a Court in
an Indian State.
By el. 27 of the Adaptation of Laws Order
made on January 26, 1950, the previous operation of or anything done or
suffered under any existing law or any right, privilege, obligation or
liability already acquired, accrued or incurred remains unaffected. This Order
was subsequently amended on June 5, 1950 and el. 27 was numbered as 20 but
there was no change in its language. Therefore by a change made in the
definition of "foreign court' or other changes introduced in the Indian Code
the effect of and rights and liabilities under the decree sought to be
executed, no fresh rights accrued to the appellant nor were any fresh
liabilities incurred by the Respondents and if the decree was a nullity outside
the United State (Madhya Bharat) it remained a nullity and Adaptation Order did
not change its efficacy. The effect of Act II of 1951 by which the Indian Code
was applied to Madhya Bharat was no different qua the rights and liabilities
under previous Orders and decrees;
see s. 20 of that Act which will be more
fully discussed later in this judgment.
In this connection we may refer to the
judgement of this Court in Kishori Lal v. Shanti 593 Devi(1). There, an order
under s. 488, Criminal Procedure Code, had been passed by a Magistrate at
Lahore before the Partition of India and that was sought to be enforced under
s. 490 of the Criminal Procedure Code in a Magistrate's Court at Delhi. An
objection was raised that the order was enforceable as it was the order of a
foreign court' i. e. of a court which had subsequently become a Pakistan Court.
This Court held that the order was of an
Indian Court when made and was at the time of its enforcement in the Delhi
Court still an order of a domestic tribunal. In the absence of any specific bar
there was no reason why it should lose its Indian nationality simply because
Lahore was no longer a part of India. Bose J., at p. 442 observed:"A
number of enabling provisions were passed after the partition to meet certain
special cases of this kind and of course, where there is specific legislation,
effect must be given to it. But where, as here, there is nothing then in the
absence of a specific bar we hold that an order which was good and competent
when it was made and which was passed by a tribunal which was domestic at the
date of its making and which could at that date, have been enforced in an
Indian Court, does not lose its efficacy by reason of the partition".
This no doubt is the reverse case of the
present one but the principle laid down there that the effect of the judgment
obtained before the constitutional changes does not change unless there is a
specific provision to that. effect is applicable to this case also. Following
the decision in Kishori lal's(1) case Wanchoo J., (as he then was in Laxmi Chand
v. Mst. Tipuri(2) held that the crucial date for determining the validity or
enforceability of an order or a (1) A.I.R. 19S3S. C. 441.
(2) J. L. R. 1936 Raj. 236.
594 decree is the date when it was made.
Therefore if a decree was unenforceable in a particular court at the time it
was passed, it would not become enforceable and valid simply because of the
political changes That took place unless there is a specific provision to the
contrary. The Calcutta High Court in Shah Kanti Lal v. Dominion of India (1)
held that there, is no retrospective effect of the Constitution including its
definition of The words "Territory of India" which has the effect of
converting what was a foreign judgment before the Constitution of India to a
domestic judgment after the Constitution. The argument' raised against the
decree of the Gwalior Court being a nullity and not remaining so after the
Constitution must therefore fail.
The next argument raised was that the decree
passed by the Court at Gwalior on November 18, 1948, was not a nullity as under
the Madhya Bharat Code of Civil Procedure it was a valid decree and there wasonly
an impediment to its executability which was removed as a consequence, of the
constitutional changes and the subsequent amendments of the Indian Code. This
argument is also not well founded. The decree was, in the international sense a
nullity outside Madhya Bharat even though according to the law in that State it
was not so. We have all ready held that the decree was foreign when it was born
in Gwalior and it continued to be so as there was no process or procedure for
its becoming, a naturalised Indian decree. The decree being a nullity outside
the courts of the United State (Madhya Bharat), in the absence of any specific
provision, it could not be enforced in the United State (.Madhya Bharat). It
will not be correct to say that the decree which was a nullity before the
Constitution came into force suffered Only from the defect of enforcibility by
execution Section 13 creates substantive rights and is not merely (1) A.I.R.
944 Cal. 67.
595 procedural and therefore defenses which
were open to the Respondents were not taken away by any constitutional changes
in the absence of a specific provision to the contrary. It is erroneous to say
therefore that the decree of the Gwalior Court was unenforceable when passed
because of some impediment which the subsequent constitutional changes had
removed; but that decree suffered from a. more fundamental defect of being a
nullity and the rights and liabilities created under it remained unaffected by
subsequent changes. That, in our opinion, is the effect of the judgment of this
Court in Kishori Lal's case(1). See also E. Radhesham Roshan Lal v. Kundanlal
Mohanlal") where it was held that the right of the judgment-debtor to
plead that the decree is a nullity, is not a procedural matter but is a vested
right in the judgment debtor and it cannot be taken away by the provision of
law which is not retrospective. The Nagpur High Court in Ram Kishan Jankilal v.
Seth Harmukharai Lachmi Narayan(3) also held that a decree by the Indore High
Court prior to the constitution was of a court without jurisdiction and merely
because Indore became a part of the "Territory of India" after the
Constitution did not retrospectively clothe the court at Indore with
jurisdiction in order to make the decree which was a nullity, into a valid
decree.
It was next argued that as a result of
subsequent changes in the provisions of the Indian Code result from
constitutional changes in the country, and amendments in the Indian Code the
decrees of the Courts in Madhya Bharat became executable under the provisions
of the Indian Code and the Gwalior Court could therefore transfer the decree
for execution to the Court at Allahabad.
We shall therefore discuss the power of the
Court at Gwalior to make the order 'of transfer dated September 14, 1951,
assuming without deciding that order which the appellant relies upon Was a
judicial orders of transfer. At the time when 'the suit was filed i. e. May 15,
1947, the law relating to civil procedure applicable to Gwalior State was the
Gwalior Civil Procedure Code (Gwalior Act 1 of Samvat 1966 i. e. 1909).
The relevant provisions of that Code dealing
with transfer of decrees were se. 227 and 229 the former corresponding to s. 38
of the Indian Code of Civil Procedure and the latter to s. 39 of that Code.
Sub-section (2) of s. 229 corresponds to s. 41. of the Indian Code of Civil
Procedure.
By the (Madhya Bbarat) Indian Civil Procedure
Adaptation Act (Madhya Bharat) Act 70 of Samvat 2006 or 1949 the Indian Code
was adapted in Madhya Bharat (and this adapted Code will here in after be
referred to an the Madhya Bharat Code). It was to come into force on January
23, 1950, i. e.15 days after its publication in the Gazette. By a. 3 the Indian
Code was adapted, and it mutatis mutandis came into force in Madhya Bharat. It
was also provided therein that whatever and whenever amendments would be made
in the said Indian Code they would be applicable to Madhya Bharat with
necessary alterations. By s. 4 of Madhya Bharat Code above mentioned the
previous Codes in force in the various States comprising Madhya Bharat were
repealed and it was provided inter alia that all decrees passed and judgments
given in accordance with the repealed Code as well as other acts done there under
would have the same force as if they were issued or made by a competent
authority under the Madhya Bharat Code. Thus on January 23, 1950, the Indian
Code with necessary amendments and adaptations was made applicable to the State
of Madhya Bharat but this was under the orders of the legislative authority of
Madhya Bharat, which could only legislate for and in the territories of that
State. As we have already said on January 26, 1950, the adaptation of Laws 597
Order was promulgated under Art. 372 of the Constitution of India by the
President of India. Under that Order existing laws Were adapted as mentioned in
the Schedule to the Order.
Clause 27 of that Order provided that
"Nothing in this Order shall affect the previous operation of, or anything
duly done or suffered under any existing law or any right, privilege,
obligation or liability already acquired, accrued or incurred under any such
law, or any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any
offence already committed against any such law". As a result of this
adaptation, certain changes were made in the Indian Code.
But it did not affect any act already done or
any liability already incurred. Thus it left the operation of decrees
previously passed unaffected. On June 5, 1950, the President promulgated the
adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 1950, but gave it a retrospective effect,
so that it was deemed to have come into force on January 26, 1950.
Under the amended Adaptation order certain
changes Were made in the Indian Code which will be discussed later in this
judgment. But it did not affect the operation of cl. 27 above set out, Under
the adaptation of Laws (Third Amendment) Order of April 4, 1951, cl. 27 was
renumbered as el. 20. The Indian Code was amended by the Code of Civil
Procedure (Amendment) Act, 195 1, (II of 195 1) which came into force on April
1, 1951. By that Act, the Indian Code was extended to the whole of India
excepting certain territories mentioned in s. 2 which are not relevant for the
purpose of this appeal. Thus it became applicable to Madhya Bharat which was
then a Part B State and consequently it became operative in what at one time
was the Indian State Section 20 of this Act provided for of Gwalior. repeals
and savings. That section runs as follows:598 S. 20 (1) "Repeals and
Savings. If, immediately before the date on which the said Code comes into
force in any Part B State, corresponding to the said Code, that law shallon
that date stand repealed:
Provided that the repeal shall not affect(a)
the previous operation of any law so repealed or anything duty done or suffered
thereunder, or (b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability accrued or
incurred under any law so repealed, or (e) any investigation, legal proceeding
or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability,
penalty forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid and any such investigation, legal
proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced, and any such
penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if this Act had not been
passed.
(2) Subject to the provisions contained in
subsection (1) notifications publisbed, declaration and rules made, places
appointed, agreements filed, scales prescribed, forms framed, appointments made
and powers concerned under any enactment hereby repealed shall, so far as they,
are consistent with the said Code, have the same force and effect as if they
had been respectively published, made, appointed, filed prescribed, framed and
conferred under the said Code and by the authority empowered thereby in such
behalf.
599 (3) In every law or notification
passed-or issued before the commencement of this Act in which reference is made
to or any Chapter or section of any law hereby repealed, such reference shall
so far as may be practicable be taken to be made to the said Code or its
corresponding Part, Order, section or rule." On the coming into force of
Act II of 1951 aforesaid the rights that were acquired or accrued under the
decree passed previously remained unimpaired and unaffected by the repeal and
all rights and privileges acquired or accrued under the decree continued as
before so also all liabilities or obligations incurred thereunder. And all such
rights and privileges were enforceable as if the Act had not been passed.
Therefore the decree of the Gwalior Court dated November 11, 1948 continued to
be enforceable as decree under the Madhya Bharat Code.
As we have said before we shall assume for
the purposes of this appeal that the order of transfer by the Court at Gwalior
was the one passed on September 14, 1951. By then by the operation of Act II of
1951 there was one Civil Procedure Code for what was Gwalior and U. P. and
indeed for the whole of India.
The question then is, was the order dated
September 14, 1951, transferring the decree for execution to the Civil Judge,
Allahabad an effective order to which ss. 38 and 39 of the Indian Code applied
and could the decree so transferred be executed by the execution Court at
Allahabad ? It was contended on behalf of the appellant that it could be
executed as it was a decree which fell within ss. 38 and 39 of the Indian Code,
which the Gwalior Court had the power to transfer and 600 which the Allahabad
Court had under the law the authority to execute. We think it is not so.
The main provisions for execution of decrees
are contained in Part II "Execution" in the Indian Code and minor
rules are contained in Order 21. Of these provisions ss. 36 to 42 deal with
Courts which can execute decrees, can transfer decrees and the power of
executing Courts in regard to transferred decrees. The present ss. 43 to 45
deal with execution' of decrees passed by Civil Courts in place to which the
Indian Code does not extend execution of decrees passed by revenue courts, by
the courts in the United Kingdom and other reciprocating territory and
execution of decrees in foreign territories.
Section 38 of the Indian Code provides that a
decree may be executed by the Court which passed it or by the court to which it
is sent for execution. Court which passed a decree is defined in s. 37 and s.
39 provides for the transfer of decrees for execution. It reads 39 (1) 'The
court which passed a decree may, on the application of the decree holder send
it for execution to another Court".
Section 40 of the Indian Code provides for
the transfer of a decree to a court in another State where it has to be
executed in such manner as may be prescribed by Rules in force in that state
and s. 42 lays down the powers of the Court in executing transferred decree. It
provides that the power of the Court in executing decrees shall be the same as
if it had been passed by itself. These are the relevant provisions which deal
with the transfer to and execution of decrees in other courts and to courts of
another State and powers of such courts in execution and the procedure to by
followed by them.
The jurisdiction of the Allahabad Court to
execute the decree sent to it by the Gwalior Court can be examined from two
angles : (1) Was the court at Gwalior a court which could under s. 39 of the
Indian Code transfer its decree to the Allahabad Court for execution; and (2)
was the decree sent for execution a decree which a court governed by the Indian
Code as was the Allahabad Court, such that it could be executed by the
transferee court.
We are unable to see how the Gwalior Court
could send under s. 39 decrees which it had passed when it was not governed by
the Indian Code. It is fallacious to think that the court at Gwalior governed
by the Indian Code was identical with the court which was governed by another
Code. In our opinion, the Gwalior Court which made the order of transfer of
September 1951 when it was governed by the Indian Code was a different court
from what it was at the time it passed a decree when functioning under a
different Code of Civil Procedure. The Court which made the order of transfer
in September, 1951 was thus not the court which passed the decree within the
meaning of s. 39.
The decrees in the sections dealing with
execution of decrees i.e. ss. 37 to 42 are decrees which were passed by courts
governed by the Indian Civil Procedure Code because those sections relate to
decrees passed in suit under the provisions of that Code. The preamble to the
Indian Civil Procedure Code is "whereas it is expedient to consolidate and
amend the laws relating to the procedure of the Courts of Civil
Judicature." Under s. 1 (3) as it exists now the Code extends to the whole
of India except 'certain Tribal Areas etc. Previous to the Amendment Act 11 of
1951 above referred to, s. 1 (3) of the Indian Civil Procedure Code reads as
under:602 S. 1 (3) "This section and sections 155 to 158 extend to the
whole of India except Part B States; the rest of the Code extends to the whole
of India except Part B States and the Scheduled Districts".
Therefore the Indian Code was not then
applicable to those States which became Part B States as a result of the
Constitution of India. " Decree" in the Indian Code is defined to
mean the formal expression of an adjudication which, so far as regards the
Court expressing it, conclusively determines the rights of the parties with
regard to all or any matters in controversy in the suit.........
It means, therefore, that a decree which is
to be executed under the Indian Code by a transferee Court is a decree passed
in a suit i.e., in civil proceeding which is instituted by the presentation of
a plaint under s. 25 of the Code. Therefore 'the decree which is referred to in
Part II dealing with execution i.e. ss. 37 to 42 in a decree which is passed in
a suit commenced in the manner provided in the Indian Code, is conducted and
decided under the provisions of the Indian Code, and there is nothing in Act 11
of 1951 above referred to which has changed that position.
Reference was made by counsel for the
appellant to sub-s. (2) of s. 30 of Act 11 of 1951 but that section does not
apply to judgments and decrees passed but applies to the other matters therein
mentioned e.g., notifications, declarations, rules and appointments etc. It has
no reference to decrees passed or Orders made under the local Codes of Civil
Procedure. That section therefore is not of any assistance to the appellant.
Whatever rights or privileges the appellant bad acquired or whatever rights or
privileges bad accrued to him were continued and it cannot be said that the
decree passed under the Madhya Bharat Code became a decree 603 under the Indian
Code by virtue of a 20 of Act 11 of 1951.
On the other hand by cls. (b) and (c) of
sub-s. (1) of that section the decree continued to be decree governed by the
Madhya Bharat Code and executable under it. The Gwalior Court therefore had no
power under as 38 and 39 to transfer the decree of November 18, 1948, and
consequently the Allahabad Court acquired no power to execute it.
It was next contended that if the Court at
Gwalior that passed the decree had no power under as. 38 to 42 of the Indian
Code to transfer the decree for execution and the Court at Allahabad was not
empowered to execute that decree then the decree could be executed under the
provisions of as 43 and 44 of the Indian Code. Of course the decree was not
sought to be executed under either of these two provisions.
But we shall examine these sections of the
Indian Code as applicable to the Courts at Allahabad at the relevant time.
Prior to the Indian Independence (Adaptation
of Central Acts and Ordinance) Order of 1948 promulgated on March 23, 1948,
which will hereinafter be termed the Adaptation Order 1948, the relevant
portion of s. 43 was as follows: Execution of decrees passed by British Courts
or in places to which this part does not extend or in foreign territory.
Any decree passed by a Civil Court
established in any part of British India to which the provisions relating to
execution do not extend or by any Court established or continued by the
authority of the Central Government or the Crown Representative in the
territories of any foreign Prince or State, may, if it cannot be executed
within the jurisdiction of the court by which it passed.
604 executed in manner herein Provided within
the jurisdiction of any court in British India" After the Adaptation Order
1948 the provisions essentially remained the same and there was only a change
in nomenclature. Instead of British India the expression ,the provinces of
India" and in place of "territories of any Foreign Prince or
State" "in any Indian State" were substituted. After the coming
into force of the Constitution Adaptation of Laws Order of January 6. 1950 was
promulgated. There again the change in s. 43 was nominal and in place of
"Province of India" the word "State" was substituted. Thus
there was no change which is material for the present 'appeal till the Adaptation
of Laws (Amendment) Order dated June 5, 1950, which had retrospective effect as
from January 25, 1950 and s. 43 was amended as follows "'Execution of
decrees passed by Civil Courts in Part B States, in places to which this Part
does not extend or in foreign territory.
Any decree passed:
(a) by a Civil Court in a Part B State, or
(b) by a Civil Court in any area within a Part C State or Part B State to which
the provisions relating to execution do not extend, or (c) by a Court
established or continued by the authority of the Central Government outside
India, may, if it cannot be executed within the jurisdiction of the Court by
which it ,was passed, be executed in a manner herein provided within the
jurisdiction of any court in the States.
605 By the operation of Act 11 of 1951, s. 43
was further amended and it then read as follows Execution of decrees passed by
Civil, Courts in places to which this Cock does not extend.
Any decree passed by any Civil Court,
established in any part of India to which the provisions of this Code do not
extend, or by any Court established or continued by the authority of the
Central Government outside India, may, if it cannot be executed within the
jurisdiction of the Court by which it was passed, be executed in the manner
herein provided within the jurisdiction of any Court in the territories to
which this Code, extends".
Thus after the Constitution came into force
by virtue of the Adaptation Order, a decree which was passed by a Civil Court
in a Part B State could be executed in the manner provided, within the
jurisdiction of any Court in what were the States of India i. e. Part A, B
& C States.
It was submitted on behalf of the appellant
that the words in s. 43 of the Code as adapted by the Adaptation Order of June
5, 1950, "Any decree passed by a Civil Court in a Part B State" must
be read as "a Civil Court in what became a Part B State". We are
unable to accept, this contention.
This would mean that the Constitution is
retrospective. But it has been held by this Court that the Constitution is
prospective. Madhya Bharat, before the Constitution of India i. e. before
January 26, 1930, was not a Part B State.
It became one as a consequence of the
Constitution. As a matter of fact there were no Part B States, before the
Constitution. Therefore a decree passed 606 before the Constitution by a Civil
Court in Madhya Bharat cannot be considered as a decree by a Civil Court in a
Part B State.
After the Indian Code came into force in Part
B States as a result of Act 11 of 1951 under s. 43 only those decrees could be
executed which were passed by Civil Courts established in Parts of India to
which the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code "do not extend" or
by Courts established or continued by the authority of the Central Government
outside India, and in none of these categories does the decree passed by the
Gwalior Court after the establishment of Madhya Bharat fall. It was not a
decree passed by a Court in a part of India to which the Indian., Code
"does not extend". Those areas were set out in s. 1 (3) of the Indian
Code. Therefore, under the provisions of s. 43 of the Indian Code of Civil
Procedure the decree could not be executed.
We shall not take s. 44 of the Code:S.44
"Execution of decrees passed by Courts of Indian States.-The Provincial
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette declare that the
decrees of any Civil or Revenue Courts in any Indian State not being Courts
established or continued by the authority of the Central Government or of the
Crown Representative, or any class of such decrees, may be executed in the
Province as if they had been passed by Courts of British India.
By the Adaptation Order of 1948 in place of
the words "British India" "that Province" were substituted.
By the Adaptation Order of January 26 1950, the section read as follows:607
Execution of decrees passed by Courts of Part B States. The State Government
may by notification in the Official Gazette declare that the decrees of any
Civil or Revenue Courts in any Part B State, or any class of such decrees, may
be executed in the State as if they had been passed by Courts of that
State".
This section was again amended by the
Adaptation Order of June 6, 1950, which gave it retrospective effect as from
January 26, 1950. It then read as follows: Execution of decrees passed by
Revenue Court Part B States.-The Government of a Part A State or Part C State
may by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the decree of any
Revenue Courts in any Part B State or any class of such decrees may be executed
in the Part A State or Part C State, as the case may be, as if they had been
passed by Courts of that State".
Finally after Act 11 of 1951 which came into
force on April 1, 1951, s. 44 is as follows: Execution of decrees passed by
Revenue Courts in places to which this Code does not extend.
The State Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, declare that the decrees of any Revenue Court in any part
of India to which the provisions of this Code do not extend or any class of
such decrees may be executed in the State as if they had been passed by courts
in that State".
At the time when the decree was sought to be
executed in the, Execution Court at Allahabad, s. 44 of the Code was what was
608 substituted by Act 11 of 1951 and that certainly could Dot be availed of by
the appellant as it bad no application to decrees of Civil Courts and the
argument in regard to decrees of Part B States is the same as in the case of a.
43 of the Code which has been discussed above.
It was next argued that in construing the
words "the decree of a civil court in a Part B State" we should have
regard to the fact that at the time s. 43 was amended in this manner s. 44 was
also amended in such a way that it was no longer possible for a State
Government to issue a notification-as it could have done but for such
amendment-declaring that the decrees of civil courts in an Indian State might
be executed in the State as if they have been passed in the courts of that
State. It is said that this took away the whatever chance a decree made by an
Indian State had of being made executable in other parts of India. So, it is
argued we should interpret the words "the decree of a civil court in a
Part B State", to include decrees made by a civil court in what later
became Part B State at a time when it was an Indian State. It could 'not, it is
urged, have been the intention of the legislature in making the amendment of
June 3, 1950 to totally destroy this chance of executability which was possible
under the law as it stood before. We do not think this is a relevant
consideration. If the legislature bad intended to save this chance of
executability under a possible future notification it could have easily made
the necessary provision. It has to be remembered that the right of
executability which had attached to a decree on the basis of a notification
already made would continue after the date of amendment. Only, if the law had
not been changed as it was by the amendment on June 3, 1950, there would have existed
a chance that the decrees of courts of Indian 609 States in respect of which no
notification had been made under s. 44 could have become executable by a
notification made in future there under. The power to make such a notification
in respect of decrees of civil courts in Indian States was however deliberately
taken away and it is useless and irrelevant to worry about the resultant loss
of chance of executability by a possible future notification that might have
existed under the old law.
It was finally contended that by virtue of
Art. 261, the decree passed by the Gwalior Court was executable. The first
clause of Art. 261 provides for full faith and credit to be given throughout
the territory of India to judicial proceedings of the Union and of every State.
Clause 3 of Art. 261 was as follows:
"Final judgments or orders delivered or
passed by Civil Courts in any part of the territory of India shall be capable
of execution anywhere within that territory according to law".
The first matter to be considered in regard
to Art. 261 is that the Constitution is prospective and not retrospective and
it applies to decrees which were passed after the coming into force of the
Constitution and not before and, therefore, neither clause 1 nor clause 3 can
have any application to the decree sought to be executed.
In our opinion, therefore, the decree of the
Gwalior Court sought to be executed was A, decree of a foreign court which did
not change its nationality in spite of subsequent constitutional changes or
amendments in the Code. The Gwalior Court could not transfer the decree for
execution to the Court at Allahabad under ss. 38 and 39 nor could 610 the Court
of Allahabad execute the decree without Such transfer. The provisions of ss. 43
and 44 of the Code also were not applicable in this case.
For these reasons the appeal fails, and is
dismissed with costs.
DAS GUPTA, J.-This appeal is by a decree holder
whose application for execution of the decree has been unsuccessful. The decree
was passed on November 18, 1948, by the Court of the District Judge, Gwalior,
in Gwalior State. It was ex parte, the defendants-the respondents in the
present appeal-who are residents the United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh, not
having appeared in the Gwalior Court.
On August 9, 1949, the decree-holder applied
to the Gwalior Court for transferring the decree to the Court of the Civil
Judge, Allahabad, for execution. On April 25, 1950, the Gwalior Court passed an
order for transfer of the decree for the execution to the Civil Judge, First
Grade, Allahabad.
It needs to be mentioned that on the date
when the suit was instituted, i.e., May 15, 1947; the date on which the decree
was passed, November 18, 1948; the date on which the application was made for
transferring the decree, August 9, 1949; as also the date April 25, 1950, when
the order for transferring the decree was made by the Gwalior Court, the Code,
of Civil Procedure which is in force in India did not apply to the Gwalior
Court. For, even though the Gwalior State had acceded to the Dominion of India
by an Instrument of Accession by the under of the State made on August 15,
1947, arid after that the United State (Madhya Bharat) of which Gwalior became
a part by a covenant signed in April 1948, acceded to the Dominion of India on July
19, 1948, by a fresh Instrument of Accession and after the Constitution of
India came into force this United States (Madhya 611 Bharat) became part of the
territory of India as Madhya Bharat being a Part B State, the Indian Code of
Civil Procedure did not become applicable to the Courts in Gwalior till after
the enactment of Act 11 of 1951 which came into force on April 1, 1951. From
this date the Indian C de of Civil Procedure became applicable to the Courts of
Gwalior also.
We have already mentioned that On April 25,
1950, an order for transfer of the decree had been made by the Gwalior Court.
The further action which has to be taken under 0. 21 r. 6 of the Indian Code,
of Civil Procedure by the court sending a decree for execution was not however
taken till September 14, 1951. On that date an order was made by the Gwalior
Court certifying that the amount of the decree had "not been paid or
realised by execution" and ordering that the certificate be sent to the
Civil Judge' First Grade, Allahabad under O. 41 r. 6. This order closed with
the sentence "a copy of this order along with copies of decree passed in
connection with the execution be forwarded directly to the court of the Civil
Judge, First Grade, Allahabad." The application for execution was made in
the Court at the Civil Judge at Allahabad on October 16, 1951.
To this application the judgment-debtor
raised objections under s. 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure. This application
was ultimately heard by a single Judge of the High Court of Allahabad who
dismissed the application being of opinion that the decree obtained by the
appellant was a nullity and on that ground in executable at Allahabad. This
view was upheld by the same High Court on appeal.
Three questions have been raised in this
appeal. The first is: whether vis-a-vis the Allahabad Court the decreed sought
to be executed was a 612 foreign decree which the Allahabad Court rightly
considered to be a nullity and on that account in executable in Allahabad
Courts. The second question raised before us is whether, even assuming that
this was not a foreign decree the Allahabad Court was a Court to which it could
be sent for execution within the meaning of section 37 and 38 of the Indian
Code of Civil Procedure. The third question is whether a. 43 or s. 44 of the
Code of Civil Procedure made the decree executable in the Allahabad Courts.
It is unnecessary in our judgment to
investigate the first question. The objection raised on the nullity of the
decree could be raised only in the Allahabad Court where the decree was sought
to be executed. But before that question would arise the Allahabad Court must
have power to execute the decree-either oil transfer of the decree to it under
s. 38 or under the provisions of s. 43 or s.44 of the Code. For reasons to be
presently stated, we do not think that there could be valid transfer of the
decree to the Allahabad Court or that it had any power to execute the decree
under s. 43 or s.44. bat is why we think that, the question bow far the decree
was a nullity does not fall for our decision in this case. With other modes of
enforcement of a foreign decree this case has no concern.
In solving the problems raised by the second
and the third questions it is necessary first to have an idea of the scheme, of
the Indian Code of Civil Procedure as regards what courts in India can execute
decrees. We find in Part II of the Civil Procedure Code which relates to the
execution of decrees, only three sections dealing with this matter. They are
ss. 38, 43 and 44. Sections 38 provide that a decree may be executed either by
the Court which passed it, or by the Court to which it is sent 613 for
execution. Section 43 as it stands at present provides that:"Any decree
passed by any civil court established in any part of India to which the
provisions of this Code do not extend, or by any court established or continued
by the authority of the Central Government outside India, may, if it cannot be
executed within the jurisdiction of the Court by which it was passed be
executed in the manner herein provided within the jurisdiction of any court in
the territories to which this Code extends." We shall have later to refer
to the several changes which s. 43 has undergone between the time the decree
was made and the present day.
Section 44 provides that "the State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the
decrees of any revenue court in any part of India to which the provisions of
this Code do not extend, or any class of such decrees, may be executed in the
State as if they had been passed by courts in that State." This section
has also undergone some change during the relevant period. To this change we
shall later refer.
Let us first examine whether the Allahabad
Court where the decree-holder is seeking to execute the decree is a court by
which the decree can be executed under s. 38. Obviously, it is not the Court
which passed the decree. The controversy is whether it is a Court to which the
decree was sent for execution. The provisions for sending a decree for
execution to another Court by the Court which passed the decree are contained
in s. 39 of the Code of Civil procedure. According to the decree-holder the
decree was sent by the Gwalior Court to the Allahabad Court by its order dated
September 14, 1951. The Judgment-debtors' contention on the other hand is that
the only 114 order of transfer was that of April 25, 1950. If the
judgment-debtors' contention is correct it would follow that there was no order
for transfer under s. 39, as on that date the Gwalior Court was not governed by
the Indian Code of Civil Procedure. Learned Counsel for the decree-holder
appellant has contended that the directions that were given on September 14,
1951, really amounted to an order for transfer under s. 39. According to the learned
Counsel the Indian Courts should ignore the order of April 25 1950, as
non-existent, so that it was open to the Gwalior Court to make a fresh order in
the matter on September 14, 1951, when it was governed by the Indian Code of
Civil Procedure.
Therefore, it is argued, though it might be
true to say that if the order of April 25, 1950, had been made under the Indian
Code of Civil Procedure, what was ordered on September 14 1951; was merely a
direction under O 21 r. 6 of the Civil Procedure Code for the ministerial
carrying out of the order under s. 39 already made, that is, not the position
here as the first order of April 25, 1950, was admittedly not under the Indian
Code of Civil Procedure.
The matter is by no means free from
difficulty; but let us assume that this order of September 14, 1951, was the
order by which the Gwalior Court then governed by the Indian Code of Civil
Procedure, purported to transfer the decree to the Allahabad Court for
execution. The question still remains.
Was it an order within the meaning of a. 39
of the Code of Civil Procedure? The answer to this question depends on whether
the Gwalior Court which was functioning on September 14, 1951, was "the
Court which passed the decree." Under the Indian Code of Civil Procedure the
right to execute a decree arises as soon as a decree is made.
Immediately on the making of the decree the
Court which passed the decree has jurisdiction 615 to execute it and at that
very point of time that very Court has the jurisdiction to transfer it to
another court governed by the Indian Code of Civil procedure for execution. It
is reasonable to think that in speaking of "'courts" in the phrase,
"courts which passed the decree" s. 37, as well as s. 39 contemplate
only courts governed by the Indian Code of Civil Procedure. For, it is with the
procedure of such courts only that this Code is concerned.
On the date the present decree was made the
Indian Code of Civil Procedure did not apply to the Gwalior Court. In other
words, it was not a ""court" for the purposes of the Indian Code
of Civil Procedure. Later on, it is true, from April 1951, the Indian Code of
Civil procedure became applicable to the Gwalior Court. It will be proper, in
our opinion, to think that the court when governed by the Gwalior Code of Civil
Procedure had a distinct identity from the court at Gwalior after it came to be
governed by the Indian Code of Civil Procedure. The Court which made the order
of transfer in September 14, 1961 was therefore not ",the Court which
passed the decree" within the meaning of s. 39. It is clear therefore that
the Allahabad Court had no power to execute the decree under s. 38 of the Civil
Procedure Code as there was no valid transfer to it from the "court which
passed the decree." It remains to consider whether s. 43 or s. 44 are of
any assistance to the decree-holder. Coming to s. 44 first, it has to be
mentioned that upto March 23, 1948 the section ran thus :-"The Provincial
Government may by notification in the Official Gazette declare that the decree'
of any Civil or Revenue Courts in any Indian State, not being courts
established or continued by the authority of the Central Government or of the
Crown Representative, or any class of such decrees, may be executed in the
Province as if they had been 616 by courts of British India." The section
was materially amended on June 3, 1960 with retrospective effect from January
26, 1950. On amendment the section ran thus :-"The Government of a Part A
State or Part B States may, by notification in the Official Gazette declare
that the decrees of any Revenue Court in any Part B State or any class of such
decrees may be executed in the Part A State or Part C State, as the case may
be, as if they had been passed by courts, of that State." It is obvious that
the decree holder can get no benefit from s. 44 after this amendment.
If however there had been a notification by
the U. P. Government under s. 44 as it originally stood in respect of decrees
of Civil Courts in Gwalior State the present decree would have been executable
in Allahabad Courts on January 26, 1950, and that right of executability would
have continued upto the present time. There was however no such notification.
It is clear therefore that s. 44 is of no assistance to the decreeholder.
It is equally clear that s. 43 is also no
assistance to him. Section 43 as it originally stood was in these words :"'Any
decree passed by any civil court established in any part of British India to
which. the provisions relating to execution do not extend, or by any court
established or continued by the authority of the Central Government or the
Crown Representative in the territories of any foreign prince or State outside
India, may if it cannot be executed within the, jurisdiction of the Court by
which it was passed, be executed in the manner herein provided within the
jurisdiction of any court in British India." The decree of Gwalior Court
did not fall within this. The section was amended after March 23, 617 1948, and
for the words "in any part of British India" the words "in any
area within the provinces of India" were substituted. This change could
not 'however bring the decree of a Gwalior State within the section. The next
change, which it is necessary to mention was made by the amendment of June 3,
1950, with retrospective effect from January 26, 1950. On this amendment s. 43
ran thus , "Any decree passed, (a) by a Civil Court in a part B State or
(b) by a civil court in any area within a part A State or part C State to which
the provisions relating to execution do not extend, or (c) by a court
established or continued by the authority of the Central Government out side
India, may, if it cannot be executed within the jurisdiction of the Court by
which it was passed, be executed in a manner provided within the jurisdiction
of any court in the States." It has been strenuously contended on behalf
of the decree holder that the decree passed by the Gwalior Court on November
18, 1948, is a decree passed by a civil court in a Part B State. It is true
that Gwalior became Part of a Part B State from January 26, 1950, and civil
courts in Gwalior were from that date civil courts in any Part B State. Every
decree made by a court in Gwalior after January 26, 1958, would get the benefit
then of s. 43 as amended. We are unable to see however how the decree passed by
a civil court in Gwalior before that date could get any such benefit. The
agreement of the appellant's council that a decree passed by a civil court in
Gwalior before Gwalior become included in a Part B State is a decree passed by
a 618 civil court in a Part B State really asks us to construe the words
",by a civil court in a part B State" as by a "civil court in an
Indian State which has later become included in a Part B State." For such
a construction we cannot see any justification.
It was urged by the learned Counsel that it
could not have been the intention of the legislature to make any radical
departure in the scheme of making decrees of courts of Indian States executable
in as courts in Indian provinces.
It is pointed out that under s. 44 as it
originally stood such a decree would have become executable in the courts of
the provinces if the Provincial Government made the necessary notification
under s. 44. The position was safe when there was such a notification. But,
even when there was no such notification there was always the probability of
such a notification being made. That probability disappeared with the amendment
of s. 44 on June 3, 1950. It is reasonable to think, argues the learned
Counsel, that when at the same time s. 44 was thus being amended the
legislature used the words: "any decree passed by a civil court in a Part
B State',' its intention was to include within those words "decrees made
by a civil court in an Indian State which later become a Part B State," In
our opinion, the words actually used by the legislature do not admit of such an
interpretation. If it was the legislature's intention to preserve for the
decrees of the Indian States this chance of executability it could have easily
made the necessary provision by using suitable phraseology either in s. 43 or
s. 44.
On a proper construction of the words that
were actually used, viz., "any decree passed by a civil court in a part B
State", we see no reason to think that the legislature intended to use to
mean ,,decrees made by a civil court in an Indian State, which later became a
Part B State" Section 43 619 therefore as it stood after the amendment of
June 3, 1951 is of no assistance to the decree-holder.
Section 43 was further amended by Act 11 of
1951 and the words as they stand at present have already been set out.
The appellant rightly does not contend that
s. 43 as it now stands applies to the present decrees.
Our conclusion therefore is that the
Allahabad Court had no power to execute the decree either under sections 38 or
under ss. 43 or 44 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Therefore, even if the decree was not a
foreign decree, the decree-holder's application for execution was rightly
dismissed.
The appeal is accordingly dismissed with
costs.
Appeal dismissed.
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