Summary
The District Court concerned under Section 23 of the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001 was not confined to the court at the society’s registration place. General CPC rules governing territorial jurisdiction accompanied the established court’s jurisdiction unless displaced by the special statute. The Court settled the recurring legal question despite intervening elections making the immediate dispute academic.
Issues
- Whether Section 23 confined jurisdiction to the society’s registration district.
- Whether ordinary CPC territorial rules applied to the statutory application.
Provisions considered
- Section 23, Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001The reproduced provision referred to the District Court concerned without the exclusive-location language of Section 13 of the 1860 Act; ordinary court procedure and territorial rules applied. (¶¶ 9–15, 18)
Held
- Reference to an established District Court, without a separate statutory procedure or restrictive territorial rule, imported the ordinary incidents of its jurisdiction and CPC procedure. The special-enactment character alone did not exclude those rules. (¶¶ 13–15, 18)
- The 1860 provision and the cited Companies Act decision expressly selected a particular location and were materially different. It was incorrect to use the general definition of Court to restrict Section 23 to a single registration-place court. (¶¶ 11–12, 15–18)
- Although later elections rendered the immediate prayers academic, the recurring jurisdictional issue was decided for future guidance. (¶ 7–8)
Result
Appeal allowed; Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment restricting jurisdiction set aside.