PANNALAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA (UOI) AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition of Pannalal arises out of the following circumstances:

(2.) PETITIONER Pannalal had advanced a loan to one Ashraf Ali who, after the partition of the country, migrated to Pakistan leaving behind him three houses properties in the town of Ajmer Petitioner had obtained a decree on 22nd August, 1948, of Rs. 4,000/ - with 3 percent interest against Ashraf Ali from the court of the Sub -Judge, First Class, Ajmer, in Civil Suit No. 436 of 1948. On 12th of September, 1949, the petitioner registered this third party claim with the Assistant Custodian of the erstwhile State of Ajmer for the payment of the decretal amount and the same was registered vide the letters of the Assistant Custodian (Annexure 2) and (Annexure 3) dated 24th of July. 1951 and 21st of September, 1951, respectively. Thereafter it so appears that the Assistant Custodian did not take any proceedings to pay off the claim of the petitioner as registered with him under Rule 22 of the Administration of Evacuee Property (Central) Rules, 1950. It is alleged that the properties of the evacuee which vested in the Custodian were ultimately sold for Rs. 46, 100/ -, but the authorities did not care to discharge the decretal debt which was due to the petitioner from the evacuee. Petitioner made various representations to the authorities concerned to expedite the payment of the decretal debt, but to his dismay those representations did not bear any fruit. A reply was received from Shri T.N. Mathur Accounts Officer of the Regional Settlement Commissioner Rajasthan, Jaipur vide his letter No. RSCR/AO(C)/Actis /Third party claim/68/10398 wherein it was mentioned that the claim of the petitioner was receiving attention of the department. This letter had been placed on the record as Annexure 6. Thereafter, petitioner's counsel wrote a letter to the Regional Settlement Commissioner, Jaipur, requesting him to expedite the matter and to that letter a reply was received once again from the same officer vide letter dated 8th November, 1908 (Annexure 8) expressing that the matter was receiving his attention. But the grievance of the petitioner is that no action was taken by the Assistant Regional Settlement Commissioner who was functioning as a Custodian also. When upto 1970 the petitioner did not receive any satisfactory reply from the office of the Assistant Settlement Commissioner, Rajasthan Region, Jaipur, who had promised to look into the matter, a letter was again addressed to Shri N.B. Gorwaney who was then Assistant Settlement Commissioner, Rajasthan Region, reminding him of the promise made by him. In reply to that letter Shri Gorwaney wrote back to the petitioner that the aforesaid three properties belonging to the evacuee have already been disposed of and the sale proceeds thereof have constituted part of the compensation pool which vests in the Central Government and that the Custodian had no jurisdiction to make payment out of the compensation pool to satisfy the petitioner's claim.

(3.) THE petitioner has impleaded the Union of India the Regional Settlement Commissioner, Jaipur and the Custodian of Evacuee Property, Jaipur as the respondents, but none of the respondents cared to appear before this Court and file the reply to the petition.