A Tribunal constituted under Section 4 of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustment) Act, 1951 is a civil court and, therefore, revision lies under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

( 1 ) THIS revision arises out of proceedings under Section 5 of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustment) Act, No. 70 of 1951 (hereinafter called the 1951 Act ).

( 2 ) MAGHANMAL applied on 9-9-1952, to the Tribunal constituted under Section 4 of the 1951 Act for adjustment of his debts. In the list of creditors he mentioned the name of Mulchand with the remark that the owed him nothing still he (Mulchand) demanded repayment of an alleged loan. Other creditors are not concerned with this revision.

( 3 ) MULCHAND had made a separate application under Section 10 of the 1951 Act making a claim of Rs. 5,500/- against Maghanmal. On 1-5-1953, that petition was dismissed on the ground that Maghanmal had already filed a petition under Section 5 of the Act. Thereupon, on 16-9-1953, Mulchand made an application to the Tribunal in Maghanmal's case, for the determination of his debt. Maghanmal resisted Mulchand's claim. Shri S. L. Chopta, learned Civil Judge First Class, acting as the tribunal constituted) under Section 4 of the Act, held that a sum of Rs. 3600/- was due by Maghanmal to Mulchand on account of two transactions and that the claim was within limitation because they were 'deposits'.

( 4 ) AGGRIEVED by it, Maghanmal filed this revision under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure as the subject matter in dispute is less than Rs. 5000/-, so that he could not prefer an appeal (Section 41 of the Act ).

( 5 ) SHRI Batham raises a preliminary objection as to the competence of this revision. Learned counsel lays stress on the expression "court subordinate" to the High Court. Relying on Sunder Das v. Lachman Das, AIR 1957 All 352, it is argued that the tribunal under Section 4 of the Act is not a court subordinate to the High Court and this Court, has, therefore, no jurisdiction to interfere in revision with any order of the tribunal.

( 6 ) IN Section 4 of the 1951 Act, authority to exercise jurisdiction under it is given to the "tribunal or Tribunals". In the new set up and with the development of social, economic and political ideas many a right have to be recognized which formerly were not subject matters of 'lis'. The policy of the State has been to create special tribunals for their enforcement. In Bharat Bank v. Their Employees, 1950 SCR 459 : (AIR 1950 SC 188), Mukherjee J. observed that "owing to the intricate and complicated system of Government that exists in a modern State and the vast extension of social legislation of all sort, the so called administrative and quasi-judicial tribunals have come to be a permanent feature of our social and political system. They function as adjudicating bodies in disputes concerning large number of economic and social affairs. . . . . The question is what are the tests or distinguishing features, which disassociate an administrative tribunal from a Court of law".

( 7 ) ORIGINALLY the term "court" meant, among other meanings, the Sovereign's palace. It has acquired the meaning of the place where justice is administered and, further has come to mean the persons who exercise judicial functions under authority derived either immediately or mediately from the Sovereign. All tribunals, however, are not courts. (Halsbury's Laws of England (Salmond Edition) at page 342 ).

( 8 ) SOME of the Authorities or Tribunals constituted under special Acts take evidence on oath, act in a judicial manner and pronounce upon valuable rights. They may or may not be civil courts. The line of demarcation between administrative tribunals and Courts of Civil judicature is difficult to be drawn. It was observed) by Lord Sankey K. C. in Shell Co. of Australia v. Federal Commissioners of Taxation, 1931 AC 275 :

"the authorities are clear to show that there are tribunals with many of the trappings of a Court which, nevertheless, are not Courts in the strict sense of exercising judicial power. . . . . In that connection it may be useful to enumerate some negative propositions on the subject: (1) A tribuna