# 44.2 SRI CHANDRE PRABHUJI JAIN TEMPLE AND ORS v. HARIKRISHNA AND ANOTHER

- **Citation:** [1974] 1 S.C.R. 442
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1973-08-22
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/44-2-sri-chandre-prabhuji-jain-temple-and-ors-v-harikrishna-and-another-5992
- **Pages:** 11

## Headnote

44.2
SRI CHANDRE PRABHUJI JAIN TEMPLE AND ORS.
v.
HARIKRISHNA AND ANOTHER
August 22, 1973
LK. K. MATHEW AND M. H. BEG, JJ.]
Guurtlians and Wards Act 1890--S. 29 read 1ri1(1 ~·. 31 (2)-Widow morl_flaged
~roperty of minors wil}t permission from Court without disclosing exiJtCitce of
4 will-Whether maJOrs' estate liable.
One R. died in 1941, leaving behind him his wiLlow, one minor son and
lwo minor daughters, Before he died, he had executed a will whereby be
.appointed his widow the executor of the will and the guardian of his minor
son .and daughters and bequeathed all his properties to the -minor son with
directions as regards maintenance and marriage of his daughters.
fn 1948, the
widow mortgaged certain properties to raise a loan of Rs. 7,000 !· for the
UO!"Jli:>!Jdde uc PJIY JqS
·JJJI{8nup .1;,pp JJq JO SJsuJdxJ Jl111!JJew JO ?>OdJnd
~OOlfHh\ lJV spJllA\
puc SUU!Plll09
Jql JO or pun L ·ss lJpun lJ;)_lP ~!4l OJ
disclosing anything about the will.
The Court passed an order appointing· the widow as the £uardiun of the
.Personal property of the minor and son and daughter and by another order.
granted her Permission to raise the said loan. Accordingly, she borrowed
Rs. 7.000/- by mort1:aging the houses.
Thereafter, in 1950. she filed twa
.applications seeking permission of the High Court to raise a loan of Rs. 40,000/·
.and Rs. 15.000/. on the security of the two houses. She was allowed to
raise Rs. 30.000/· and Rs. 10,000/· respectively by mortgaging the houses.
Thereafter. the widow filed
another application praying for permission to sell
.one of the houses in on.kr to discharge the ag10unt due to the
api>ell<~nts
.under the two mortgages. The permission was granted and the Indian Bank
Ltd. ourchased one of the house properties fot Rs. 41,500 f·. Subsequently.
the Bank came to know that R. had executed a will and the Bank applied
to the High Court to have the sale set aside.
This was done.
When the
existence of the will was brought to the notice of the Court, the High Court
-directed the Administrator General to take immediate possession of R:s estatl'
and to apply for letters of administration.
The Administrator General obtained
letters of administration and took possession of the estate. In the course of
administration. the AG. after obtaining the sanction of the Court, put Up for
~e one of the houses in question.
The Jndian Bank purchased it for
Rs. 39,200 /·· The sale proceeds are being retained by the A.G.
The appellant~ thereafter, filed a suit before the High Court to recover
the money given under the two mortgages executed in favour of the appellants
.oy the widow as the guardian.
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The respondent
namely,
the Administrator General
and the minor son
contended that the widow had no authority to execute the mortgages and that
-she obtained the sanctions of the Court to execute the mortgages by prac:isin~
G
Traud etc.
The High Court held that sina the appellants were not parties to
the fraud and as they are not required to go beyond the orders, the appellant&
·were entitled· to recover the amounts from the properties mortgaged and . passed
:a preliminary decree.
Against this decree. the respondents appealed to a Full Bench.
The Full
'Bench held that an order under s. 31 (ii) of the Guardians and Wards Act.
1890 can be relied ton by an alienee and is a substitute for an honest enquiry
H
·to be made by him. The Court passed a decree for recovery of the amounts
from one half of the properties
mortgaged. It is against this decree that
·this appeal by certificate, has been preferred. Jn this Court, the following
:points were raised by the appellants :
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JAIN TEMPLl! V. HARIKRISHNA
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(i) That the fiading .of the ~igh Court tha~ the' mortgages werf valid only
in respect of one ~aJf mterest tn the properties was not correct.
Accordi'Dg
to the appellants,. smc~. the widow was appointed guardian in respect of the
.person and .the. properttes ?f her minor son. and the fact "that the widow stated
tn the apphcat~on

## Text

44.2
SRI CHANDRE PRABHUJI JAIN TEMPLE AND ORS.
v.
HARIKRISHNA AND ANOTHER
August 22, 1973
LK. K. MATHEW AND M. H. BEG, JJ.]
Guurtlians and Wards Act 1890--S. 29 read 1ri1(1 ~·. 31 (2)-Widow morl_flaged
~roperty of minors wil}t permission from Court without disclosing exiJtCitce of
4 will-Whether maJOrs' estate liable.
One R. died in 1941, leaving behind him his wiLlow, one minor son and
lwo minor daughters, Before he died, he had executed a will whereby be
.appointed his widow the executor of the will and the guardian of his minor
son .and daughters and bequeathed all his properties to the -minor son with
directions as regards maintenance and marriage of his daughters.
fn 1948, the
widow mortgaged certain properties to raise a loan of Rs. 7,000 !· for the
UO!"Jli:>!Jdde uc PJIY JqS
·JJJI{8nup .1;,pp JJq JO SJsuJdxJ Jl111!JJew JO ?>OdJnd
~OOlfHh\ lJV spJllA\
puc SUU!Plll09
Jql JO or pun L ·ss lJpun lJ;)_lP ~!4l OJ
disclosing anything about the will.
The Court passed an order appointing· the widow as the £uardiun of the
.Personal property of the minor and son and daughter and by another order.
granted her Permission to raise the said loan. Accordingly, she borrowed
Rs. 7.000/- by mort1:aging the houses.
Thereafter, in 1950. she filed twa
.applications seeking permission of the High Court to raise a loan of Rs. 40,000/·
.and Rs. 15.000/. on the security of the two houses. She was allowed to
raise Rs. 30.000/· and Rs. 10,000/· respectively by mortgaging the houses.
Thereafter. the widow filed
another application praying for permission to sell
.one of the houses in on.kr to discharge the ag10unt due to the
api>ell<~nts
.under the two mortgages. The permission was granted and the Indian Bank
Ltd. ourchased one of the house properties fot Rs. 41,500 f·. Subsequently.
the Bank came to know that R. had executed a will and the Bank applied
to the High Court to have the sale set aside.
This was done.
When the
existence of the will was brought to the notice of the Court, the High Court
-directed the Administrator General to take immediate possession of R:s estatl'
and to apply for letters of administration.
The Administrator General obtained
letters of administration and took possession of the estate. In the course of
administration. the AG. after obtaining the sanction of the Court, put Up for
~e one of the houses in question.
The Jndian Bank purchased it for
Rs. 39,200 /·· The sale proceeds are being retained by the A.G.
The appellant~ thereafter, filed a suit before the High Court to recover
the money given under the two mortgages executed in favour of the appellants
.oy the widow as the guardian.
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The respondent
namely,
the Administrator General
and the minor son
contended that the widow had no authority to execute the mortgages and that
-she obtained the sanctions of the Court to execute the mortgages by prac:isin~
G
Traud etc.
The High Court held that sina the appellants were not parties to
the fraud and as they are not required to go beyond the orders, the appellant&
·were entitled· to recover the amounts from the properties mortgaged and . passed
:a preliminary decree.
Against this decree. the respondents appealed to a Full Bench.
The Full
'Bench held that an order under s. 31 (ii) of the Guardians and Wards Act.
1890 can be relied ton by an alienee and is a substitute for an honest enquiry
H
·to be made by him. The Court passed a decree for recovery of the amounts
from one half of the properties
mortgaged. It is against this decree that
·this appeal by certificate, has been preferred. Jn this Court, the following
:points were raised by the appellants :
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(i) That the fiading .of the ~igh Court tha~ the' mortgages werf valid only
in respect of one ~aJf mterest tn the properties was not correct.
Accordi'Dg
to the appellants,. smc~. the widow was appointed guardian in respect of the
.person and .the. properttes ?f her minor son. and the fact "that the widow stated
tn the apphcat~on to appotnt her a guardian. that she was entitled to one half
of ·t~e properttes, and the .IJ!ioor to. ~be ot}}er hall would not conclude the
questto~ that she was appomted guardtan only in respect of half shar~ of the
properties.
(i~) That under th.e Act or un~er the inherent powers of the Court, a
guardtllll can be appotnled only wtth respect to all the properties of th¢ minor
· and not in respect. of any specific item.
(ii!) !hat. i~ a guardian ls appointed for all the properties of a minor in
one dtstnct, tt ts ~ot n~ary that there should be a fresh appointm~nt for
the properties of the minor in another district.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD l (i) Since the. widow had no power to alienate the properti.:s under
the will. and since she did not tlsclose to the court about the curb on bet
Power, the sanctions obtained from the Court under s. 31 (2) of the Guardians
and Wards Act 1890 on the application filed under s. 29 cannot be regarded
as valid.
~
The question, therefore, is whether appellants are entiled to get the ;rwney
advanced. under the mortgages as a charge of the entire interest in these
properties. [ 451 B}
(ii) The High Court granted the decree on the basis that the ,1rJers of
sanctions for mort.Ra~tin.R the properties were valid. If to avoid a decree for
recovery of the mortga~d money from the entire interest of the minor in
these properties be refused on the ground that the orders sanctioning the mort·
-gages were invalid, it would be contradictory to tho finding of the High Court
on the basis of which it passed the decree. Order 41, r. 33 of the C.F.C.
clothes the appellants that the power to· pass any decree or order which the
trial court ought to have passed and t!> pass or make such further or other
·decree or order as the justice of the case may require.
The respondents would be entitled to avoid the orders of sanction in defence
without the necessity of filing a suit. provided they give restitution.
The High
Courts have taken the view that as a condition for setting aside a disposal of
immovable property made in contravention of s. 28 or s. 29 which is voidable
under s. 30, it is just that there rnu~t be restitution of the benefits received. [451E,
.0]
Parshotam Dtu v. Nazir Hussain, 54 IC. 846, Peria Kamppam Chettif v.
Kandasammy OJietty (1933) Madras W.N. 791, and Abbas Hussar11 v. Kiran
SDsfli Devi. A.l.R.. 1942 Nagpur 12. referred to,
· (iii) In the praent apPeal. one item of the properties has been sold by the
. A.G. throuJb the UDCtion of the Court. and the proceeds of the sale a~e w_ith
him. Therefore a decree is paaed agtumt the respondent/defendants d1recttng
lhem to pay fbi appeDanfl the principal amounts. due under the two mortgages
together with 6% interest from. June 1, 1950, on the principal amount Upto the
date of payment or rcr.Jisation. ~
amount decree4 will be a charge on
fhe sale proceedt of one of the properties which are being retained by the
A.G. and the entire interiet in the other property un<ler the rnortga~e. [452 EJ
·CML APPELLATE JUum~cnoN : Civil Appeal No. 1701 of
H . 1967.
Appeal from the judgmept and order dated December 1, 1961 ot
the Madras High Court iri O.S.A. No. 17 of 1957.
444
SUPREME COURT REPO.RTS
[ 1974] 1 s.c.R.
V. M. Tarkunde, Harbans Singh and H. S. D~r, for the appellant.
M. Natesan and S. Gopalakrishnan, for respondent No. 1.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
MATHEW, J.:......One Gopalakrishna Raju (hereinafter called Raju)
~ed in Madras on or about November 13, 1941, leaving behind him
ms Widow Manorama, one mmor son and two minor daughters.
On March 25, 1941~ Raju had executed a will whereby he appointed
Manorama the executor of the will and the guardian of his_ minor son
and daughters and bequeather aJ his properties to the·minor son with
directions as regards the maintenance and marriage o£ his daughters.
On June 7, 1948, Manorama mortgaged certain properties to raise a
loan of Rs. 7,000/- for the purpose of meeting the marriage exp~nses
of- her elder daughter. Thereafter, she fileg an application under sections 7 and 10 of the Guardians and Wards Act. 1890, ,hereinafter
called the Act, on August 26, 1948, before the High Court of Madras
to appoint her as the guardian of her minor children. In that petition
she did not disclose that Raju died after executing a will, but said that
Raju died leaving two houses Nos. 18 and 18A in Egmore. Madras and
that she was the owner of one half of the houses and that her minor
son wa! the owner of the other half. She also said that no guardian
had been appointed of the person or the property of the minors. Along
with the petition for appointing her as guardian, she also filed
an
application seeking permission of the court to raise a loan of Rs. 7,(}(X)fby mortgaging the two houses.
On September 9, 1948, .the Court
passed an order appointing Manorma as the guardian of the person
and property of the minor son and daughter and, by another order,
granted her permission to raise a loan of Rs. 7,000/- by mortgaging
the two houses.
On the basis of these orders, she borrowed a sum
of Rs. 7,000/- on September 24, 1948, by mortgaging the two houses.
Thereafter, she filed another application on January 19, 1950, seeking
permission of the High Court to raise a loan of Rs .. 40,0001- on the
~curity of the two houses. On January 23, 1950, the application was
allowed under s. 29 of the ' Act permitting her to raise a loan of Rs.
30,000/- on the security 0f the two houses belonging to the minor.
On the strength of this order, Manorama borrowed on March 4, 1950,
a sum of Rs. 30,0001- from the trustees of Shri Chandre Prabhuji Jain
Temple, the appellants before this Court, by executing a mortgage of
rhe two houses. She again applied on April 24, 1950, to the Court for
raising a further loan of Rs. 15.000/- on the security of these two
houses but sanction was accorded to raise a loan of only Rs. 10.000/·
On the basis of this order she borrpwerl a further sum of Rs. 1,000/~
from the appellants by executing a -mortga!!e on Mav 31, 1950, of the
same properties. Manorama filed yet an-other application praying for
permission to sell one of the houses with a view to enable her to discharge the amount due to the appellants under the two mortp:ages. The
permission was granted and the Indian Bank Limited purchased one
of the house properties for a sum of Rs. 41.500/- It would aop~ar that
subsequent to the execution of the sale, the bank came to know that
Raju had executed ;~ wilt.
So the bank applied to the High Court to
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445
have the sale set aside. This was done. When the existence of the will
executed by Raju was brought to the notice oi the Court, Krishnaswami Nayudu, J. directed the Administrator-General to take immediate possession of the estate of Raju and to apply for Letters of
Administration.
The Administrator-General
obtained Letters
of
Administration and took possession of the estate.
In the course of
1he administration, the Administrator-Genera],
after obtaining the,
sanction of the Court put up for sale one of the houses in question. The
Indian Bank purchased it for Rs. 39,200/-. The sale proceeds arc
l'eing retain~ by the Administrator-General.
The appellants filed the suit on the original side of the High Court
out of which this appeal arises, to recover the money due under the
two mortgages executed in favo~ of the appellants by Manorama as
r,uardian.
The respondents, i1amely, the Administrator-General and the minor
son, contended that Manorama had no authority to execute the mortgages and that she obtained the sanctions to ex~cute the mortgages by
-practisin~ fraud uoon the court. Thev also cont~noed that the aooel·
!ants had not acted with due care, that the sanctions to mortgage given
bv thP. court W"'re onlv Drima faci~> evidence that the transactions were
beneficial to the minors but that they would not cure any inherent defect that existed in the transactions, that the enquiry conducted by a
co'lrt in granting sanction was of a summary character, and that as the
'existence of the. will has not been brought to the notice of the court,
the sanctions to raise the loans were invalid and did not bind the minor.
Balakrishna Ayyar, J. who tried the suit held that Manorama deliberately suppressed the execution of the will by Raiu and therefore,
the orders authorising her to raise the amounts by mortgaging the oro·
perties of the 2nd respondent were obtained by fraud. The learned
Judge, however, held that since the orders were only voidable and as
the appellants were not parties to the fraud and as they yere not required to go"behind the orders, th eappellants wen~ entitled to recover the
amoun,t from the properties mortgaged and passed
a preliminary
decree.
Against this decree the respondents appealed and the appeal was
referred to a Full Bench as there was conflict of opinion on the question
whether an order under s. 31 (2) of fthe Act granting leave to a guardian for alienating the property of the wm:d was conclusive proof that
the alienation- made in pursuance thereof was supported by necessity
or benefit of the minor.
The FuR Bench held that an order under s. 31 (2) of the Act can
be relied on by an alienee as a substitute for an honest enquiry to be
H
made by him; but that it will be open to the minor' challenging the
a1ienation to show that the alienee was out on notice at the time of the
alienation· of matters· which would show the defects in the transaction
ot that the alienee did not act bona fide· It also held that where there
is no evidence to show that there existed circumstances exciting suspicion as to the way in which an order under s. 31 (2) ~
obtained,
? -!..382Sup.Cl/74
446
SUPREME COURT :REPORTS
[ 1974] 1 S.C.R.
the alienee would be entitled to rely on it to support his title7 but ~t ,\
an order under s. 31(2) cannot be treated alwayS as conclusive as .to
the existence of necessity or benefit and that even as to the suflicieocy
of the enquiry to be made by the alienee, it would be competent for
the minor to prove that the alienee did have sufficient reason not to
rest on the mere order of the ~ourt. The court said further that if the
minor proves that the alienee knew more Ol' did not himself rely on
tho order but made indepeRdent enquiri~the onus being on the minor
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to prove it-the order of the court will not afford conclusive evidem:e
on the qut:stion of enquiry. However, if the alienee is not a party
to any fraud and has no knowledge of any fraud the mere fact that
the guardian was guilty thereof will not dis_entitle him to rely on the
order of the court as proving an honest enquiry by him. The court
further found that the orders of sanction were valid even though they
were made under s. 31 ( 2) of the Act notwithstandi.1g the fact that
C
Manorama was appointed guardian under the will of her husband .
. The further finding of the court was that the mortgages could be enforced only against one half of the mortgaged properties as Manorama
was appointed guardian only in respect of. that half. The court was
of the view that the sanctions to execute the mortgages in respect of
the two properties were only in respect of one-half share therein. The
Court, therefore, passed a decree for recovery of the amounts from
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one-half of the properties mortgaged.
It is against this decree that this appeal by certificate bas been preferred.
The most important point canvassed on tehalf of the appellants was
that the finding of the High Court that the mortgages were valid only
in respect of one half interest in the properties was not correct.
Counsel for the appellants submitted that Manorama was appointed
guardian in respect of the person and the properties of her minor son
and the fact the Manorama stated in the application to appoint her
guardian that she was entitled to one-half of the properties and the
minor to the other half, would not conclude the question that she was
appointed guardian only in respect of the half share in the properties.
Counsel further submitted that under the Act or under the inherent
powers of the Court, a guardian can be appointed only of all the properties of a miilor and not in respect of any specific items and that if
a guardian is appointed of the properties of a minor in one district. it
is not necessary that there should be a fresh appointment for the ~
penies of the minor in another district as under s. 16 of the Act, a
certificate from the court appointing the guardian wOuld be conclusive
evidence in the other district that he was appointed guardian of the
properties in that district~.
In the application to appoint ber as guardian, Manorama t1tated
that onlv the two houses were inherited by her and the m;no" son fr"tn
her husband and that she was entitled to a half share in them with
· limited rights and that her minor soa was entitled- to. the other half·
In the aftidavit accompanying that petition she said that she has inherited half of the estlte of her buband of the value of Rs; 37,500/-. The
order appointing her as guardian stated that she is declared guardian
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JAIN TEMPLE v. HARIKRISHNA (Mathew, J.)
447
of the person and properties of the minor and that as guardian she shall
not, wunout prcv10us permis10n of tne court, mortgage, charge or
transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherwise any part of the immovable
property of the minor or lease the same.
In the application made by her for permission to execute the mortgage for Rs. 30,000/- as guardian, she has stated that she. required the
loan to discharge the debts and the demands then existing against the
properties belonging to her and her minor son as heirs of her late husband. The order of the court on that application dated February 3,
1950, giving her leave stated that "the applicant do have permission
to raise a loan of Rs. 30,000/- on the security of the two houses No.
18 and 18A". In the reasons given for that order, the court said that
"the guardian is permitted to raise a loan of Rs. 30,000/- on the security of two items of property belonging the minor viz., Nos. 18 and
18A in Sait Colony, F:irst Street, Egmore, Madras". In the mortgage
executed in pursuance to this order of sanction, Manorama described
herself as executing the mortgage for herself, and as mother and guardian as per the order of the High Court in O.P. No. 269 of 1948,
namely, the original petition for appointing her as guardian.
The court appointed Manorama as guardian of the properties of
the minor. The order does not show that she was appointed guardian
in respect of the one half interest in the properties. A person looking
into the order could not have found any limitation in it. A purchaser
of the properties of minor could not be expected to go behind the order.
The court had no occasion to inquire nor did it make any enquiry
as regards the extent of the interest of the minor in the properties. That
apart, the orders sanctioning the mortgages in fact authorized Manorama as guardian to mortgage the properties, even though in the application on the basis of which the order sanctioning the mortgage for
Rs. 30,000/- was passed, Manorama said that she was entitled to onehalf interest in the properties and that the minor to the other half (see
para 1 of her application tJated January 19, 1950 for sanctioning the
mortgage for Rs. 30,000/-). We think that the orders sanctioning
the mortgages authorized her to mortgage the properties and not any
particular interest therein. If her capacity to alienate the properties
of the minor is to be judged from the orders of sanction, its extent must
be measured by these orders read in the light of the orde'" appointing
her guardian.
section 28 of the Act provides :
"Where a guardian has been appointed by will or other
inslrument, his power to mortgage or charge or transfer by
~ale, gift, exchange or otherwise, immovable property belongIng to his ward is subjected to any restriction which m~ be
imposed by the instrument, unless he has under this-Act lleen
declared guardian and the court which mane the declaration
pe_r~ts him ~y an order in writing,, notwithstanding the restnctton, to d1spose of any immovable property specified in
the order in a manner permitted by the order."
.:!48
SUPREME COUR:r REPORTS
[ 1974 J 1 s.c.R.
Manorama did not make any application under this section· Nor was
the court appraised of the will or the restrictions which it imposed on
her power or aLenation.
The court, thererore, had
u0 occasio!l to
pass an order in writing as vb .. alised in the section enabling her to
dispose of any property of the minor notwithstanding the restriction
imposed by the will.
Section 29 says that where a person other than a Collector 9r than
:1 gua.rdJan app01ut.;d by will or other instrument, has been appointed or
dedared by the court to be guardian of the property of a ward, he shall
not, with the prevjous permission of the court (a) mortgage of charge
or transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherW:is~, any part of the immovable property of his ward, or (b) lease any part of .that property for
a term exceeding five years or for any term extending more than one
year beyond the date on which the ward will cease to be a minor. As
Manorama was declared by the will to be the e~utor and also guar~
dian of the minor, she could not have made an application for permission to mortgage under s. 29. Nor could the court have passed any
order granting permission under s. 31 (2) to mortgage the immovable
property of the minor. The order _sanctioning the mortgage for Rs.
30,000/- was expressly passed on an application made under s. 29.
Though there is no mention in the order sanctioning the mortgage for
Rs. 10,000/- of the section under which it was passed the order appears
to have been made under s. 31 (2). But as already stated, the orders
co.uld not have been passed under s. 31(2) on the basis of the app1ica~
tions filed under s. 29 .as Manorama was a guardian appointed by the
1vill of Raju.
Mr. Tarkunde for the appellants argued that s. 3 of the Act preserves the inherent powers of certain High Courts to appoint a guardian
and determine his powers and to sanction any alienation by the guar~
dian of the properties of the ward, apart from the provisions of the
Act.
He cited In re Mahadev Krishna Rupji(l) and The Raja oj
Vizi'anagaram v. The Secretary of State for India in Counci/(2) and
said that the High Court of Madras had inherent jurisdiction to appoint a guardiap and determine his powers untrammelled by the pro·
visions of the Act. In the first of t1J.e cases above referred to, it was
held by the Bombay High Court that though the Act does not sanction
the appointment of a guardian in .respect of undivided share of a minor
in a ioint Hindu Family, the High Court of Bombay had inherent power
to appoint a guardian. In the latter case. the Madras High Court held
that the High Court has, under clause 17 of the Letters Patent, 1865 .
. iurisdiction in regard to minors, thou~ not of British birth, resident
outside the limits of the Presidencv-towp and its jurisdiction to act
under that clause is not affected by the Act. The' court also· said "the
jurisdiction of the High . Court under clalJSC 17 of the Letters Patent
]s not in the exercise of its ordinary ori~inal civil jurisdiction and it is
saved by s. 3 of the Guardans and Wards Act which says that 'nothing
(1) I. L. R. 1937 Born. 432.
(2) J. L. R. 1937 Mad. 383,
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44H
in the Act shall be construed to take away any power possessed by
any High Court established under the Statute 24 and 25 Vic. c. 104'."
It does not follow from these rulings that the principle underlying s.
28 of the Act should not bind the High Court even while exercising
its inherent powers. The principle underlying s. 28 is that when a guardian is appointed under a will and his powers arc expressly restricted
by that instrument, the court must be apprised of the will and of the
restrictions_ on his powers imposed by the testator in order to exercise
its discretion to determine whether those restrictions should be removed
or not. The section enacts a salutary principle for the exercise of its
parental jurisdiction.
Mr. Tarktmde said that s. 28 is applicable only to a guardian of
the property of the minor, that the will of Raju declared Manorama
only as guardian of the person of the minor and therefore, s. 28 was
, not attracted.
The definition of the word 'guardian' in s. 4(2) of the Act says
that 'guardian' means a person having the care of the person of a minor
or h1s property, or of both bis person and property. In the matter
of Sirsh Cha.;der Singh and Others (I) the court said that the question
whether a person is appointed guardian of the person of the .. minor
alone but of his property also must be determined on a perusal of the
entire document appointing him. If powers of managing the properties
of the minor are vested in a guardial] and express restrictions are placed on his powers of alienation in the course of the management, that
is an indication that the appointment is as guardian of the property
also. Manorama was given power under the will to manage the proparties of the minor. The fact that restrictions have been imposed by
the will on her powers of alienation of the properties of the minor
seem~ to us a rather sure indication that Manorama was appointed
guardian of the properties of the minor also. To what purpOSe were
the restrictions imposed unless she was also appointed guardian of the
f
properties ? Section 28 no doubt comes under the heading "Guardian
of property". But we are not sure that from that fact we can infer
that s. 28 contemplates only the case of a guardian of the property of
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the minor. However, we express no opinion on the question as that is
unnecessary. We proceed on the assumption that the section only applies to a guardian of the property of a minor.
That apart, as the learned trial Judge rightly held, the orders of
sanction were obtained by fraud and they were, therefore, on that
account bad.
Mr. Tarkunde said that the respo!ldents c~ot .raise the objection
in this appeal that the orders of sanctton were mvaltd as the
respon~
dents did not appeal from the decree of the High Court to recover. tb(
mortgage money from. the one-half share in properties: His argument
was since the respondents did not file an appeal agamst that dCC!U•
they cannot be allowed to impugn the validitv of the or~er~ of sanction.
on the . basis of which that deer~ was passed, and; if the orders ol
(I) 21 (1894} I. L R. Calcutta 206, 2H.
450
SUPllEME COUllT REPORTS
[ 1974] 1 S.C.R.
sauction aro allowed to be impugned here, that would be allowing the
respondents to imperil the decree in respect of the half-share in the
properties.
It is no doubt true that respondents cannot be allqwed to impugn
the decree passed by the High Court in favour of the appellants as
they did not file any appeal from that decr~e. But we think that there
is no reason wny they should not be a lowed to urge the plea that the
orders of sanction were invalid when the· appellants want not only to
maintain the decree passed by the High Cohrt but also to yet a decree
charging the entire properties. In other words, the bar against urging
the pl~a of the invalidity of the orders of sanction would apply only if
the respondents seek to impugn the decree already obtai.Ded by the
appellants but not when the appellants seek to obtain further reliefs in
the appeal on the basis of the orders. In such a case we are not aware
of any rut~ of law which would preclude the respondents from urging
the plea.
In The Mantlgemenj. of Itakhoolic Tea Estate v. Its Workmen,(!)
the question whether in such circumstances, a respondent who has not
appealed from the decree can be allowed to urge such a plea in answer to a claim by an appellant for a further decree although the plea
~imperil the decree already obtained was left undecided. But the
Full Deneb decision of the Madras High Court in Venkma Rao v. $Qt.
yanarayantJtiuflhy(2) bas held that it is open to a respondent who had
not filed cross-objection with respect to the portion of the decree which
~
aone against him "to urge in op~ition to the appeal of the plaintift. a contention which if accepted by the trial court would have
n~tated the total ~
of the suit'• but that the decree in so far
as it .was against him would stand. The decree of the High Court here
iO 10 far as it beld that the mortgage money can be recovered only from
the .half .share. in the properties was also a decree in favour of the res-
~ents as it did not allow the claim of the appellants to recover it
~
fhe entire interest in the properti~. To that extent, the re8pon-
-lid a decree in their favour· That decree they could support on
-aay of the grounds decided against them by the court which passed
~
decree. And when they do this, they are only supporting and not
8uacking that ~ee. We think that the rule laid down by the MRdras
I:JiJb CoJ,lft in the, above decision is sound. And there is no reason
-Why tbe respondents should be barred from urging the plea.
Sl) even
_ thOugh we bol4 that the power of Manorama as guardian to mortgage
Jlfe properties extended to the entire interest in the properties, it would
.
~.follow that the appellants would be entitled to a decree charging
the entire interest in the properties as the orders of sanction on the
basis of which alone Manorama got the power to alienate the properties
were invalid.
The position that emerges from this discussion is : Under the ~ill
Manorama had no power to alienate the properties. As the existence
of the wiJI and the curb on her powers of alienation were not disclosed
(1) A. I. R. [1960] S.C. 1349.
(2). J. L. R. [1944] Mad. 147.
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JAIN TEMPLE V. HAJWOUSHNA (Mathew, 1.)
451
to the court when she applied for sanction and as th court did not
by order in writing remove the fetters on her power of alienation, the
sanctions cannot be regarded ~ having been obtained under s. 28;
nor could· the sanctions, as they were given under S. 31(2) on the
applications filed under s. 29, be regarded as valid, as s. 29 has no
application when there is a will appointing a person as guardian.
The question then is whether the appellants ar~ entitled to get the
money advanced under the mortgages as a charge· on the entire interest
ill these properties.
The appellants advanced the amounts bona fide believing th«t
the.re was necessity on the strength of the orders of sanction and there
is no finding that there was no nece.ssity. These orders were not void,
even though they were obtained by fraud.
That Wl,\8 the view of
Balakrishna A yyar, J. and it was on the basis that the orders Were
voidable, and that, until set aside, they were valid, that the learned
Judge granted a decree. A disposal of property· in contravention of
the provisions of s. 28 or s. 29 is only voidable (see s. 30). We
think that there is no reason why, when in defence to the claim by
the appellants for a decree charging the entire interest in the properties, in the apeal, the respondents shomd not be allowed to show
that the order<: of sanction were invalid notwithstanding the fact
that they .. were not· set aside in a suit instituted by the 2nd respondent. If the court were to refuse to pass a decree allowing the
appellants to recover the money on the rest of the minor's interest
in the properties, the basis of that refusal would be on a ground
destructive of the decree passed by the High Court. In other words,
the High Court granted the 9eeree on the basis that the orders cf
sanction for mortgaging the properties were valid. If we are to refuse
to pass a decree for recovery of the mortgage money from the entire
interest of the minor in these properties, on the ground that the
orders sanctioning the mortgages were inv~d, that would be contradictory to the finding of the High Court on the basis of which it
passed the decree. Order 41, rule 33 of the Civil Procedure Code
clothes the appellate court with the power to pass any decree or
order which the trial court ought to have passed or made and to
pass or make such further or other. decree or order as the justice of
the case may require.
Though the respondents are entitled to avoid the
orders
of
sanction in defence without the necessity of filing a. suit, it is just
and proper that as a condition for doing no, they must give restitution. The High Courts in this country have taken the view. and
we think rightly, that as condition for setting aside a disposa! of .imm~v- ·
a.ble property made in contravention of s. 28 or. s. ~9 whtch 1s votdable under s. 30 it is just that there must be restttution of thP benefits
received
[See Parshotam Das v. Nazir Hmaln~ 1 ),
Per~a Karuppa'!
Chetty v. Kandasamy Chetty(2), Abbas Husam v.
Kzran
Sha.shr
(1) 54 I. C. 846.
Devi(3).]
(3) A. r. R. 1942 Nag. 12.
(2) 1933 Mad. W. N. 791.
SUPREME cOURT RI!P<lllTS
[ 1974] l S.C.It.
. Jo this view, we do not think it necessary to express any optwon
A
QJl the . correctness or otherwise of the view of the High Court ott
· the nature and effect of an otder passed unoor s. 31 (2). Stiffice it
to. say .that different views have been expressed by the High Courts.
· As already stated; one item· of the properties has been sold by
the· Administrator-General with the sanction of the Court ·and
the
proceeds of the sale are with him. We pass a decree against tbe
8
respondent-defendants directing them to pay the appellants the principal amount due under the two mortgages together with 6 per cent
interest from June 1; 1950 on the principal amount up to tho date
of pa~nt or realization.
The amount decreed will be a chargr
on the sale proceeds of ette of the properties which are being retained
by the Administrator-General and on the e~;~.tire in'terest in the other
prope1ty under the mortgages.
C
Tbe deer~ of the High Court is set aside and a pecree in term~
as at'oraaid is passed. The appeal is allowed in the manner ·and tl'
tbe extent indicated above. The parties will bear their costs hen:.
S.C.
Appeal allowed.
. '