The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium ( Taking Over Of Management ) Act, 1976

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL 
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 
West Bengal Act XVIII of 1976 
THE LOWIS JUBILEE SANITARIUM (TAKING 
OVER OF MANAGEMENT) ACT, 1976. 
[Passed by the West Bengal Legislature.] 
[Assent of the President was first published in the Calcutta 
Gazette, Extraordinary, of the 1st April, 1976.] 
[1st April, 1976.] 
An Act to provide for the taking over of the management of the Lowis 
Jubilee Sanitarium for a limited period in the public interest and in 
order to secure the proper management thereof. 
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the taking over of the 
management of the Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium for a limited period in the 
public interest and in order to secure the proper management thereof; 
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-seventh Year of the Republic of 
India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows:— 
CHAPTER I 
Preliminary 
1. This Act may be called the Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking Short ti tle.  
over of Management) Act, 1976. 
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 	 Definitions. 
(a) "Administrator" means the Administrator appointed under 
clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 3 and includes persons 
authorised to discharge the functions of the Administrator 
under this Act; 
(b) "appointed day" means the 16th day of February, 1976; 
(c) "financial year" means the year commencing on the 1st day 
of April; 
(d) "Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium" means the Sanitarium established 
under the name and style of the Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium 
103 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Chapter 11.—Taking over of the management of the 
Sanitarium.—Section 3.) 
on the 1st day of September, 1887, at Darjeeling, and shall 
be deemed to include— 
(i) its assets, properties (movable and immovable including 
valuable securities, lands, buildings, works, materials, plants, 
power house, stores, instruments, machineries, vehicles of 
any kind, cash balances, deposits to its credit in any bank, 
cash in hand, reserve funds, investments and book debts 
and all other rights and interests arising out of such assets 
and properties as were immediately before the appointed 
day in the ownership of the Sanitarium, 
(ii) its books of accounts, registers, records and all other 
documents of whatever nature relating to it including 
documents of title, and 
(iii) all rights, lease-holds, power, authorities and privileges, 
borrowings, obligations and liabilities of whatever nature 
owned or incurred by, or subsisting in respect of, the 
Sanitarium; 
(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this 
Act; 
(f) "the Sanitarium" means the Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium. 
CHAPTER II 
Taking over 
of the 
management 
of the 
Sanitarium. 
Taking over of the management of the Sanitarium 
3. (1) On and from the appointed day and for a period of ten years 
thereafter, the management of the Sanitarium shall vest in the State 
Government and all persons in charge of the management of the Sanitarium 
immediately before such day shall be deemed to have vacated their 
offices. 
(2) Any contract, whether express or implied, or other arrangement, 
in so far as it relates to the management of the business and affairs of 
the Sanitarium and in force immediately before the appointed day, shall 
be deemed to have terminated on and from that day. 
(3) (a) On an from the appointed day the State Government shall 
carry on the management of the Sanitarium and shall appoint an 
Administrator for the purpose: 
Provided that it shall be competent for the State Government to 
appoint the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited as 
the Administrator. 
104 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
XVIII of 1976.] 
(Chapter 1L—Taking over of the management of the 
Sanitarium.—Section 3.) 
(b) On the vesting of the management of the Sanitarium in the State 
Government under sub-section (1), every person, in whose possession, 
custody or control, the Sanitarium or any part thereof may be, shall 
forthwith deliver possession thereof to the Administrator, or to such 
other person whom the Administrator may authorise in this behalf 
(hereinafter referred to as the authorised person). 
(c) If any person refuses or fails to comply with the provisions of 
clause (b), the Administrator shall apply to the Executive Magistrate 
within whose jurisdiction the Sanitarium or a part thereof is situated, and 
such Executive Magistrate shall enforce the delivery to the Administrator 
or to the authorised person, of possession of the Sanitarium or part 
thereof, as the case may be. 
(4) Every person having, on the appointed day, possession, custody 
or control of any property forming part of the Sanitarium shall deliver 
forthwith such property to the Administrator or to the authorised person. 
(5) Any person who, on the appointed day has in his possession 
or under his control any books, papers or other documents relating to 
the Sanitarium or any current cheque books issued in favour of, or 
relating to, the Sanitarium, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in 
any law for the time being in force, be liable to account for the books, 
papers and other documents (including such cheque books), to the 
Administrator and shall deliver them up to the Administrator or to the 
authorised person. 
(6) Every person in charge of the management of the Sanitarium 
immediately before the appointed day shall, within fifteen days from that 
day or within such further time as the Administrator may allow in this 
behalf, furnish to the Administrator a complete inventory of,— 
(a) all the properties and assets (including valuable securities, 
movable and immovable properties, particulars of book 
debts, bank accounts and cash in hand, investments and 
belongings) forming part of the Sanitarium immediately 
before the appointed day, 
(b) all the borrowings, liabilities and obligations of the 
Sanitarium immediately before that day, and 
(c) all agreements entered into by or on behalf of the Sanitarium 
and in force immediately before that day. 
105 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Chapter 11L—Management of the Sanitarium after the 
take-over.—Sections 4-6.) 
CHAPTER III 
Management of the Sanitarium after the take-over 
Management 
of the 
Sanitarium 
after the 
take-over. 
Bar to 
compen-
sation. 
Use of the 
Sanitarium 
4. (1) For and on behalf of the State Government and subject to 
its control, the management of the affairs and business of the Sanitarium 
shall be carried on by the Administrator. 
(2) The Administrator shall exercise such powers, perform such 
duties and discharge such functions as may be prescribed and as the State 
Government may, from time to time direct, and the Administrator may 
apply to the State Government at any time for instructions as to the 
manner in which it shall conduct the management of the Sanitarium or 
in relation to any matter arising in course of such management. 
(3) Subject to the other provisions of this Act and the control of 
the State Government, the Administrator shall, immediately after the 
appointed day, take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of 
efficiently managing the business and affairs of the Sanitarium. 
(4) While managing the affairs and business of the Sanitarium, the 
Administrator shall have regard to the best business principles, consistent 
with the original purpose for which the Sanitarium was established. 
(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules made 
thereunder, the Administrator may entrust such duties and functions to 
such persons as the Administrator may deem fit in the interest of the 
efficient administration of the Sanitarium. 
5. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time 
being in force, no person, in respect of whom any contract of management 
or other arrangement is terminated by reason of the provisions contained 
in sub -section (2) of section 3, or who is deemed to have vacated his 
office by reason of the provisions contained in sub-section (1) of section 
3, shall be entitled to claim any compensation for the premature termination 
of the contract of management or other arrangement or for the loss of 
office. 
6. (1) The Sanitarium shall be used for the original purpose for 
which it was established. 
106 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
XVIII of 1976.] 
(Chapter 111.—Management of the Sanitarium after the 
take-over.—Sections 7, 8.) 
(2) Subject to the control of the State Government, the Administrator 
may, for effectively carrying out the purposes of this Act,— 
(a) add to the Sanitarium, such new works, plants, machineries, 
electric supply lines, furniture, equipments, stores, lands, 
buildings and fixtures, and 
(b) make such alterations to the buildings, plants, machineries 
and other erections of the Sanitarium, 
as the Administrator may consider necessary. 
7. (1) The Administrator may, subject to the approval of the State 
Government, appoint such officers and employees as he may consider 
necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 
(2) The terms and conditions of service of the Administrator and 
of the officers and employees appointed under sub-section (1), shall be 
such as may be determined by the State Government by order made in 
this behalf. 
(3) The persons who were in the employ of the Sanitarium 
immediately before the appointed day and are, in the opinion of the 
Administrator, suitable and competent for service in the Sanitarium shall, 
subject to the approval of the State Government, be re-employed therein 
under terms and conditions not being less advantageous than what they 
were entitled to during their aforesaid employment: 
Provided that the State Government may, in the interest of economy 
of the Sanitarium vary the the terms and conditions of such employees 
as it may deem fit: 
Provided further that no such variation shall be made to the prejudice 
of any employee unless such employee has been given an opportunity 
of being heard. 
Officers and 
employees 
of the 
Sanitarium. 
8. (1) In the interest of efficient management and further expansion Borrowings. 
and improvement of the Sanitarium,— 
(a) the Administrator may, with the approval of the State 
Government, borrow money from any bank, financial 
institution or in the open market, subject to such terms and 
conditions as the State Government may determine, and the 
State Government may guarantee repayment of such loan 
and payment of interest thereon, and 
(b) the State Government may, on the application of the 
Administrator, make loan or advance money to the 
Sanitarium on such terms and conditions as the State 
107 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
[West Ben. Act 
 
(Chapter 111—Management of the Sanitarium after the 
take-over.—Section 9.—Chapter 1V.—Accounts, 
budget and audit—Section 10.) 
Government may determine, and such loan or money shall 
be repaid by the Sanitarium within such period, and with 
such interest, if any, as the State Government may determine. 
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the 
time being in force, every debt arising out of any loan made or money 
advanced to the Sanitarium under clause (b) of sub-section (1) or any 
loan made to the Sanitarium by a bank or any other financial institution 
under clause (a) of sub-section (1),— 
(a) shall have priority over all other debts, whether secured or 
unsecured, incurred before the management of such 
Sanitarium was taken over under sub-section (1) of section 3, 
(b) shall be a preferential debt within the meaning of section 
530 of the Companies Act, 1956, and 
such debts shall rank equally among themselves and be paid in full out 
of the assets of the Sanitarium unless such assets are insufficient to meet 
them, in which case they shall, in absence of any guarantee by the State 
Government, abate in equal proportions. 
1 of 1956. 
Manage-
ment of the 
Sanitarium 
to revert. 
9. On the expiry of the period referred to in sub-section (1) of 
section 3 or on any date earlier to the date of expiration of such period, 
as the State Government may direct, the management of the Sanitarium 
shall revert to the persons who are in charge of the management thereof 
immediately before the appointed day. 
 
Accounts, 
budget and 
audit. 
CHAPTER IV 
Accounts, budget and audit 
10. (1) The accounts of the Sanitarium shall be kept and maintained 
in such forms and in such manner as may be prescribed. 
(2) (a) The Administrator shall, before the 15th day of December 
each year, cause to be prepared and submitted before the State Government 
a budget estimate showing, in such form and in such manner as may 
be prescribed, the anticipated income and expenditure of the Sanitarium 
for the next financial year, and the State Government shall, before the 
31st day of March each year, consider the budget estimate and approve 
it with such additions, alterations or modifications as it may deem fit. 
108 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
XVIII of 1976.] 
(Chapter V.—Miscellaneous.—Section 11.) 
(b) The Administrator may, at any time during the year for which 
any budget estimate has been prepared and approved, cause a 
supplementary estimate to be prepared and submitted to the State 
Government for approval in the same manner as if it were an original 
budget estimate, and the State Government shall consider such estimate 
and approve it as expeditiously as possible with such additions, alterations 
or modifications as it may deem fit. 
(3) (a) Within three months of the close of each financial year, the 
State Government shall appoint an auditor for audit of the accounts of 
the Sanitarium in respect of the preceding year. The auditor shall have 
the same rights, privileges and authority in connection with such audit, 
as the Comptroller and Auditor-General has in connection with the audit 
of the Government accounts, and in particular, shall have the right to 
demand the production of books, accounts, connected vouchers and other 
necessary documents and papers, and the Administrator shall comply 
with the same. 
(b) As soon as the report of the auditor is received, the Administrator 
shall send a copy thereof along with a copy of the audited accounts to 
the State Government, and the State Government may give such direction 
to the Administrator in connection therewith, as it may deem fit. 
CHAPTER V 
Miscellaneous 
11. (1) Whoever, in contravention of the provisions of sub-section Penalties. 
(3) of section 3, refuses or wilfully obstructs the delivery of possession 
of the Sanitarium or a part thereof to the Administrator or the authorised 
person shall, on conviction before a magistrate, be punishable, without 
prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable under any other 
law for the time being in force, with imprisonment for a term which may 
extend to two years or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees 
or with both. 
(2) Any person, who— 
(a) having in his possession, custody or control any property 
forming part of the Sanitarium, wrongfully withholds such 
property from the Administrator or the authorised person in 
contravention of the provisions of sub-section (4) of 
section 3, or 
(b) wrongfully obtains possession of any such property, or 
(c) wilfully retains any such property or removes or destroys 
it, or 
109 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Chapter V.—Miscellaneous.—Sections 12-14.) 
(d) wilfully withholds or fails to deliver any books, papers or 
other documents relating to the Sanitarium, which may be 
in his possession or under his control, to the Administrator 
or to the authorised person in contravention of sub-section 
(5) of section 3, or 
(e) without any reasonable cause,— 
(i) fails to furnish a complete inventory, or 
(ii) furnishes any inventory suffering from material 
omissions or incorrect particulars, 
in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (6) of 
section 3, 
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 
one year, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with 
both. 
 
(3) All offences under this section shall be cognizable offences 
within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 
(4) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under 
this section except with the previous sanction of the State Government 
or of an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf. 
2 of 1974. 
Idemnity. 
Power of 
Administra- 
tor to 
institute or 
defend suit. 
Laying of 
annual 
administra-
tion report. 
12. (1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie 
against the Administrator or any other officer or employee of the State 
Government or the Sanitarium for anything which is in good faith done 
or intended to be done under this Act. 
(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the State 
Government or the Administrator or any of the other officers or employees 
of the State Government or the Sanitarium for any damage caused or 
likely to be caused by anything which in good faith done or intended 
to be done under this Act. 
13. The Administrator shall have the power to institute, defend, or 
take part in, any suit or proceeding by or against the Sanitarium. 
14. The State Government shall, as soon as may be after the expiry 
of each financial year, lay before the State Legislative Assembly an 
annual administration report from the Administrator in respect of the 
Sanitarium with audited statement of accounts and the auditor's report 
thereon. 
 
110 
The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over 
of Management) Act, 1976. 
XVIII of 1976.] 
West Ben. 
Ord. VIII of 
1976. 
(Chapter V.—Miscellaneous.—Sections 15, 16.) 
15. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the 
foregoing power, such rules may provide for all, or any of the following 
matters, namely:— 
(a) the powers, functions and duties of the Administrator 
referred to in sub-section (2) of section 4; 
(b) the forms and the manner in which the accounts of the 
Sanitarium shall be kept and maintained, referred to in 
sub-section (1) of section 10; 
(c) the form and the manner in which a budget estimate shall 
be prepared and submitted to the State Government, referred 
to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 10; 
(d) any other matter which may be, or is required to be, 
prescribed. 
16. (1) The Lowis Jubilee Sanitarium (Taking over of Management) 
Ordinance, 1976, is hereby repealed. 
(2) Anything done or any action taken under the Lowis Jubilee 
Sanitarium (Taking over of Management) Ordinance, 1976, shall be 
deemed to have been validly done or taken under this Act as if this Act 
had commenced on the 16th day of February, 1976. 
Power to 
make rules. 
Repeal and 
savings. 
111 

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