INDROO Vs. SPECIAL TRIBUNAL, J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO persons, Ghulam Nabi and Noor Hussain preferred an application under section 8 of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006. This was for restoration of land which stood allotted to the present petitioners. Plea of limitation was raised before the said authority. This was on the ground that proceedings initiated under section 8 of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006 at the asking of Ghulam Nabi and Noor Hussain should have been preferred their claims within 30 days of the issuance of section 6. notification or service of order of seeking possession. It was pleaded that the period of limitation fixed under section 8 of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006 should govern the proceedings. This plea did not find favour with the Deputy Custodian. He was of the view that the matter was required to be looked into on merits. A petition was preferred before the Chairman J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu. Special Tribunal took a view that the question was required to be gone into on merits and delay would not stand in the way of exercising jurisdiction. It is this order which is subject matter of challenge in this petition.

(2.) LEARNED counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that a plain reading of section 8 of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006 makes it apparent that any person claiming any right to or interest in. any property, which has been notified under section 6 as evacuee property or in respect of which a demand requiring surrender of possession has been made by the Custodian, can prefer a claim to the Custodian on the grounds specified in sub clause (a) and (b) of this section 8. Sub -section (2) of section 8 provides that any claim under sub section"(1) shall be preferred by way of an application made within thirty days from the date on which the notification under section 8 was issued or the date when demand requiring surrender of possession was made by the Custodian. What is sought to be urged is that Ghulam Nabi and Noor Hussain had not filed an application within this period of 30 days and, therefore, orders passed by the two authorities referred to above cannot be sustained.

(3.) AFTER having heard learned counsel for the parties. I am of the opinion that the period of 30 days fixed under section 8(2) of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006 would apply only in the case there is notification issued under section 6 of the Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act 2006 or from the date the evacuee has been called upon to surrender the possession. None of these two eventualities have been occurred in this case. Neither above or any notification as contemplated by section 6 stood issued or placed on the record nor there is anything on the record to indicate that the Custodian department had ever called upon the two evacuees to surrender the possession. Even otherwise the section visualises two terminals for the purpose of counting limitation. Surrender of possession is one such terminal, issuance of notification is another, As indicated above, there is no proof that these two events ever took place. Therefore, limitation as fixed in section 8(2) would not apply.