LORD JAGANNATH THROUGH JAGANNATH SINARI NARASINGH DAS MAHAPATRA SRIDHAR PANDA ETC. versus STATE OF ORISSA & ORS.

Citation: [1988] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 732 · Decided: 02-11-1988 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K.N. SINGH · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

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LORD JAGANNATH THROUGH JAGANNATH SINARI 
NARASINGH DAS MAHAPATRA SRIDHAR PANDA ETC. 
v .. 
STATE OF ORISSA & ORS. 
NOVEMBER 2, 1988 
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[K.N. SINGH AND LALIT MOHAN SHARMA, JJ.] 
Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951: .sections 3A, 7A, 8D, 8E, 13 I 
and 13G-Estate of Lord Jagannath-Whether has vested in the State of 
Orissa. 
Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951 was enacted to abolish all the 
rights in the land of intermediaries between the raiyats and the State of 
Orissa by whatever name known and for vesting the saine in the State. 
Section. 3 anthorises the State Government to declare by a notification 
any estate specified therein to have passed to and become vested in the 
State, i.e., the intermediary concerned is divested of the notified 
interests and becomes entitled to compensation. By an amendment 
s. 3-A was included in the Act permitting the State Government to issue 
a single notification in respect of a class or classes of intermediaries in 
the whole or a part of the State. By a further amendment in 1963 
Chapter II-A was inserted in the Act making special provisions for 
public trusts. Clause (e) of s.13-A described "trust-estate". Provisions 
were made in Chapter II-A for entertaining claims and determining the 
nature of the estates claimed to be trust estates and announcing the 
decision by notification. The effect of such a determination was, as 
mentioned ins. 13-1(1), to save the estate from vesting under a notifica-
tion issued nuder s. 3 or 3-A. 
A notification under s. 3 of the Act was issued in respect of the 
estate of Lord Jagannath on 27-4-1963, and on the same date another 
notification under s. 13-G, Chapter II-A followed declaring the estate as 
"trust estate": The consequence was the diety was not divested of the 
estate. In 1970 Chapter II-A was repealed. By insertion of clause (oo) in 
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s. 2 in 1974 the said estate continued tci be "trust estate." On 18.3.1974 
a notification under s. 3-A was issued declaring the estate of the diety to 
have vested iit the State. 
A writ petition was filed In the High Court challenging the validity 
of the said fiotification; which was dismissed. 
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LORD JAGANNATH v. STATE OF ORISSA [SHARMA, J.l 
733 
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In the appeal to this Court, on behalf of the appellant it was . A 
contended that as a result of the decision under chapter II-A declaring 
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Lord·Jagannath's estate a "trust estate" the same must be deemed to 
have been excluded from the scope of the Act and this decision became 
final and continued to remain effective even after the repeal of Chapter 
II-A. The right which was acquired under s. 13-1 cannot disappear on 
the repeal of Chapter II-A as the estate in question went completely out 
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of the ambit of the Act. The intention of the Legislature to include Lord 
Jagannath's estate within the expression ~'trust estate" in cl. (oo) ins. 2 
by the Amending Act 1974 was clearly to spare the said estate perma-
nently from the mischief of the Act. 
Dismissing the appeal, this Court, 
HELD: 1. There is no infirmity in the notification dated 
111.3.1974 issued under s. 3-A of the Act. [737EJ 
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2. It is manifest from the language of s. 13-1 that it saves a "trust 
estate" so declared under s. 13-G from the operation of a notification 
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issued under s. 3 or 3-A, but does not extend the benefit any further. 
The provisions do not confer protection from the Act itself and cannot 
be interpreted to clothe it with a permanent immunity from being ves-
ted by a later notification issued under the Act. [737A-BJ 
3. Sections 7-A, 8-A, 8-D and 8-E of the Act include special provi-
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sions for a trust estate and unmistakably indicate that "trust estates" 
are within the purview of the Act. The benefit they receive from a 
declaration under s. 13-G is limited and referable only to a vesting 
notification issued earlier. [737Dl 
CIVIL APPELLATE JUJl!SDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3177 
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of1982. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 24.2.81 of the Orissa High 
Court in Original Jurisdiction Case No. 233 of 1977. 
N.K. Das and A.P. Mohanty for the Appellant. 
G.L. Sanghi, R.K. Mehta, Ms. Mona Mehta and J.R. Das for 
the Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
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SHARMA, J. The question which arises in this appeal by special 
leave from the decision of !he Orissa High Court in a writ case is 
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1988] Supp. 3 S.C.R. 
A whether the "estate" of Lord Jaganna

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