THE CUSTODIAN OF EVACUEE PROPERTY, BANGALORE versus KHAN SAHEB ABDUL SHUKOOR, ETC.

Citation: [1961] 3 S.C.R. 855 · Decided: 20-02-1961 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P.B. GAJENDRAGADKAR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

3 S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
855 
THE CUSTODIAN OF EVACUEE PROPERTY, 
BANGALORE 
v. 
KHAN SAHEB ABDUL SHUKOOR, ETC. 
(P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, A. K. SARKAR, 
K. SuBBA Rao, K. N. WANCHOO and 
K. C. Das GUPTA, JJ.) 
Evacuee property-Order passed by Custodian-State law pro-
viding for appeal to the High Court-Later State Act and Central 
Act repealing it and providing for appeal and power of revision to 
Custodian-General-Proceedings taken under the earlier State Act-
Custodian-General setting aside the Custodian's Order under revision 
-Validity-Appeal to High Court-Maintainability-The Mysore 
Administration of Evacuee Property (Emergency) Act, .{949 (XLV II 
of r949), ss. 5, 6, 8, 30-Evacuee Property (Second) (Emergency) 
Act, z949 (LXXIV of r949), ss. 22, 23, 25-Administration of 
Evacuee Property Act, r950 (XXXI of z950), s. 27-Constitution 
of India, Art. 226. 
On· July 7, 1949· the then State of Mysore passed the Mysore 
Administration of Evacuee Property (Emergency) Act, I949· 
providing, inter alia, for the appointment of a Custodian of 
Evacuee Property for the State of Mysore for the purpose of 
administering evacuee property in the State. By s. 6 all evacuee 
property vested in the Custodian under s. 5 had to be notified by 
him in the Mysore Gazette, while s. 8 provided that any person 
claiming any right to any property notified under s. 6 might 
prefer a claim to the Custodian on the ground that the property 
was not evacuee property. Section 30 provided for an appeal to 
the High Court where the original order under s. 8 had been 
passed by the Custodian, an Additional Custodian or an Authoris-
ed Deputy Custodian. This Act was replaced by the Mysore 
Administration of Evacuee Property (Second) (Emergency) Act, 
1949· which came into force on November 29, 1949· Section 53(2) 
of that Act provided that anything done or any action taken in the 
exercise of any power conferred by the earlier Act shall be deemed 
to have been done or taken in the exercise of the powers confer-
red by the later Act. Under the second Act, instead of the High 
Court an appeal from the order of the Custodian lay to the 
Custodian-General, appointed by the Government of India under 
the provisions of the Administration of Evacuee Property 
Ordinance, 1949, which had come into force on October 18, 1949 ; 
and in addition, s. 25 of that Act. provided for revision by the 
Custodian-General of orders passed by the Custodian. The 
Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950, which was passed 
by Parliament and which came into force on April 17, 1950, pro-
vided substantially for all matters contained in the second 
I96I 
February 10 
856 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1961] 
I96I 
Mysore Act. Section 27 gave the Custodian-General powers of 
revision against the orders of the Custodian, ands. 58 as amended 
Custodian of 
and given retrospective operation, provided that " if, immediate-
Evactm Propeity, ly before the commencement of this Act, tl,iere was. in force in 
Bangalore 
any State to which this Act extended any law which corresponded 
v. 
to this Act and which was not repealed ..... ; ... that corresponding 
Khan Saheb Abdul law shall stand repealed." 
Shukoor 
On September 21, 1949, the Custodian issued. a notifi-
cation 
declaring 
the properties of the 
respondents 
as 
evacuee properties, and claims filed by them under s. 8 of the 
earlier Mysore Act were investigated by the Deputy Custodian 
who dismissed the same on April 17, 1950. Appeals were filed 
against the said order before the Custodian and were allowed on 
August 22, 1950, on the ground that there was not sufficient 
evidence to prove the respondents as evacuees and consequently 
the properties in question could not be treated as evacuee pro-
perties. On October 3, 1950, the Custodian-General gave notice to 
the respondents under s. 27 of the Administration of Evacuee 
Property Act, 1950, in respect of the order of the. Custodian dated 
August 22, 1950, and asked them to. show cause why the said 
order be not revised. On February II, 1952, the Custodian-
General set aside the order and directed the Custodian to dispose 
of the cases afresh. On December 2, 1952, the Custodian passed 
an order by which he held that the respondents were evacuees 
and that their properties were evacuee properties. Against this 
order the respondents filed two appeals to the High Court, and 
also two writ petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution as they 
had doubts whether any appeal la
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