Doctrine of "escheat" or "bona vacantia" - Indian Laws - General

Doctrine of escheat or bona vacantia In the case of Narendra Bahadur Tandon v. Shanker Lal, 1980 (1) TMI 164 - SUPREME COURT , has inter alia observed : In India the law is well settled that the property of an intestate dying without leaving lawful heirs and the property of a dissolved Corporation passes to the Government by escheat or as bona vacantia. Of course such property will be subject to trusts and charges, if any, previously affecting it. CIT vs M/S Carton Hotel Pvt Ltd.- 2017 (1) TMI 1471 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT ...........In Sunni Central Board of Waqfs vs. Sri Gopal Singh Visharad and others 2010 ADJ (1) SFB) (LB) (in which one of us Sudhir Agarwal, J. was a member; rendered judgment which constituted majority on this aspect), this Court has observed as under : 4439. ........................ the right of the King to take property by escheat or as bona vacantia was recognized by common law of England. Escheat property was the lord's right of reentry on real property held by a tenant dying intestate without lawful heirs. It was an incident, of feudal tenure and based on the want of a tenant to perform the feudal services. On the tenant dying intestate without leaving any lawful heirs, his estate came to an end and the lord was in by his own right and not by way of succession or inheritance from the tenant to reenter the real property as owner. In most of the cases the land escheated to the Crown as the lord paramount, in view of the gradual elimination of intermediate or mesne lords since 1290 AD. The Crown takes as bona vacantia goods in which no one else can claim property. In Dyke Vs. Walford 5 Moore PC 434 = 49613 ER 557 (580) it was said it is the right of the Crown to bona vacantia to property which has no other owner. The right of the Crown to take as bona vacantia extends to personal property of every kind. Giving a notice at this stage that the escheat of real property of an intestate dying without heirs was abolished in 1925 and the Crown cannot take its property as bona vacantia. The principle of acquisition of property by escheat i.e right of the Government to take on property by escheat or bona vacantia for want of a rightful owner was enforced in the Indian territory during the period of East India Company by virtue of statute 16 and 17 Victoriae, C. 95, Section 27..........................