The KERALA CASHEW FACTORIES (REQUISITIONING) ACT, 1979

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THE KERALA CASHEW FACTORIES (REQUISITIONING) ACT, 1979
(ACT 6 of 1979) 
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Sections:
1.   Short title,  ex te nt  a n d  c o m m e n c e m e nt .
2.  Definitions.
3.  Power to requisition cashew factories.
4.  Release from requisition.
5.  Payment of amount.
6.  Tribunal.
7.  Appeals from decision of Tribunal.
8.  Mode of payment of rent.
9.  Service of notice or order.
10. Protection of action taken in good faith.
11.Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts.
12.Power to make rules.
13.Repeal and saving.
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THE KERALA CASHEW FACTORIES (REQUISITIONING)  ACT, 1979*
(Act 6 of 1979)
An Act to provide for the requisitioning of cashew factories leased out to the Kerala State
Cashew Development Corporation.
Preamble.─WHEREAS certain cashew factories had been leased out by the owners
thereof to the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Limited, which is a company
owned by the Government of Kerala;
AND WHEREAS such cashew factories were at the time of the lease either closed
down or run by person other than the owners thereof;
AND WHEREAS the term of the lease in respect of some of such cashew factories
has expired and the owners of some of such factories are not willing to extent the term of the
lease;
AND WHEREAS suits have been filed in the courts by the owners of some of such
cashew factories for delivery of possession thereof;
AND  WHEREAS  in  the  interests  of  the  workers  of  the  cashew  factories  it  is
considered  necessary  to  enable  the  said  Corporation  to  continue  in  possession  and
management of such of those cashew factories which if given back to the owners thereof
could not be run properly and in accordance with  law and would either be sold or leased out
to private individuals;
BE it enacted in the Thirtieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1.  Short title, extent and commencement .─(1) This Act may be called the Kerala
Cashew Factories (Requisitioning) Act, 1979.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 13th day of November, 1978.
2. Definitions.─In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,─
(a) "cashew  factory"  means  a  factory  as  defined  in  the  Factories  Act,  1948
(Central Act 63 of 1948), wherein processing of cashew nuts is being carried on and includes
the factory building, the site thereof and the buildings and lands appurtenant thereto used or
necessary for, or in connection with, the working of the factory;
(b)  "Corporation"  means  the  Kerala  State  Cashew  Development  Corporation
Limited, incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act 1 of 1956);
(c) the expression "person interested", in relation to any cashew factory, includes
all persons claiming or entitled to claim an interest in the amount payable on account of the
* Received the assent of the President on the 27 th March, 1979 and published in the Kerala Gazette Extrordinary No. 227
dated 29.03.1979.
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requisitioning of that factory under this Act;
(d) “prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(e) “processing", with reference to cashew nuts, includes extraction of cashew nut
oil, roasting, shelling, peeling, grading and treating of cashew nuts;
(f) “Tribunal" means the Tribunal appointed under section 6.
3. Power to requisition cashew factories .─(1) Where the Government are satisfied that
if the owner of a cashew factory which is in the possession of the Corporation under a lease,
whether current or time expired, is put in possession thereof, such owner could not run that
factory properly and in accordance with law and would either sell it or lease it out to any
private individual and there would be large scale unemployment of the workers of that
factory or their conditions of service would be adversely affected, the Government may,
notwithstanding any judgement, decree or order of any court,  1[by order published in the
Gazette,─
(a) requisition that cashew factory for such period not exceeding five years as
may be specified in the order;
(b) extend the period of requisition by five years at a time;
(c) make such further orders as appear to them to be necessary or expedient in
connection with the requisition:]
Provided that before making an order under this sub-section in respect of a cashew
factory, the Government shall give the owner of that factory and every person interested in
that factory a notice of their intention to take action under this sub-section and the grounds
therefor and consider the objections that may be preferred in pursuance of such notice.
(2)  Where a cashew factory is requisitioned under sub-section (1), such cashew
factory together with all machinery, other accessories and other movable properties as were
immediately  before  the  date  of  publication  of  the  order  under  sub-section  (1)  in  the
possession  of  the  Corporation  and  all  books  of  account,  registers  and  other  documents
relating thereto shall vest in the Government with effect from the said date.
(3) The Government may, by order in writing, direct that a cashew factory vested
in  them  under  sub-section  (2)  shall,  instead  of  continuing  to  vest  in  them,  vest  in  the
Corporation with effect from such date, not being a date earlier than the date of publication of
the order under sub-section (1), as may be specified in the order.
(4) Where an order vesting a cashew factory in the Corporation is made under
sub-section (3), all rights, liabilities and obligations of the Government in relation to such
factory shall, on and from the date of such vesting, be deemed to have become the rights,
liabilities and obligations respectively of the Corporation.
4.  Release from requisition .─(1) The Government may at any time release from
requisition any cashew factory requisitioned under section (3) and thereupon the Government
or the Corporation, as the case may be, shall as far as possible restore the factory in as good a
1 Substituted by Act 26 of 1985(w.e.f. 26.02.1982).
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condition as it was when possession thereof was taken by virtue of the lease executed by it
with the owner of the cashew factory, subject to the provisions contained in such lease and to
the changes caused by reasonable wear and tear and irresistible force.
(2) Where any cashew factory is to be released from requisition under sub-section
(1), the  Government  may,  after  such inquiry,  if  any,  as  they  may  in any  case  consider
necessary to make or cause to be made,  specify by order in writing the person to whom
possession of such cashew factory is to be given.
(3) The delivery of possession of a cashew factory to the person specified in an
order under sub-section (2) shall be a full discharge of the Government and, in the case of a
cashew factory vested in the Corporation, also of the Corporation from all liabilities in
respect of such cashew factory, but shall not prejudice any right in respect of that cashew
factory which any other person may be entitled by due process of law to enforce against the
person to whom possession of the cashew factory is given.
(4) Where any person to whom possession of a cashew factory is to be given is
not found and has no agent or other person empowered to accept delivery on his behalf, the
Government  shall  cause  a notice  declaring  that  the  cashew  factory  is  released  from
requisition to be affixed on some conspicuous part of the premises of the cashew factory and
shall also publish the notice in the Gazette.
(5) Where a notice referred to in sub-section (4) is published in the Gazette, the
cashew factory specified  in such notice shall cease to be subject to requisition on and
from the date of such publication and shall be, deemed to have been delivered to the person
entitled to possession thereof, and the Government or the Corporation shall not be liable for
any compensation or other claim in respect of such cashew factory for any period after the
said date.
(6) Where any cashew factory requisitioned under section 3 or any material part
thereof is wholly destroyed or rendered substantially and permanently unfit for carrying on
processing of raw cashew nuts by reason of fire, earthquake, tempest, flood or violence of
any mob or other irresistible force, the requisition shall, at the option of the Government, be
void:
Provided that the benefit of this sub-section shall not be available to the Government
where the injury to such cashew factory is caused by any wrongful act or default of the
Government or the Corporation.
5. Payment of amount.─(1) Where any cashew factory is requisitioned under this Act
there shall be paid rent for that cashew factory, the amount of which shall be determined in
the manner and in accordance with the principles hereinafter set out, that is to say,─
(a) where the amount of rent can be fixed by agreement, it shall be paid in
accordance with such agreement;
(b) where no such agreement can be reached the Government shall by order-
(i) determine the rent at a rate which shall be in excess of the amount of rent
which was being paid by the Corporation for that cashew factory immediately before the date
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of publication of the order under sub-section (1) of section 3, by twenty-five per  cent of such
amount, and
(ii) specify the person or persons to whom such rent shall be paid.
(2) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Government under sub-section (1)
may,  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  such  determination,  apply  to  the  Tribunal  for
modification of such order:
Provided that the Tribunal may entertain the application after the expiry of the said
period of thirty days if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from
presenting the application in time.
(3) In determining the amount of rent payable for a cashew factory requisitioned
under this Act, the Tribunal shall have regard to─
(a) the nature and plinth area of the buildings and other structures and the
value of the accessories and fixtures minus depreciation at the rate of five per cent per annum
subject to a maximum of fifty per cent depreciation;
(b) the capacity of the cashew factory for processing raw cashew nuts;
(c) rate of rent of other cashew factories in the locality at the commencement
of this Act; and
(d)  expenses  on  account  of  re-occupying  the  premises  upon  release  from
requisition.
6.  Tribunal.─(1) The Government shall, by notification in the Gazette, appoint a
Tribunal to exercise the powers conferred on the Tribunal under this Act.
(2) The Tribunal shall consist of a person who is a District Judge.
7. Appeals from decision of Tribunal .─Any person aggrieved by any decision of  the
Tribunal may, within thirty days from the date of such decision, prefer an appeal to the High
Court against such decision:
Provided that the High Court may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said
period of thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from
filing the appeal in time.
8. Mode of payment of rent.─The amount of rent payable under this Act shall, subject
to any rules made thereunder, be paid by the Government to the person  or persons entitled
thereto by means of cheque:
Provided that the amount of rent payable under this Act in respect of a cashew factory
vested in the Corporation in pursuance of an order made under sub-section (3) of section 3
shall be paid by the Corporation.
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9. Service of notice or order.─(1) Every notice or order issued or made under this Act
shall,─
(a) in the case of any notice or order affecting a corporation or firm be served in
the manner provided for the service of summons in rule 2 of Order XXIX or rule 3 of Order
XXX, as the case may be,  in the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(Central Act V of 1908); and
(b) in the case of any notice or order affecting an individual person (not being a
corporation or firm), be served on such person─
(i) by delivery or tendering it to that person; or
(ii) if it cannot be so delivered, or tendered by delivering or tendering it to any
officer of such person or any adult male member of the family of such person, or by affixing
a copy thereof on some conspicuous part of the premises in which that person is known to
have last resided or carried on business or personally worked for gain, or failing  service by
these means;
(iii) by registered post.
(2) Where the ownership of the cashew factory is in dispute, or where the persons
interested in the cashew factory are not readily traceable and the notice or order cannot be
served without undue delay, the notice or order may be served by publishing it in the Gazette
and where possible, by affixing a copy thereof on any conspicuous part of the premises of the
cashew factory to which it relates.
10. Protection of action taken in good faith .─(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal
proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended
to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.
(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or the
Corporation for any damage  caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good
faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made
thereunder.
11. Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts .─Save as otherwise expressly provided in this
Act, no civil court  shall have jurisdiction in respect of any matter which the Government or
the Corporation or the Tribunal are or is empowered by or under this Act to determine, and no
injunction shall be granted by any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to
be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
12. Power to make rules .─(1) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette,
make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is
made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen
days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions and if, before the
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expiry  of  the  session in  which  it  is  so  laid  or  the  session  immediately  following,  the
Legislative Assembly makes any modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not
be made the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as
the case may be, so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
13. Repeal and saving.─(1) The Kerala Cashew Factories (Requisitioning) Ordinance,
1978 (26 of 1978), is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said
Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act.
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