Privy Council Court July 1941 Judgments

Sri Sri Baidyanathji Through Sadupadhya Sri Sri Bhabaparitananda Ojha ...

Court: Privy Council

Lord Russell of Killowen: The only question which their Lordships have to determine in this appeal is whether the properties of the Baidyanath temple were vested in trust in the high priest of the temple within the meaning of S. 10, Limitation Act (9 of 1908.) If the answer to this question is in the affirmative, the appellant's suit is not barred by any length of time and this appeal must succeed. The suit was brought in the name of the deity of the temple, through the present high priest, against respondent 1 (who is the widow and executrix of the late high priest), to recover from her the principal moneys amounting to Rs. 4200 due on certain war bonds (which formed part of the temple properties, but were retained by the widow as such executrix), together with a sum of interest thereon amounting to Rs. 2577-8-0. The suit was tried by the Subordinate Judge of Deoghar who, on 28th June 1935, ordered and decreed that the plaintiff was entitled to recover from the widow Rs.6777-8-0 with ...

Tikait Umed NaraIn Singh and Another Vs. Equitable Coal Co., Ltd. and ...

Court: Privy Council

Reported in: AIR1942PC1

Lord Russell of Killowen: This is an appeal from a judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Patna which affirmed the judgment of the trial Judge. The suit was brought against the Equitable Coal Co., Ltd., for the recovery of certain demised land, together with mesne profits, upon the footing that upon the true construction of a lease to that company, and in the events which had happened, appellant 1, Tekait Umed Narain Singh (hereinafter called the appellant), as successor-in-title to the grantor of the lease, was entitled to recover khas possession. The lease in question was dated 29th October 1872, and was granted to the company by one Sidhanath, the owner of the Gadi Karharbari estate, of which the demised lands formed part. While he was still a minor his guardians had entered into an arrangement with the company on 4th July 1864, under which the company had entered into possession of the lands in question. This transaction was evidenced by two registered documents of that date, ...

Port Royal Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd. Vs. Royal Bank of Canada

Court: Privy Council

Reported in: AIR1941PC134

Lord Russell of Killowen: In this case the Supreme Court of Canada has reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick Appeal Division and has restored the judgment of the trial Judge. The defendant to the action has appealed to His Majesty in Council. The relevant facts must first be stated, and they are so exceptional and peculiar to this case that, as will appear, and as appears to their Lordships, no important point of law really arises for decision on this appeal. Four personages figure in the story which leads up to the institution of this litigation : (1) a limited company incorporated under the laws of New Brunswick and called New Lepreau, Ltd., (2) an individual named Atkinson, (3) the appellant, a paper manufacturing company incorporated under the laws of the Dominion of Canada (hereinafter referred to as the company) and (4) the respondent, the Royal Bank of Canada (hereinafter referred to as the Bank). New Lepreau, Ltd., held licences to cut pulpwood within cert...

S.N. Banerji and Another Vs. Kuchwar Lime and Stone Co., Ltd. (In Liqu ...

Court: Privy Council

Lord Atkin: These are two consolidated appeals from orders made by the High Court at Patna refusing to the appellants restoration of possession of limestone quarries in the district of Shababad. There are two appeals because application was originally made by the first two appellants, managing director and manager, respectively of the appellant company. A separate application was afterwards made by the company, the appellants in the second appeal. No separate point arises in respect of them. The disputes between the parties have already twice been carried to this Board and the judgments given have made it unnecessary to go into detail in deciding this appeal. In 1928 the Secretary of State granted to the Kuchwar Lime and Stone Co., Ltd., the present respondents, quarrying leases for the term of 20 years of the quarries in question. There were covenants in each lease that the lessees would not assign the lease or transfer any right or interest thereunder or underlet the whole or any por...

Muhammad Nawaz Alias Nazu Vs. Emperor

Court: Privy Council

LORD CHANCELLOR: The Judicial Committee has before it this morning 13 petitions for special leave to appeal in criminal cases in forma pauperis. All the proposed appeals are from the High Court of Judicature at Lahore, which in each instance has confirmed the decision of a Sessions Judge sentencing the petitioner to death for murder. In each of these 13 cases the papers before their Lordships include (as R. 8 of the Judicial Committee Rules requires) a certificate signed by counsel in India that the petitioner has reasonable grounds of appeal to this Board. Their Lordships regret to find that, with the possible exception of the petition in the case of Rehmat v. King-Emperor, there is no basis whatever on which a certificate could, or should, have been given expressing the opinion that there were grounds on which the petition could properly be presented. This is a very serious matter, not only because those who so certify are misusing their professional position, but because the due cou...

Commissioner of Income-tax, Punjab, North-west Frontier and Delhi Prov ...

Court: Privy Council

Sir George Rankin: This appeal arises out of a reference made to the High Court of Lahore under S.66, Income-tax Act (11 of 1922), in respect of the year of assessment 1937-38. The assessee is Dewan Bahadur Dewan Krishna Kishore. His family is governed by the Mitakshara but by custom the rule of primogeniture controls the devolution of the impartible property in the Punjab to which this appeal relates. He is the present holder of the impartible estate having succeeded as the eldest son of the previous holder. He has a younger brother who established against him in arbitration proceedings a right to maintenance which has now been fixed at rupees 600 per month. He has also four sons who live with him, are maintained by him, and are with him joint and undivided members of a Hindu family. He has certain personal and inividual income chargeable to tax as well as income which is not taxable being derived from a jagir. No question now arises as to these classes of income. The problem laid bef...

Jaber Elias Kotia and Another Vs. Katr Bint Jiryes Nahas

Court: Privy Council

LORD JUSTICE CLAUSON: The two appellants in this matter are the only brothers of Ibrahim Elias Kotia, who died intestate and childless on 7th December 1937, a national of and domiciled and resident in the Lebanese State. The respondent is the widow of the deceased. The brothers claim that certain "mulk" land (i.e., land possessed in full ownership, see (1920) AC 743 (1) at p. 746), of the deceased situated in Palestine ought to be divided in the proportions of nine twenty-fourths to each brother and six twenty-fourths to the widow, i.e., in accordance with the Sharia Moslem law prevailing in the Lebanese State : the widow on the contrary claims that the land in question ought to be divided in the proportions of one-quarter to each brother and one-half to the widow, proportions adopted in case of intestacy by the Ottoman law, and according to the arguments of the widow, applicable to the present case by virtue of the law of Palestine. The District Court of Jaffa on 31st July 1938 ordere...