Statutory limitation on compensation claims defeated Crown priority and left no enforceable right to payment out of the deposit.

The special compensation statute required any claim to payment out of the deposited compensation to be made within six months, subject only to a limited extension, and declared late claims unenforceable. The income-tax authority filed beyond time, so its claim was barred and had ceased to be enforceable. Section 226(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 did not apply because the Tribunal under the compensation scheme was not a court, and the common law doctrine of Crown priority could not override the express statutory limitation.

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Issues: Whether the income-tax authority could claim payment out of the compensation deposited with the Tribunal after the expiry of the limitation period under section 42 of Madras Act XXVI of 1948, and whether the common law doctrine of Crown priority or section 226(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could override that statutory bar.

Analysis: Section 42(1) of Madras Act XXVI of 1948 required any person claiming payment out of the compensation to apply within six months from the date of deposit, with a possible extension not exceeding six months at the Tribunal's discretion. Section 42(2) provided that if the claim was not made within time, it would cease to be enforceable. The income-tax applications were admittedly filed beyond the prescribed time. Section 226(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could not assist the appellant because it applied to a court, whereas the Tribunal under Madras Act XXVI of 1948 was not a court. The statutory scheme governing estate takeover and compensation also left no room for the common law rule of priority to override the limitation and extinction of enforceability created by section 42.

Conclusion: The claim for payment out was barred by limitation and had ceased to be enforceable. The doctrine of Crown priority did not prevail over the express statutory prohibition, and the appeal failed.

Final Conclusion: The statutory limitation under the compensation scheme controlled the claim, leaving no enforceable right to priority payment from the deposited compensation.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special statute prescribes a time limit for claims against compensation and declares belated claims unenforceable, the common law doctrine of Crown priority cannot override that express statutory bar.

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