Document Fragment View
Fragment Information
Showing contexts for: foreign decrees in Laxmichand And Ors. vs Mst. Tipuri And Ors. on 27 October, 1955Matching Fragments
In other words, the requirement is that a foreign court, in the domain of conflict of laws to which sphere such decrees must pertain, should have been a court of competent jurisdiction in the international sense, and if the foreign court is not competent in this sense, its decrees are a nullity subject to the single exception referred to above.
67. This, then, is the unquestionable position as to the actionability or effectiveness of foreign decrees against non-resident foreigners, and I wish to repeat that this position does not admit of any alteration because at some date subsequent to the passing of a decree of such a character, certain political changes have taken place and the foreign court has, therefore, become a municipal court.
68. This brings me to the next question which relates to the foreign decrees of the States which now form part of our own State i.e., the integrated State of Rajasthan. My Lord the Chief Justice has arrived at the conclusion that the decrees passed by the courts of those States which were foreign before, but which now form part of our own State stand on a different footing and appear to his Lordship to be outside the operation of this principle by virtue of certain laws of our own State.
Now, I may state at once that it is open to the legislature of a State in its wisdom and within its plenary powers to make such ineffective decrees effectual, but I take the opportunity of pointing out that having regard to the nature of such decrees and the basic infirmity which attaches to them, we would be justified in coming to such a conclusion only where the legislature has plainly and in unmistakable terms said so.
I am definitely of opinion that If such is not the case, we would be creating a serious anomaly and causing gross and palpable injustice to non-resident defendants in such cases.
Having given my most anxious consideration to this class of cases, and such a one was under consideration in 'Radheshyam's case (A)' before the full bench of this Court, I am not at all convinced that our own laws speak with that certainty or clarity that we may feel justified in holding that the "foreign" decrees of States which before merger were foreign but which now have become part of 'this State must receive effectualness throughout the boundaries of the integrated State, no matter that such decrees were nullities every where except in the State where they came to be pronounced in accordance with the law of that State.
In the second place my learned brother has placed his reliance on Sections 37 to 39 of the Code, and arrived at the conclusion that a court to which a decree may have been transferred for execution, as it must be in such cases generally is incapable of refusing to execute the decree on any ground such as might be raised under Section 13, Civil P. C. and consequently decrees passed by courts of those States which now fall within the boundaries of the United State of Rajasthan are, as it were, sacrosanct and do not admit of being questioned on the ground of Jurisdiction of the court passing the decree or similar other ground, and therefore, the decrees of such courts stand on a different footing from foreign decrees of other States.