(1.) A question relating to jurisdiction arising under the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, has been referred to this Full Bench. The scheme of that Act has often been considered by this Court and it is dear that under Section 28 special jurisdiction to try suits arising under the Act was conferred upon ordinary Courts of the land which have been set up under the Civil Courts Act. The Courts upon which special jurisdiction was conferred are enumerated in Section 28. Under Section 28 (1) (a) in Greater Bombay the Court is the Court of Small Causes and under Clause (aa) in any area for which a Court of Small Causes is established under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887, such Court. Therefore, in the State of Bombay we have Courts of Small Causes in Poona and Ahmedabad and this provision would apply to those- Courts. Then under Section 28 (1) (b) elsewhere the Court of the Civil Judge, Junior Division, having jurisdiction in the area in which the premises are situate or if there is no such Civil Judge, the Court of the Civil Judge Senior Division, having ordinary jurisdiction shall have jurisdiction to try suits arising under the Act. In most Taluka towns we have Courts presided over by the Civil Judge, Junior Division. In those places those will be the Courts over which special jurisdiction has been conferred, and where we have Courts which are not presided over by a Civil Judge, Junior Division, then the Court designated is the' Court presided over by Civil Judge, Senior Division, having ordinary jurisdiction. Then comes Section 28 (2) (a) which has caused some difficulty which has necessitated this Full-Bench:
(2.) WHEN the Legislature confers special jurisdiction upon an ordinary Court of the land, that jurisdiction has to be exercised by the ordinary Court according to the procedure of that Court unless in the legislation conferring special jurisdiction there is some provision to the contrary. All the ordinary administrative and other powers of the Court are to be exercised as laid down in the- law setting up that Court. All that the special legislation does is to confer special jurisdiction upon the Court. In other words, the Court, over and above 'he ordinary jurisdiction that it exercises, also exercises a certain special jurisdiction, but unless we find some indication in the law creating the special jurisdiction that that special jurisdiction has to be exercised in a special manner or that the Court has to function in a particular manner, the Court must function in the ordinary way and according to the ordinary law of the land. In Section 28 there is no indication whatever that the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, to which suits have to be transferred under Section 28 (2) (a), has to function in any different manner than it would function as the ordinary Court, or that the procedure which has got to be followed has to be any different procedure. Therefore, we must now turn to the Civil Courts Act to find out what are the powers and the functions and the procedure of the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division.
(3.) THE underlying scheme of the Bombay Civil Court Act, 1869, is that it sets up District Courts, and it also sets up in each district so many Civil Courts subordinate to the District Court as the State Government shall from time to time direct. Therefore ordinarily in each place, whether it is a Taluka place or a district town, there is one Court other than the District Court and to that Court one or more Judges may be appointed: Section 23, para 5, provides: