UNION OF INDIA Vs. R P VYAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Revision Application has been filed by Union of India against an order which the Court of the Civil Judge Senior Division at Broach has made in Special Civil Suit No. 4 of 1959.

(2.) The facts of the case briefly stated are as under: One Karansinhji Fatehsinhji of Sagbara died leaving a very large estate. After his death a suit for the administration of his estate was filed in the Trial Court. It was Special Civil Suit No. 4 of 1959. In that suit the respondents were appointed as receivers to realize the assets belonging to the estate of deceased Karansinhji. On 24th April 1972 the Controller of Estate Duty made an application to the Trial Court praying for payment of estate duty out of the assets realized by the receivers. That application is at Ex. 86. The claim which the Controller of Estate Duty made on account of estate duty was to the tune of Rs. 4 16.3 p. On 22nd March 1973 the Trial Court Directed payment of Rs. 80 0 out of the estate of the deceased towards the aforesaid amount of estate duty. Thereafter consent decree was passed in the suit by which the estate of the deceased was divided between his heirs and legal representatives. The sum of Rs. 74412.10 p. was lying with the receivers. This amount was not sufficient to pay off the balance of estate duty. The question of paying the remuneration to the receivers arose. The parties to the suit and the receivers agreed that the receivers should be paid a sum of Rs. 614.00 on account of costs incurred by them and a further sum of Rs. 22 0 for their remuneration. The Court made an arder accordingly pursuant to the consent purshis filed by the parties at Ex. 362. The Court therefore directed that out of the amount lying with the receivers a sum of Rs. 22614.00 as aforesaid be paid to the receivers and the balance be paid to the Controller of Estate Duty towards the aforesaid amount of estate duty. The Union of India at the instance of the Controller of Estate Duty challenges the aforesaid order by which the amount of Rs. 22614.00 has been deducted from the sum of Rs. 74412.10 p. and the balance has been ordered to be paid to him.

(3.) In this Revision Application which has been directed against the aforesaid order Mr. Bhatt who appears for the petitioner states that the petitioner has no objection if the aforesaid sum of Rs. 614.00 which represents out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the receivers is paid to them. However he challenges the order in so far as it directs that a sum of Rs. 22000.00 be paid to the receivers for their remuneration. He does not challenge the quantum of remuneration so much on merits as on the ground that unless the claim on account of estate duty is satisfied no other debt can be Discharged or no other payment can be made. In support of his contention he has advanced the following arguments.