 the administra tors-ge~eral bill, ~(as introduced in loic sabra on und june, 1962) ,  arrangement of clauses chapter i preliminary clauses1 short title, extent and commencement 2 definitions  chapter ii the office of the administrator-gderal3 appointment of administrator-general 4 appointment and powers of deputy administrator-general 5 incorporation  chapter iii rwffts, po'\'ers and duties of the administrator-general(a) grant of letters of administration and probate 6 jurisdiction of high court for the whole state 7 administrator-general entitled to letters of administration, unless granted to next-of-kin a administrator-general entitled to letters of administration in preference to creditors, certain legatees or friends 9 right of administrator-general to apply for administration of estates 10 power of administrator-general to collect and hold assets where immediate action is required 11 grant of probate or letters of administration to person appearing in the course of proceedings taken by administrator-general 12 grant of administration to administrator-general in certain cases  (i) 1060 (b) ls-lclauses 13 administrator-general not precluded from applying for letters within one month after death  (b) reuocation of grants14 recall of administrator-genera!!s administration and grant of probate, etc, to executor or next-of-kin 15 cost of obtaining administration, etc, may, on revocation, be ordered to be paid to administrator-general out of estate 16 after revocation, letters granted to administrator-general to be deemed as to him, to have been voidable only 17 payments made by administrator-general prior to revocation - (c) general 18 administrator-general's petition for grant of letters of administration 19 name in which probate dr letters to be granted 20 effect of probate or letters granted to administrator-· general 21 effect of grant by the high court of jammu and kashmir 22 transfer by private executor or administrator of interest under probate or letters 23 distribution of assets 24 appointment of official trustee as trustee of assets after completion of administration 25 power of high court to give directions regarding administration of estate 26 no security to be required from administrator-general 27 manner in which petition to be verified by administrator-general 28 entry of administrator-general not to constitute notice of a trust  chapter iv grant of certificate -29 in what cases administrator-general may grant certificate' 30 grant of certificate to creditors and power to take ch~rge qf certain estat~!j, clauses 31 administrator-general not bound to grant certlnqlte unies satisfied of claimant's title, etc 32 effect of certificate 33 revocation of certificate 34 surrender of revoked certificate 35 payment to holder of certificate before it is revoked 36 admini~trator-general not bound to take out administration on account of assets for which he has granted certificate 37 transfer of certain assets to executor or administntor in country of domicile for distribution  chapter v liability38 liability of government 39 creditor's suit against administrator-general 40 notice of suit not required in certain cases  chapter vi fd:s41 fees 42 disposal of fees  chapter viiaudit of the administrator-general's accounts 43 audit - 44 auditors to examine accounts and report to government 45 power of auditors to summon and examine witnesses, and to call for documents 46 costs of audit, etc  chapter viii miscellaneous47 general powers of administration 48 power to summon and examine witnesses ~ power of person beneficially interested to inspect administrator-genera!'s account, etc, and take copl  clauses 50 jtalse evidence 51 assets unclaimed for twelve years to be transferred to government 52 mode of proceeding by claimant to recover principal money so transferred 1)3 succession act or companies act not to affect administrator-general  54 savings of provisions 'of police acts for presidency-towns 55 order of court to be equivalent to decree 56 provision for administration by consular oftlcer is case of death in certain circumstances of foreign subject 57 letters of administration not necessary in respect of smad estates administered by administrator-general in accordance with certain acts 68 powers to grant administrator-general letters limited for purpose of dealing with assets in accordance with the army and air force (disposal of private property) act, 1950, or the navy act, 1957 59 act not to affect army and air force (disposal of private property) act, 1950, or the navy act, 1957 60 saving of provisions of indian registration act, 1908 61 power of central government to make rules 62 power of state government to make rules 83 laying of rules made by central government before parliament m repeal and savinis  (as introduced in lok sabha) a billto conso1iclate and amend the law relating to the ofjice and duties of administrator-general  be it enacted by parliament in the thirteenth year of the kepubhc of indla as follows:- chapter i preliminary5 1 (1) this act may be c'311ed 'the administrators-general act, sh on tit'e, 1962 extent and cojllmeeu»-(2) it extends to the whole of india except the state of jammu dtcllt and kashmir (3) it shall come into force on such date as the central govern-10 ment m~y, by notification in the official gazette, appoint 2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,-defliti ••• (a) "assets" means all the property, movable and immovable, of a deceased person, which is chargeable with and applicable to the payment of his debts and legaciea, or awilable fclr 15 distribution amon, his heirs and next-of  k1nj (b) "letters of administration" includes any letters of administration whether general or with a copy of the will annexed or limited in time or otherwise; (c) "next-of-kin" includes a widower or widow of a dece1sed person, or any other person who by law would be ent"itled to 5 letters of administration in preference to a creditor or legatee of the deceased; and (d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under thi act  the office of the administrator-generalappoint-3 (1) the state government shall appoint an administratcrment of adminiltra- general for the state: tor-general provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to bar the appointment of the same person as administrator-general for j" two or more states  (2) no person shall be appointed to the office of administrator-general unless he has been for at least-(a) seven years an advocate; or (b) seven years an attorney of a high court; or 20 (c) ten years a member of the judicial service of a state; or (d) five years a deputy administrator-general appoint-4 (1) the state government may appoint a deputy or deputies ment and to assist the administrator-general; and any deputy so appointed be;; of shall, subject to the control of the state government and the general 25 adminiltra- or special orders of the administrator-general, be competent to distor-general charge any of the duties and to exercise any of the powers of the administrator-general, and when discharging such duties or exer-cising such powers shall have the same privileges and be subject to the same liabilities as the administrator-general 30 (2) no person shall be appointed as a deputy under this section unless he has been for at least three years-(a) an advocate; or (b) an attorney of a high court; or (c) a member of the judicial service of a staw  5 th~ administrator-general shell be a corporation sole by the it1corpol'l-    tlon name of the administrator-general of the state for which he is appointed, and, as such administrator-general, shall have perpetual succession and an official seal, and may sue and be sued in his 5 corporate name  chapter iii rights, powers and duties of the administrator-general(a) grant of letters of administration and probate - 6 so far as regards the administrator-general of any state, the j~%~iojl 10 high court shall be deemed to be a court of competent jurisdiction ~ourt for for the purpose of granting probate or letters of administration ~e whole under any law for the time being in force, wheresoever within the tate state the estate to be administered is situate: provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as affect-15 ing the jurisdiction of any district court 7 any letters of administration granted by the high court shall admginistra-,   tor enera be granted to the administrator-general of the state unless they entitled to are granted to the next-of-kin of the deceased ie tten of administration, un'ess granted to next-of-kin 8 the administl'ator-general of the state shall be deemed by adninistra-20 all the courts in the state to have a right to letters of administra-~~~itl~j~~ral tion other than letters pendente lite in preference to that oflette~ of admmlstra-(a) a creditor; or tion in preference to (b) a legatee, other than a universal legatee or a residuary ~~~~~~rs, legatee or the representative of a residuary legatee; or· lelptees or fflends 25 (c) a friend of the deceased 30 9 (1) if~ j riaht of administra-(a) any person has died leaving within any state assets tor-general   to apply for exceedmg rupees five thousand in value, and administration of (b) (whether the obtaining of probate of his will or letters estates of administration to his estate is or is not obligatory), no person to whom any court would have jurisdiction to commit administration of such assets has, within one month after his death, applied in such state for such probate, or letters of ad ministration, and (c) (in cases where the obtaining of such probate or lettel'l of administration is not obligatory under the provisions ·of the indian succession act, 1925), no person has taken other proceedings fer the protection of the estate, the administrator-general of the state in which such assets s are, may, subject to any rules made by the state government, within a reasonable time after he has had notice of the death of such person, and of his having left such assets, take such proceedinls as may be necessary to obtain from the high court letters of administration of the estate of such person 10 (2) the administrator-general shall not take proceedings under this section unless he is satisfied, that there is apprehension of misappropriation, deterioration or waste of such assets if such proceedings are not taken by him or that such proceedings are otherwise necessary for the protection of the assets 15 ~~=~~~rl-10 (1) whenever any person has died leaving assets within any tor-general state excee::ling rupees five thousand in value, and the high court ~~~o~:fj for that state' j-; satisfied that there is imminent danger of misappro-11isets where priation, d -t('!r!n~'ation or waste of such assets, requiring immediate ~~ed!lte action, the high court may, upon the application of the administra- 20 _~onj  required tor-general or of any person interested in such assets or in the due administration thereof, forthwith direct the administrator-general-(a) to collect and take possession of such assets, and (b) to ho'd deposit, realise, sell or invest the same according to the directions of the high court, and, in default of any 2s such directions according to the provisions of this act so far as hie same are applicable to such assets (2) any order of the high court under sub-section (1) shall entitle the administrator-general-(a) to maintain any suit or proceeding for the recovery of 30 such assets; - (b) if he thinks fit, to apply for letters of administration of the estate of such deceased p::-rson; (e) to retain out of the assets of the estate any fees charge-· able under rules made under this act; and 35 (d) to reimburse himself for all payments made by him in respect of such assets which a private administrator might lawfully have made 5 10 11 if, in the course of proceedings to obtain letters of adminis- grant of , h' , f t' 9 t' 10 probate ~ tratlon under t e provislons 0 sec lon or sec lon ,-letters of d t bl' h h' i' administra-(a) any person appears an es a is es 15 c auntion to d perlon p-(i) to probate of the will of the decease ; or pearin, ul (ii) to letters of administration as next-of-kin of the ~~ep~=_ deceased, and gives such security as may be required of him in, taken by adby law; or miniltrator-(b) any person satisfies the court that he has taken and is general prosecuting with due diligence other proceedings for the protection of the estate, the case being one in which the obtaining of such probate or letters of administration is not obligatory under the provisions of the indian succession act, 192!s; or (c) the court is satisfied that there is no apprehension of misappropriation, deterioration, of waste of the assets and that tke grant of letters of administration in such proceedings is not otherwise necessary fer the protection of the assets; " the court shall-(1) in the case mentioned in clause (a), grant probate of the will or letters of administration accordingly, 20 (2) in the case mentioned in clause ('b) or clause ee), drop the proceedings; and (3) in all the cases award to the administrator-general the costs of any proceedings taken by him under those sections to be paid out of the estate as part of the testamentary or intes-25 tate expe~es thereof  - 12, if, in the course of proceedings to obtain letters of adminis- grant ,of tration under the provisions of section 9 or section 10, and within =ti~_ such period as to the court seems reasonable, no person appears and ministratorestablishes his claim to probate of a will, or to a grant of letters of ~i in 30 administration as next-of-ldn of the deceased, or satisftea the court easel that he has taken and is prosecuting with due diligence other proceedillgs for the protection of the estate, the case being one in which the obtaining of such probate or letters of administration is not obligatory under the provisions of the indian succeaion act, 1925, and 35 the court is satisfied that there is apprehension of misappropriation, deterioration, or waste of the assets or that the grant of letters of administration in such proceedings is otherwise necessary for the protection of the assets; or if a perion who has established his claim to a grant of letters 40 of adminiatratiorl  nat-of-kfn of the deceued falls to give such security u may be requfred of him by law, 1060(b)~2, the court may gnmt letters of administration to the administrator-general administta-13 nothing in this act shall be deemed to preclude the adminlor-general istrator-general from applying to the court for letters of adminis-~i~:dfrom tration in any case within the period of one month from the death , appl~1 for of the deceased letters within one month after dcath  (b) revocation of granta~~:~~!ra-14 if an executor or next-of-kin of the deceased\, who has not tor-gcnerals been personally served with a citation or who has not had notice :::,:u:::~tra- thereof in time to appear pursuant thereto, establishes to the satis- 10 p1idt of faction of the court a claim to probate of will or to letters of ad-fo~~~t:" ministration in preference to the administrator-general, any letters o~ next-of a of administration granted in accordance with the provisions of this kin act to the administrator-general-(4) shall be revoked, if a will of the deceased is proved in is the state; (b) may be revoked, in other cases, if an application for that purpose is made within six months after the grant to the administrator-general and the court is satisfied that there has been no unreasonable delay in making the application, or in 20 transmitting the authority under which the appucation is made; and probate or letters· of administration may be granted to such executor or next-ol-kin as tlle case may be colt of obwaida admiaistradon, etc, may, on re yoc:atioa, be ordered to bc paid to admmiltrator-general out of cstate 15 if any letters of administration granted to the administrator-general in accordance with the provisions of this act are revoked, 25 the court may order the costs of obtaining such letters of adinint tration, and the whole or any, part of any fees which would otherwise have been payable under this act, together with the coats of the administrator-general in any proceedings taken to obtain such revocation, to' be paid to or retained by the administrator-genei1l1 30 out of the· estate: provided that n9thing in this section shall affect the provisions of clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of section 10 18 if any letters of administration granted to the adminlstrator-general in accordance with the provisions of this act are revoked, 35 the same shall, so far as regards the administrator~eral ajid all !ettcn pntcdto persons acting under his authority in pursuance thereof, be deemed administrato have been only voidable, except as to any act done by any: such ~or~deral administrator-general or other person as aforesaid, after notice of a d~med, a, will or of any other fact which would render such letters void: ~~::tc~ voidable s provided that no notice of a will or of any other fact which would only render any such letters void shall affect the administrator-general or any person acting under his authority in pursuance of such letters unless, within the period of one month from the time of giving such notice, proceedings are commenced to prove the will, or to cause the 10 letters to be revoked, and such proceedings are prosecuted without unreasonable- delay 17 if any letters of administration granted to the administrator- paymcdls general in accordance with the provisions of this act are revoked, ~!:'itra­upon the grant of probate of a will, or upon the grant of letters of to~-gederal is administration with a copy of the will annexed, all payments made ~~~on   or acts done by or under the authority of the adminfstrator-general :n pursuance of such letters of administration, prior to the revocation, which would have been valid under any letters of administration lawfully granted to him with a copy of such will annexpd, 20 shall be deemed valid notwithstanding such revocation (c) general 18 whenever any administrator-general applies for letters of admini administration in accordance with the provisions of this act, it shall lor ge:c:l~ be sufficient if the petition required to be presented for the grant =u:rtoj' 25 of such letters states,-letter of (i) the time and place of the death of the deceased to the ~niua­best of the knowledge and belief <)f the petitioner; (ii) the names and addresses of the surviving next-of-kin of the deceased, if known; 30 (iii) the particulars and value of the 8ssel$ likely to come into the hands of the petitioner; (iv) particulars of the liabilities of the estate, if known 18 au probates or letters of administration granted to aay ad- name in ministrator-general shall be granted to him by that name which probate or letters to be granted ?5 zoo (1) probate or letters of administration granted by the high sffect of court to the administrator-general of any state shall have eft'ect fe:e~ or over all the· assets of the deceased throughout the territories to ,nted to which this act· extends and 'shall be conclusive as to the representa- !~~~~!:i ~ive title against all debtors of the 9ece8sed and all persons hold-40 mg such assets, and shall afford full indemnity to all debtors payin~ their-debts and all persons delivering up such assets to such administrator-general (2) whenever a grant of probate or letters of administration t made by a high court to the administrator-general, the high court shall send to the high courts for the other states a certificate that s such grant has been made, and such certiftcate shall be flied by the court receiving the same 21 probate or letters of administration granted b" the hip court for the state of jammu and kashmir to the administrator-general of that state shall have effect over all the assets of the de- 10 cea!ed throughout all the states to the high courts of which a certificate is sent by the high court for the state of jammu and kashmir that such grant has been made, and shall be conclusive as to the representative title against all debtors of the deceased and all, persons holding such assets, and shall afford full indemnity to au 15 debtors paying their debts and all persons delivering up such assets to such admintstrator-general 22 (1) any private executor or administrator may, with the previous consent of the administrator-general of the state in which any of the assets of the estate, in respect of w!!ich such executor 20 or administrator h!!s obtained probate or letters of administration, are lituate, by an instrument in writing under his hand notified in the official gazette, transfer the assets of the estate, vested in him by virtue of such probate or letters to the administrator-general by that name or ey other suftlc1ent deseription 2s (2) as from the date of such transfer, the transferor shall be exempt from all liability: as such executor or administrator, as the case may be, except in respect of acts done before the date of such transfer, and the administrator-general shall have the rights whicn he would have had, and be subject to the liabilities to which he 30 would have been subject, if the probate or letters of administration, as the' case may be, had been granted to him by that name at the date of such transfer distributioa 23 (l) when the administrator-general has given the prescribof  lett ed notice to creditors ad others to send in to him their claims 35 againat the estate of the deceased, he shall, at the expiration of the time therein named for sending in claims, be at liberty to distribute the assets or an, part thereof in dlseharge of such lawful claims u he haa notice of (2) the administrator-general shall not be liable for the asset! '10 distributed to any person of whose claims he had not notice at the time of such distribution (3) no notice of any claim which has been sent in and has been , rejected or disallowed in part by the administrator-general shall affect him, unless proceedings to enforce such claim are commenced within one month after notice of the rejection or disallowance of such claim has been given in the prescribed manner and unless such proceedings are proiecuted without unreasonable delay 10 (4) nothing in this section shall prejudice the rig~t of any· creditor or other claimant to follow the assets or any part thereof in the hands of the persons who may have received the same respectively (5) in computing the period of limitation for any suit, appeal i s or application under the provisions of any law for the time being in force, the period between the date of submission of the claim of a creditor or other claimant to the administrator-general and the date of the final decision of the administrator-general on such claim shall be excluded 20 24; (1) when the administrator-general has, so far as may be, appointdischarged all the liabilities of an estate administered by him, he ~~ r shall notify the fact in the oftlcial gazette, and he may, by an ins- trul~ee as trument in writing, with the consent of the official trustee and sub- ~n;=eftf ject to any rules made by the state government, appoint the official c~mpleti: 2s trustee to be the trustee of any assets then remaining in his hands :!ti!r:,nis-:a of 1913 (2) upon such appointment, such assets shall vest in the official trustee as if he had been appointed trustee in accordance with the provisions of the official trustees act, 1913, and sball be held by him upon the same trusts as the same were held immediately be-30 fore such appointment 25 the high court may, on applicaticm made to it by the adf ministrator-general or any person interested in the assets or in the ~~;:~~ due administration thereof, give to the administrator-general of td~ gi~ th stat ral  jj":ctiofts e e any gene or special directions as to any estate in his regardinl 3s charge or in regard to the administration of any such estate ~~8traestate 26 no addwnibtrator-general shall be required by any court to no iiccilrity enter into any admjnfstrauon bond or to give other security to the to be re-c rt th ' quired from ou ,on e grant of any letters of administration to him by that admiriltraname tor-general minner in 27 no administrator-general shall be required to verify, other-=~o~- wise than by his signature, any petition presented by him under verifted by the provisions of this act, and, if the facts stated in any such peti-ad~lttai tion are not within his own personal knowledge, the petition may torra be subscribed and verified by any person co~petent to make verift-5 cation t:xd~!u-tor-general dot to codititutc douce of tfult 28 the entry of the administrator-general by that name in the books of a company shall not constitute notice of a trust, and a company shall not be entitled to object to entering the name of the administrator-general on its register by reason only that the ad- 1 (j ministrator-general is a corporation, and in dealing with assets the fact that the person dealt with is the administrator-general shall not of itself constitute notice of a trust  chapter ivgrant 01' certii'lcate is 29 (1) whenever any person has died leaving assets within any state and the administrator-general of such state is satisfied that such assets, excluding any sum of money deposited in a government savings bank or in any provident fund to which the provisions of id what ealcl administrator-general may  ut certi1k:ate the provident funds act, 1925, apply, did not at the date of death 20 19 of 192, exceed in the whole five thousand i11pees in value, he may grant to any person, claiming otherwise than as a creditor to be interested in such assets or in the due administration thereof, a certificate under his hand entitling the claimant to receive the assets therein mentioned left by the deceased within the state, to a value not ex- 25 ceeding in the whole five thousand rupees (2) no certificate under this section shall be granted before the lapse of one month from the death unless before the lapse of the said one month the administrator-general is requested so to do by writing under the hand of the executor or the widow or other per- 30 son entitled to administer the est8ite of the deceased and he thinlts fit to grant it (3) no certificate shall be granted under this sectlon-3s 19 of 1925 (i) where probate of the deceased's will or letters of aclministration of his es1ate has or have been grantecl; or, - (ii) in respect of any sum of money deposited in a government savings bank or in any provident fund to which the pro-visions of t1}e provident funds act, 1925, apply 30 (lj if, in cases falling within section 29 no period claim- ara~f  ed th  than edito· h t certl1icat& ing to be mterest 0 el"wlse as a cr r m suc asse s or to :rcditurl in the due administration thereof obtains, within thr~ months of an~wer the death o·f the deceased, a certificate irom the adminiatrator- :ii'ic of 5 general under that section, or probate of a will or letters of admi- certain nistration of the estate of the deceased, the administrator-general eatatel may administer the estate without letters of administration, in the same manner as if such letters had been granted to him (2) if the administrator-general neglects or refuses to adminis-10 ter such estate, he shall, upon the application of a creditor, grant a certifica1e to him in the same manner as if he were interested in such assets otherwise than as a creditor;· and such certificate shall have the same effect as a certificate granted under the provisions of section 29, and shall ·be subject to all the provisions of this act which 15 are applicable to such certificate (3) the administrator-general may, if he thinks fit, before granting a certificate under sub-sectien (2) require the creditor to give reasonable security fo~ the due administration of the estate of the deceased 20 31 the administrator-general shall not be bound to grant any adminilttacertificate under section 29 or section 30 unless he is satisfied after :-;~= making such inquiry as he thinks fit of the title of the claimant and to ~ram of the va,lue of the assets left by the deceased wi~in the state =te aatiafied of claim_' title, etc 32 the holder of a certificate granted in accordance with the bft'cc:t of 25 provisions of section 29 or section 30 shall have in respect of the c:eni&:ite assets specified in such certificate the same powers ~d duties, and be subject to the same liabilities as he would ha've had or been subject to if letters of administration  had been granted to him: provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to require 30 any person holding such certiftcate,-(a) to file accounts or inventories of the assets of the deceased before any court or other authority; or (b) save as provided in section 30, to give any bond for the due administration of the estate  35 33 (1) the administrator-general may revoke a certificate revocatiod granted under the provisions of section 29 or section 30 on any of of certifithe following grounds, namely:-cate (i) that the cetthleate was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation made to him; i '-(ii) that the certificate was obtained by means of an untrue allegation of a fact essen,tibl in law to justify the grant though such allegation was made in ignorance or inadvertently (2) no certificate shall be-revoked under this section unless the holder of the certificate has been given a; reasonable opportunity s of showing cause why the certificate should not be so revoked 34 (1) when a certificate is revoked in accordance with the provisions of section 33, the holder thereof shall, on the requisition of the administrator-general, deliver it up to such administrator-general, but shall not be entitled to the refund of any fee ?aid 10 thereon (2) if such person wilfully and without reasonable cause omits to deliver up the certificate, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both is 35 when a certificate is revoked in accordance with the provisions of section 33, all payments made in good faith under such certificate to the holder thereof before such revocation, shall, notwithstanding such revocation, be a legal discharge to the person making the payment and the holder of such certificate may retain, 20 and reimburse himself in respect of, any payments made by him which the person to whom a certificate or probate or letters of administration may afterwards be granted might lawfully have made 36 the administrator-general shall not be bound to take out letters of administration of the estate of any deceased person on 2s account of the- assets in respect of which he grants any certificate under section 29 or section 30, but he may do so if he revokes such certificate under section 33, or ascertains that the value of the estate exceeded five thousand rupees tor-general not bound to take out administration od account of aslets for which he has granted certificate 37 where-30 (a) a person not having his domicile in any state to which this act extends has died leaving 88ie't8 in any state and in the country in wliich he had his domicile at the time of his death, and transfer of certain assets to executor or adminiltrator in country of do ldiei ie for diatributioa (b) proceedings for the administration of his estate with 3s respect; to asaets in ay iueh state have heed taken uilder section 29 or section 30, and (c) there has been a grant of administration in the country of domicile with respect to the assets in that country, the holder of the certificate granted under section 29 or section 30, : ~  01' the administrator-general, as the case may be, after having 5 given the prescribed notice for creditors and others to send in to him their claims against the estate of the deceased, and after having discharged, at the expiration of the time therein named, such lawful claims as he has notice of, may, "instead of himself distributing any surplus or residue of the deceased's property to persons resid~ 10 ing out of india or in the state of jammu and kashmir who are entitled thereto, transfer, with the consent of the executor or ad-" ministrator, as the case may be, in the country of domicile, the surplus or residue to him for distribution to those persons  chapter v'i   is liability38 the government shall be liable tto make good all sums re-t liability of quired to diseharge any liability which the administrator-gederal, governif he were a private administrator, would be personally liable to ment discharge, except when the liability is one to which neither the administrator-general nor any of his officers has in any way egdtribut-20 ed, or which neither he nor any of his officers could, by the 8xer~ eiae of reasonable diligence, have averted, and in either of those cases the administrator-general shall not, nor shalt the govemment, be subject to any liability, 39 (1) if any suit be brought by a creditor against any admi- creditor', 25 nistrator-general, such creditor shall be liable to pay the costs of at a= the suit unless he proves that not less than one month previous to tor~deral the institution of the suit he had applied in writing to the administrator-general, stating the amount and other particulars of his claim, and had given such evidence in support thereof as, in the cir-30 cumstances of the case, the administrator-general was reasonably entitled to require (2) if any such suit is decreed in favour of the creditor, he shall, nevertheless, unless he is a secured creditor, be only entitled' to payment of the amount decreed or ordered by the court to be paid 35 nut of the assets of the deceased equally and rateably with the other creditors, 40 nothing in section 80 of the code of civil procedure, 1908, notice of shall apply to any suit against the administrator-general in which ~:ot ~ no relief is claimed against him personally cauin c81e1  chapter vi feesii u (1) there shall be charged in respect of the duties of the ' 'administrator-general such fees, whether by way of percentage or' otherwise, as may be prescribed by the state government s (2) the fees under this section may be at different rates for difte-'rent 'estates ot classes of estates or for different duties, and shall, so far as may be, be arranged so as to produce an amount sufficlent to discharge the 9iblaries and all other expenses incidental tcf the working of this act, (including such sum as the state gov- 10 emment may determine to be required to insure the government against loss under this act) :piipoial of 42 (1) any expenses which might be retained or paid out of fea any estate in the charge of the administrator-general, if he were a private administrator of such estate shall be so retained or paid 15 ;' ,and the fees described under section 41 shall be retained or paid 'ili'like manner as and in addition to such expenses (2) the administrator-general shall transfer and pay to such authority in such manner and at such time as the state govern" ,, ment' may prescribe, all fees received by him under this act, and 20  the same shill be carried to the account and the credit of the gov-·'emment  chapter vii audit of the administrator-general's accountsaudk 43 the accounts of every administrator-general shall be audit- 2s ed at least once annually and at any other time if the state govern-, :ment so directs, by the prescribed person and in the prescribed manner au4iton to m the auditors shall examine the accounts and forward to the eamidc "~state government q statement thereof in the prescribed form, to- 30 = ~ gether with a report thereon and a certificate signed by them show-go¥erd-'ing- (a) whether the accounts have been audited in the prescri:bed manner; " (b) whether, so far as can be ascertained by such audit, the 3s acoounts contain a full and true account of everything which ought to be inserted therein; (c) whether the books which by any rules made q,nder twa act are directed to be kept by the administrator-general~ 'have been duly and regularly kept; and  (d) whether the assets and securities have been duly kept 5 and invested and deposited in the manner prescribed by this act, or by any rules made thereunder; or (as the case may be) that such accounts are deficient, or that ~e administrator-general has failed to comply with this act or the rules made thereunder, in such respects as may be specified in such 10 certificate 5 of 1908 45 (1) every auditor shall have all the powers vested in a civil =  of court under the  code of civil procedure, 1908, when trying a suit, to :a_ in respect of the following matters, namely:-u:: eamiae w~ei the attendance of witnejsses:: = is (a) summoning and enforcing and examining them on oath; (b) discovery and inspection; (e) compelling the production of documents; and (d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses    (2) any person who when summoned refuses, or, without reason· 20 able cause, neglects to attend or to produce any document or thing or attends and refuses to be sworn, or to be examined, shall be deemed to have committed an offence within the meaping of, i(lncj 45 of isa;, punishable under, section 188 of the indian penal code~ and t1te  , auditor shall reporj every case of such refusal or negl~t to ,the  2s state government 46 the costs of and incidental to such audit and exam~atio~ colli 0( "it' shah be determined in accordance with rules made by the stat~ auctit-;~  ~~: government, and shall be defrayed in the prescribed mann~r!  chapter viii 30 miscellaneous47 the administrator-general may, in addition to, and not in general derogation of, any other powers of expenditure lawfully exercls,~l!! powen of by him, incur expenditure-' "   '=!diiaa-(n) cn such acts as may be neces6ary for the proper care 35 and ltl'lnagement of any property belonging to any estate in his ehar~e; and (b) with the sanction of the high court, on such relilf~u" charitable an~ other objects, and on such improvements,&!! may be reasonable and proper in the case of s-pcn property a (1) the administrator-general may, whenever he desires, for 11iiiuiloil the purposes of this act, to satisfy himself regarding any question of =~ faet, exercise all the powers vested in a civu ~urt under the code o! civil procedure, 1908, when trying a suit, in resp:d of the following matters, namely:-(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath; (b) discovery and inspection; (c) compelling the production of documents; and (d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses iu (2) the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 45 shall apply in relation to a person summoned by the administrator-general under this section as they apply in relation to a person summoned uncler that section ; 49 any person interested in the administration of any estate is which is in the charge of the administrator-general shall, ~ubject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect the accounts relating to such estate and the reports and certificates of the auditor, and on payment of the prescribed fee, to copies thereof and extracts therefrom· 20 power of· pcnod beaeficiauy illl:ereltcd to mlpcct adminisuator-general', iccoudt, etc, and take copiel palle evldedce 50 whoever, during any examination authorised by this act, makes upon oath a statement which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be deemed to have intentionally given false evidence in a: stage of a judicial proceeding, 25 auetlud-claimed for twelve,n to beuaalfened to go'fcl'd-meat 51 all assets in the charge of the administrator-general which have been in his custody for a period of twelve years or upwards, whether before or after the commencement of this act, without any application for payment thereof having been made and granted by him shall be transferred, in the prescribed manner, to the account 30 and credit of the government: provided that this section shall not authorise the transfer of any such assets as aforesaid, if any suit or proceeding is pending in res- pect thereof in any court u (1) if any claim is hereafter made to any part of the assets 35 trmsterred to the account and credit of the government under the provisions of this act, or any act hereby repealed, and if such claim is estabushed to the satisfaction of the prescribed authority, the state gbv:~rnment shall pay to the claimant the amount of the "principal so transferred to its account and credit or so' much thereof 40 u has'been found by the said auth(>rity to be due1 t(> the claim~nt, (2) if the claim is not established to the satisfaction of the pres cribed authority the claimant may, without prejudice to his right to take any other proceedings lor the recovery of such assets,' apply by p,etition to the 'high court against the state government and 5 such court after taking such evidence as it thinks fit, shall make such order in regard to the payment of the whole or any part of the said principal sum as it thinks fit, and such order shall be bindin, on all parties to the proceedings (3) the court may further direct by whom the whole or aay 10 part of the costs of each party shall be ?aid 53 nothing contained in the indian succession act 1925, or the sua:caaiod companies act 1956, shall be taken to supersede or affect the ::i~: ~111-rights, duties and privileges of any administrator-genetal ld~ tor-general 54 nothing contained in the indian succession act, 1925, or in svia~ of 15 this act, shall be deemed to affect, or to have affected, any law for ~pv~i:d' the time being in force relating to the movable property under four act, lor hundred run~e1 in valu~ of persons dying intestate within any of io"!::encythe presidency-towns which shall be or has been taken charge of by the police for t~e purpose of safe custody 20 55 any order made under this act by any court shall have the order of be  court to same effect as ii; decree equi  !ent 1:10 decree 56 notwithstanding anything in this act, or in any other law provj~  for the time being in force, the central government may, by gene- :~i~~i" ral or special order, direct that, where a subject of a foreign state conlular 2s dies in the territories to which this act extends, and it appears that ~~f fn there is no one in the said territories, other than the administrator- death in general, entitled to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for:= letters of administration of the estate of the deceased, letters of of foreign tadministration shall, on the application to such court by any consu- aubiect 30 lar officer of such foreign state, be granted to such consular oftlcer on such terms and conditions as the court may, subject to any rules made in this behalf by the central government, think ftt to imlx'se 40 of 1950 6~ of 1957 57 it shall not be necessary for the administrator-general to take lett~ of out letters of administration of the estate of any deceased person ~::~d-3s which is being administered'ily him in accordance with the provisions ~cceaary of the army and air force (disposal of private property) act, 1950 :, ~ or the navy act, 1957, if the value of such estate does not, on the date =~ is when such administration is committed to him, exceed rupees two eel b; te~ thousand, but he shall have the same power in regard to such estate adlqinilna tor-gederal as he would have had if letters of administration had been granted ~~ to him cenainact •• 5 40 of 1950 62 of 1957 46 of 1950 45 of 1950 powen to 58 if the administrator-general applies in accordance with the clnittra- provisions of the army and air force (disposal of private property) tor-general act, 1950, or the navy act, 1957, for letters of administration of the l:~ for estate of any person subject to the army act, 1950, or the air force = o! act, 1950, or the navy act, 1957, the court may grant to him letters :sic'll inwlth of administration limited to the purpose of dealing with such estate accordadce in accordance with the provisions of the army and air force (diapa-a~ ~d sal of private property) act, 1950, or, as the case may be, the navy 10 air foa act, 1957 (dilpoeal ofpriwte propcrt)') aa, 1950, orthcnavy ai:t, 1957 40 of 1950 62 of 1957 ai:t not to 51 nothing in this act shall be deemed to affect the provisions of ::rat,nn' the army and air force (disposal of private property) act, 1950 or force (dii- ' the navy act, 1957 poialof private pro-' peny) &:t, 1950, or the navy act, 1957 savini of 60 nothing in this act shall be deemed' to affect the provisions of is ~~::: the indian registration act, 1908 16 of 1908 reip8tratiod act  1908 power of 61 the central government iilqy, by notification in the official ~:-n!medt qazette, make rules as to the terms and conditions on which letters to make of administration may be granted to consular officers under rules ' section 56 20 rwer of 12 "'(1) the state government may, by notification in the official c:::mment gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act, and for to1mate regulating the' proceedings of the administrator-general au ea (2)  in particu],ar, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for-25 (a) the' accounts to be kept by the administrator-general and the audit ,and· inspection thereof; (b)tbe safe custody, deposit and investment of assets and securities whieh come into the hands of the administrator-general; 30 \c) the remittance of sums of money in the hands of the administrator-general in cases in which such remittances are required; (d) subject to the provisions of this act, the fees to be paid under this act and the collection and accounting for any such fees; (e) the statements, schedules and other documents to be submitted to the state government or to any other authority by the administrator-general, and the publication thereof; 10 <f) the realization of the cost of preparing any such statements, schedules or other documents; " (g) the manner in which and the person by whom the costs of and incidental to any audit under the provisions of this act are to be determined and defrayed; is (h) the manner in which summonses issued under this act are to be served and the payment of the expenses of any person summoned or examined under the provisions of this act, and of any expenditure incidental to such examination; and (i) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed under this act 20 63 every rule made by the central government under this act lajidi of shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of ~cenm:!i parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days, govcnuncnt which may be comprised in one "session or in two successive sea- =:nmt 2s sions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both houses agree in making any modifiootion in the rule or both houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may he; so however that 30 any such modification of annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule 3 clf 1913 64 (1) the administrator-general's act, 1913, is hereby repealed repealldd (2) without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the uvi  general clauses act, 1897, relating to the effect of repeals, the repeal 3s effected by this section shall not affect the incorporation of any person holding the office of administrator-general at the commencement of this act 3 of 1913 (3) notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the provisions of section s9b of the administrator-general's act, 1913, shall 40 continue to apply as if that act had not been repealed  statement of objects and reasonsthis bill seeks to implement the recommendations of the law commission contained in its nineteenth report on the administrator-general's act, 1913 the notes on clauses explain the deviatiollli made from the existing act new delllij asoke k sen the 15th june, 1962 clauses 2-this is a reproduction of existing section 2 but for the omission of certain definitions, l'he definitions of "exempted persara" and "indian christian" are being omitted as irrelevant in the scheme of the bill; that of "high court" as superfluous in view of the definition of the term in the general clauses act, 1897, and that of "government" as unnecessary in view of the use of the expression "state government" in the substantive sections clauses 3 and 4-these correspond to existing sections 3 and 4 qualifications for administrators-general have been revised and those for deputies have been prescribed, keeping in mind the changed conditions under which persons with the necessary qualifications are easily available as a deputy can under the act discharge any of the duties of the administrator-general, it is advisable to prescribe some qualifications for that office also in the act itself clause 5-this reproduces existing section 5 clause 6-this corresponds to existing section 6, except that it is now made clear that the concurrent jurisdiction of the district courts is not affected clause 7-this replaces existing section 7 with the omission of certain obsolete words clause a-under section 8 'as it now stands, the ad·ministrator  general cannot have any preference over a universal legatee in the matter of the grant of letters of administration a residuary legatee and his representative should stand on the same footing as a universal legatee for this purpose clause a reproduces section 8 with the above modification clauses 9 and 10-these replace existing sections 9, 10 and 11 with fundamental changes the benefits under sections 9, 10 and 11 are 'confined at present either to non-exempted persons (primarily europeans) or properties situated in the presidency towns it has been felt that as the object of the act is essentially to protect the property of a deceased person from being misappropriated or wasted, the availability of the protection should not be made dependent on such considerations as whether the property is situatm in one place or the other or whether the person is an exempted person the clauses have been drafted so as to enable the administrator-general to intervene in all cases in which it is necessary such intervention is made optional, in view of the large number of cases which may arise 1t is confined to cases where the assets exceed in value rupees 5,000 (assets of lesser value being covered by the simpler procedure in clause 29) end there is apprehension of misappropriation, etc of the assets and intervention is necessary on account either of failure on the part of interested persons to take appropriate steps for the protection of the estate (clause 10) or the presence of imminent danger of misappropriation, etc of the assets requiring immediate action care has, how  ever, been taken to ensure that nothing in this clause would render it obligatory for any person to obtain probate or letters of adminis tration in cases in which it is not at present obligatory to do so under the indian succession act clauses 11 and 12-these reproduce existing sections 12 and 13 with changes rendered necessary by the new clauses 9 and 10 clause la-this reproduces existing section 14 clause h-this reproduces the substance of existing section 18 in simplified language and provides further that where a will of the deceased is proved in the state, the grant made to the administrator-general shall be revoked clauses 15 to 19-these reproduce, in effect, existing sections 19 to 23 clause 20-this corresponds to existing section 24 it is now provided that a grant by the high court to the administrator-general of a state shall have effect over all the assets of the deceased throughout india, without a certificate being required (as at present) to specify the states wherein the grant will be effective clause 21-this is new and is intended to make the grant of probate or letters of administration by the high court of jammu and kashmir in favour of the administrator-general of that state effective in all the other states of india a corresponding provision will be made in the state law by the state legislature of jammu and kashmir clause 22-this reproduces existing section 25 clause 23-this reproduces existing section 26 with one change, namely that the rule of limitation embodied in sub-section (5) of the section is extended to cover claims by any person instead of conftnin it as at present to claims by creditors only clause 24-this reproduces existing section 27 clause 25-this reproduces in substance existing section 28 clause 26 27 and 28-these correspond to sub-sections (1) (2) and (3) of existing section 29  clause 29-this corresponds to section 31, but the power of the administrator-general to issue certificates in respect of small estates has been extended to cover estates upto five thousand rupees in value instead of upto rupees two thousand as at present clause 30-this reproduces existing section 32 with certain consequential changes clause 31-existing section 33, which this clause replaces, is being modified so as to leave the administrator-ge~eral sumcient discretion in the matter of granting or refusing certific~tes under clause 29 clause 32-this reproduces existing section 34 with consequential c~anges "''7'1  ~ clause 33-this reproduces existing section 35, but it is expr~ssly provided that before revoking a certificate, the certificate holder should be given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the revocation clause 34-this reproduces existing section 36 clause 35-this is new and is intended to indemnify payments made to the holder of a certificate before its revocation clauses 36 and 37-these reproduce existing sections 37 and 38 with some consequential changes clause s8-this corresponds to existing sub-section (1) of section 39 sub-section (2) of that section is being omitted as no longer necessary and the words "revenues of" in sub-section (1) are being omitted in view of the constitutional provisions regarding consolidated fund clause 39-this rep!oduces existing section 40, with a small change on the lines of an amendment made in west bengal to make the intention clear clause 4o-this reproduces existing section 41 clause 41-this reproduces existing section 42 except that the provisos to sub-section (1) of that section have been omitted as obsolete or unnecessary and the words "revenues of' in sub-section (2) are omitted for reasons similar to those stated against clause 38 clauses 42 and 43-these reproduce existing sections 43 and 44 clause 44-existing section 45 which this clause replaces has been slightly amplified by the addition of sub-clause (a) clause 45-this reproduces with minor drafting changes existing section 46 :' ,1 ! clause~ 46 c'nd 47-these reproduce existing sections 47 and 48 clause 48-this corresponds to existing section 30 which is being amplified so as to clothe the administrator-general with some of the powers of a civil court to enable him to satisfy himself with regard to questions of fact clauses 49, 50 and 51-these reproduce existing sections 49, 51 and 52 ' !! clause 52~this reproduces existing section 53 with a verbal mange to make the intention clear section 54 of the exifting act is being omitted for the reasons given in paragraph 51 of the law commission's report clause 53-this reprod~ces sub-section (1) of existing section 55 with some consequential changes clause 54-this reproduces sub-section (2) of existing section 55 with 0 change to bring it into harmony with the bombay police act, 1951 (bombay act 22 of 1951) clauses 55 and 56-these reproduce existing sections 56 and 57 clauses 57, 58 and 59-these replace existing sections 16, 17 and 15 with certain consequential changes, in addition to raising the monetary limit in section 16 from rupees one thousand to rupees two thousand clause 60-this reproduces existing section '59 clause 61-this is new and is intended to provide separately for the rule making power of the central government under clause 56 clause 62-this reproduces existing section 50 clause 64-whiie repealing the existing act, this clause provides for the continued operation of section 59b of the existing act which contains special provisions regarding administrators-general affected by the recent re-organlsation of states clause 3 provides for the appointment of an administmtor-general by the state government which in respect of union territories would be the central government the practice at present followed is for the administrator-general of an adjoining state to be the administrator-general of a union territory as permitted by the existing act, a provision which is being repeated in the bill even so, some expenditure may be involved from the consolidated fund of india on this account clause 38 makes the government liable to make good, subject to certain qualifications, all sums required to discharge any liability which the administrator-general, if he were a private administrator, would be personally liable to discharge clause 42 provides for the carrying to the account and credit of the government all fees'receiv-~d by the administrator-general the scheme of the existing act [see also cl 41 (2)] is that the fees leviable should be so arranged as to produce an amount sufficient to meet all expenditure in connection with the working of the act (including such sum as may be required to insure the government against loss under the act)  memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 61 empowers the central government to make rules as to the terms and conditions on which letters of administration may be granted to consular officers of foreign states in respect of estates of subjects of foreign states in the matter of imposition of terms and conditions, some discretion has necessarily to be vested in the executive clause 62 empowers the state government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the act and for regulating the proceedings of the administmtor-general the matters in respect of which such rules may be made pertain to the fees to be paid under the act, the accounts to be kept by the administrator-general and the audit and inspection of the same and certain other matters of procedure, form or detail the delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal cbaracter a bill to consolidate and amend the law rdating to the office and duties of administrator-general (shri asoke k sen, minister of law) 