Law: Government of India Act, 1935

Section: 226

P L D 1956 (W. P.) Karachi 356           Government of India Act, 1935, S. 226 sub-clause (1) Matters concerning Government revenue-High Court have no jurisdiction-Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908)-O. VII, rules 10 and 1l-Return and rejection of plaints, The nineteen applicants in the present case filed in the High Court, suits of identical nature, seeking declaration by the Court that the duty levied by the government on imported matches at enhanced rates was void and ultra sires.   After the plaints and written statements were filed and issues framed in all matters, the Court took up issue regard ing section 226 of the Government of India Act, 1935, as a preliminary issue and finally decided that the duty was enhanced by the Custom Authorities under the direction of the Central Board of Revenue and so in view of section 226, sub clause (1) of the Government of India Act, 1935, the High Court had no jurisdiction. Consequently the suits were dismissed.   Whereupon the plaintiffs filed in the Court applications for review of the order on the ground that either the. Court should have returned the plaints under O. VII rule 10 or rejected them under O. VII rule 11.   Held, the question of returning the plaints could arise only when there was any other Court in which the present suit could have been filed and secondly under O. XIV rule 2 of Civil P. C. and O. XV rule 3 Civil P. C. it was open to the Court to try the issues of law only and pronounce judgment.     ORDER   INAMULLAH, J.-These are 19 applications under Order XLVII rule 1 read with section 151 Civil P. C. with the prayer that I should review my order dismissing the suit. It is sought by the various plaintiffs who have made the applications for review that I should review my order by returning the plaints for presenting them to the proper Court. The facts leading to the present applications are briefly these :-   Nineteen cases were filed in this Court in which common question of law was involved and the facts also were similar. In all the cases .a declaration was sought that the levy of duty on imported matches at an enhanced rate was ultra sires…