D.K. Mahajan, J. - (1.) IN first Appeals from orders Nos. 51 -D, 96 -D and 145 -D of 1956 Gurdev Singh J. referred the following questions of law for decision by a Division Benh: Whether a legal representative of a deceased debtor is entitled to make an application under Section 5(2) of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustment) Act (LXX of 1951)? That is how the matter has been placed before us and we are only called upon to decide' the limited question or law. These appeals will after the decision of this limited question go back to a learned Single Judge for decision of the remaining questions that arise in them.
(2.) THE facts, so far as they are relevant for our purposes, may now be stated. Bnagat Brij Raj applied under Section 10 of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustments) Act (LXX of 1951) hereinafter referred to as the Act - for realisation of the debts that, according to him, were due from S. Atma Singh Namdhari a displaced person from West Pakistan. Atma Singh died on the 7th January, 1954. The notice of the application was 'served on his legal representatives, namely, his minor sons Ram Ratan Singh and his two widows, Smt. Lllawati and Smt. Jug. The legal representatives put in an application for relief under Section 5 of the Act. The application of the legal representatives was rejected by the tribunal on the ground that they had no locus standi to make an application under Section 5 of the Act. Against this decision, the present appeals were preferred to this Court and, as already stated, the common question of locus standi of the legal representatives of the deceased debtor, to make an application under Section 5(2) of the Act has been referred for decision by a larger Bench. This was done obviously in view of the decision of the Lahore High Court in Sahib Ditta Mal v. Mohra Mal, AlR 1945 Lah. 58. In order to arrive at a correct decision of the question before us, it will be proper to set out the relevant provisions of the statute, so far as they are necessary.
(3.) SECTION 2(9) of the Act defines a displace debtor' and is in these terms; 2.(9) 'displaced debtor means a displaced, per -son from whom a debt is due or is being claimed. Section 35 makes the Code of Civil Procedure applicable to all proceedings under the Act unless the provisions of the Act or the Rules made thereunder are contrary to the Code of Civil Procedure. Section 48 pro -vides that there would be no abatement of proceedings on the death of the debtor. It also provides that if an application is made the legal representatives must be impleaded and they would be entitled to make any defence appropriate to their character as legal representatives of the deceased debtor. The liability of the legal representatives is limited to the assets of the deceased debtor which devolve upon them. It will therefore, be clear from the definition of the displaced debtor that in order to be such a debtor, the person must be displaced person and he must be a person from whom a debt is due or is being claimed. The relevant part of the definition of 'debt' for our purposes is given in Section 2(6) as under: 2(6) "debt' means any pecuniary liability, whether payable presently or in future, or under a decree of order of a civil or revenue Court of otherwise, of whether ascertained or to be ascertained, which - (a) in the case of a displaced person who has left of been displaced from his place of residence in any area flow forming part of West Pakistan, was incurred before be came to reside in any area now forming part of India, (b) xx xx (c) xx xx It will be patent from the perusal of both the definitions that so far as a legal representative is concerned, there Is no debt due from him, but the definition of a displace debtor does not end here. Where a debt is being claimed from a displaced person, he would still fall within the definition of the phrase 'displaced debtor' provided or course he is a displaced person. It is a fundamental rule of Hindu Law that the inheritance does not remain in abeyance and the property immediately vests in the next heirs on the death of the last holder; and the liability or the legal representatives for the debts of the deceased holder passes on to them to the extent of the property or the estate they inherit from the deceased debtor. These propositions were not disputed with any seriousness by the learned Counsel for the Respondents and indeed they could not be. Section 48 of the Act gives a legal recognition to the second proposition and for the first proposition one has merely to refer to paragraph 28, page 96 or Hindu Law by Mulla, 12th edition. Therefore, it Is, absolutely, clear that the creditor can lay claim for the debt due from the deceased against the legal representatives In. case the legal representatives succeed to the property of the debtor. In the present case, it is not disputed that widows and the son are the heirs of the deceased debtor and would succeed to his property, for if he died leaving no property then the application of the creditor under Section 10 against the legal representatives would be whiny meaningless. In this view of the matter. It is apparent that the legal representatives who are displaced persons and who have succeeded to the property of the deceased debtor are displaced debtors within the meaning of Section 2(9) of the Act and there can be no escape from this conclusion. Moreover, this conclusion is further fortified by the provisions of Section 48 of the Act. If the legal representatives had no locus standi in the matter, Section 48 of the Act would not have provided for their impleading after the death of the displaced debtor himself. This provision supports my conclusion that the legal representatives of the class mentioned above would be displaced debtors.;