ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No 900 of 1963
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated April 21 1961 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in CMP No 239 of 1950
WITH Writ Petition No 146 of 1961
Petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of the fundamental rights
AND Civil Miscellaneous Petition No 186 of 1962
Appeal against the order of the Registrar dated November 21 1961 refusing to receive the petitioner s application for refund of Court fees
The appellant appeared in person
KR Chaudhuri and BRGK Achar for the respondent in CA No 90063 and WP No 1461961
746 The Judgment of Subba Rao Wanchoo Hidayatullah and Sikri JJ was delivered by Hidayatullah J Shah J delivered a separate Opinion
Hidayatullah J On January 11 1960 the Advocate General applied to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad for action against the appellant Prabhakar Rao H Mawle under section 2 of the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act 1949 Madras Act VIII of 1949 on the allegation that Mawle had been habitually and without any reasonable ground instituting vexatious proceedings in the courts within the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also in the High Court and appearing in the cases in person that he was responsible for a considerable amount of litigation or in other words that he was a vexatious and habitual litigant
In support of the petition for the invocation of the punitive provisions of the Act the Advocate General referred to the following cases 1 In CRP No 176558 Mawle described the judgment of the lower court as     shocking to the sense of justice a grave dereliction of duty flagrant abuse of fundamental principles of law and the natural justice full with errors patent on the face showing a gross manifest injustice done through the tyrannical arbitrary acts
 It was stated that Mawle apologised to the High Court to escape proceedings for contempt of court
ii He filed a writ petition No 136918 after the above Civil Revision Petition was dismissed and then preferred an appeal CCCA 4259  iii He filed a stay petition against an intended execution before steps were taken and when the petition was dismissed he filed an appeal CMA 8659 and obtained stay
iv He filed an appeal against the dismissal of the writ petition 136958
He was thus said to have asked for five remedies in one suit OS 200 of 1958
v In an appeal filed on 3 6 1959 he did not pay court fee of Rs 995 as stamps were not available undertaking to pay the balance which he did not pay
vi In SR 38516 and SCCMP Mawle stated that as he had appeared in person without any weightage to his submissions though of law for in the ends of justice as against the professional privileges claimed by both these veteran advocates Mr OV Subbanayadu and 747 Mr Hari Narayanalal even though they had taken the role of a party sole witnesses swearing false affidavits   
vii In SR 1240959 against decree in OS 1091958 though himself the sole defendant Mawle caused to be preferred an appeal in forma pauperis by his wife and children getting the judgments under appeal privately printed and certifying them as true
viii CRP No 109459 against the judgment in suit No 1982 dismissed against his tenant he filed a revision petition which was dismissed in limini
ix CRP No 9881959 filed against IA 23058 in OS 992 of 1957 of the City Civil Court Hyderabad was dismissed in limini
x He has filed SR 3184559 as LPA against an order refusing to review CRP against a Small Cause Suit and SR No 2760559 as a LPA against an order in a petition refusing to condone the delay in filing a review petition in a CRP xi CRP 9541959 filed against an order in LR petition in a Small Cause Suit originally attempted to be filed as an appeal CMP 55 18 filed and stay ordered on condition that Mawle should deposit the decretal amount
He then withdrew the CMP xii Several criminal matters in High Court
Complaint in Cr
40658 and Crl
RC 50659
xiii CMP 185857 for taking action against the respondent for alleged contempt of court
xiv SR No 4319859 a LP Appeal
The Advocate General claimed that though the Act was not extended to the area covered by the former Hyderabad State it must be treated as the law in force there by reason of the 
Mawle was heard on notice and as was to be expected from a litigant of his sort flied a fairly long statement in reply denying each accusation and explaining his conduct
He questioned the jurisdiction of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to take action under the Act as its provisions were not extended to the area comprised in the former State of Hyderabad
He challenged the Act as ultra vires and unconstitutional on the ground that it abridged the right of citizens to seek redress in a court of law
He stated that he was a businessman and a landlord and owned considerable properties in the city of Hyderabad and other cities in the District and the State
He produced a certificate from the District Magistrate
He explained that owing to unpleasant experience he had LPD5SCI 9 748 to take away his work from advocates and since 1952 he had started conducting his own cases
He alleged that he had to recover a couple of lakhs of rupees from his clientstenants etc
and had therefore to file a large number of cases
He attempted an explanation of the cases to which the Advocate General had referred in his petition
The High Court by its judgment dated April 21 1961 now under appeal held that the Act was both constitutional and intra vires that the High Court had jurisdiction to make the order and that action under the Act was called for
The High Court ordered that no proceeding civil or criminal should be instituted by Mawle in the City of Hyderabad without the leave of the High Court in the city of Secunderabad without the leave of the Chief City Civil Judge and elsewhere without the leave of the District and Sessions Judge concerned
A copy of the order of the High Court was published in the Gazette of Andhra Pradesh as required by the Act
Mawle sought a certificate under Articles 132 133 or 134 of the Constitution but the certificate was refused on the ground that no substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution or otherwise was involved
The petitioner then applied for and obtained special leave from this Court and filed the present appeal
The Act with which we are concerned though a copy substantially of 16 and 17 Vict
30 now replaced by section 51 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Consolidation Act 192515  16 Geo V c 49 is perhaps the only one of its kind in India
Its provisions are extremely brief and they may be read here 1
Short title extent and commencement
1 This Act may be called the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act 1949
2 It extends to the whole of the State of Madras
3 It shall come into force at once
Leave of court necessary for vexatious litigant to institute proceedings
1 If on an application made by the Advocate General the High Court is satisfied that any person has habitually and without any reasonable ground instituted vexatious proceedings civil or criminal in any Court or Courts the High Court may after giving that person an opportunity of being heard
order that no proceedings civil or criminal shall be instituted by him in any Court i in the Presidency town without the leave of the High Court and ii elsewhere without the leave of the District and Sessions Judge
749 2 If it appears to the High Court that the person against whom an application is made under subsection 1 is unable on account of poverty to engage a pleader the High Court may engage a pleader to appear for him
Explanation For the purpose of this section pleader  has the same meaning as in section 2 clause 15 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908
Leave to be granted only if prima facie ground exits The leave referred to in section 2 sub secton 1 shall not be given in respect of any proceedings unless the High Court or as the case may be the District and Sessions Judge is satisfied that there is prima facie ground for such proceedings
Proceedings instituted without leave to be dismissed
Any proceedings instituted by a person against whom an order under section 2 sub section IL has been made without obtaining the leave referred to in that sub section shall be dismissed Provided that this section shall not apply to any proceedings instituted for the purpose of obtaining such leave
5 Publication of orders
A copy of every order made under section 2 sub section 1 shall be published in the Fort St George Gazette
 The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has held that it enjoys all the jurisdiction of the former High Court of Madras and thus the provisions of the Act create a jurisdiction in the High Court capable of being exercised in Telangana area even though the Act as such has not been extended to this part of the territory of the State
The High Court also holds that the Act is perfectly valid
In this appeal in addition to questioning the order on the above ground and also merits the appellant contends that the Madras Act itself was invalid inasmuch as it was not covered by any Entry in List II or III of the Government of India Act 1935 and had not received the assent of the Governor General
This argument is without substance
The Act had received the assent of the Governor General and the subject of the legislation was covered by Entries 2 of List II and 2 and 4 of List III of the Government of India Act 1935
The next argument of the appellant be fore us is that this Act is unconstitutional because it prevents some citizens from approaching the court and obtaining relief to which everyone is entitled in a State governed by Rule of Law
This argument really invokes article 19 and article 14
The latter Article is invoked because the Act according to the appellant seeks to create an unreasonable distinction between litigant and litigant
This argument is also not acceptable to us because the litigants who are to 750 be prevented from approaching the court without the sanction of the High Court etc are in a class by themselves
They are described in the Act as persons who habitually  and without reasonable cause  file vexatious actions civil or criminal
The Act is not intended to deprive such a person of his right to go to a court
It only creates a check so that the court may examine the bona fides of any claim before the opposite party is harassed
A similar Act passed in England has been applied in several cases to prevent an abuse of the process of court
In its object the Act promotes public good because it cannot be claimed that it is an inviolable right of any citizen to bring vexatious actions without control either legislative or administrative
The Act subserves public interest and the restraint which it creates is designed to promote public good
The Act does not prevent a person declared to be habitual litigant from bringing genuine and bona fide actions
It only seeks to cut short attempts to be vexatious
In our judgment the Act cannot be described as unconstitutional or offending either article 19 or article 14
The next contention of the appellant is that the Act has not been extended to the area of the former State of Hyderabad and the High Court cannot exercise jurisdiction in that area
This contention merits close scrutiny
The High Court has given a history of the evolution of the State and of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh
It is common knowledge that the High Court of Madras was rounded by Letters Patent of 1865 and exercised all original appellate and other jurisdictions conferred by that Letters Patent
The Act which was passed by the Madras Provincial Legislature in 1949 conferred jurisdiction upon the Madras High Court to deal with cases of habitual litigants who were persistently filing vexatious actions and were guilty of an abuse of the process of court
This jurisdiction belonged to the High Court of Madras by virtue of the Act and was not an inherent jurisdiction whether as a Court of Record or otherwise
When the State of Andhra was formed in 1953 by the Andhra State Act of 1953 the High Court of Madras ceased to exercise jurisdiction over the territory of the State of Andhra
This jurisdiction was then to be exercised by the High Court of Andhra from a date to be appointed by the President
The jurisdiction of the Andhra High Court was to be the  same as that of the Madras High Court
Section 30 of the Andhra State Act read as follows 30
Jurisdiction of Andhra High Court
The High Court of Andhra shall have in respect of the territories for the time being included in the State of Andhra all such original appellate and other jurisdiction as under the law in force immediately before the prescribed day is exercisable in respect of the said territories or any part thereof by the High Court at Madras 751 By virtue of this section the new High Court possessed the same powers and jurisdiction as the original Madras High Court in its territory
But by section 53 of the Andhra Act no change was effected in the territorial extent of the laws and references in all laws to the State of Madras were to be adapted to refer to the new State in its application to the new State of Andhra
In other words the Act continued to be an Act in force in the Andhra State and the Andhra High Court possessed the same jurisdiction as the former Madras High Court
So far no difficulty can be seen but it is obvious that the original jurisdiction of the High Court of Madras in the Presidency Town could not be exercised at Guntur and did not follow the High Court
The next change came in 1956 by the 
By that Act certain territories were amalgamated with the State of Andhra and prominent among those territories was the former Hyderabad State which for convenience may be referred to here as the Telangana Area 
The city of Hyderabad and the city of Secunderabad are in that area
The contained a special provision to limit the territorial extent of the laws in force in the different areas which were combined to form the State of Andhra Pradesh
Section 119 of the provided as follows  119
Territorial extent of laws
The provisions of shall not be deemed to have effected any change in the territories to which any law in force immediately before the appointed day extends or applies
and territorial reference in any such law to an existing State shall until otherwise provided by a competent Legislature or other competent authority be construed as meaning the territories within that State immediately before the appointed day
 The appellant relies upon this provision to state that the area of operation of the Act can only be the former territories of the State of Andhra and the Act is not applicable in the territory comprised in the Telangana Area
The other side contends that by virtue of section 65 the High Court of Andhra Pradesh acquires all the jurisdiction of the High Court of the State of Andhra and therefore it acquires the jurisdiction invested by the Act in the former Andhra High Court
Section 65 of the reads as follows 65
High Court of Andhra Pradesh
1 As from the appointed day a the jurisdiction of the High Court of the existing State of Andhra
shall extend to the whole of the territories transferred to that State from the existing State of Hyderabad 752 b the said High Court shall be known as the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and The question that arises is whether the application of the Act in the Telangana area is made impossible by section 119 of the Act of 1956 or depends upon section 65 of that Act
If the Act under which action is purported to be taken can be said to have operated territorially then it is obvious that the extent of territory in which it was to apply was not only not enlarged by the but under section 119 was kept rigid by limiting it to the territory of the former Andhra State
If however that Act created a jurisdiction in the High Court to deal with a particular class of litigants who were habitually bringing vexatious suits it may be then possible to contend that jurisdiction continues to vest in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh
The High Court has viewed this matter from the latter angle and come to the conclusion that section 65 and not section 119 controls the matter
The argument of the High Court is that the Act controls litigation and creates a new procedure in respect of persons who indulge habitually in vexatious litigation
The Act confers a jurisdiction to put such persons under a procedural restraint and this jurisdiction the High Court holds
inhered in the former Madras High Court and later in the Madras and the Andhra High Courts separately and now it inheres in the Andhra Pradesh High Court
In the opinion of the High Court the jurisdiction can be exercised within all the territories subject to the Andhra Pradesh High Court including the Telangana Area Mr KR Choudhury in supplementing this reasoning points out that the High Court of Madras could take action against any person who acted in a manner to attract the provisions of the Act irrespective of where the person came from
He contends that a vexatious litigant from Bengal or Bombay could be visited with the punitive provisions of the Act and submits that there is no reason why the Andhra Pradesh High Court cannot control the practice and procedure in the courts of the Telangana area in the same way
According to him the Act must be treated as extended to the Telangana area as the Andhra Pradesh High Court continues to possess all the jurisdiction of the former Madras High Court
This was also the original plea of the Advocate General in his petition in the High Court though not apparently accepted by the High Court
We do not accept the argument of Mr Choudhury
The Madras Act was applied by the legislature only to the Madras Presidency
Suppose it had been applied to one district only
Could the High Court have said that notwithstanding the limited application it would take action in the other districts of the Madras Presidency If it could not have extended the territorial limits of the 753 application of the Act in Madras Presidency the position is not any different now in view of the provisions of section 119 of the which clearly lay down that no law of one of the amalgamating States is to be extended to the area of the other amalgamating States except by a competent legislative or other competent authority and further that the law shall be construed as restricted to the territories within each State immediately before the Reorganisation
The territorial area is thus not only not enlarged but is frozen
We may now consider whether section 65 of the makes any difference to this position
The Act was designed to control vexatious litigation and it created for the purpose a new procedure which applied to persons whose visits to courts as litigants were not only frequent but were also habitually vexatious
The Act enabled the Advocate General to apply to the High Court and the High Court on being satisfied that a person had been acting in this manner could make an order that no proceeding there forward was to be filed by that person in the Presidency town without the leave of the High Court and elsewhere without the leave of the District  Sessions Judge
The Act was intended to apply in the whole of the Presidency of Madras including the area carved away from the Presidency of Madras and made into the State of Andhra in 1953 and which is now a part of the State of Andhra Pradesh after 1956
The Act was intended to operate territorially as indeed the clause dealing with the extent of application of the Act itself shows
In its operative part also the order was to be made with a territorial distinction between the Presidency Town and the rest of the Presidency of Madras
The order to be passed under the Act contemplated leave of the High Court before a suit was filed in the Presidency Town and the leave of the District  Sessions Judge elsewhere
It is plain that on its terms the Act cannot apply in the State of Andhra Pradesh atleast in so far as the Presidency Town mentioned in section 21i is concerned
That Presidency Town was the city of Madras and therefore section 21i of the Act cannot apply in Andhra Pradesh because there is no Presidency Town in Andhra Pradesh to which section 21i can now refer
The distinction between the city of Hyderabad and other parts of the State of Andhra Pradesh has been artificially brought into existence by the High Court by making the order in respect of the city of Hyderabad as if it was a Presidency Town
This is legislation pure and simple and it cannot be undertaken by the High Court
Section 21i of the Act can no longer apply without a proper amendment
It may however be contended that section 21ii can apply and the whole of the new State of Andhra Pradesh may be taken to be governed by sub cl
It would however be somewhat strange to make the District  Sessions Judge decide whether a particular litigant should be allowed to move the High Court in appeal revision or in an original proceeding
The Act is unworkable in the State of Andhra Pradesh without substantial modifications to it
754 This is not a question merely of procedural jurisdiction as the High Court has reasoned
No doubt the Act as it stood vested a jurisdiction in the High Court to deal with a particular type of litigant but the Act made the High Court to deal with the matter territorially
It is because the territory has changed that the question arises whether the old jurisdiction of the High Court can now  take in new territory
All laws are intended to operate territorially and no Provincial Legislature in India possessed extra territorial jurisdiction
That the Madras Legislature enacted was to operate in its own territory and it said so in the Act
If new territories are to be governed by the Act it must be extended to the new territories and till it is extended the Act can only operate within the old territories and this is the obvious result of section 119 of the 
Thus there are two difficulties in the way of holding that this Act is operative in the TeIangana area of the new State of Andhra Pradesh
To begin with it has not been extended to the area known as the TeIangana area and till extended section 119 of the expressly prohibits an extension to the Telangana area by judicial construction
Secondly there being no Presidency Town as such in the new State of Andhra Pradesh section 21i cannot now be made applicable to the new State of Andhra Pradesh until some other town is substituted by the Legislature in its place
The mention of the Presidency Town in section 21i was not with a view to indicate the seat of the High Court but was so made because the High Court possessed original jurisdiction in that area
The words Presidency Town  might of course have been amended to read Hyderabad the seat of the Andhra Pradesh High Court but this has not been done
No doubt the court under section 121 of the possesses a power to construe laws by adapting them in such a manner as to facilitate their application to the newly formed State but the power which is exercisable is only a power of simple adaptation and not a power of legislation
An increase in the territories in which an Act is to apply is dependent on legislation such as is contemplated by section 119 of the 
What the High Court has done is more than an adaptation
It has not only substituted the city of Hyderabad for the Presidency town but it has also made the law applicable to Telangana courts contrary to the intendment of section 119 of the 
Formerly the seat of the High Court was different and the Act must on the same reasoning have applied there so that the words Presidency Town  must have read as Guntur at first and now they read Hyderabad
In our opinion the High Court was in error in holding that the Act merely created a procedural jurisdiction in the High Court of Madras which on its division into two High Courts inhered in both the High Courts and continues to inhere in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh even for purposes of areas to which the Act has not been extended
In this 755 view of the matter the order made by the High Court cannot be sustained and it must be discharged
We have not gone into the merits and there is much that justified action against Mawle
He has filed dozens of cases and has flooded courts with litigation often by way of repeated petitions on the same matter
As we find that the Act is not available against him we say nothing more
We may place on record that Mawle expressed his willingness before us to be restrained in his litigation and we hope that he will now make amends for his past conduct
We expect him to behave properly in future
The appeal is allowed but in the circumstances of the case we make no order about costs
Shah J
The Provincial Legislature of Madras exercising power under the Government of India Act 1935 enacted the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act 8 of 1949 The material provisions of the Act are 2
1 If on an application made by the Advocate General the High Court is satisfied that any person has habitually and without any reasonable ground instituted vexatious proceedings civil or criminal in any Court or Courts the High Court may after giving that person an opportunity of being heard order that no proceedings civil or criminal shall be instituted by him in any Court i in the Presidency town without the leave of the High Court and ii elsewhere without the leave of the District and Sessions Judge
2    3
The leave referred to in section 2 sub section 1 shall not be given in respect of any proceedings unless the High Court or as the case may be the District and Sessions Judge is satisfied that there is prima facie ground for such proceedings
Any proceedings instituted by a person against whom an order under section 2 sub section 1 has been made without obtaining the leave referred to in that subsection shall be dismissed Provided that this section shall not apply to any proceedings instituted for the purpose of obtaining such leave
A copy of every order made under section 2 subsection 1 shall be published in the Fort St George Gazette
 756 By this Act the High Court of Madras was invested with power to place restrictions upon vexatious litigants
The principle of this legislation it appears was borrowed from statute 16  17 Vict
30 enacted by the British Parliament
By article 225 of the Constitution the jurisdiction of the High Court of Madras subject to the provisions of the Constitution and to the provisions of any law of the appropriate Legislature remained the same as immediately before the commencement of the Constitution
On September 14
1953 the State of Andhra was carved out of the territories of the State of Madras by the Andhra State Act 30 of 1953
Section 28 of that Act provided 1 As from the 1st day of January 1956 or such earlier date as may be appointed under sub section 2 there shall be a separate High Court for the State of Andhra The High Court of Andhra which was constituted by a notification issued by the President had by section 30 in respect of the territories included in the State of Andhra all such original appellate and other jurisdiction as under the law in force immediately before the prescribed day was exercisable in respect of the territories or any part thereof by the High Court at Madras
The Andhra High Court was therefore a successor of the High Court of Madras and exercised all the powers and administered the same law which the Madras High Court exercised in the territories comprised in the Andhra State
By section 21 of Act 8 of 1949 the High Court of Madras was competent to issue an order against any person that no proceedings civil or criminal shall be instituted by him in any Court i in the Presidency town without the leave of the High Court and ii elsewhere without the leave of the Dstrict and Sessions Judge and this power by virtue of section 30 of Act 30 of 1953 became exercisable by the Andhra High Court
The expression Presidency town means by the section 344
the local limits of ordinary original jurisdiction of the High Court of Judicature at Calcutta Madras or Bombay as the case may be and there was no Presidency town within the area of the Andhra State as constituted by Act 30 of 1953
The Parliament had
however with a view to meet anomalies of the present nature expressly provided by section 55 that Notwithstanding that no provision or insufficient provision had been made under section 54 for the adaptation of a law made before the appointed day any court required or empowered to enforce such law may for the purpose of facilitating its application in relation to the State of Andhra
  construe the law with such alterations not affecting the substance as may be necessary or proper to adapt it to the matter before the court  
 The expression Presidency town must in the context of the constitution of a separate High Court for Andhra after the State of Andhra was formed mean 757 the Capital town of the State in which the High Court was located Such an adaptation does not affect the substance of the Act and it would facilitate application thereof to the changed circumstances
The new State of Andhra Pradesh was constituted under the 37 of 1956 by incorporating certain areas specified in section 3 to the territory of the old State of Andhra
By section 651a from the appointed day ie
November 1 1956 the jurisdiction of the High Court of the existing State of Andhra was it was declared to extend to the whole of the territories transferred to that State from the existing State of Hyderabad the High Court was to be known as the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and the principal seat of  the High Court was to be at Hyderabad
The jurisdiction of the High Court of Andhra was by the express provision made in section 651a exercisable over the whole of the territory transferred to that State from the existing State of Hyderabad
The phraseology used by the Legislature in my judgment authorises the new High Court of Andhra Pradesh to exercise all jurisdiction which the High Court of Andhra could exercise before the appointed day
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh made an order against the appellant on April 21 1961 that no proceedings civil or criminal shall be instituted by the appellant in the city of Hyderabad without the leave of the High Court in the city of Secunderabad without the leave of the Chief City Civil Judge and elsewhere without the leave of the District and Sessions Judge concerned
This was manifestly a personal direction which imposed restrictions upon the appellant
The power to impose a ban under section 2 it may be noticed vests only in the High Court the power to remove the ban in specific cases is exercisable by the High Court or a Judge of the District and Sessions Court according as the proceeding is to be instituted in a Court in the capital of the State where the High Court is located or in any Court in the mofussil
There can therefore be no question of conflict of jurisdiction between the High Court and the District Court
Once the High Court pronounces an order under section 2 it may be removed in appropriate cases only by the High Court where the proceeding is to be instituted in any Court in the Capital town in which the High Court is located and elsewhere by order of the District and Sessions COurt
The Act confers jurisdiction upon the High Court and does not as a condition of its exercise require that the person to be restrained must be residing or have a domicile in any area within the jurisdiction of the Court invested with jurisdiction
Nor has the order contemplated to be passed any direct territorial operation it is issued against a person individually and restrains him from instituting proceedings without leave of the Court specified in that behalf
A person wherever residing or domiciled may  therefore be restrained by an order under section 2
758 But it is said that notwithstanding the comprehensive phraseology used by the Legislature in section 65 because of section 119 of the 37 of 1956 a somewhat anomalous situation has resulted
It is claimed that the power with which the High Court is invested to prevent a litigant from instituting proceedings which are vexatious may be exercised in respect of proceedings to be instituted in courts within the limits of the former State of Andhra or which arise from proceedings decided by Courts in that area
The upshot of the argument is that a litigant may be treated as vexatious only in respect of proceedings to be instituted by him in the Courts of the Districts within the former State of Andhra and in respect of proceedings sought to be brought before the High Court in exercise of its appellate revisional or superintending jurisdiction from orders made by Courts within the territory of the former State of Andhra he may therefore be subjected to a disability in respect of proceedings to be instituted in some districts in the State and also in respect of proceedings reaching the High Court from cases instituted in those districts and not in respect of the rest
What the effect of such a view may be upon the exercise of the High Court s jurisdiction under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution
or the original jurisdiction for instance under the Companies Act or the Banking Companies Act the appellant who has argued his case personally did not attempt to tackle
Section 119 of the provides The provisions of shall not be deemed to have effected any change in the territories to which any law in force immediately before the appointed day extends or applies and territorial references in any such law to an existing State shall until otherwise provided by a competent Legislature or other competent authority be construed as meaning the territories within that State immediately before the appointed day
 By that section the territorial extent of the laws in operation prior to the appointed day until amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority continues
But section 119 must be read harmoniously with section 651a
The latter clause declares in unambiguous terms that the jurisdiction of the High Court of the existing State of Andhra shall extend to the whole of the territories transferred to that State from the existing State of Hyderabad
If it be granted that the High Court of the State of Andhra had jurisdiction to pass orders under the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act it would be difficult to hold that section 119 of Act 37 of 1956 still restricts the exercise of the power by the High Court to prevent a vexatious litigant from instituting proceedings in certain areas in the mofussil and not in others or from instituting proceedings by way of appeals or revisions from orders and decrees in proceedings instituted in the Courts in the area within the former State of Andhra and not elsewhere
The Parliament having by Act 30 of 1953 invested the 759 High Court of Andhra with authority to exercise all jurisdiction which the High Court of Madras possessed within the territories of the State of Andhra as constituted and thereafter having by section 651a of Act 37 of 1956 extended the exercise of that authority over the entire territory of Andhra Pradesh and in my judgment it would be impossible to accept the argument that in respect of the jurisdiction conferred by the Vexatious Litigation Preventon Act 8 of 1949 the High Court was incompetent to pass the order which it did against the appellant
I need not add anything to what Hidayatullah J has said in upholding the constitutionality of the provisions of the Act for 1 agree with him that the Act is not unconstitutional as offending either article 19 or article 14 of the Constitution
On the merits however I am of the opinion that the cases which the appellant had instituted in the various Courts did not justify a drastic order of the nature passed against him
The appellant claims that he is the owner of a large estate in the city of Hyderabad and that is not denied he also carries on an extensive business and in the course of carrying on his business and managing his estate he has often to seek recourse to courts of law
The appellant says that because of certain reasons which need not be set out he conducts his litigation before the Courts without any professional assistance
Assuming that the appellant has in instituting and prosecuting cases which he had instituted shown less objectivity and more enthusiasm than a lawyer may in similar cases show and had attempted to obtain benefit of what he thought were lacunas in the law imposition of a blanket restriction against him of the nature imposed by the High Court may not seem to be warranted
I am unable to agree having carefully considered the nature of the Various cases filed by the appellant or from the general progress of those cases as set out in the list of cases filed in this Court and the orders passed therein that those proceedings are vexatious or frivolous
I would therefore allow the appeal but not on the grounds which are set out by Hidayatullah J Appeal allowed


Summary:
By section 21 of the Madras Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act 1949 the High Court of Madras was competent to issue an order against any person that no proceedings shall be instituted by him in any court i in the Presidency town without the leave of the High Court and ii elsewhere without the leave of the District and Sessions Judge
On the application of the Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh the High Court of Andhra Pradesh ordered that no proceeding should be instituted by the appellant in the City of Hyderabad without leave of the High Court in the City of Secunderabad without leave of the Chief City Civil Judge and elsewhere without leave of the concerned District and Sessions Judge
In his appeal to this Court the appellant contended that i the High Court had no jurisdiction to take action under the Act as its provisions were not extended to the Telangana area of the State which formed part of the former State of Hyderabad and ii the Act was unconstitutional because it prevented some citizens from approaching the Court which everyone is entitled to in a State governed by the rule of law
HELD i Per K Subba Rao KN Wanchoo M Hidayatullah and SM Sikri J5 The High Court was in error in holding that the Act merely created a procedural jurisdiction to put persons who indulge habitually in vexatious litigation under a procedural restraint in the former High Court of Madras which jurisdiction on its division into the two High Courts of Madras and Andhra Pradesh inhered in both the High Courts and continued to inhere in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh even for the purposes of those areas to which the Act had not been extended
752 D F The Act was passed by the Madras Provincial Legislatureand conferred jurisdiction upon the Madras High Court to deal with habitual litigants indulging in vexatious litigation
It was not an inherent jurisdiction of the Madras High Court
By sections 30 and 53 of the Andhra State Act 1953 the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act continued to be in force in the Andhra State and the Andhra High Court possessed the same jurisdiction as the former Madras High Court
But the Act is unworkable in the State of Andhra Pradesh which is formed under the  by adding the Telangana area of the former Hyderabad State to the State of Andhra and section 65 of the does not alter the position
753 H 744 All laws are intended to operate territorially and no Provincial Legislature in India possesses extra territorial jurisdiction
What the Madras Legislature enacted was to operate in its own territory and it said so in the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act
In its operative part also the order under the Act was to be made with a territorial distinction between the Presidency town and the rest of the Presidency of Madras
The Act vested a jurisdiction in the High Court to deal with a particular type of litigant but the Act made the High Court deal with the matter territorially and if new territories we re to be governed by it had to be extended to the new territories and till so extended the Act can only operate within the old territories
Under section 119 of the  no law of one of the amalgamating States is to be extended to the area of the other amalgamating States except by a competent legislative or other competent authority and further the law shall be construed as restricted to the territories within each State immediately before the reorganisation
Since the Act has not been extended to the Telangana area the application of the Act in that area is made impossible by section 119 and it cannot be extended by judicial construction
No doubt the Court possesses a power under section 121 of the  to construe laws by adapting them in such a manner as to facilitate their application to the newly formed State but the power is of adaptation and not legislation
An increase in the territories in which an Act is to apply is dependent on legislation such as is contemplated by section 119
753 F H 754 A C Moreover there being no Presidency town in the State of Andhra Pradesh section 21i of the Act is inapplicable in the State of Andhra Pradesh
The mention of the Presidency town in the sub section was not with a view to indicate the seat of the High Court but because the Madras High Court possessed original jurisdiction in the Presidency town
Therefore the distinction between the City of Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh drawn by the High Court as if the City of Hyderabad was a Presidency town was an artificial distinction which should not have been drawn by the High Court
Section 21ii is also inapplicable because the contention that the entire State may be taken to be governed by that sub clause would lead to the strange result that the District and Sessions Judge would decide whether a particular litigant should be allowed to move the High Court in appeal revision or in an original proceeding
754 E H Per Shah J Dissenting Parliament having by the Andhra State Act invested the High Court of Andhra with authority to exercise all jurisdiction which the High Court of Madras possessed within the territories of the State of Andhra and thereafter having by section 651a of the extended the exercise of that authority over the entire territory of Andhra Pradesh it would be impossible to accept the argument that in respect of the jurisdiction conferred by the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act the High Court of Andhra Pradesh was incompetent to pass the order which it did against the appellant
759 A C The Andhra High Court was a successor of the Madras High Court and exercised all the powers and administered the same law which the latter exercised in the territories comprised in the Andhra State
Since Parliament expressly provided by section 55 of the Andhra State Act that a court may construe a law which it has to enforce with such alterations not affecting the substance as may be necessary or proper to adapt it to the matter before the court the expression Presidency town must in the context of the constitution of a separate Andhra High Court mean the town of the State in which the 745 High Court was located
If it be granted that the High Court of Andhra had jurisdiction to pass orders under the Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act it would be difficult to hold that section 119 of the restricts the exercise of the power by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to prevent a vexatious litigant from instituting proceedings in and from Certain areas of the Andhra Pradesh and not elsewhere
Section 651 of the which must be read harmoniously with section 119 authoring the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to exercise all jurisdiction which the High Court of Andhra could exercise over all the territories transferred to the State of Andhra Pradesh from the existing State of Hyderabad
The Vexatious Litigation Prevention Act does not require that the person to be restrained must be residing in or have a domicile within the jurisdiction of the Court nor has the order contemplated to be passed any direct territorial operation
It is a personal direction which imposes restrictions upon the person restrained
Once the High Court pronounces an order it may be removed in appropriate cases only by the High Court where the proceeding is to be instituted in any court in the town in which the High Court is located and elsewhere by order of the District and Sessions Court and so there is no conflict of jurisdiction between the High Court and the District Court
756 D H z ii By Full Court The Act is not unconstitutional
The litigants who are prevented from approaching the court without proper sanction are persons who habitually file vexatious actions
Even they are not deprived of their right to go to a court in genuine and bona fide actions but the Act only creates a check
The object of the Act is to promote public good because it cannot be claimed that it is an inviolable right of any citizen to bring vexatious actions without control