B. C. VARMA, J. ( 1 ) THE question raised in this appeal at the instance of the defendants is whether on the coming into force of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 (Act No. 26 of 1973) certain property, viz. , fire extinguishing plants, pump and other machineries, left over the premises of Nowrozabad and Kotma Coal Mines in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, stood transferred to and vested absolutely in the Central Government free from all incumbrances from the appointed date.

( 2 ) FACTS are not much in dispute. The two Coal Mines, i. e. Nowrozabad and Kotma Mines, were owned by the respondent/plaintiff, i. e. , the Associated Cement Companies Ltd. , Bombay. This plaintiff company had many other establishments all over the country, including places at Kymore and Banmor in Madhya Pradesh, Lakheri in Rajasthan and Mancherial in Andhra Pradesh. It appears that in order to control the underground fire in Nowrozabad Coal Mines, its Manager summoned certain fire extinguishing equipments from Kymore Cement Works as loan. The details of the equipments so requisitioned are contained in schedule annexed to the plaint. Similarly, one pump was obtained from Lakheri Cement Works for the same Coal Mines. An Exciter was obtained from Banmor Cement Works for Kotma Coal Mines. All this was prior to the enforcement of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act and was only on loan from one concern of the plaintiff to its two coal mines. Somewhere in March, 1973, i. e. , after the enforcement of the Coal Mines (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1973 (Act No. 15 of 1973), but before the promulgation of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, the plaintiffs Manager at Mancherial Cement Works requested for return of the pump which was spared for Kotma Coal Mines. The custodian refused to return the said pump. There had been some correspondence between the plaintiff on one hand and the coal mines authority on the other regarding return of the said articles. Finally, the appellant refused to return the articles compelling the plaintiff to file a suit either for the return of the property (Schedule-A to the plaint) or for payment of its value which was assessed at Rs. 1,81,650/ -. The suit was resisted on two counts. First it was asserted that the property belonged to the mines and, therefore, vested in the Central Government free from all incumbrances on the coming into force of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act and the plaintiff, therefore, ceased to have any right, title or interest in the said property. As a corollary, it was said that the plaintiff's remedy, if any, was to apply for compensation and the civil suit was barred under Sec. 26 (5) of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act. The trial Court's finding is that the properties in question did not belong to either of the two coal mines although they were properties of the plaintiff employed in different concerns. Consequently, these properties did not vest in the Central Government and continued to belong to the plaintiff. The suit was held maintainable and the plaintiff was held entitled to either the return of the property or its equivalent value, i. e. , Rs. 1,81,650/ -. The defendants have also been made liable to pay interest at nine per cent per annum from 10-3-1975 until realisation.

( 3 ) THERE is no dispute that these two mines, i. e. , Nowrozabad and Kotma Coal Mines, were owned by the plaintiff i. e. , the Associated Cement Companies Ltd. , which also owned the Kymore Cement Works, Lakhera Cement Works and Banmor Cement Works. It is also not disputed that the articles in question at the time of coming into force, the Taking Over of Management as also the Nationalisation Act were found on the premises of the two coal mines and were in actual use for the purposes of those mines. From the oral evidence led by the plaintiff and particularly from that of Shri K. C. Jain (P. W. 1)and Shri Gurudayal Prasad (P. W. 4) it is also amply proved that these articles were first installed at di

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