Incapacitated person under recovery rules means unsoundness of mind, not mere physical disability; distraint notice stood.

Rule 44 was construed as applying only to a minor or an incapacitated person, with "incapacitated person" meaning a person rendered incapable of managing affairs by unsoundness of mind or mental infirmity. Mere physical disability was insufficient to attract the rule, and the provision was treated as analogous to Order 32 Rule 15 CPC. On the facts, there was no material showing mental unsoundness, and the distraint was accepted as directed only against the defaulter's movables in the petitioner's custody, not the petitioner's own property. Rule 44 was therefore held inapplicable on the facts, and the notice and recovery proceedings were left undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether rule 44 could be invoked against a person who was only physically disabled but not shown to be of unsound mind, and whether the distraint notice could be treated as invalid on that footing.

Analysis: Rule 44 of the sales tax rules was construed to apply only to a minor or an incapacitated person, and the expression "incapacitated person" was read as referring to a person suffering from unsoundness of mind or mental infirmity rendering him incapable of managing his affairs. Physical incapacity by itself was held insufficient. The provision was treated as analogous to Order 32 Rule 15 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which similarly turns on unsoundness of mind or mental infirmity. On the facts, nothing showed that the concerned person was mentally unsound. The court also accepted the clarification that the distraint was directed only against the defaulter's movables in the petitioner's custody and not against the petitioner's own property.

Conclusion: Rule 44 was held inapplicable on the facts, and the notice was not quashed or interfered with.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition did not succeed in obtaining any substantive relief, and the recovery proceedings were left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: The expression "incapacitated person" in the recovery rule refers to a person rendered incapable of managing his affairs by unsoundness of mind or mental infirmity, not mere physical disability.

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