BAKSHI RUGHNATH Vs. CUSTODIAN GENERAL AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Letters Patent appeal against the judgment of Justice Ali (as his Lordship then was) dated 29 -8 -1966 whereby he has dismissed the writ petition of the present appellant. When this appeal was argued before two of us, we thought it desirable that the appeal should be heard by Full Bench of the court because the points raised in this appeal may be of common recurrence and an authoritative pronouncement was necessary from this Court on points raised.

(2.) WE need not discuss the facts of this case because in the first place that is unnecessary and secondly because this appeal can be disposed of only on some points of law. But however to appreciate the points of law raised, some relevant facts may be mentioned.

(3.) AS we said earlier we need not go into the factual aspects of this case. May be the present Custodian General by means of his order 22 -4 -1965 may have done substantial justice to the parties, as remarked by the learned Single Judge but the important point for determination is what was the nature of the proceedings before the learned Custodian General, which were started with the application of the respondents 2 and 3 dated 18 -4 -1962 and what were the powers of the Custodian General in disposing of that petition. The petition has been described by the respondents 2 and 3 as a review petition. The Custodian General who had decided the revision on 15 -4 -1961 was no more the Custodian General on 18 -4 -1062. The present Custodian General states in the body of the judgment that: