TMI Blog1954 (5) TMI 23X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ril, 1943, by the Collector of Bombay in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by, rule 75-A(1) of the Defence of India Rules read with the Notification of the Government, Defence Co-ordination Department, No. 1336/OR/1/42 dated the 15th April, 1942. The order of requisition was in the following terms:- Order No. M.S.C. 467/H-Whereas it is necessary for securing the public safety and the efficient prosecution of the war to requisition the property specified in the schedule hereto appended......... 1, M.A. Faruqui, the Collector of Bombay, do hereby requisition the said property and direct that possession of the said property be delivered forthwith to the Food Controller, Bombay, subject to the following conditions: (1)The property shall be continued in requisition during the period of the present war and six 'months thereafter, or for such shorter period as may be specified by the Food Controller, Bombay............... The said premises were used for the purpose of housing the Government Grain Shop No. 176. By a letter dated the 30th July, 1946/17th August, 1946, the Controller of Government Grain Shops, Bombay, wrote to the first respondent that as the valid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... acant and peaceful possession of the premises as also compensation for wrongful use and occupation thereof till delivery of possession was given over to her. The appellants were impleaded as defendants Nos. 1 and 2 in the said suit and the second respondent was impleaded as the third defendant. The suit was contested by- the appellants. The second respondent did not file any written statement nor did he contest the suit. The first respondent contended that, the requisitioning order had expired, that the property was no longer under -requisition and therefore the possession by the Government was wrongful. She next contended that the order was made for a specific purpose and as that purpose no longer obtained the order was no longer operative. She further contended that after August, 1947, the user of the property was not by the appropriate Government, viz., the Dominion of India, but was by the State Government. She also contended that the requisitioning order had ceased to be operative by reason of Act IX of 1951. The trial Judge, Mr. Justice Coyajee, upheld all these contentions of the first respondent and decreed the suit. The appellants preferred an appeal against that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rty which, when the Defence of India Act, 1939 (XXXV of 1939), expires is subject to any requisition effected under the rules made under this Act. Seen. 3. Continuance of requisitions-Notwithstanding the expiration of the Defence of India Act, 1939 (XXXV. of 1939), and the rules made thereunder, all requisitioned lands shall continue to be subject to requisition until the expiry of this Ordinance and the appropriate Government may use or deal with any requisitioned land in such manner a may appear to it to be expedient, It is clear from the preamble as also clause 3 of the Ordinance that the occasion for the enactment of the Ordinance was the impending expiration of the Defence of India Act, 1939, and the rules made thereunder. All the requisition orders which had been made under the Act and the rules would have ceased to be operative and come to an end with the expiration of the Act and the rules and the immovable properties which had been requisitioned thereunder would have been released from such requisition. It was in view of that emergency that the Ordinance came to be promulgated and the obvious object of the enactment was to provide for the continuance of the powers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich having regard to the definition above mentioned covered immovable properties which when the Defence of India Act, 1939, expired were subject to any requisition effected under the Act and the rules and such requisitioned lands were to continue to be subject to- requisition until the expiry of the Ordinance. On a plain and grammatical construction of these provisions it was obvious that once you had an immovable property which when the Defence of India Act expired, that is on the 30th September, 1946, was subject to any requisition effected under the Act and the rules, that immovable property continued to be subject to requisition until the expiry of the Ordinance, no matter whether the requisition order to which the immovable property was subject was of a limited duration or an indefinite duration. The only test was whether the immovable property in question was on the 30th September, 1946, subject to any requisition effected under the Act and the rules. This construction was sought to be negatived by having resort to the non obstante clause which, it was submitted, restricted the operation of clause 3 of the Ordinance only to those cases where the requisition order would have c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ioned lands, that is, all immoveable properties which when the Defence of India Act, 1939, expired were subject to any requisition effected under the Act and the rules were to continue to be subject to requisition until the expiry of the Ordinance. No doubt measures which affect the liberty of the subject and his rights to property have got to be strictly construed. But in spite of such strict construc- tion to be put upon the provisions of this Ordinance one cannot get away from the fact that the express provisions of clause 3 of the Ordinance, covered all cases of immoveable properties which on the 30th September, 1946, were subject to any requisition effected under the Act and the rules, whether the requisition was effected for a limited duration or for an indefinite period. Even those requisition orders, which by accidentor design were to expire on the 30th Septem ber, 1946, would come to an end not only because the fixed term expired but also because the Act and the Rules expired on that date and were therefore covered by_ clause 3 read along with the definition in clause 2(3) of the Ordinance and were by the clear terms thereof continued until the expiry of the Ordinance. We ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
