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TMI Blog1978 (10) TMI 158X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of Kutch. He conceived of the idea of developing a port at Kandla and translated it into action some time in 1931 or thereabouts. On the coming into force of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 (1947 Act), Kutch became a sovereign State with effect from 15th August, 1947, the suzerainty of the British Crown having lapsed. In pursuance of the provisions of the 1947 Act, the Maharao of Kutch executed an instrument of accession on 4th May, 1948 ceding to the Dominion of India and followed it up by an agreement called The Kutch Merger Agreement executed on 1st June, 1948, whereunder he conceded to the Dominion Government full and exclusive authority, jurisdiction and power for and in relation to his State and agreed to transfer the administration of the State to the Dominion Government. Consequently, the Central Government came to enjoy absolute, exclusive and plenary authority, jurisdiction and power over the territories of the erstwhile Indian State of Kutch; the Maharao, who was the sovereign ruler of Kutch, having ceded his State to the Dominion of India on the latter's assurance to respect the Ruler's personal rights, privileges and dignities and to pay an annual privy pu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vested in the Central Government or any other authority for the purposes of the port immediately before the appointed day became vested in the Board. 4. The contention of the State Government is that by virtue of Clause (a) of Sub-section (1) of Section 29 of the 1963 Act, the ownership in the lands comprising the Port of Kandla, which vested in the Central Government before the Act came into force on 29th February, 1964, stood statutorily transferred to the Board, a distinct and separate statutory entity, and hence, the State Government is entitled to recover non-agricultural assessment in respect of the said lands. On the aforesaid line of reasoning adopted by the State Government, the Mamlatdar of An jar by his communication-Ann. A dated 24th December, 1970 demanded a sum of Rs. 56,06,400/- from the Board on account of non-agricultural assessment of the lands under its control and management for the period from the year 1963-64 to 1970-71. The Board made a representation against the demand on 16th June, 1971 to the State Government but the Collector of Kutch by his letter dated 24th April 1974 - Ann. B - informed the Board that the Government of Gujarat was of the view that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6. The contention of the Board is that before the 1963 Act came into force, all the lands and buildings comprising the Port of Kandla belonged to the Central Government and by virtue of Clause (a) of Sub-section (1) of Section 29 of the 1963 Act, the administration, control and management in respect of the said lands and buildings was transferred to the Board but the Central Government did not divest itself of the ownership in the said lands and buildings and, hence, the properties within the administrative control of the Board are immune from State taxation in view of Article 285 of the Constitution, which reads as under: 285. The property of the Union, shall, save in so far as Parliament by law otherwise provide, be exempt from all taxes imposed by a State or by any authority within a State. The Central Government which was allowed to be added as a correspondent in both the appeals supports this view canvassed before us on behalf of the Board. 7. The rival contentions set out above give rise to the following questions. 1. Whether the lands and buildings comprising the Port of Kandla were the property of an authority other than the Central Government be fore 29th F ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tablished the Chief Commissioner's Provinces were included. Section 6 declared that a State shall be deemed to have acceded to the Federation if His Majesty signifies his acceptance of instrument of accession executed by the Ruler of the State declaring that subject to the terms of the instrument His Majesty or the Federal Authorities named therein may, for the purpose only of the Federation exercise in relation to his State such functions as may be vested in them by or under the Act and that he assumes the obligation of ensuring that due effect is given within his State to the provisions of the Act. The Governor's Provinces were set out in Section 46 and the Chief Commissioners' Provinces were enumerated in Section 94 of the 1935 Act. A conjoint reading of Sections 122 and 128 shows that the executive authority of the Federated State had to be exerted so as to euro respect for Federation laws and not to impede or prejudice the exercise of executive authority of the Federation exercisable in the State. It is thus obvious that before 1947 the Rulers of Indian States enjoyed a degree of sovereignty subject to the varying degree of suzerainty exercised over them by the Bri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Government. The expression Extra-Provincial Jurisdiction meant any jurisdiction which by treaty, agreement, grant, usage, sufferance or other lawful means the Central Government had for the time being in or in relation to any area outside the Provinces and the term jurisdiction included all rights, power and authority. Section 3 empowered the Central Government to exercise Extra-Provincial Jurisdiction in such manner as it thought fit. Section 4 empowered the Central Government to make such orders as may seem to it expedient for the effective exercise of any Extra-Provincial jurisdiction. Section 5 validated every act and thing done whether before or after the commencement of the Act in pursuance of any Extra-Provincial Jurisdiction of the Central Government in an area outside the Provinces as if it had been done according to the local law then in force in that area. If any question arose in any proceeding, civil or criminal, in a court established in the Provinces or by the authority of the Central Government outside the Provinces, as to the exercise or extent of any Extra-Provincial Jurisdiction of the Central Government the decision of the Central Government on the questio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing State. 14. In pursuance of the aforesaid newly added Section 290A, the Governor General promulgated (i) The States' Merger (Governor's Provinces) Order, 1949 and (ii) The States' Merger (Chief Commissioner's Provinces) Order, 1949 which came into effect from 1st August, 1949. The first Order defines the expression Central purposes in Section 2 (c) to mean the purposes of Government relatable to any of the matters mentioned in the Federal Legislative list . Section 3 says that as from the appointed day (1st day of August, 1949) the States specified in each of the Schedules shall be administered in all respects as if they formed part of the Provinces specified in the heading of that schedule and accordingly any reference to an acceding State in the Government of India Act, 1935 or to any Act or Ordinance made on or after the appointed day shall be construed as not including a reference to any of the merged States and any reference in any such Act bar Ordinance as aforesaid to a Provinces specified in the Schedule to this Order shall be construed as including the territories of all the States specified in that Schedule. Section 5 next provides that all proper ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Government of Province, according as the purpose for which the property was held immediately before the commencement of the said Part, will thereafter be purposes of the Government of the Federation, purposes of His Majesty's representative for the exercise of said functions of the Crown or purposes of the Government of a Province. On the deletion of these two sections by the Indian (Provisional Constitution) Order, 1947, such division of the property ceased. It, therefore, became necessary to reintroduce a provision vesting property in the Government of the Province and Section 5(1) of the States' Merger (Governor's Province) Order, 1949 satisfied this need. It was unnecessary to make a similar provision in the States' Merger (Chief Commissioner's Provinces) Order, 1949 as the properties in respect of those provinces already vested in the Dominion of India which was charged with the duty to administer the said provinces. Mr. Shah's attempt, therefore, to contend that the absence of a provision similar to Section 5(1) of the States' Merger (Governor's Province) Order, 1949 in the sister Order concerning the Chief Commissioner's Provinces, lend ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lly vested in him under Article 23). The authority conferred under Article 239 to administer Part C States has not the effect of converting those States into the Central Government. Under Article 239, the President occupies in regard to Part C States, a position analogous to that of a Governor in Part A States and of a Rajpramukh in Part B States. Though the Part C States are centrally administered under the provisions of Article 239, they do not cease to be States and become merged with the Central Government. It was argued that merely because the State was under the administrative control of the President, it cannot be said that the property of Part C State vested in the Central Government. Reliance was also placed on the State of Vindhya Pradesh (Now the State of Madhya Pradesh) v. Moula Bux and Ors. [1962]2SCR794 wherein the question which arose for consideration was whether the suit against the State of Vindhya Pradesh was properly framed or should have been directed against the Union of India and the Supreme Court relying on the decision in Satya Dev (supra) held that the suit was competent. It was urged that both these decisions clearly support the submission of the learn ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reof shall be as specified in the First Schedule. The First Schedule to the Constitution was amended by Section 12 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956(1956 Act) and in regard to the territories comprising the State of Bombay reference has been made to the territories specified in Sub-section (1) of Section 8 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956. The relevant part of that sub-section provides that as from the appointed day (1st November, 1956) there shall be formed a new Part A State to be known as the State of Bombay comprising amongst others (e) the territories of the existing State of Kutch. Thus the territories of the existing State of Kutch ceased to form part of Kutch and became merged in the State of Bombay. 17. An interesting development which has relevance to the point under consideration may now be noticed. On 31st January, 1950 the Government of India in exercise of powers conferred by Sub-section (1)(a) of Section 4 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (1908 Act) extended the provisions of the Act to the Port of Kandla with effect from 1st April, 1950 and defined the limits of the said port under the said notification. Subsequently by another notification dated 29th Mar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... declared as a Major Port and was under the governance of the Central Government as such. Major Ports being covered by entry 27 of the Union List would make the purpose for which the assets of the State were held a Union purpose and, therefore, by Virtue of the aforesaid two provisions in the 1956 Act, the territories of the Port of Kandla, as delimited by the notifications referred to earlier, would not vest in the State Government. That being the obvious position, the contention that the territories of the Port of Kandla did not vest in the Central Government on the day the 1963 Act came into force, is clearly misconceived. 18. Before we proceed to decide the nature of the vesting it is necessary to examine some of the provisions of the 1908 Act and the scheme of the 1963 Act. The Indian Ports Act, 1908 was enacted to consolidate the enactments relating to Ports and Port authorities. Sub-section (4) of Section 3 defines a Port and Sub-section (8) defines a Major Port as 'any Port which the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette declare as Major Port'. Clause (a) of Sub-section (1) of Section 4 empowers the Government to extend the provisions ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on to a Port means a member of the Board constituted for the Port . We then move to Chapter II entitled Board of Trustees and Committees thereof. Section 3 deals with the constitution of the Board of Trustees and says that with effect from such date, as may be specified by notification in the Official Gazette, the Central Government shall cause to be constituted in respect of any Major Port the Board of Trustees to be called the Board of Trustees of that Port consisting of a Chairman, and if thought fit, a Deputy Chairman, both to be appointed by the Central Government, not more than 10 persons to be appointed by the Central Government and not more than 12 persons to be elected by such State or local bodies representing commercial, shipping or local interests as the Central Government may specify. Section 5 provides that every Board constituted under the Act shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of the Act, to acquire, hold or dispose of property, and may by the name by which it is constituted sue or be sued. Section 7 lays down that the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman shall hold office during the plea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntral Government may, at the request of the Board, procure the acquisition thereof under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and on payment by the Board of the compensation awarded under that Act and all the charges incurred by the Government in connection with the proceedings, the land shall vest in the Board. Section 33 empowers the Board, subject to the provisions of Section 34, to enter into and perform any contract necessary for the performance of its functions under the Act. Section 34 provides that every contract shall, on behalf of the Board, be made by the Chairman and shall be sealed by the common seal of the Board provided that no contract whereof the value or amount exceeds such value or amount as the Central Government may, from time to time, fix, in this behalf, shall be made unless it his been previously approved by the Board; provided further that no such contract for the acquisition or sale of immovable property or for the lease of any such property for a term exceeding 30 years and no other contract whereof the value or the amount exceeds such value or amount as the Central Government may, from time to time, fix in this behalf, shall be made unless it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s or arrest, or of the keeping of the same, remains unpaid for the space of five day next after any such distress or arrest has been so made, the Board may cause the vessel or other things so distrained or arrested to be sold. The provisions of this Chapter show that while the Board is enjoined with the duty to frame scale of rates, etc., the Central Government has plenary powers to cancel or modify such rates and to issue directions in that behalf. It also shows that the power of arrest and distress of the vessel and its sale which are ordinarily exercised by the State have been transferred to the Board to enable it to recover its dues so that the day to day administration is not paralysed. Chapter VII is entitled Borrowing powers of the Board. Section 66 entitles the Board with the previous sanction of the Central Government to raise loans for the purposes of the Act. Section 67 further authorises the Board to issue port securities with the sanction of the Central Government. Section 81 provides for the establishment of a sinking fund. Section 82 deals with the investment and application of a sinking fund and Section 83 requires that the sinking fund shall be subject to annual ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oard to maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare the Annual Statement of accounts in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The account of the Board must be got audited once in every year by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or such other person as may be appointed by him in this behalf. If there is any difference of opinion between the Board and the Comptroller or Auditor General of India on any point included in the audit report, Section 105 provides for a reference to the Central Government and the orders passed by the Central Government are made binding on the Board. All these; provisions in Chapter VIII of the Act also disclose the tight grip maintained by the Central Government on the finances of the Board. That brings us to Chapter IX which deals with the Supervision and Control of Central Government . Section 106 provides that as soon as may be after the first day of April every year, every Board shall submit to the Central Government, a detailed report of the administration of this Port during the preceding year. Section 107 enjoins upon every Board to submit statements of its Income and Expenditure at sue time th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Court should not place reliance on the language of the preamble. It is undoubtedly true that the Board incorporated under Section 3 is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal by virtue of Section 5 and can sue or be sued by the name by which it is incorporated. When a corporation is incorporated by an Act of Parliament, the statute constituting it becomes its charter declaring its rights and powers and prescribing its duties and obligations. Therefore, statutory corporate bodies have such rights and can do such acts only as are authorised directly or indirectly by the law creating them. The powers of a statutory corporation like the present one are limited and circumscribed by the statute to which it owes its existence and extend no further than what is provided therein or is necessarily or properly required for carrying into effect the purposes of its incorporation or may be fairly regarded as incidental to those things authorised by Parliament. In other words that which is not either expressly or impliedly authorised must be deemed to have been denied or prohibited. The preamble of the Act leaves no doubt in our minds that the Board has been created fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ust look to the context in which it is used. It is not permissible to read the language of the section in isolation but regard must be had to the scheme of the statute, its object and purpose and the contextual structure before a clear meaning is given to the expression falling for interpretation If so read we have no doubt that the vesting in the Board is not absolute but only for administration, control and management. 22. Three cases were cited before us on the question of vesting. In the Fruit Vegetable Merchants Union v. The Delhi Improvement Trust [1957]1SCR1 under an agreement certain area of Nazul land of the Government was placed at the disposal of the Trust for 'orderly expansion of Delhi under supervision of a single authority'. Additional land was subsequently sanctioned on two conditions; (i) the whole of the land is the property of Government; and (ii) the trust will administer the new market on completion. The Trust was empowered to sell any land included in Nazul Estate on its own authority for full market value but if the amount exceeded Rs 25,000/- sanction of the Chief Commissioner or Government was necessary. The Trust was enjoined to maintain separ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt in holding that the Corporation had a personality of its own distinct from the State and it was not possible to hold on the frame of the statute that the trading activity was being carried on by the State depart-mentally through the statutory corporation. This case, therefore, turns on its peculiar facts and is of little assistance to us. 24. The third case to which our attention was drawn is the decision in Maharaj Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors. [1977]1SCR1072 The matter arose out of a suit filed by two plaintiffs (i) the State of U.P. and (ii) the Gaon Sabha of Bedpura for alternative reliefs of injunction or ejectment. The defendant was a quondam zamindar of the estate in the suit. The State of U.P. by an Act extinguished all zamindari estates which led to the cesser of ownership of the zamindar and vesting of title and possession in the State. By a notification issued under Section 117(1) of the Act the area of lands was vested in the Gaon Sabha. The defendant resisted ejectment on the strength of Section 9 of the Act. The suit was dismissed by the trial court, whereupon Gaon Sabha dropped out and only the State appealed. The High Court partially allowed the app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of law: Chief Justice Ray, speaking for the imparity, made the following observations in respect of the aforesaid three statutory corporations: 44. All these provisions indicate at each stage that the creation, composition of membership, the functions and powers, the financial powers, the audit of accounts, the returns, the capital the borrowing powers, the dissolution of the Commission and acquisition of land for the purpose of the company and the powers of entry are all authority and agency of the Central Government. 50. The structure of the Life Insurance Corporation indicates that the Corporation is an agency of the Government carrying on the exclusive business of life insurance. Each and every provision shows in no uncertain terms that the voice is that of the Central Government and the hands are also of the Central Government. 62. The Industrial Finance Corporation is under the complete control and management of the Central Government. Citizens cannot be shareholders. Certain specified institutions like Scheduled Banks, Insurance Companies, Investment Trusts and Co-operative Banks may apply for the shares. The Central Government may acquire shares held by shareholders o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that if the Central Government is minded to resume any area it has merely to alter the limits under Section 5 of the 1908 Act, in which case the Board will automatically be divested of control over such property and the Central Government in whom the paramount title vests would assume control. Hence there was no need to make a separate provision for resumption as the paramount title was never intended to be transferred under the 1963 Act. In our view the absence of such provision is indicative of limited vesting in the Board and not vice-versa as contended on behalf of the State and the Municipality. We now reach the last limb of the submission It was argued by the learned Counsel for the State and the Municipality that Clause (a) of Sub-section (1) of Section 29 of the 1963 Act deals with the transfer of assets and liabilities of not only the Central Government but also any other authority and if we take the view that the vesting contemplated by the said Clause is limited to vesting in possession in the case of assets belong to the Central Government, we would be obliged to assign the same meaning to the term vest in the case of assets of other authorities also and that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... wers the Board to lease, sell or otherwise convey any such property which may have become vested in or acquired by them provided that no sale of immovable property and no leases of any such property for a term exceeding 31 years shall be valid unless the previous sanction of the Central Government in that behalf is obtained. Section 27 provides that when the Board is unable to acquire, by agreement, any immovable property required for the purpose of the Act, the Central Government may acquire the property as if it were needed for a public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, 1870. Of course, the amount of compensation and all other charges incurred in the acquisition of such property had to be defrayed by the Board and thereupon the property was to vest in the Board. We then come to the next two important sections which deal with the transfer to Board of property of the existing Port Trust and vesting in the Board the right, title and interest acquired by the Secretary of State in other properties. Section 28 says that all such immovable and other property, as is held by or in trust for the trustees of the Port of Bombay under and in pursuance of or for the purpose of the Bombay ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 73, which empowers the trustees to make byelaws with the approval of the Central Government. Section 75 prescribes penalties for the infringement of the bye-laws made under Section 73. Section 88 empowers the Board to evict certain persons from the premises of the Board, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law. Section 90 deals with the supersession of the Board by the Central Government. The consequence of such supersession, amongst others, is that the property vested in the Board, shall, untill the Board is re-constituted, vest in the Central Government. 29. Our attention was also invited to the previous legislations on the subject in support of the contention that the vesting in the Board of Trustees under the Bombay Port Trust Act, 1879 was complete both in possession and in interest. Act XXII of 1855 made provision for the safety of vessels and for the convenience of traffic in several ports within the territories in possession and under the Government of the East India Company and for the improvement, maintenance and good government of such ports, as also to regulate levy of port dues, etc., and to punish defaulters. Section Ill empowered the local Government w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sum of Rupees 50,000 in lieu of all Municipal rates and taxes except rates and taxes for the supply of water and halalcore service, and in consideration of such annual payment when and as soon as any roads and thoroughfares have been duly levelled, paved, metalled, flagged, channelled and sewered by the Trustees, the Municipal Commissioner shall, on being satisfied of the same, declare such road or thoroughfare to be a public thoroughfare, and thereupon it shall maintain and keep in repair and light and cleanse all such roads and thoroughfares. Section XX invests the local Government with the power to remove the Chairman or any trustee by an order to be made in that behalf. Section XXXI lays down that the trustee shall, for the purposes of this Act, have power to acquire and hold immovable and movable property. The trustees were also invested with power to lease or sell any movable or immovable property vested in or acquired by them, which is no longer required for the purposes of the Act; provided that no such sale or other alienation or lease shall be valid unless the sanction of the local Government is first obtained. Provision is also made in Section XXXII for compulsory acqui ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder the Act as if the said roads, thoroughfares and places were vested in the Municipality. Section 66 of the Bombay Municipal Act, 1872 provided for the levy of rates, taxes, tolls and duties but Section 77 granted exemption in respect of lands and buildings owned by a Government or the Corporation from the payment of house rate. The Port of Bombay till the enactment of the Bombay Port Trust Act, 1873 was undoubtedly the property of the Government, and, was, therefore, exempt from house rate. Bombay Municipal Act, 1872 was repealed by the City of Bombay Municipal Act, 1888. Section 140 of the said Act empowered the levy of property tax consisting of water tax, (sic) tax and general tax. Clause (b) of Section 143(1) made provision for the levy of general tax on all buildings and lands except buildings and lands vested in Her Majesty (used solely for public purposes and not used or intended to be used for purposes of profit) or in the Corporation, in respect of which the said tax, if levied, would under the provisions therein contained, be primarily leviable from the Crown or the Corporation respectively. The existing Section 36 of the Bombay Port Trust Act, 1879 was substituted by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ommissioners within the municipal limits for the purposes of payment of tax. Section 67 empowers the Calcutta Corporation to declare any road or thoroughfare vested in the Commissioners a public street. Section 68 casts a duty on the Calcutta Corporation to light, cleanse or water such roads or thoroughfares open to the public or leading to any dock, wharf or jetty. Section 126 entitles the Commissioners to make, alter or repeal bye-laws and Section 127 prescribes the penalty for the infringement of any bye-law. Sections 109 to 132 provide for the constitution and control of Port Police Force and Section 136A arms the Commissioners with the power of summary eviction of allottees occupying premises vested in the Commissioners. 34. The Madras Port Trust Act, 1905, which is also a consolidating Act relating to the regulation, conservancy and improvement of the Port of Madras, runs along the same lines. Section 6 imposes a duty on the Board to carry out the provisions of the Act, subject to such conditions and limitations contained therein. Section 7 deals with the constitution of the Board and Section 8 provides for the appointment of trustees. Section 11A lays down that an elected ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... frame bye-laws and breach of the bye-laws so framed is made penal under the Statutes. The Statutes also empower the Trustees/Commissioners to order summary eviction of allottees occupying premises vesting in them. It is thus clear that the broad scheme of the three sister Statutes is akin to the scheme of the 1963 Act, which we have considered in extenso in the earlier part of this judgment. The scheme of these three Statutes therefore, does not militate against our view that the Parliament by incorporating corporate bodies under the Statutes created an agency for carrying out the purposes of the respective Acts and for that limited purpose the properties came to be vested in the said agencies. In fact, the preamble of the Bombay Act in terms states that the vesting is for the purpose of control and management of the properties in one public trust. Provisions in the other two Acts also make it clear that the properties shall be held by the Trustees/Commissioners in trust for the purposes of the respective Acts. The Trustees/Commissioners are charged with the duty to carry out the provisions of the respective Acts. The maintenance of ports is primarily the function of the Governmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it in reply filed on behalf of the State it is contends that the land vested in the petitioner Board and, therefore, in view of Section 45 of the Land Revenue Code, the land became liable to payment of land revenue. Section 45 provides that all land, whether applied to agriculture or other purposes, and wherever situated, is liable to payment of land revenue to the Government except such as may be volley exempted under the provisions of any special contract with the Government or any law for the time being in force. It was submitted that Section 45 refers to all land and, therefore, in the absence of a provision granting immunity from the payment of land revenue, the Board will be liable to pay the amount claimed by way of non-agricultural assessment. We have come to the conclusion that the vesting in the Board is not absolute but is for the limited purpose of administration, control and management only. The lands and buildings falling within the area of Port of Kandla, therefore, continue to belong to the Central Government and, hence, the immunity of Article 285 would be available to the Central Government. The State Government, therefore, cannot recover the non-agricultural asse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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