J R JANI Vs. AHMED EBRAHIM OF RANGOON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Though the respondent initially had appeared through shri I.N Shroff, Advocate, on his demise, notice was issued on Februray 29, 1992 to the address available on record and till date nobody appears for the respondent. Neither unserved envelope nor acknowledgment has been received. Under these circumstances, the notice must be deemed to have been served on the respondent.

(2.) These appeals by special leve arise from the order of the Dividsion Bench of the High Court of Gujarat dated February 19, 1973 made in L.P.A. No. 85/70 holding that L.P.A is not maintainable. Therefore, the appeallants have challenged the original order of the learned single Judge dated November 24-25, 1969 made in Special Civil Application No. 893 of 1965.

(3.) The substance of the contention raised and answered in the High Court was that the respondent was at the material point of time a Burmesse citizen and he was never an evacuee. He held the shares of the Khatiawad Industries Ltd. a company, in former Junagadh State, which was declared as an evacuee company in 1959. He claimed that in the memory of his father and grand-father Ibrahim Vali Mohammed and Company he purchased six lakhs shares in the said khatiawad Industries Ltd. under an agreement dated June 12, 1944. He and his brother had agreed to give those shares to him. He all along was a resident of Burma. consequently, he was not an evacuee. Without notice to him under Section 7 read with Rule 6 of the Administration of Evacuee property Act, 1950 and the Rules. the declaration of the said Khatiawad Industries Ltd. as an evacuee property is illegal. The learned single Judge has held that though the respondent has filed a revision under Section 27 of the Act since notice under Section 7 read with Rule 6 was not served on the respondent, the declaration that the Khatiawad Industries Ltd. is an evacuee property is illegal and, therefore, a non est.