OFFICIAL LIQUIDATOR PEOPLES INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. MANGAL SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for execution filedby the Official Liquidator, Peoples Insurance Company limited(in liquidation) and the decree-holder claims a sum of Rs. 31.400.00against the estate of late S. Sardul Singh Caveeshar, now represented by his son Major K. S. Caveeshar, on the basis of theorder dated 30/08/1965, passed by the Punjab High Court in Letters Patent Appeal No. 114 of 1962, whereby S. SardulSingh Caveeshar was settled on the list of contributories ofPeoples Insurance Company Limited (in liquidation) (hereinafterreferred to as 'the company' and a sum of Rs. 31,400.00 determined as payable by the contributory. The company made anapplication for attachment before judgment under Order 38,rule 5, Civil Procedure Code (Petition L.M. No. 66 of 1957) onor about 14/05/1967, and an order was made attaching thecompensation payable to S. Sardul Singh Caveeshar under theDisplaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954.On 16/08/1967, Jagjit Singh, J., while issuing notice on theexecution petition to Major K. S. Caveeshar, ordered that "theChief Settlement Commissioner, New Delhi, be requested to remitthe amount to the Court which has fallen due under the attachedclaim". Various objections were taken on behalf of Major K. S.Caveeshar to the execution application and on pleadings of theparties as many as ten issues were framed. It is necessary onlyto refer to issue No. 1 as the learned counsel for Major K. S.Caveeshar confined his arguments only to that and did not touchany other issue. The said first issue reads-

(2.) The position as to the claim has been disclosed by Shri RadhaKrishan (DHW 1), a Settlement Officer since 25/08/1962.He said that the total claim verified in favour of late S. SardulSingh Caveeshar was Rs. 5,63,596.00; that after adjusting thepayment already made, a sum of Rs. 82.844.00 was payable to S.Sardul Singh Caveeshar; that because of the death of S. SardulSingh Caveeshar the amount was payable to his estate "but inview of the directions of this Court we have taken no steps formaking payment to anyone. We will have to bring the legalrepresentatives of the deceased on record under section 9 of theDisplaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitaiion) Act,1954, before making the payment. There is now no other impediment in making the payment except (1) bringing the legal representatives under section 9 on record; and (2) verifying whether ornot late Sh. Sardul Singh Caveeshar made any other commitmentwith respect to his claim by way of association before the receiptof the order of attachment from this Court"; and that the Department had no objection to the attachment "but we have to verifythe net amount due to Shri Sardul Singh Caveeshar's estate aftermeeting the commitments, if any, made by him before the receiptof the attachment order".

(3.) The only point raised by Mr. Vohra, the learned counselfor Major K. S. Caveeshar, was that the compensation payableto a displaced person, not being a property, could not be attached. Section 8 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, deals with the form and manner of paymentof compensation. This section provides that "a displaced person shall be paid out of the compensation pool the amount ofnet compensation determined under sub-section (3) of section 7as being payable to him and subject to any rules that may bemade under this Act, the Settlement Commissioner or any other officer or authority authorised by the Chief Settlement Commissioner in this behalf may make such payment in any one ofthe following forms or partly in one and partly in any other form,namely. ........." The section then sets out the various formsin which the payment may be made, such as, in cash or in Government bonds or by sale to the displaced person of any property from the compensation pool and setting off the purchase moneyagainst the compensation payable to him. Section 14 providesfor the constitution of a compensation pool and also about whatthe compensation pool shall consist of. Section 15 exempts theproperty in compensation pool from processes of Courts and provides-