State power to recover public dues as land revenue upheld under revenue court jurisdiction and pith-and-substance doctrine.

State legislation enabling recovery of loans and advances due to State-owned corporations and banks as arrears of land revenue was upheld. The Court traced competence to the State's power over administration of justice and the constitution and organisation of courts, including the ability to enlarge or reduce the jurisdiction of revenue courts. It held that the Collector, acting under the recovery machinery, exercised judicial power as a revenue court because the statute created a lis and authorised determination of rights and coercive recovery measures. The law was also sustained in pith and substance as relating to money-lending and money-lenders, with any overlap into Union fields being only incidental.

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Issues: Whether the State Legislature had competence to enact a provision enabling recovery of loans and advances due to State-owned corporations and banks as arrears of land revenue.

Analysis: The provision was upheld by tracing the source of power to the State's authority over administration of justice and the constitution and organisation of courts, which includes the power to enlarge or reduce the jurisdiction of revenue courts. The Collector, while acting under the revenue recovery machinery, was held to exercise judicial power of the State and to function as a revenue court because the statute created a lis between the State and the defaulter and empowered the Collector to determine rights, order distress, sale, attachment, arrest and detention. The legislation was also sustained as a law in pith and substance relating to money-lending and money-lenders and, in any event, any overlap with banking or other fields in the Union List was only incidental.

Conclusion: The State Legislature had legislative competence and the impugned provision was constitutionally valid.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the recovery provisions failed, and the statutory amendments enabling recovery of public dues through revenue process were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A State Legislature may validly confer additional jurisdiction on revenue courts to recover public dues as arrears of land revenue, and such legislation is upheld when its pith and substance falls within the State's legislative field even if it incidentally overlaps with a Union subject.

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