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1951 Supreme(All) 121

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Sapru and Agarwala, JJ.
AHMADI BEGUM - Appellant
Versus
DISTRICT MAGISTRATE - Respondents
Exn. Second Appeal 798 and Civil Revn. No. 249 Of 1949
Decided On : 07/25/1951

Advocates Appeared:
B.C.SAXENA

Headnote:

U. P. (TEMPORARY) ACCOMMODATION REQUISITION ACT, 1947 - SECTION 3, 11, 16 - JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT MAGISTRATE TO REQUISITION ACCOMMODATION IN CANTONMENT AREAS - VALIDITY OF NOTIFICATION EXTENDING ACT TO CANTONMENT AREAS - POWER OF MUNSIF TO EXECUTE ORDER OF DISTRICT MAGISTRATE - BAR OF JURISDICTION UNDER SECTION 16 - REVISION AGAINST ORDER OF MUNSIF.

Fact of the Case:

The District Magistrate of Agra requisitioned a house within the Agra Cantonment for Moti Ram Mahgha Ram Sahni. The owner, Shrimati Ahmadi Begam, refused to vacate the house. The District Magistrate applied to the Munsif for aid in getting the house vacated. The Munsif ordered the objectors to be ejected. The District Judge dismissed the objectors' appeal, holding that the District Magistrate's order was without jurisdiction.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the U. P. (Temporary) Accommodation Requisition Act, 1947, being an Act of the Provincial Legislature, could not apply to regulate accommodation in cantonment areas, which was a subject within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Indian Legislature. The court further held that the District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to requisition any accommodation situated within the cantonment area of Agra, and that the Munsif was not bound to execute the order as if it were a decree passed by him.

Issues: 1. Whether the U. P. (Temporary) Accommodation Requisition Act, 1947, could apply to regulate accommodation in cantonment areas? 2. Whether the District Magistrate had jurisdiction to requisition any accommodation situated within the cantonment area of Agra? 3. Whether the Munsif was bound to execute the order of the District Magistrate as if it were a decree passed by him?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the U. P. (Temporary) Accommodation Requisition Act, 1947, being an Act of the Provincial Legislature, could not apply to regulate accommodation in cantonment areas, which was a subject within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Indian Legislature. 2. The court further held that the District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to requisition any accommodation situated within the cantonment area of Agra, as the Provincial Legislature had no power to include the cantonment areas within the ambit of the Act. 3. The court held that the Munsif was not bound to execute the order of the District Magistrate as if it were a decree passed by him, as the order was without jurisdiction.

Final Decision: The court dismissed the objectors' appeal and allowed the objectors' revision application. The court set aside the order of the Munsif dated 8-11-1948, and quashed the execution proceedings started in pursuance of the order of the District Magistrate and his application to the Munsif for execution of that order.

AGARWALA, J.

( 1 ) THE District Magistrate of Agra requisitioned a house, under Section 3, U. P. (Temporary)Accommodation Requisition Act, 1947, situated within the limits of the Agra Cantonment for the purposes of allotting it to one Moti Ram Mahgha Ram Sahni. Shrimati Ahmadi Begam, who appears to be the owner of the house was in occupation of the house. She refused to vacate the house as directed by the District Magistrate. The District Magistrate, under the provisions of section 11 of the said Act, applied to the Munsif of Agra for aid in getting the house vacated and in executing his order. Shrimati Ahmadi Begam and her son, Riyaz Uddin, filed an objection before the learned Munsif alleging that they were not liable to be ejected from the house in dispute. The learned Munsif, however, rejected their objection and passed an order on 8th november 1948, directing that the objectors be ejected from the house. The objectors preferred an appeal to the District Judge of Agra. The learned District Judge held that the order of the district Magistrate requisitioning the house was without jurisdiction inasmuch as the Provincial government which passed the aforesaid Act had no power to make any law with regard to the regulation of housing accommodation in cantonment areas. But, he further found that, since no appeal was provided for in the Act, he had no jurisdiction to interfere with the order of the munsif. In the result he dismissed the appeal.

( 2 ) THE objectors have now come up in second appeal to this Court. This is Second Appeal No. 798 of 1949. They have also applied in revision against the order of the Munsif dated 8th november 1948. This is civil Revision No. 249 of 1949.

( 3 ) A preliminary objection has been raised to the hearing of the appeal and the revision. It is urged that under Section 16 of the Act "no order made in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act shall be called in question in any Court. " it may be observed that Section 16 bars the challenge to an order which has been made "in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act. " Section 16 does not cover orders made in the purported exercise of any power conferred by or under the Act, which orders are not in law covered by any provision of the Act. Therefore we have to see whether the order of the Munsif was made in exercise of the powers conferred by the Act. The Munsif purported to make the order under Section 11 of the Act. Section 11 runs as follows : " (1) If any person fails to comply with any order made under Section 3 the Court shall, on the application of the District Magistrate, execute the order as if it were a decree passed by that court. "

( 4 ) THE words "any order made under Section 3," in our opinion, refer to orders of the District magistrate which he had jurisdiction to make under Section 3 of the Act. If the District magistrate had no jurisdiction to make an order with respect to a particular property under section 3, it could not be said that the order was made under that section. An order made beyond the powers conferred by Section 3 is an order not under Section 3 but outside it. If, therefore, the order of the District Magistrate was not an order which he had jurisdiction to make under Section 3 it was not an order which the Court (which under the Act means the civil Court, be it either the munsifs Court or the Civil Judges Court, as the case may be) was bound to carry out.


( 5 ) NOW the District Magistrate could requisition any accommodation provided that the Act applied to that accommodation. The U. P. (Temporary) Accommodation Requisition Act 1947 being an Act of the Provincial Legislature could not apply to regulate accommodation in cantonment areas. In Entry 2 of List 1 of Schedule 7, Government of India Act, 1935, regulation of accommodation in cantonment areas is a subject which was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Indian Legislature. The Provincial Legislature had no jurisdiction to make any enactment










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