Courts of a country will not try suits directly involving the question of right in or title to immovable property situated in foreign countries.

( 1 ) THE petitioner is one of the defendants in a suit for partition which was instituted on 1-6-1951 by the first opposite-party in the Court of the Fourth Additional Subordinate Judge, 24-Parganas, at Alipore. Besides a plot of land with building thereupon and some paddy lands in Barisha within the territorial jurisdiction of the Subordinate Judge's Court, the schedule of the properties of which partition was sought included land and building in the town of Chandernagore which was not, on 1-6-1951, comprised within the territory of India. The defendant pleaded 'inter alia' that the Court had no jurisdiction to try the suit as some of the properties were in Chandernagore.

( 2 ) AN issue was framed on this question and taken up for decision first. The learned Subordinate Judge held that as the Code of Civil Procedure became applicable to Chandernagore from 2-5-1951, his Court had jurisdiction to try the suit.

( 3 ) IT is contended before us that this decision was wrong, inasmuch as on the date the suit was filed Chandernagore was foreign territory.

( 4 ) IT may be mentioned that the fact that Chandernagore was foreign territory would not affect the jurisdiction of the Court as regards those lands which were in Barisha (Vide -- 'nilkanth Balwant v. Vidya Narasinh Bharathi', AIR 1930 PC 188 (A ).)

( 5 ) THE question remains whether the Court had jurisdiction to try the suit as regards the properties in Chandernagore. That Chandernagore was in law foreign territory on that date is not disputed. This appears to be clear on a consideration of the circumstances under which Chandernagore became Indian territory. Prom the Notification that was published in an Extraordinary issue of the Gazette of India on 19-8-1952 we find that a treaty was signed at Paris on 2-2-1951 by the representatives of the President of India and the President of the French Republic, which in its first Article provided "prance transfers to India, in full sovereignty, the territory of the Free Town of Chandernagore". Article XII of the treaty provides that this treaty shall come into force on ratification by the Governments concerned, the instruments of ratification being exchanged in Paris. We also find from this Notification in the Gazette of India that the President of India ratified the treaty on 30-5-1952. From a Notification in the Extraordinary issue of the Chandernagore Gazette published on 16-7-1952, we further find that the instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Cession of Chandernagore were exchanged in Paris on Monday, the 9th June, 1952. In law, therefore, Chandernagore was foreign territory to India up to 8-6-1952. The recognised rule of international law which the Courts in India, in common with other countries, observe is that they do not exercise jurisdiction in suits directly involving the question of right to immovable property situated in foreign countries. Consequently, the Subordinate Judge's Court could hot exercise jurisdiction in the partition suit, as regards the Chandernagore properties, on the date the "suit was instituted, -- unless there are any special circumstances which make the rule of international law mentioned above inapplicable.

( 6 ) THE contention on behalf of the plaintiff- which appears to have found favour with the learned subordinate Judge -- is that as The Chandernagore (Application of Laws) Order, 1950, which was promulgated by the Government of India on 1-5-1950, made the Civil Procedure Code, applicable to the Chandernagore Courts from" 2-5-1950, the Courts in Chandernagore were "civil Courts" within the meaning of Section 17, Civil P. C. , and so the Court of the Fourth Additional Subordinate Judge, 24-Parganas, could try a suit for partition of properties part of which was situate within his territory or jurisdiction and part within the jurisdiction of Chandernagore. Section 17 Civil P. C. , is in these words:"where a suit is to obtain relief respecting, or compensation for wrong t