L MAN MOHAN DAS Vs. UINITED PROVINCES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for leave to appeal to His Majesty in Council against an order of this Court dated 5 May 1941, rejecting an application dated 21st January 1941. The application just mentioned was filed by L. Manmohan Das and purported to be under Section 151, and Order 47, Civil P.C., and under Section 202, Companies Act, and the prayers contained in the application were as follows: 1. That this Court be pleased to direct the U.P. Government to carry out the undertaking given by it in regard to the continuance of electric license and the purchase of the undertaking of the Lower Ganges and Jumna Electricity Distributing Company Ltd. (in liquidation) or alternatively to give the directors and the trustees for the debenture-holders an opportunity to oppose the application for winding up by setting aside the order for winding up passed by this Court on 19 March 1937 and 7 April 1937.

(2.) That this Court be further pleased to restrain the Official Liquidators of the Lower Ganges Jumna Electricity Distributing Company Ltd., Allahabad (in liquidation) from delivering the possession and to restrain the U.P. Government from giving effect to the revocation of the license and taking possession of the properties and the undertaking of the Lower Ganges Jumna Electricity Distributing Company Ltd. (in liquidation) pending the disposal of this application. 2. At the time of the hearing of the application the counsel for L. Manmohan Das withdrew the first prayer mentioned above reserving the right to move another application for the same relief if and when advised. The result was that this Court had only to deal with the second prayer mentioned above, and it refused to grant that prayer by its order dated 5 May 1941. It is against this order, as already stated, that the petitioners propose to file an appeal to His Majesty in Council. In the application for leave to appeal the relevant facts are stated and it is alleged in para. 68 of the application that the case fulfils the requirements of Section 109 (b), Civil P.C. and the subject-matter in dispute is much above Rs. 10,000 amounting to several lacs although it is not capable of actual valuation.

(3.) A preliminary objection to the maintainability of the application was raised by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and he argued that as the order sought to be appealed against was not passed by this Court "in the exercise of original civil jurisdiction," the application was incompetent. In support of his objection he invited our attention to various clauses of the Letters Patent and pointed out that this Court is not vested with "original civil jurisdiction" within the meaning of Clause (b) of Section 109 and therefore the order in question could not be deemed to have been passed by this Court "in the exercise of original civil jurisdiction". The learned Counsel for the applicants then prayed that the application be treated as one under Clause 30, Letters Patent, and we agreed to do so. The relevant portion of Clause 30, Letters Patent, is as follows: And we do further ordain that any person or persons may appeal to Us, Our heirs and successors in Our or Their Privy Council...from any final judgment decree or order...made in the exercise of original jurisdiction by Judges of the said High Court or of any Division Court from which an appeal shall not lie to the said High Court under the provision contained in Clause 10 of these presents provided in either case that the sum or matter at issue is of the amount or value of not less than ten thousand rupees....