Bara Singh vs Kashmira Singh and Others

Our attention is drawn to the view taken by this Court in Ujjagar Singh v. Dharam Singh and Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 1263 of 1973, decided on November 23, 1986) to the effect that the Punjab Custom (Power to Contest) Amendment Act, 1973 is retrospective in operation and that it also applies to pending proceedings. We find that the view appears to run counter to the express provisions of Sub-section (2) of Section l of the Amendment Act which provides that the amendment shall be deemed to have come into force only on January 3, 1973. It cannot be disputed that Section 3 of the Amendment Act which makes Section 7 of the Act applicable to all immovable property i.e. whether ancestral or non-ancestral affects substantive rights of the parties. When the Legislature has clearly indicated that the Amendment Act shall be prospective in operation, it follow that Section 7, as amended, cannot apply to pending proceedings instituted much earlier. We therefore feel that the view expressed in Ujaggar Singh v. Dharam Singh and Ors. requires reconsideration.

Let the papers be placed before Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India for the case being placed before a Bench of three Judges.