Delhi High Court Act, 1966- Sections 11 to 21 and Schedule

11. Procedure as to appeals to Supreme Court.

11. Procedure as to appeals to Supreme Court.—The law in force immediately before the appointed day relating to appeals to the Supreme Court from the High Court of Punjab and the Judges and Division Courts thereof shall, with the necessary modifications, apply in relation to the High Court of Delhi.

12. Transfer of proceedings from the High Court of Punjab to the High Court of Delhi.

12. Transfer of proceedings from the High Court of Punjab to the High Court of Delhi.—(1) Except as hereinafter provided, the High Court of Punjab shall, as from the appointed day, have no jurisdiction in respect of the Union Territory of Delhi.

(2) Such proceedings pending in the High Court of Punjab immediately before the appointed day as are certified, whether before or after that day, by the Chief Justice of that High Court having regard to the place of accrual of the cause of action and other circumstances to be proceedings which ought to be heard and decided by the High Court of Delhi, shall, as soon as may be after such certification, be transferred to the High Court of Delhi.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section and in Section 5, but save as hereinafter provided, the High Court of Punjab shall have, and the High Court of Delhi shall not have, jurisdiction to entertain, hear or dispose of, appeals, applications for leave to appeal including leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, applications for review and other proceedings where any such proceedings seek any relief in respect of any order passed by the High Court of Punjab before the appointed day:

Provided that if after any such proceedings have been entertained by the High Court of Punjab, it appears to the Chief Justice of that High Court that they ought to be transferred to the High Court of Delhi, he shall order that they shall be so transferred, and such proceedings shall thereupon be transferred accordingly.

(4) Any order made by the High Court of Punjab—

(a) before the appointed day, in any proceedings transferred to the High Court of Delhi by virtue of sub-section (2)

(b) in any proceedings with respect to which the High Court of Punjab retains jurisdiction by virtue of sub-section (3),

shall for all purposes have effect, not only as an order of the High Court of Punjab, but also as an order made by the High Court of Delhi.

13. Right to appear or to act in proceedings transferred to the High Court of Delhi.

13. Right to appear or to act in proceedings transferred to the High Court of Delhi.—Any person who, immediately before the appointed day, is an advocate entitled to practise or an attorney entitled to act, in the High Court of Punjab, and was authorised to appear or to act in any proceedings transferred from that High Court to the High Court of Delhi under Section 12, shall have the right to appear or to act, as the case may be, in the High Court of Delhi in relation to those proceedings.

14. Interpretation.

14. Interpretation.—For the purposes of Sections 12 and 17,—

(a) proceedings shall be deemed to be pending in a court until that court has disposed of all issues between the parties, including any issues with respect to the taxation of the costs of proceedings and shall include appeals, applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, applications for review, petitions for revisions and petitions for writs;

(b) references to a High Court shall be construed as including references to a Judge or Division Court thereof, and references to an order made by a court or a Judge shall be construed as including references to a sentence, judgment or decree passed or made by that court or Judge.

15. Savings.

15. Savings.—Save as provided in Section 4, nothing in this Act shall affect the application to the High Court of Delhi of any provisions of the Constitution, and this Act shall have effect subject to any provision that may be made on or after the appointed day with respect to that High Court by any Legislature or other authority having power to make such provision.

16. Pending proceedings before subordinate courts in Delhi.

16. Pending proceedings before subordinate courts in Delhi.—All proceedings pending immediately before the appointed day in any subordinate court in the Union Territory of Delhi in or in relation to any such civil suit as is referred to in sub-section (2) of Section 5 shall on that day stand transferred to the High Court of Delhi which shall proceed to try, hear and determine the matter as if it had been pending therein.

17. Extension of the jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi.

17. Extension of the jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi.—(1) As from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint (hereinafter referred to as the prescribed date), the jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi shall extend to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh.

(2) As from the prescribed date the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Himachal Pradesh shall cease to function and is hereby abolished:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall prejudice or affect the continued operation of any notice served, injunction issued, direction given, or proceedings taken before the prescribed date by the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Himachal Pradesh abolished by this sub-section.

(3) The High Court of Delhi shall have, in respect of the territories for the time being included in the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh,—

(a) all such original, appellate and other jurisdiction as under the law in force immediately before the prescribed date, is exercisable in respect of the said territories by the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Himachal Pradesh; and also

(b) ordinary original civil jurisdiction in every suit the value of which exceeds  [i][fifty thousand rupees], notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force.

(4) All proceedings pending in the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for Himachal Pradesh before the prescribed date shall stand transferred to the High Court of Delhi.

(5) Any order made before the prescribed date by the Court referred to in sub-section (4) shall for all purposes have effect not only as an order of that Court but also as an order of the High Court of Delhi.

(6) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the provisions of Sections 6 to 11 and 13 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to the High Court of Delhi in the exercise of jurisdiction conferred upon it by this section.

(7) All proceedings pending immediately before the prescribed date in any subordinate court in the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh in or in relation to any such civil suit as is referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (3) shall on that date stand transferred to the High Court of Delhi which shall proceed to try, hear and determine the matter as if it had been pending therein.

18. Rule of construction.

18. Rule of construction.—(1) References in any law in force in the Union Territory of Delhi to the High Court of Punjab shall, as from the appointed day, be construed in relation to that Union Territory as references to the High Court of Delhi.

(2) References in any law in force in the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh to the High Court of Punjab or to the Court of the Judicial Commissioner for that territory shall, as from the prescribed date, be construed in relation to that Union Territory as references to the High Court of Delhi.

19. Amendment of certain laws.

19. Amendment of certain laws.— [ii][Repealed]

20. Power to remove difficulties.

20. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by notified order, make such provisions as appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the removal of the difficulty.

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the order or both Houses agree that the order should not be made, the order shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that order.

21. Power to adopt laws.

21. Power to adopt laws.—For the purpose of facilitating the application of any law in relation to the Union Territory of Delhi or Himachal Pradesh, the Central Government may, before the expiration of two years, from the appointed day in relation to the Union Territory of Delhi and before the expiration of two years from the prescribed date in relation to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh, by order, make such adaptations and modifications of the law, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient to give effect to the provisions of this Act and thereupon every such law shall have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.

SCHEDULE

(See Section 19)

 [iii][Repealed]

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