Appeal No 313 of 1955
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated the 12th May 1955 of the Punjab High Court at Chandigarh in Liquidation Miscellaneous No 72 of 1954
J B Dadachanji
and Rameshwar Nath for the appellant
M C Setalvad Attorney General for India and Ratanlal Chowla for the respondent
1956 May 9
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by JAGANNADHADAS J
This is an appeal by special leave against an order of the High Court of Punjab dated the 12th May 1955 in the following circumstances
The appellant was a resident of Lahore who came over to India in or about November 1947 and took up residence at Banaras as a displaced person
He 605 had prior to the 15th August 1947 a fixed deposit of Rs 100000 in the Lahore Branch of the Simla Banking and Industrial Co Ltd hereinafter referred to as the Bank which had its head office at Simla
He had also at the time a cash credit account in the Bank
The fixed deposit matured in 1948
The Bank did not pay the amount to the appellant in spite of repeated demands but seems to have adjusted it towards part payment of a sum of Rs 400000 which is alleged to have been due from the appellant to the Bank in his cash credit account and which the appellant disputed and denied
On the 7th November 1951 the LXX of 1951 was passed providing certain facilities and reliefs to displaced debtors and displaced creditors
Section 4 of that Act empowered the State Government to specify any civil court or class of civil courts As the Tribunals having authority to exercise jurisdiction under the Act for areas to be defined therein
Section 13 of the Act enabled a displaced creditor claiming a debt from any person who is not a displaced person to make an application for recovery thereof to the Tribunal having local jurisdiction in the place where the said creditor resides and provided for the purpose a special limitation of one year from the date when the Act came into force
Admittedly the appellant is a displaced person and the Bank is not a displaced Bank within the meaning of those expressions as defined in the said Act
Taking advantage of these provisions the appellant filed on or about the 24th April 1952 an application Case No I of 1952 to the Tribunal at Banaras constituted under section 4 of the Act claiming the fixed deposit amount of Rs 100000 as a debt due from the Bank
During the pendency of this proceeding there was an appli cation on the 27th December 1952 under the Indian Companies Act 1913 VII of 1913 in the High Court of Punjab by some creditors for the winding up of the Bank
On the 29th December 1952 an ex parte interim order was passed by the High Court under section 171 of the Indian Companies Act staying proceedings in all suits and applications pending against 606 the Bank at the time
The application Case No I of 1952 filed by the appellant before the Banaras Tribunal was also specified therein
It would appear however that before the order was communicated to the Tribunal the said case before it was disposed of and a decree was passed on the 3rd January 1953 against the Bank for the sum claimed with future interest at three per cent
per annum
On the 6th January 1953 the appellant filed an application before the Tribunal for execution of the decree and it was numbered as Execution Case No 8 of 1953
It appears that on or about the 27th January 1953 one Mr D D Dhawan was appointed by the Punjab High Court as a Provisional Liquidator of the Bank
On the application of certain petitioning creditors in the winding up proceedings the High Court passed another order under section 171 of the Indian Companies Act on the 30th January 1953 staying execution of the decree against the Bank obtained by the appellant
This order also does not appear to have been communicated to the Tribunal by the Court
But the Tribunal was informed generally about the situation by a letter of the Provisional Liquidator dated the 13th March 1953
Thereby the attention of the Tribunal was invited to section 171 of the Indian Companies Act which enacted that pending proceedings could not be proceeded with except with the leave of the Court
The Tribunal was accordingly requested by this letter of the Liquidator to stay further proceedings before it in Case No I of 1952
In view of this intimation the Tribunal passed an order dated the 20th March 1953 staying execution notwithstanding a further application by the appellant dated the 16th March 1953 to proceed with the execution
On the 21st March 1953 the Provisional Liquidator filed an appeal in the Allahabad High Court against the decree of the Tribunal obtained by the appellant against the Bank
That appeal is said to be still pending
On the 24th September 1953 the winding up of the Bank was finally ordered by the Company Judge and the Provisional Liquidator was appointed as the Official Liquidator for the purpose
607 It is said that as against this order of a single Judge there is a Bench appeal now pending in the High Court of Punjab
At this stage the Banking Companies Amendment Ordinance 1953 Ordinance No 4 of 1953 was promulgated on the 24th October 1953
This was repealed and substituted on the 30th December 1953 by the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953 LII of 1953
On the 17th February 1954 the appellant filed a further application before the Tribunal asking that the execution case filed be fore the Tribunal on the 6th January 1953 which was stayed in view of the letter of the Liquidator dated the 13th March 1953 should now be proceeded with having regard to the various reasons set out in that application
Curiously enough two of the reasons alleged were 1 that section 171 of the Indian Companies Act was overridden and varied by section 45 C of the Banking Companies Amendment Ordinance Act and 2 that the Tribunal Under the is not a Court and hence the stay under section 171 of the Indian Companies Act or under section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act has no application to proceedings pending before the Tribunal
The application of the 17th February 1954 above mentioned also prayed for an order to send the case for execution to the Bombay High Court on the ground that the Bank had property within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the said High Court against which it was intended to seek execution
On this application notice was issued to the Official Liquidator to appear and show cause by the 24th April 1954
The Liquidator however did not appear
The Tribunal made an order on the 24th April 1954 transferring to the Bombay High Court under section 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure the said decree for execution
On the 8th June 1954 the appellant filed an application for execution before the Bombay High Court Application No 123 of 1954 and asked for attachment and sale of the right title and interest of the Bank in certain shares and securities belonging to the Bank and lying with the Central Bank of India Ltd Bombay subject to the charge if 608 any on the said Bank
The attachment was ordered on the 18th June 1954 and was affected on or about the 19th June 1954
At this stage the Official Liquidator obtained an order on the 26th June 1954 from the Punjab High Court purporting to be one under section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act transferring from the Court of the Banaras Tribunal the proceedings before it for execution of the decree in Case No 1 of 1952 obtained
against the Bank by the appellant
It would appear that the Tribunal on receipt of this order informed the High Court by letter dated the 14th July 1954 that the execution proceedings had already been transferred to the High Court of Bombay and that no proceedings relating to the execution case were at the time pending before it
Thereafter the Liquidator made an application dated the 28th October 1954 to the Punjab High Court for setting aside the order of the Bombay High Court dated the 18th June 1954 directing attachment of the shares and securities be longing to the Bank in the possession of the Central Bank of India Ltd Bombay
The main grounds on which this application was made are 1That the order of the Tribunal at Banaras in execution Case No 8 of 1953 transferring the decree for execution to the Bombay High Court more than six months after the passing of the winding up order without obtaining leave from the Punjab High Courtwas null and void
2That the proceedings taken in execution against the Bank in the Bombay High Court were also null and void in view of sections 171 and 232 of the Indian Companies Act
3That in view of the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953 it is only the Punjab High Court that has exclusive jurisdiction to entertain and decide all claims between the Bank and the appellant and to deal with the execution proceedings initiated by the appellant against the Bank
4That the execution proceeding was in fact transferred by the Punjab High Court to itself by its order dated the 25th June 1954 and all questions 609 arising therefrom have to be dealt with and disposed of by the Punjab High Court itself
The appellant contested this application in the Punjab High Court on various grounds
The main contentions were 1That the provisions of the Banking Companies Act could not override the provisions of the  and that the proceedings thereunder are not affected by the Banking Companies Act
2That in any case there was no valid order of transfer to the Punjab High Court of the execution proceeding relating to the decree obtained by him against the Bank in the Banaras Tribunal
These contentions were negatived by the Punjab High Court
It was held that the provisions of the Banking Companies Act of 1953 had an overriding effect and that exclusive jurisdiction was vested thereby in the appropriate High Court notwithstanding anything in
It was also held that there was a valid order of transfer to the Punjab High Court of the execution proceedings taken by the appellant in respect of his decree
It was therefore held that the order of attachment obtained by the appellant from the Bombay High Court was invalid
The said order was accordingly set aside
It is against this order that the present appeal has been brought
Both the above contentions have been strenuously urged before us on behalf of the appellant and equally strenuously opposed on behalf of the Bank
The learned Attorney General for the Bank placed reliance on section 232 of the Indian Companies Act at the forefront of his argument and pointed out that under the said section no attachment could have been made without leave of the Court when the Bank was in the process of being wound up by order of the Court
On the other side it has been suggested that neither section 171 nor section 232 of the Indian Companies Act are applicable to these proceedings in view of the Banking Companies Act as amended in 1953
This suggestionproceeds on a misconception and ignores 610 section 2 of the Banking Companies Act which specifically provides that the provisions of the Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the Indian Companies Act as expressly provided
Hence no leave under section 232 of the Indian Companies Act having been obtained this might have been enough to dispose of the case against the appellant if the order of attachment had been set aside by the Bombay High Court itself on the application of the Liquidator to it
Since in this case the order to set aside attachment was passed by the Punjab High Court the question has to be gone into as to the jurisdiction of that Court to interfere with the order of the Bombay High Court or to declare it to be void
That jurisdiction can only be supported on the view that exclusive jurisdiction over the matter was vested in the Punjab High Court under the Banking Companies Act and that a valid order of transfer of the execution proceeding to the said Court had been made in exercise of the powers under that Act
These questions have therefore to be dealt with
On the facts above stated one matter is clear viz that the attempt of the appellant is to realise the amount due to him under the decree by getting at the assets of the Bank which is under liquidation ignoring the purported adjustment of the deposit made by the Bank towards its alleged dues from him under his cash credit account
His proceeding to execute the decree by attachment is in substance an attempt to constitutes himself an independent preferential creditor
So far as the decree is concerned we wish to say nothing about its validity or otherwise since the matter is pending in appeal before the Allahabad High Court
What we are concerned with now is the proceeding in execution of that decree and the appellant s attempt to get at the assets of the Bank in satisfaction thereof
There can be no doubt that apart from any argument available under the  which will be considered presently the matters which must necessarily arise in the course of such an execution proceeding are matters which would directly fall 611 within the scope of section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act as amended in 1953 which runs as follows The High Court shall save as otherwise expressly provided in section 45 C have exclusive jurisdiction to entertain and decide any claim made by or against a banking company which is being wound up including claims by or against any of its branches in India or any application made under section 153 of the Indian Companies Act 1913 VII of 1913 by or in respect of a banking company or any question of priorities or any other question whatsoever whether of law or fact which may relate to or arise in the course of the winding up of a banking company whether such claim or question has arisen or arises or such application has been made or is made before or after the date of the order for the winding up of the banking company or before or after the commencement of the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953
There has been some faint argument before us that the questions that arise in execution in this case and particularly the question relating to attachment which has been effected by the Bombay High Court are not questions which fall  within the scope of section 45 B
In our opinion this contention is so obviously untenable in view of the very wide and comprehensive language of the section that it requires no more than to be mentioned and rejected
If therefore the proceeding to execute the decree obtained by the appellant in this case and the claims and matters which must necessarily arise in the course of that execution fall within the scope of section 45 B the execution proceeding in this case would prima facie be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court under section 45 B subject to the two questions that have been raised in the case which are 1 whether there is anything in the  which overrides this jurisdiction and 2 whether in view of the fact that the original execution application to the Tribunal was made before the Banking Companies Amendment Ordinance and Act of 1953 came into force
 there has been any valid order under section 45 C of 612 the Banking Companies Act by the Punjab High Court transferring the pending execution proceeding to it self
So far as the first of the above questions is concerned learned counsel for the appellant relies on sections 3 and 28 of the 
Section 28 declares that the civil court which passed the decree as a Tribunal shall be competent to execute it
Section 3 runs as follows 3
Overriding effect of Act rules and ordersSave as otherwise expressly provided in this Act the pro visions of this Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any decree or order of a court or in any contract between the parties
On the strength of these sections learned counsel for the appellant argues that the jurisdiction which the Tribunal has under section 28 for executing the decree must prevail over the jurisdiction of the High Court in respect of this matter under section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act
On the other hand the respondent relies on section 45 A of the Banking Companies Act which runs as follows The provisions of this Part and the rules made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Indian Companies Act 1913 VII of 1913 or the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 Act V of 1908 or the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 Act V of 1808 or any other law for the time being in force or any instrument having effect by virtue of any such law but the provisions of any such law or instrument in so far as the same are not varied by or inconsistent with the provisions of this Part or rules made thereunder shall apply to all proceedings under this Part
Now the question as to which of the provisions of these two Acts has got overriding effect in a given case where a particular provision of each is equally applicable to the matter is not altogether free from difficulty
In the present case prima facie by virtue 613 of section 28 of the the jurisdiction to execute the Tribunal s decree is in the Tribunal
But it is equally clear that the jurisdiction to decide any of the claims which must necessarily arise in the execution of the decree is vested in the High Court by virtue of section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act
Each of the Acts has a specific provision section 3 in the and section 45 A in the Banking Companies Act which clearly indicates that the relevant provision if applicable would have overriding effect as against all other laws in this behalf
Each being a special Act the ordinary principle that a special law overrides a general law does not afford any clear solution in this case
In support therefore of the overriding effect of the of 1951 as against section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act learned counsel for the appellant called in aid the rule that a later Act overrides an earlier one
See Craies on Statute Law pages 337 and 338
He urged that the Banking Companies Amendment Act of 1953 should be treated as part of the 1949 Banking Companies Act and hence overridden by the of 1951 and relied on the case in Shamarao V Parulekar vs The District Magistrate Thana Bombay1 and on the passage therein at page 687 which is as follows The rule is that when a subsequent Act amends an earlier one in such a way as to incorporate itself or a part of itself into the earlier then the earlier Act must thereafter be read and construed except where that would lead to a repugnancy inconsistency or absurdity as if the altered words had been written into the earlier Act with pen and ink and the old words scored out so that thereafter there is no need to refer to the amending Act at all
Now there is no question about the correctness of this dictum
But it appears to us that it has no application to this case
It is perfectly true as stated therein that whenever an amended Act has to be 1 1952 SOR 683
614 applied subsequent to the date of the amendment the various unamended provisions of the Act have to be read along with the amended provisions as though they are part of it
This is for the purpose of determining what the meaning of any particular provision of the Act as amended is whether it is in the unamended part or in the amended part
But this is not the same thing as saying that the amendment itself must be taken to have been in existence as from the date of the earlier Act
That would be imputing to the amendment retrospective operation which could only be done if such retrospective operation is given by the amending Act either expressly or by necessary implication
the facts of that case the question that was considered arose in the following circumstances
There was an order of detention under the Preventive Detention Act of 1950
That Act was due to expire on the 1st April 1951
But there were subsequent amendments of the Act which extended the life of the Act up to 1st October 1952
The amending Act provided inter alia that detention orders which had been confirmed previously and which were in force immediately before the commencement of the amending Act shall continue to remain in force for so long as the principal act is in force
The question for consideration was whether this indicated the original date of expire of the principal Act or the extended date of the principal Act
The Court had no difficulty in holding that it obviously related to the latter notwithstanding that the principal Act was defined as meaning Act of 1950
It was pointed out that the phrases principal Act and Act of 1950 have to be understood after the amendment as necessarily meaning the 1950 Act as amended ie which was to expire on the 1st October 1952
In the present case what we are concerned with is not the meaning of any particular phrase or provision of the Act after the amendment but the effect of the amending provisions in their relation to and effect on other statutory provisions outside the Act
For such a purpose the amendment cannot obviously be treated as having been part of the original Act itself so as to 615 enable the doctrine to be called in aid that a later Act overrides an earlier Act
On the other hand if the rule as to the later Act overriding an earlier Act is to be applied to the present case it is the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953
that must be treated as the later Act and held to override the provisions of the earlier 
It has been pointed out however that section 13 of the  uses the phrase notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith in any other law for the time being in force and it was suggested that this phrase is wide enough to relate even to a future Act if in operation when the overriding effect has to be determined
But it is to be noticed that section 45 A of the Banking Companies Act has also exactly the same phrase
What the connotation of the phrase  for the time being is and which is to prevail when there are two provisions like the above each containing the same phrase ate questions which are not free from difficulty
It Is therefore desirable to determine the overriding effect of one or the other of the relevant provisions in these two Acts in a given case on much broader considerations of the purpose and policy underlying the two Acts and the clear intendment conveyed by the language of the relevant provisions therein
Now so far as the Banking Companies Act is concerned its purpose is clearly as stated in the heading of Part III A for speedy disposal of winding up proceedings
It is a permanent statutory measure which is meant to impart speedy stability to the financial credit structure in the country in so far as it may be effected by banks under liquidation
It was pointed out in Dhirendra Chandra Pal vs Associated Bank of Tripura Ltd1 that the pre existing law relating to the winding up of a company
involved considerable delay and expense
This was sought to be obviated so far as Banks are concerned by vesting exclusive jurisdiction in the appropriate High Court in respect of all matters arising in relation to or in the course of 1 616 winding up of the company and by investing the provisions of the Banking Companies Act with an overriding effect
This result was brought about first by the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1950 and later by the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953
Sections 45 A and 45 B of Part III brought in by the 1950 Act vested exclusive jurisdiction in the appropriate High Court to decide all claims by or against a Banking Company relating to or arising in the course of winding up
But sections 45 A and 45 B of the Part III A substituted by 1953 Act are far more comprehensive and vest not
merely exclusive jurisdiction but specifically provide for the overriding effect of other provisions also
Now the is one of the statutory measures meant for relief and rehabilitation of displaced persons
It is meant for a temporary situation brought about by unprecedented circumstances
It is possible therefore to urge that the provisions of such a measure are to be treated as being particularly special in their nature and that they also serve an important national purpose
It is by and large a measure for the rehabili tation of displaced debtors
Notwithstanding that both the Acts are important beneficial measures each in its own way there are certain relevant differences to be observed
The first main difference which is noticeable is that the provisions in the are in a large measure enabling and not exclusive
There is no provision therein which compels either a displaced debtor or a displaced creditor to go to the Tribunal if he is satisfied with the reliefs which an ordinary civil court can give him in the normal course
It is only if he desires to avail himself of any of the special facilities which the Act gives to a displaced debtor or to a displaced creditor and makes an application in that behalf under sections 3 or 52 or 13 that the Tribunal s jurisdiction comes into operation
At this point it is necessary to notice the further difference that exists in the between applications by displaced debtors and ap 617 plications by displaced creditors against persons who are not displaced persons
So far as the applications by displaced debtors are concerned section 15 in terms provides for certain consequences arising when the application is made to the Tribunal by a displaced debtor under section 3 or section 52 ie stay of all pending proceedings the cessation of effect of any interim orders or attachments etc
and a bar to the institution of fresh proceedings and so forth
But the terms of section 13 relating to the entertainment of an execution proceeding by the said Tribunal on a decree so obtained do not appear to bring about even the kind of consequences which section 15 contemplates as regards applications by displaced debtors
Section 13 is in terms only an enabling section and section 28 merely says that it shall be competent for the civil court to execute the decree passed by it as a Tribunal
They are not couched in terms vesting exclusive jurisdiction in the Tribunal
Whatever therefore may be the inter se position in a given case between the provisions of the Banking Companies Act and the provisions of the  in so far as such provisions relate to displaced debtors we are unable to find that the jurisdiction so clearly and definitely vested in the High Court by the very specific and comprehensive wording of section 45 B of the Banking Com panies Act with reference to the matters in question can be said to be overridden or displaced by anything in the  in so far as they relate to displaced creditors
It is also desirable to notice that so far as a claim of a displaced creditor against a non displaced debtor is concerned the main facilities that seem to be available are 1 the claim can be pursued within one year after the commencement of the Act presumably even though it may  have been time barred 2 a decree can be obtained on a mere application ie without having to  incur the necessary expenses byway of court fee which would be payable if he had to file a suit 3 the creditor has the facility of getting his claim adjudicated upon by a Tribunal which has 80 618 jurisdiction over the place where he resides ie a place more convenient to him than if be had to file a suit under the ordinary law in which case he would have to file a suit at the place where the defendant resides or part of the cause of action arises
There may also be a few other minor facilities
But what is necessary to notice is that the overriding provision of the Banking Companies Act so far as a displaced creditor is concerned is substantially only as regards jurisdiction
Section 45 A thereof while providing that the provisions of Part III A and the rules made there under shall have effect notwithstanding anything in consistent therewith in any other law for the time being in force specifically provides that the provisions of any such law in so far as the same are not varied by or inconsistent with the provisions of that part or rules made thereunder shall apply to all proceedings under that Part
Therefore in the present case the overriding effect of section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act deprives him only of the facility of pursuing his execution in the jurisdiction of the Tribunal
But there is no reason why he should not get the benefit of other provisions if any which may give him an advantage and are not inconsistent with any of the other specific provisions of the Banking Companies Act
Having regard to all the above con siderations and the wide and comprehensive language of sections 45 A and 45 B of the Banking Companies Act we are clear that a proceeding to execute the decree obtained by the appellant from the Tribunal against the Bank in Case No I of 1952 and all other incidental matters arising therefrom such as attachment and so forth are matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Punjab High Court subject to the provisions of section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act as regards pending matters
This leads us to the question whether in terms of section 45 C there has been a valid transfer of the execution proceeding to the Punjab High Court
Before dealing with this question it is necessary to notice the argument that section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act has no application at all to a pro 619 ceeding pending before the Tribunal
The argument is that section 45 C applies only to a proceeding pending in any other Court immediately before the commencement of the Banking Companies Amendment Act
It is urged that the Tribunal under the is not a Court
In support thereof the judgment of one of the learned Judges in Parkash Textile Mills Ltd vs Messrs Muni Lal Chuni Lal1 has been cited to show that the Tribunal constituted under this Act is not a Court
The question that arose in that case was a different one viz as to whether the Tribunal had the exclusive jurisdiction to determine for itself the preliminary jurisdiction on facts and it is for that purpose the learned Judge attempted to make out that a Tribunal was a body with a limited jurisdiction which limits were open to be determined by a regular court when challenged
It is unnecessary for us to consider whether the view taken by the learned Judge was correct
No such question arises in this case and we are quite clear that the Tribunal which is to exercise the jurisdiction for executing the decree in question is a Court within the scope of section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act
Section 28 of the itself is reasonably clear on that point
That section runs as follows It shall be competent for the civil court which has been specified as the Tribunal for the purposes of this Act to execute any decree or order passed by it as the Tribunal in the same manner as it could have done if it were a decree or order passed by it as a civil court
It is quite clear on the wording of this section that it is a civil court when it executes the decree whatever may be its status when it passed the decree as a Tribunal
There is therefore no substance in this argument
Now coming to the question whether there has been a valid transfer of the execution proceedings to the Punjab High Court there can be no doubt that the 1 620 execution proceeding filed by the appellant before the Tribunal on the 6th January 1953 continued to remain pending by the date when the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953 came into operation
This appears from the subsequent applications dated the 16th March 1953 and the 17th February 1954 which always relied on the earlier application of the 6th January 1953 as the main pending application
This application was therefore a pending application for the purposes of section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act
The jurisdiction of the Punjab High Court with reference to this execution proceeding must depend upon whether or not there was a valid order of transfer of this proceeding to itself under section 45 C
This section contemplates in respect of pending proceedings that a the Official Liquidator is to make a report to the High Court concerned within the time specified in sub section 2 thereof b the High Court is to consider which out of these pending proceedings it should transfer to itself and c the High Court should pass orders accordingly
It further provides by sub section 4 thereof that as regards such of the pending proceedings in respect of which no such order of transfer has been made the said proceeding shall continue in the Court in which it is pending
It is with reference to these provisions that on the 23rd November 1953 the Official Liquidator appears to have submitted a report to the Punjab High Court requesting that certain proceedings mentioned in lists A and B attached to the said report should be transferred to the High Court under section 45 C3
List A pertains to suits and List B to applications under the Displaced Persons Debts Adjustment Act 1951
It is pointed out that list B which shows an application before the Tribunal under section 19 of the  does not show the execution application under section 28 of that Act then pending in the Banaras Tribunal and with which we are concerned
It is strenuously urged that this shows that there was no application for transfer of this proceeding to the Punjab High Court and that therefore there could 621 have been no transfer thereof and that accordingly by virtue of section 45 C4 of the Banking Companies Act the jurisdiction in respect of the execution proceeding continued to be with the Tribunal
It is urged that since sub section 4 of section 45 C enjoins that such proceeding shall be continued in the Court in which the proceeding was pending there can be no question of any transfer thereafter
It is pointed out that the view of the High Court that there has been a valid transfer to itself is based on an order passed on an alleged supplementary report by the Liquidator on the 25th June 1954 which is beyond the three months  time provided in section 45 C 2 and that such an
order of transfer is invalid
It is also urged that the transfer so made was without notice to the appellant
That there was in fact an order of transfer made by the Punjab High Court specifically of this execution proceeding with which we are concerned admits of no doubt as a fact
This is also admitted by the appellant in his application for special leave
The order itself is not before us nor are the exact circumstances under which this order came to be made clearly on the record
So far as one can gather from the papers before us the position seems to be this
When the appellant filed his application to the Tribunal on the 17th February 1954 by which he asked that its order dated the 20th March 1953 staying execution proceedings should be vacated for reasons shown therein notice to show cause against it and for appearance therefor on the 24th April 1954 was sent to the Official Liquidator by the Tribunal
The Official Liquidator not having appeared on that date the Tribunal as already stated passed the order as prayed for on the 24th April 1954 transferring the execution to the Bombay High Court
It may be mentioned at this stage that an argument has been advanced that the Liquidator not having appeared on notice can no longer challenge the validity of the continuance of the execution proceeding by the Tribunal and of the subsequent attachment by the Bombay High Court
The question however is one 622 of jurisdiction depending on the validity of transfer made by the High Court under statutory power
The argument is without substance
To resume the narrative the Official Liquidator on receiving notice addressed a letter dated the 19th March 1954 to the Company Judge of the Punjab High Court mentioning the fact that he received a notice from the Banaras Tribunal to appear and show cause on the 24th April 1954
He mentioned therein his doubt as to the jurisdiction of the Tribupal to entertain the application and requested that in order to avoid inconvenience and expenditure an immediate transfer of the execution case together with the appellant s application to the Tribunal for vacating the stay order should be made by the High Court in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 45 C of the Act
On this the learned Judge appears to have passed an order dated the 22nd March 1954 issuing notice to the appellant for appearance on the 2nd April 1954
This appears to have been adjourned from time to time and it would appear that on the 25th June 1954 to which date the matter stood adjourned the Liquidator addressed another letter to the Company Judge which is referred to in the record as the supplementary report of the Liquidator
Therein he only narrated the entire history of the suit and of the execution proceeding and the circumstances which rendered it necessary that an order of transfer should be made immediately
Probably this was meant for opposing any further adjournment
It appears at any rate that it was on this date that the order of transfer was passed
All the facts stated above can be gathered from the two letters of the Liquidator dated the 19th March 1954 and the 25th June 1954 and a further note of the Liquidator put up to the Company Judge with reference to the letter dated the 14th July 1954 received from the Tribunal which is all the relevant material included in the paper book before us
The actual date of the note does not appear from the record
Unfortunately neither the original order of the Judge made on the report of the Liquidator dated the 23rd November 1953 nor the order of 623 transfer relating to this particular case which appears to have been made on the 25th June 1954 on the letter of the Liquidator dated the 19th March 1954 are before us
We do not know the exact terms in which those orders were made and the reason why no specific order of transfer was made on the first report and why an additional order of transfer was made as appears so late as on the 25th June 1954
In any case the argument on behalf of the appellant on this part of the case seems to be based on a misapprehension of the facts
If as appears the order of the 25th June 1954 was made with reference to the letter of the Liquidator dated the 19th March 1954 a fact which appears ears to be admitted by the appellant in para 16 of his application for leave to appeal to this Court and what is called supplementary report dated the 25th June 1954 was nothing more than bringing additional facts to the notice of the Court by way of the history of the execution proceeding there appears to be no foundation in fact for the contention that the order was made on a report filed beyond three months provided under section 45 C2 of the Banking Companies Act
Sub section 2 of section 45 C provides that the Official Liquidator shall within three months from the date of the winding up order or the commencement of the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953 whichever is later or such further time as the High Court may allow submit to the High Court a report containing a list of all such pending proceedings together with particulars thereof
The letter of the Official Liquidator dated the 19th March 1954 is within three months of the commencement of the Banking Companies Amendment Act 1953 which came into force on the 30th December 1953 and there is nothing in subsection 2 of section 45 C that two or more successive reports may not be made within the prescribed period of three months
It appears also from the papers above referred to that notice was issued to the appellant with reference to this letter of the 19th March 1954 of the Liquidator to transfer the execution application to itself
It appears to us therefore 624 from such record as is before us that the contention of the appellant raising objection to the validity of the order of transfer is untenable on the facts  Nor are we satisfied that even if the facts as to how the order of transfer dated the 25th June 1954 came to be made are shown to be otherwise than above stated there is any reason to think that sections 45 C2 3 and 4 are to be construed so as to make the power of the Court to transfer dependent on the filing of a report by the Liquidator strictly within three months
The various sub sections taken together seem to imply the contrary
Section 45 C1 definitely imposes a bar on any pending matter in any other court being proceeded with except in the manner provided therein
The jurisdiction of that other Court to proceed with a pending proceeding is made to depend on the fact that its pendency is brought to the notice of the appropriate High Court and its decision express or implied to leave it out without transferring it to itself
Having regard to the scheme and policy of sections 45 B and 45 C of the Banking Companies Act it appears more reasonable to think that in respect of a pending matter which was not in fact brought to the notice of the Court by the Liquidator within the three months there is nothing to prevent the Court exercising its power of transfer at such time when it is brought to the notice of the Court
It is however unnecessary to decide that point finally in this case since to gay the least all the facts and the requisite records have not been properly placed before us
We have been asked to send for all the relevant records in order to ascertain the facts correctly or to give an opportunity for the purpose
We do not think it right to do so in the circumstances of this case
It is necessary to point out as admitted by the appellant in his application for special leave that there has been an application to this Court dated the 16th October 1954 for the grant of special leave specifically as against the order of transfer of the Punjab High Court made on the 25th June 1954 but that application Was rejected
It 625 has been suggested that while so rejecting this Court left the matter open
There is nothing to substantiate it
Therefore an argument as to the invalidity of the order of transfer cannot be entertained at this stage
For all the above reasons we are satisfied that the view taken by the High Court that it bad exclusive jurisdiction in respect of the present matter and that there was a valid transfer to itself by its order dated the 25th June 1954 is correct
In the proceedings before the High Court a good deal has been made as to the alleged suppression of material facts by the appellant from the Bombay High Court in obtaining the impugned order of attachment from that Court and the learned Judge s order also indicates that be was to some extent influenced thereby
It appears to us that the alleged suppression has no bearing on the questions that arose for decision before the learned Judge on this appli cation
The learned Attorney General frankly conceded the same
We have been told that there has been some application for contempt in the Court on the basis of the alleged suppression
We do not therefore wish to say anything relating to that matter which may have any bearing on the result of those proceedings
In the result this appeal is dismissed with costs
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant a displaced person bad a fixed deposit in the Lahore Branch of the respondent Bank which had its head office at Simla and he also had at the time a cash credit account in the Bank
As the Bank refused to pay the amount of fixed deposit on its maturity but adjusted it towards part payment of the amount said to be due from him he filed an application to the Tribunal at Banaras under section 4 of the  claiming the amount of the fixed deposit as a debt due from the Bank
During the pendency of the application there were proceedings taken for winding up the Bank in the High Court of Punjab
On the 3rd January 1953 a decree was passed by the Tribunal and the appellant filed an application before it for execution of the decree which ultimately was transferred to the Bombay High Court under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure
The appellant s application before the Bombay High Court for the attachment of the property belonging to the Bank and situate in Bombay was ordered on the 18th June 1954
On the 26th June 1954 the Official Liquidator of the Bank obtained an order from the Punjab High Court purporting to be one under section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act transferring to itself from the Court of the Banaras Tribunal the proceedings before it for execution of the decree obtained against the Bank by the appellant and subsequently the order of attachment passed by the Bombay High Court was set aside by the High Court of Punjab on the ground that 1 the provisions of the Banking Companies Act as amended in 1953 had an overriding effect and that exclusive jurisdiction was vested in the Punjab High Court notwithstanding anything in the Displaced Persons Debts Adjustment Act 1951 and ii there was a valid order of transfer to the Punjab High Court of the execution proceedings taken by the appellant in respect of his decree
The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court
Held that 1 in view of the wide and  comprehensive language of sections 45 A and 45 B of the Banking Companies Act 1949 as 604 amended in 1953 the proceeding to execute the decree obtained by the appellant from the Tribunal against the Bank and all other incidental matters arising therefrom are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Punjab High Court ii whatever may be the inter se position between the provisions of the Banking Companies Act and those of the in so far as such provisions relate to displaced debtors the jurisdiction clearly and definitely vested in the High Court by the very specific and comprehensive wording of section 45 B of the Banking Companies Act cannot be said to be overridden or displaced by anything in the  in so far as they relate to displaced creditors iii the Tribunal which is to exercise the jurisdiction for executing the decree in question is a court within the meaning of section 45 C of the Banking Companies Act whatever may be its status when it passed the decree as a Tribunal iv having regard to the scheme and policy of sections 45 B and 45 0 of the Banking Companies Act in respect of pending matters which have not been brought to the notice of the Court by the Liquidator within three months there is nothing to prevent the Court exercising its power of transfer at such time when it is brought to the notice of the Court