UNION OF INDIA Vs. VIJAYA MOHINI MILLS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Union of India (appellant) has filed this Writ Appeal against the judgment of a learned single Judge dismissing the Original Petition filed by the appellant. The Original Petition was filed to quash Ext. P2 judgment of the District Court, Thiruvananthapuram. As per Ext. P2 judgment, learned District Judge modified certain awards passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Payments under the provisions of the sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 - Act 57 of 1974 (for short 'the Act').

(2.) A short resume of the facts would be necessary to dispose of this Writ Appeal. Management of M/s. Vijayamohini Mills was taken over under the provisions of Sick Textile Undertakings (Taking over of Management) Act 1972-Act 72 of 1972 and from the appointed day (31-10-72) the management of the Mills vested in the Central Government. The above Act was superseded by Act 57 of 1974 which came into force on 1-4-74. The right, title and interest of the owner of the Mills stood transferred to and vested in the National Textile Corporation (for short 'the Corporation'). The Act permitted those persons who had claims against the Mills, to move the Commissioner of Payments appointed under S.17 of the Act for appropriate reliefs. Some claims were preferred pursuant thereto. Corporation also was one of the claimants. Assistant Commissioner of Payments disposed of all the claims. A portion of the claim made by the Corporation was allowed, but the claims made by others were rejected in toto. Appeals were preferred by all the claimants (including the Corporation) before the District Court under S.23(7) of the Act. Ext. P2 is the common judgment in the said appeals.

(3.) Learned single Judge dismissed the Original Petition on merits. But he did not specify whether the Original Petition was entertained under Art.226 or only under Art.227 of the Constitution. We may assume that learned single Judge would not have exercised jurisdiction under Art.226 since a writ of certiorari is not maintainable in respect of a judgment or order passed by a civil court. A Division Bench of this Court (M.S. Menon, C.J., and P. Govindan Nair, J. - as he then was) has held in Nallya Koya v. Administrator ( 1968 KLT 60 ) that a writ of certiorari cannot be issued to a civil court. This was followed by another Division Bench in Pareed v. Spl. Deputy Collector ( 1973 KLT 996 ).