KUNJI LAL Vs. DAULATRAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS reference to the Full Court raises a question of considerable importance. A number of appeals are pending which according to the procedure prevailing at one lime could have been disposed of by the Ijlas-i-khas Jodhpur but under an ordinance promulgated by His Highness the Raj Pramukh to which detailed reference will be made later, determine and dispose them of. Accordingly, on the 26th of January 1950, when the Constitution of India came into force, these appeals were avail-able for disposal in the High Court. It has, however, been urged on behalf of the appellant that according to Article 374 (4) of the Constitution, these appeal should be transferred to and disposed by the Supreme Court. Article 374 (4) runs as follows: - "on and from the commencement of this Constitution the juris-diction of the authority functioning as the Privy Council in a Stare specified in Part B of the First Schedule to entertain and dispose of appeals and petitions from or in respect of any judgment, decree or order of any court within that State shall cease, and all appeals and other proceedings pending before the said authority at such commencement shall be transferred to, and disposed of by the Supreme Court. "

(2.) THE question which calls for a determination is whether in respect of the above mentioned appeals the High Court of Rajasthan could be deemed to be functioning as the Privy Council, for, in that case, there would be no alternative but to hold that they cannot be heard and disposed of here and that the records relating to them should be transferred to the Supreme Court.

(3.) AT the time the said United State of Rajasthan came into being, no such highest court of appeal was ac-tually functioning in any of these States and after the coming into being of the State, no appointments of members to constitute these advisory bodies were made. Thus they were in abeyance.