'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915' [‎172v] (14/150)

VI
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
Civil justice.
Execution of
the decrees of
civil courts by
the Revenue
Department.
Registration.
Joint Stock
Companies.
Local boards.
1
released from jail. The recently instituted Prisoners’ Aid Society i n B
prevented from inaugurating active operations as finincial sup Was
forthcoming on account of the war. or w as not
16. The volume of litigation continued to increase, the number
instituted before civil courts rising by 5J per cent. The number of casesd ^
increased by over 6 per cent. Thus a fair proportion of the accumulated ^
was cleared off, the congestion of the civil files being partially dealt with
appointment of four additional First Class Subordinate Judges and by the
ment or deputation of Joint or Additional Second Class Subordinate f
thirty-four places. There was a slight decrease in the number of reo- u l U ^ ' n
cases and miscellaneous cases, and a slight increase in the number o{ ^
suits. There was a marked rise in the number of suits for money orVo^
property, and the aggregate value of suits rose from Rs. 4-54 crores to e
crores. The average duration of contested suits declined, but there Jas ^
increase in that of uncontested suits; it is still in the superior courts that the
greatest delay occurs. The delay in disposal was mainly due to the non-service
of notices and to the effect of Rule 5 of Order IX of the Civil Procedure Code
which allows a plaintiff a year within which to apply for a fresh summons to defend
ant after failure of service. Excluding Bombay and Karachi where there are
High Courts, the most litigious district in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. was Poona, while Thar
and Parkar was again easily the least. There was a decline of over 4 per cent
in the number of appeals presented and an increase of nearly 4 per cent, in the
number decided. The percentage of cases in which original order was altered
ppeal remained the same as in the previous year, namely 21.
on a
17. There was a considerable increase in the number of civil court decrees
referred to the Revenue Department for execution. Nevertheless, the proportion of
cases undisposed of at the end of the year to the number received was less than
at the end of the previous year. There was a rise both in the number of cases
settled by mutual agreement and in the value of the property affected by such
cases. The amount paid by judgment-debtors increased, but the amount remitted
by judgment-creditors fell considerably.
18. There was an increase of '56 per cent, in the number of documents
registered. The financial results were satisfactory, there being a substantial
increase in revenue, while expenditure decreased slightly.
19. The period covered by the report comprises the first year during which
the new Indian Companies Act VII of 1913 has been in force, During the year
the number of companies registered was 15 only as compared with 66 in the
previous year. A certain proportion of this decrease may be attributed to the
fact that there was a rush in the previous year to register under the less stringent
provisions of the old Act. The banking crisis of 1913-14, followed by the financial
stringency due to the war, also discouraged the formation of new concerns,
Nevertheless, there was a satisfactory increase in the paid up capital of existing
concerns, though the aggregate nominal capital decreased.
20. There was an advance of Rs. 1-3- lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in the aggregate income of the
local boards, mainly owing to large collections of arrears of local fund cess in the
Central Division. Expenditure increased by nearly Rs. 6 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , kducationa
charges which rose by nearly Rs. 4 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees to over Rs. 36 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees represented near)
43 per cent, of the total expenditure. The upkeep and improvement of comnlU ^
cations formed as usual the largest item of expenditure on civil works, u 16
chief building work consisted of the construction and repair of educati 0 ^
medical and veterinary buildings. No district had its closing balance ^
prescribed minimum ; most of the balances continue indeed to be unduly