Evacuee property classification upheld: pre-declaration transfer of assets to Pakistan remained relevant under section 22(b).

Section 22(b) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 was upheld as consistent with Article 14 because the classification between persons transferring assets to Pakistan after 18 October 1949 and those transferring assets between 14 August 1947 and 18 October 1949 rested on real differences in circumstance, and the two groups were not similarly situated. The Court also held that a pre-declaration transfer of a substantial portion of assets to Pakistan could be relied on under section 22(b), since the statute required only the prescribed transfer and did not require additional circumstances or later conduct. The evacuee property declarations were therefore sustained.

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Issues: (i) Whether section 22(b) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 was void for violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. (ii) Whether, for action under section 22(b), a transfer of assets to Pakistan made before declaration as an intending evacuee could be taken into account and whether additional circumstances were necessary.

Issue (i): Whether section 22(b) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 was void for violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The classification between a person who transferred assets to Pakistan after 18 October 1949 and a person who transferred assets between 14 August 1947 and 18 October 1949 was held to be based on a real difference in circumstances. The two groups were not similarly situated, and the denial of restoration and compensation benefits to intending evacuees did not flow directly from section 22(b) itself but from the legislative scheme excluding them from the relevant benefit provisions.

Conclusion: Section 22(b) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 was not unconstitutional and did not contravene Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Issue (ii): Whether, for action under section 22(b), a transfer of assets to Pakistan made before declaration as an intending evacuee could be taken into account and whether additional circumstances were necessary.

Analysis: The section was construed according to its language to mean that the relevant circumstance is the transfer of a substantial portion of assets to Pakistan by a person already declared an intending evacuee, irrespective of whether the transfer occurred before or after that declaration. The existence of the prescribed circumstance was sufficient to sustain the declaration, and the Court found no basis for insisting on later conduct or additional circumstances beyond those specified by the statute.

Conclusion: The pre-declaration transfer of a substantial portion of assets to Pakistan was rightly taken into account under section 22(b), and the declaration of evacuee property was valid.

Final Conclusion: The statutory scheme was upheld, and the orders declaring the property to be evacuee property were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A transfer of a substantial portion of assets to Pakistan is a prescribed circumstance under section 22(b) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 and is relevant even if made before declaration as an intending evacuee; the resulting classification does not offend Article 14 because the two categories of transferees are not similarly situated.

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