[Act 2 of 1874]??????? [10th February, 1874] Repealed by Act 3 of
1913 Passed by the Governor General of India in Council. (Received the assent of the Governor General on the 10th day
of February 1874) An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the office and duties
of Administrator General. Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to the office
and duties of Administrator General; It is hereby enacted as follows:? This Act may be called ?The Administrator General's Act, 1874.? Local extent.? It extends to the whole of British India and, so far as regards British
subjects of Her Majesty, to the dominions of Princes and States in India in
alliance with Her Majesty; Commencement.? And it shall come into force at once. Act No. XXIV of 1867 (to consolidate and amend the law relating to the
office and duties of Administrator General) and Act No. XIX of 1869 (to
facilitate administration to the estates of deceased British subjects in the
Hyderabad Assigned Districts) and Act No. V of 1870 (so far as it relates to
the Administrator General) are hereby repealed. All things duly done under any of the enactments hereby repealed shall be
considered as having been done under this Act. In this Act?unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context? ?Presidency of Bengal.?? ?Presidency of Bengal? includes (a)
the territories for the
time being respectively under the governments of the Lieutenant-Governors of
Bengal, the North-Western Provinces and the Panj?b; (b)
the territories for the
time being respectively under the administrations of the Chief Commissioners of
Oudh, the Central Provinces, British Burma, Ajmer and Mainvara, Assam and the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands; (c)
such of the dominions of
Princes and States aforesaid as the Governor General in Council may, by notification
in the Gazette of India, from time to time direct: ?Presidency of Madras.?? ?Presidency of Madras? includes (a)
the territories for the
time being under the government of the Governor of Port St. George in Council; (b)
such of the dominions
aforesaid as the Governor General in Council may, by notification in
the Gazette of India, from time to time direct; (c)
Coorg; (d)
Mysore; ?Presidency of Bombay.?? ?Presidency of Bombay? means (a)
the territories for the
time being under the government of the Governor of Bombay in Council; (b)
such of the dominions
aforesaid as the Governor General in Council may, by notification in
the Gazette of India, from time to time direct; (c)
the Haidar?b?d Assigned
Districts: ?Presidency Town.?? ?Presidency Town? means the town of Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, as the
case may be: ?Government.?? ?Government? means the Governor General in Council, so far as the Act
relates to the Presidency of Bengal; the person for the time being
administering the executive government of the Presidency of Port St. George, so
far as the Act relates to the Presidency of Madras; and the person for the time
being administering the executive Government of the Presidency of Bombay, so
far as the Act relates to the Presidency of Bombay: ?Letters of Administration.?? ?Letters of Administration? shall include any letters
of administration, whether general or limited, or with a Will annexed, and
letters ad colligenda bona: ?Next-of-kin.?? ?Next-of-kin? includes a widower or widow of a deceased person, or any
other person who, by law and according to the practice of the Courts, would he
entitled to letters of administration in preference to a creditor or legatee of
the deceased: ?Officer.?? ?Officer? means a commissioned officer of Her Majesty's Army, or of Her
Majesty's Indian Army: ?Soldier.?? ?Soldier? means a soldier of Her Majesty's Army, or European soldier of
Her Majesty's Indian Army, including a warrant and a non-commissioned officer: ?Assets.?? ?Assets? includes immoveable as well as moveable property. Of the Office of Administrator General In each of the Presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay, there shall be an
Administrator General. The said Administrators General shall be called respectively the
Administrator General of Bengal, the Administrator General of Madras, and the
Administrator General of Bombay. Such officers shall be appointed and may be suspended or removed by the
authorities hereinafter mentioned respectively; that is to say:? The Administrator General of Bengal, by the Governor General in Council: the Administrator General of Madras, by the Government of Fort St. George;
and the Administrator General of Bombay, by the Government of Bombay. Any person hereafter appointed to the office of Administrator General or
officiating Administrator General of any of the said Presidencies, shall be a
member of the Bar of England or Ireland, or of the Faculty of Advocates in
Scotland; but any person now holding such office shall continue to hold the
same, subject to the provisions contained in the other sections of this Act. The Administrator General shall not be deemed in that capacity to be an
officer of any High Court. All probates and letters of administration granted by any of the late
Supreme Courts of Judicature to the Ecclesiastical Registrar of such Court in
virtue of his office, shall have the same effect in all respects as to any act
hereafter to be done or required to be done under this Act, as if they had been
granted to the Administrator General. No person now holding the office of Administrator General, or hereafter to
be appointed to such office in any of the said Presidencies, shall hold the
office of Ecclesiastical Registrar; nor, without the express sanction of
Government, any other office together with that of Administrator General: Administrator General not to hold any other office
without sanction of Government.? Provided that the Administrator General of the Presidency may be
appointed Official Trustee under Act No. XVII of 1864 (to constitute an
office of Official Trustee): Provided also, that the Administrator General of Bengal may hold the office
of Receiver of the High. Court of Judicature at Fort William. It is hereby declared to be an offence punishable in manner provided by section
one hundred and sixty-eight of the Indian Penal Code, for any Administrator
General to trade or traffic for his own benefit, or for the benefit of any
other person, unless so far as appears to him to be expedient for the due
management of the estates which come into his charge under the provisions of
this Act, and for the sole benefit of the several persons entitled to the
proceeds of such estates respectively; but this exception is not to be
construed to alter the civil liabilities of the Administrator General as
trustee of such estates. Unless the Governor General in Council, or the Government, with the sanction
of the Governor General in Council, otherwise orders, every Administrator
General hereafter to be appointed shall give security to the Secretary of State
for India for the due execution of his office, for one lakh of rupees by his
own bond, and for another lakh of rupees, or for separate sums amounting
together to one lakh of rupees by the deposit of Government securities, or by
the joint and several bond or bonds of two or more sureties to be approved by
Government, or partly by such deposit and partly by such bond or bonds: Substitution of security or sureties.? Provided that every Administrator General may, with
the consent of Government, substitute either of the said two last-mentioned
kinds of security for another previously given for such last-mentioned lakh or
any part of it; and every Administrator General may, with the consent of Government, and
shall from time to time when required by Government so to do, cause fresh
sureties to be substituted for any of those previously bound, so far as the
security relates to the due execution of his office for the time then to come. No Administrator General shall be required by any Court to enter into any
administration bond, or to give other security to the Court, on the grant of
any letters of administration to him in virtue of his office. No Administrator General shall be required to verify, otherwise than by his
signature, any petition presented by him under the provisions of this Act, and
if the facts stated in any such petition are not within the Administrator
General's own personal knowledge, the petition may be subscribed and verified
by any person competent to make the verification. Whoever makes a statement in any such petition 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. Whenever any person holding the Office of Administrator General obtains
leave of absence, the Government may appoint some person to officiate as
Administrator General, and such person, while so officiating, shall be subject
to the same conditions and he hound by the same responsibilities as the
Administrator General by any law for the time being in force, and he shall be
deemed to be Administrator General for the time being under this Act, and shall
be liable to give security under section eleven in like manner as if he had
been appointed Administrator General. Of the Rights, Powers and Duties of the
Administrator General (a).? Grants of Letters
of Administration and Probate to the Administrator General So far as regards the Administrator General of any of the Presidencies of
Bengal, Madras and Bombay, the High Court at the Presidency town shall be
deemed to be a Court of competent jurisdiction within the meaning of sections
one hundred and eighty-seven and one hundred and ninety of the Indian
Succession Act, 1865, wheresoever within the Presidency the property to be
comprised in the probate or letters of administration may be situate. Any letters of administration, or letters ad colligenda
bona, hereafter he granted by the High Court of Judicature at any
Presidency town, shall be granted to the Administrator General of the
Presidency, unless they are granted to the next-of-kin of the deceased. Administrator General entitled in preference to creditor,
non-universal legatee or friend.? The Administrator General of the Presidency shall be deemed by all the
Courts in the Presidency to have a right to letters of administration in
preference to that of any person merely on the ground of his being a creditor,
a legatee other than an universal legatee, or a friend of the deceased. If any person, not being a Hindu, Muhammadan or Buddhist, or a person
exempted under the Indian Succession Act, 1865, section three hundred and
thirty-two, from the operation of that Act, shall have died, whether within any
of the said Presidencies or not, and whether before or after the passing of
this Act, and shall have left assets exceeding at the date of the death or
within one year thereafter the value of one thousand rupees within any of the
said Presidencies, and if no person to whom the Court would have jurisdiction
to commit administration of such assets has, within one month after his death,
applied in such Presidency for probate of his Will, or for any letters of
administration of his estate, the Administrator General of the Presidency in which such assets are,
shall, within a reasonable time after he has had notice of the death of such
person, and of his having left such assets as aforesaid, take such proceedings
as may be necessary to obtain from the High Court at the Presidency town,
letters of administration to the effects of such person, either generally or
with a Will annexed, as the case may require. Whenever the Administrator General of the Presidency takes proceedings
under this section, it shall be sufficient if the petition required by section
two hundred and forty-six of the Indian Succession Act, 1865, states (a)
the time and place of
the deceased's death to the best of the petitioner's knowledge or belief, (b)
that the deceased left
some property within the Presidency as hereinbefore defined, and (c)
the amount or value of
assets which are likely to come into the petitioner's hands. Whenever any person, whether a Hind?, Muhammadan or Buddhist, or not, shall
have died leaving assets within the local limits of the ordinary original civil
jurisdiction of the High. Court at the Presidency town, it shall be lawful for
the Court, upon the application of any person interested in such assets, or in
the due administration thereof, either as a creditor, legatee, next-of-kin or
otherwise, or upon the application of a friend of any minor so interested, or upon the application of the Administrator General, if the applicant
satisfies the Court that danger is to be apprehended of the misappropriation,
deterioration or waste of such assets unless letters of administration of the
effects of such person are granted, to make an order, upon such terms as to
indemnifying the Administrator General against costs and other expenses as the
Court thinks fit, directing the Administrator General to apply for letters of
administration of the effects of such person: Administration to effects of Hindus, &c., when granted
under this section and Costs of unnecessary application.? Provided that, in the case of an application being
made under this section for letters of administration to the effects of a
deceased Hind?, Muhammadan or Buddhist, or person exempted as aforesaid, the
Court may refuse to grant letters of administration to any person, if it be
satisfied that such grant is unnecessary for the protection of the assets, and
in such case the Court shall make such order as to the costs of the application
as it thinks just. Whenever any person, whether a Hind?u, Muhammadan or Buddhist, or not,
shall have died, whether before or after the passing of this Act, leaving
assets within the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of
any of the said High Courts, and such Court is satisfied that danger is to be
apprehended of the misappropriation, deterioration or waste of such property,
before it can be ascertained who may be legally entitled to the succession to
such property, or whether the Administrator General is entitled to letters of
administration to such deceased person, the Court may authorize and enjoin the
Administrator General to collect and take possession of hold property, and to
hold or deposit or invest the same according to the orders and directions of
the Court, and in default of any such orders or directions, according to the
provisions of this Act so far as the same are applicable to such property; Rate of commission payable in such case.? and the Administrator General shall be entitled to a
commission of one per centum upon the amount of all moveable assets
collected or received by him in pursuance of such order, and also to reimburse
himself for all payments made by him in respect of the assets which a private
administrator of such assets might lawfully have made; and in case letters of administration of any such property are afterwards
granted to the Administrator General, the said commission of one per
centum shall be deemed a part payment of the commission payable to the
Administrator General under the letters of administration. Any order of Court made under the provisions of this section, shall entitle
the Administrator General to collect and to take possession of such property,
and, if necessary, to maintain a suit for the recovery thereof. If in the course of proceedings to obtain letters of administration under
the provisions of section sixteen or section seventeen, any executor appointed
by a Will of the deceased appears according to the practice of the Court and
proves the Will and accepts the office of executor, or if any person appears
according to such practice and makes out his claim to letters of administration
as next-of-kin of the deceased, and gives such security as is required of him
by law or by the practice of the Court, Costs of proceedings taken by Administrator General to be
paid out of estate.? the Court shall grant
probate of the Will or letters, of administration accordingly, and shall award
to the Administrator General his costs of the proceedings so taken by him, to
be paid out of the estate as part of the testamentary or intestate expenses
thereof. If no person appears according to the practice of the Court, and entitles
himself to probate of a Will, or to a grant of letters of administration as
next-of-kin of the deceased, Administration to be granted to Administrator General.? or if the person who entitles himself to a grant of
administration neglects to give such security as may be required of him by law or
according to the practice of the Court, the Court shall grant letters of
administration to the Administrator General. The Administrator General shall, when duly authorized or required so to do
by the Military Secretary to Government, secure and distribute the assets of
the estate and effects of any officer, soldier, or other person subject to any
Articles of War, in all cases in which such estate and effects do not exceed in
the whole five hundred rupees, charging the estate with a commission of
three per centum only. Proviso? It shall not be necessary for the Administrator General to take out
letters of administration in cases referred to in this section: but he shall
have the same powers with regard to all such assets as lie would have had if he
had taken out such letters. When the Administrator General applies for letters of administration to the
effects of any officer, soldier or other person, subject to the Articles of
War, the Court may grant to him letters of administration limited to the
purpose of dealing with such effects in accordance with the provisions of the
Regimental Debts Act, 1863, or any other law for the time being in force
relating to the payment of regimental debts and the distribution of the effects
of officers dying on service. Nothing in this Act is intended to preclude the Administrator General from
applying to the Court for letters of administration in any case within the
period of one month from the death of the deceased. If any letters of administration granted to the Administrator General under
the provisions of this Act, be revoked or recalled, the same shall, so far as
regards the Administrator General and all persons acting under his authority in
pursuance thereof, he deemed to have been only voidable; except as to any act
clone by any such Administrator. General or other person as aforesaid, after
notice of a Will or of any other fact which would render such letters void: Proviso.? Provided that no notice of a Will or of any other fact which would
render any such letters void, shall affect the Administrator General or any
person acting under his authority in pursuance of such letter unless, within
the period of one month the time of giving such notice, proceeding be commended
to prove the Will, or to cause the letter to be revoked nor unless such
proceedings be prosecuted wither unreasonable delay. If any letters of administration granted under this Act he revoked upon the
production and proof of a Will, all payments made or acts done by or under the
authority of the Administrator General in pursuance of such letters of
administration prior to the revocation thereof, which would have been valid
under any letters of administration lawfully granted to him with such Will
annexed, shall be deemed valid notwithstanding such revocation. If an executor or next-of-kin of the deceased who has not been personally
served with a citation or who has not had notice thereof, in time to appear
pursuant, thereto, establish to the satisfaction of the Court a claim to
probate of a Will or to letters ??? administration in preference to the
Administration General, any letters of administration, granted by virtue of
this Act to the Administrator General ms be re-called and revoked, and probate
may be grant to such executor, or letters of administration grant to such other
person as aforesaid; Time within which application to revoke such
administration must be made.? Provided that
no letters of administration granted to the Administrator General shall be
revoked or recalled for the cause aforesaid, except in cases in which a Will or
codicil of the deceased is proved in the Presidency, unless the application for
that purpose be made within six months after the granted to the Administrator
General, and the Court be satisfied that there has been no unreasonable delay
in making the application, or in transmitting the authority under which the
application is made. If any letters of administration granted to the Administrator General in
pursuance of this Act be revoked, the Court, may order the costs of obtaining
such letters of administration, and the whole, or any part of any commission
which would otherwise been payable under this Act, together with the costs of
the Administrator, General in any proceeding taken to obtain such revocation,
to be paid to or retained by the Administrator General out of any assets
belonging to the estate: Provided that, in any such case, when the deceased has left a Will
appointing an executor, and probate of the Will has been granted by any Court
in the Presidency to such executor within three months after the death, or when
the widow or next-of-kin has within one month if resident within the
Presidency, or within three months if resident beyond the Presidency, obtained
from any such Court letters of administration to the estate and effects of the
deceased, then and in either of such cases the Administrator General shall
(without prejudice to the provisions contained in sections seventeen and
eighteen) not be entitled to receive or retain any commission out of any assets
belonging to such estate and situate within the jurisdiction of the Court by
which probate or administration has Been granted as last aforesaid. Whenever the Administrator General declares a dividend among such creditors
of the deceased as have proved their debts, and notifies the payment of such
dividend by advertisement in the official Gazette, no creditor of the deceased
who has not previously to such declaration and advertisement proved his debt,
shall be entitled to participate at such in the assets wherewith such dividend
is made. After one year from grant of administration, distribution
of assets by Administrator General to be allowed against all claims of which he
had no notice.? Any payment or
delivery of assets to any legatee fir to any person entitled in distribution,
which is made by an Administrator General after the expiration of one year from
the grant of the letters of administration under which such payment or delivery
is made, shall be allowed to the Administrator General as against all creditors
and other claimants against the estate, of whose debts or claims he has not ???
notice before making such payment or delivery: Person receiving payments liable to refund.? Provided that nothing herein contained ??? exempt the
person to whom such payment or delivered is made, from any liability to refund
to which would otherwise he liable: What to be notice of debtor claim.? Provided also, that no notice of any debt or ??? shall
affect the Administrator General, unless proceedings to enforce the debt or
claim are ??? within one month after the giving of notice, and are prosecuted
without unreasonable delay. All letters of administration granted to and Administrator General in
virtue of his office shall be granted to him by his name of office, Authority given by such letters.? and all letters of administration heretofore granted
to the Ecclesiastical Registrar or Administrator General officially, or granted
to any Administrator General in virtue of his office, shall authorize
Administrator General for the time being of the Presidency to act as administrator
of the estate ??? which such letters relate. Every probate granted to any Administrator General of a Will wherein he is
named as executed by him virtue of his office, shall be granted to him by ???
name of office, and shall authorize the Administrator General for the time
being of the same Presidency to act as executor of the estate to which such ???
relates. Any private executor or administrator, may with the previous consent of the
Administrator General of the Presidency in which the property comprised in the
probate or letters of administration is situate by an instrument in writing
under his hand, a stamp of ten rupees and notified in the local Gazette,
transfer all estates, effects and interests vested in him by virtue of such
probate or letters to the Administrator General by his name of office; and thereupon the transferor shall be exempt from all liability as such
executor or administrator, as the case may be, for any act or omission in
respect of the said property after the date of the said transfer: and the Administrator General for the time being shall have the rights and
be subject to the liabilities which he would have had, and to which he would
have been subject, if the probate or letters of administration, as the case may
be, had been granted to him by his name of office at the date aforesaid. Nothing herein contained shall be taken to exempt any such transferor from
liability for acts and omissions in respect of the said property prior to the
transfer. Whenever the Administrator General carries over or assets to separate
accounts in his books, he shall notify the fact in the local official Gazette;
and he may, with the consent of the Official Trustee, and subject to such rules
as the Governor General in Council may from time to time prescribe in this
behalf, appoint the Official Trustee to be the trustee of such assets; and upon
such appointment such assets shall vest in the Official Trustee and his
successors in office, and he held by him and them upon the same trusts as the
same assets were held immediately before such appointment. And for the purposes
of Act No. XVII of 1864 such assets shall be deemed to have been, vested in the
Official Trustee under section ten of that Act. ?All estates, effects and interests
which, at the time of the death, resignation or removal from office of any
Administrator General, are vested in him by virtue of such letters of
administration, probates or transfers as aforesaid, shall, upon every such
death, resignation or removal, cease to be vested in him, and shall vest in his
successor in office immediately upon in his appointment thereto. All books, papers and documents kept by such Administrator General by
virtue of his office or as such executor or transferee as aforesaid, shall be
transferred to and vested in his successor in office. (b).? Suite by and against the Administrator
General All suits and other proceedings commenced by or against any Administrator
General in his representative character, may be brought by or against him by
his name of office, Suit not to abate by death, &c.? and no suit or other proceeding heretofore or
hereafter commenced by or against any person as Administrator General, either
alone or jointly with any other person, shall abate by reason of the death,
resignation or removal from office of any such Administrator General, but the
same may, by order of the Court and upon such terms as to the service of notices
??? otherwise as the Court may direct, be continued ??? or against his
successor immediately upon his appointment, in the same manner as if no such
death, resignation or removal had occurred: Proviso as to costs.? Provided that nothing hereinbefore contained shall render any such
successor personally liable for any costs incurred prior to the order for
continuing the suit against him. If any suit be brought by a creditor against any Administrator General in
his representative character, the plaintiff shall be liable to pay the costs
??? the suit down to and including the decree, unless upon proof by affidavit
or otherwise that not less then one month previous to the institution of the
suit he had applied in writing to the Administrator General stating the amount
and other particulars of the claim and supporting the same by such evidence as,
under the circumstances of the case, the Administrator General was reasonably
entitled to require, and that the Administrator General had refused or
neglected to register the claim according to the practice of his office. If in any such suit judgment is pronounced in favour of the plaintiff, he
shall, nevertheless, be or, entitled to payment out of the assets of the
deceased equally and rateably with the other creditors. (c).? Grant of Certificates by the Administrator General Whenever any person, not being a Hind?, Muhammadan or Buddhist, or exempted
under the Indian Succession Act, 1865, section three hundred and thirty-two,
from the operation of that Act, shall have died, whether within any of the said
Presidencies or not whether before or after the passing of this Act and whether
testate or intestate, and shall have left assets (whether moveable, or
immoveable, or both) with in any of the said Presidencies, and the
Administrator General of such Presidency is satisfied that such assets do not
exceed in the whole one thousand rupees in value, he may, after the lapse of
one month from the death if he thinks fit, or before the lapse of the said
month, if he is requested so to do by writing under the hand of the executor or
the widow or other person entitled to administer the effects of the deceased,
grant to any person claiming otherwise than as a creditor to be entitled to a
share of such assets, certificates under his hand entitling the claimant to
receive the property therein mentioned, belonging to the estate of the
deceased, to a value not exceeding in the whole one thousand rupees: No certificate to be granted where probate or
administration taken out, or in respect of money in Government Savings Bank.? Provided that no certificate shall be granted under
this section where probate of the deceased's. Will or letters of administration
of his effects has or have been granted, or in respect of any sum of money
deposited in a Government Savings Bank. If in cases falling within section thirty-six, no person claiming otherwise
than as a creditor to be entitled to a share of the effects of the deceased
obtains, within three months, a certificate from the Administrator General
under the same section, or letters of administration to the estate and effects
of the deceased, the Administrator General may administer the estate and
effects without letters of administration, in the same manner as if such
letters had been granted to him; and if he neglect or refuse to take upon himself the administration of the
estate and effects, he shall, upon the application of a creditor and upon being
satisfied of his title grant a certificate in the same manner as if such
creditor were entitled to a share of the effects of the deceased, and such
certificate shall have the same effect a certificate granted under the
provisions of the ??? section, and shall be subject to all the provisions ???
this Act which are applicable to such certificate: Proviso.? Provided that the Administrator General ??? before granting such
certificate, if he think fit, ??? the creditor to give reasonable security for
the due ??? ministration of the estate and effects of the deceased. The Administrator General shall not be ??? to grant any such certificate,
unless he be satisfied of the title of the claimant and of the value of the
assets of the deceased, either by the oath or affirmation of the claimant
(which oath or affirmation the Administrator General is hereby authorized to
Administrator or take), or by such other evidence as he requires. A copy of any such certificate with a receipt annexed shall, when such copy
and receipt are signed by the person to whom the certificate has been granted
be a full discharge for payment or delivery to him of the money or security for
money therein mentioned, to the person paying or delivering the same: Right of executor or administrator against
certificate-holder.? but nothing in this
Act shall preclude any executor or administrator of the deceased from
recovering, from the person receiving the same, the amount remaining in his
hands after deducting the amount of all debts or other demands lawfully paid or
discharged by him in due course of administration. Right of creditor against assets in hands of
certificate-holder.? And any creditor or
claimant against the estate of the deceased shall be at liberty to recover his
debt or claim out of the assets received by such person and remaining in his
hands unadministered, in the same manner and to the same extent as if such
person had obtained letters of administration to the estate of the deceased. The Administrator General shall not be bound to take out letters of
administration to the estate of any deceased person on account of the effects
in respect of which he grants any such certificate, but he may do so if he
discover any fraud or misrepresentation made to him, or that the value of the
estate exceeded one thousand rupees. For every such certificate the Administrator General shall be entitled to
charge a fee calculated after the rate of three rupees in the hundred on the
amount mentioned in the Certificate. (d).? Expenses of the Administrator
General's Establishment The Administrator General shall defray all the expenses of the
establishment necessary for his office, and all other charges to which the said
office is subject, except those for which express provision is made by this
Act. (e)?Accounts and Schedules The Administrator General of each of the said Presidencies shall enter into
books to be kept by him for that purpose, separate and distinct accounts of
each estate, and of all such sums of money, bonds and other securities for money,
goods, effects and things as come to his hands, or to the hands of any person
employed by him or in trust for him under this Act: and likewise of all
payments made by him on account of such estate, and of all debts due by or to
the same, specifying the dates of such receipts and payments respectively. Such books shall be kept in the Administrator General's office, and shall
be open for the inspection of all such persons, practitioners in the said
Courts and others, as may have occasion to inspect the same, at office hours,
paying only such reasonable the for the time being fixed by the Government and
published in the official Gazette of the Presidency to which the same may
relate. The Administrator General of each of the said Presidencies shall twice in
every year, that is to say, on or before the first day of April, and on or
before the first day of October, or on such other days as the Government, by
any rules or orders to be published as aforesaid, may direct, exhibit and
deliver, in the High Court at Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, as the case may be, (a)
a schedule showing the
gross amount of all sums of money received or paid by him on account of each
estate in his charge, and the balances, during the period of six months ending
severally on the thirty-first day of December and thirtieth day of June next before
the day of delivering such schedule, (b)
a list of all bonds or
other securities received on account of each of the said estates during the
same period, (c)
a schedule of all
administrations whereof the final balances have been paid over to the persons
entitled to the same, during the same period, specifying the amount of such
balances and the persons to whom paid. Schedules to be filed and published.? Such schedules shall be filed of record in such High
Court, and shall, within fourteen days after-wards, he published in the
official Gazette of the Presidency by the Administrator General; and copies thereof in triplicate shall be delivered by such Administrator
General to the Government, and shall be sent by such Government to the
Secretary of State for India, in order that such Secretary may, if he think
fit, order the same to be deposited at the India Office for public inspection,
and cause notices to be published in the London Gazette and other
leading newspapers, that such schedules are open to inspection there, or make
such other orders respecting the same as he thinks fit. Or the Audit or the Administrator General's
Accounts The Government shall from time to time appoint auditors to examine the
accounts of the Administrator General at the times of the delivery of the said
schedules, and also at any other time when the Government thinks fit. The auditors shall examine the schedules and accounts, and report to the
Government? (a)
Whether they contain a
full and true account report to of everything which ought to be inserted
therein, (b)
whether the books which
by this Act, or by any such general rules and orders as hereinafter mentioned,
are directed to be kept by the Administrator General, have been duly and
regularly kept, and (c)
whether the assets and
securities have been duly kept and invested and deposited in the manner prescribed
by this Act, or by any such rules and orders to be made as aforesaid. Every auditor shall have power to summon as well the Administrator General
as any other person whose presence he thinks necessary, to attend him from time
to time; and to examine the Administrator General or other person if he thinks
fit, on oath or affirmation to be by him administered; and to call for all
books, papers, vouchers and documents, which appear to him to be necessary for
the purposes of the said reference. If the Administrator General or other person when summoned refuses, or,
without reasonable cause, neglects to attend or to produce any book, paper,
voucher to document so required, or attends and refuses to be sworn or make an
affirmation, or refuses to be examined, the auditors shall certify such neglect
or refusal in writing to the High Court at the Presidency town; Penalty for non-attendance.? and every person so refusing or neglecting shall
thereupon be punishable in like manner as if such refusal or neglect had been
in contempt of the said High Court. The costs and expenses of preparing and publishing the said schedules and
copies thereof, and of every such reference and examination as aforesaid, shall
be defrayed by all the estates to which such schedules or accounts relate. Such costs and expenses, and the portion thereof to be contributed by each
of the said estates, shall be ascertained and settled by the auditors, subject
to the approval of the Government, and shall be paid out of the said estates
accordingly by the Administrator General. If upon any such reference and examination the auditors see reason to
believe that the said schedules do not contain a true and correct account of
the matters therein contained or which ought to be therein contained, or that
the assets have not been duly kept and invested or deposited in the manner
directed by this Act, or by any such rules and orders as aforesaid, or that the
Administrator General has failed to comply with the provisions and directions
of this Act or of any such rules and orders, they shall report accordingly to
the Government. The Government may refer every such report as last aforesaid to the
consideration of the Advocate General for the Presidency, who shall thereupon,
if he think fit, proceed summarily against the defaulter or his executor or
administrator in the High Court in the Presidency town, by petition for an
account, or to compel obedience to this Act or to such rules and orders as
aforesaid, or otherwise as he may think fit, in respect of all or any of the
estates then or formerly, under the administration of such defaulter; and the said Advocate General may exhibit interrogatories to the said
Administrator General, executor or administrator (hereinafter called the
defendant), who shall be bound to answer the same as fully as if a commission
had been issued under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure for his
examination upon the said interrogatories. The Court shall have power upon any such petition to compel the attendance
in Court of, the defendant and any witnesses who may be thought necessary, and
to examine them orally or otherwise as the said Court thinks fit, and to make
and enforce such order or orders as the Court thinks just. The costs, including those of the Advocate General and of the reference to
him, if the same be directed by the Court to be paid, shall be defrayed either
by the defendant of out of the estates rateably as the said Court directs; and
whenever any costs are recovered from the defendant, the same shall be repaid
to the estates by which they have been in the first instance contributed, and
the Court may, if it think fit, order the defendant to receive his costs out of
the said estates. Of the Commission of the Administrator General The Administrator General of each of the said Presidencies, under any
letters of administration granted to him in his official character, or under
any probate granted to him of a Will wherein he is named as executor by virtue
of his office; or under any probates or letters of administration vested in him
by section eight or section thirty-one, shall be entitled to receive a
commission at the following rates respectively, namely:? The Administrator General of Bengal at the rate of three per
centum, and the Administrators General of Madras and Bombay respectively
at the rate of five per centum, upon the amount or value of the
assets which they respectively collect and distribute in due course of
administration. The last preceding section shall not apply to cases in which the property
of an officer or soldier dying on service comes to the hands of the
Administrator General of any of the said Presidencies, under the ninth or the
twelfth section of the Statute called ?The Regimental Debts' Act, 1863;? Administrator General entitled to a commission of only
three per cent, on gross amount of such property.? and such Administrator General shall not take a
percentage on any such property exceeding three per centum on the
gross amount coming to his hands after the passing of the Administrator
General's Act, 1865, if preferential charges as defined by the fourth section
of the said Statute have been previously paid, or on the gross amount remaining
in his hands after payment by him of such charges, as the case may be. The Administrator General shall be entitled to reimburse himself for any
payments made by him in respect of any estate in his charge, which a private
administrator of such estate might have lawfully made; but save as aforesaid,
the commission to which, the Administrator General of each of the said three
Presidencies shall be entitled is intended to cover, not merely the expense and
trouble of collecting the assets, but also his trouble and responsibility in
distributing them in due course of administration. How payable.? It is therefore enacted that one-half of such commission shall be
payable to and retained by such Administrator General upon the collection of
the assets, and the other half thereof shall be payable to the Administrator
General who distributes any assets in the due course of administration, and may
be retained by him upon such distribution. Commission retained to be deemed a distribution.? The amount of the commission lawfully retained by an
Administrator General upon the distribution of assets, shall be deemed a
distribution in the due course of administration within the meaning of this
Act. Explanation: The carrying of assets to separate accounts in the books
of the Administrator General notified as hereinbefore provided, and the
transfer of assets to the Official Trustee, shall each be deemed to be a
distribution within the meaning of this section. The Governor General in Council may from time to time order the rate of
commission hereinbefore authorized to be received by the Administrator General
of Bengal to be raised to any rate not exceeding five per centum upon
the amount or value of the assets which he collects and distributes in due
course of administration and again to be reduced. Commission of the Administrators General of Madras and
Bombay may be reduced and again raised.? The Governments of the Presidencies of Fort St. George and Bombay
respectively may, with the sanction of the Governor General in Council, from
time to time order the aforesaid rate of commission hereby authorized to be
received by the Administrators General of Madras and Bombay respectively to be
reduced and again to be raised: Proviso.? Provided that the commission so to be received shall not at any time exceed
five per centum of the assets collected, and that no person now
holding the office of Administrator General of Bengal, Madras or Bombay shall,
by any such order, he deprived of the right to receive and retain, for his own
use, a commission at the rate of three per centum in respect of all
assets collected and actually administered by him. No person other that the Administrator General acting officially shall
receive or retain any commission or agency charges for anything done as
executor or administrator under any probate or letters of administration, or
letters ad colligenda bona, which have been granted by the Supreme
Court or High Court at Fort William in Bengal since the passing of Act No. VII
of 1849 (for the appointment of an Administrator General in
Bengal), or by either of the Supreme or High Courts at Madras and Bombay
since the passing of Act No. II of 1850 (to amend and extend to Madras and
Bombay Act No. VII of 1849), or which have been or shall be granted by any
Court of competent jurisdiction within the meaning of sections one hundred and
eighty-seven and one hundred and ninety of the Indian Succession Act, 1865; Bequest in favour of executors not affected.? but this enactment shall not prevent any executor or
other person from having the benefit of any legacy bequeathed to him in his
character of executor, or by way of commission or otherwise. The Government may from time to time make rules consistent with the
provisions of this Act, For custody of assets.? (a) for the safe custody of the assets and securities which come
to the hands or possession of the Administrator General. For remittance of money.? (b) for the remittance to the India Office of all sums of
money payable or belonging to persons resident in Europe, or, in other cases
where such remittance are required, For guidance of Administrator General.? (c) generally for the guidance of the
Administrator General in the discharge of his duties; and may by such rules amongst other things direct what hooks, accounts and
statements, in addition to those mentioned in this Act, shall be kept by the
Administrator General, and in what form the same shall be kept, and what
entries the same shall contain, and where the same shall be kept, and where and
how the assets and securities Belonging to the estates to be administered by
such Administrator General shall be kept and invested or deposited pending the
administration thereof, and how and at what rate or rates of exchange any
remittances thereof shall be made. Proviso as to rules now in force.? Unless any such rules are made and published, the
rules now in force in each of the said Presidencies, so far as the same are not
inconsistent with this Act, shall be of the same force and effect as if the
same had been made and published hereunder. Such rules shall be published in the Gazette of India, the Fort St.
George Gazette, or the Bombay Government Gazette, as the case may be, and
the several Administrators General shall obey and fulfil the same, and the same
shall be a full authority and indemnity for all persons acting in pursuance
thereof. The Governor General in Council may from, time to times, either by general
rule, or by special order in a particular case, decide any question as to the
time at which any commission accruing to the Administrator General in his
official capacity shall be deemed to have been payable; and such decision shall
hind every Administrator General and the estates held by him in his official
capacity. Any order made under this Act by any Court shall have the same effect and
he executed in the same manner as a decree. Whoever, having been sworn or having taken an affirmation under this Act,
makes upon any examination authorized by this Act, 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. All assets in the official charge of the Administrator General of any of
the said Presidencies, and appearing from the official books and accounts of
the Ecclesiastical Registrar and of the Administrator General of any of those
Presidencies, or from the official hooks and accounts of any of those officers,
to have been in official custody for a period of fifteen years or upwards
without any claim thereto having been made and allowed, shall be transferred
and paid to the Comptroller General of Accounts or to the Accountant General to
the Government of Port St. George or Bombay, as the case may be, and be carried
to the account and credit of the Government of India for the general purposes
of government; and the receipt of the said Comptroller General or Accountant General, as
the case may be, shall be a full indemnity and discharge to the said
Administrator General for any such transfer or payment: Proviso.? Provided that this Act shall not authorize the transfer or payment of
any such proceeds as aforesaid, pending any suit heretofore or hereafter
instituted in respect thereof. If any claim be hereafter made to any part of the securities, monies or
proceeds carried to the account and credit of the Government of India under the
provisions of this Act, and if such claim he established to the satisfaction of
the Comptroller General or the Accountant General to the Government of Port St.
George or Bombay, as the case may be, the Government of India shall pay to the
claimant the amount of the principal so carried to its account and credit or so
much thereof as appears to be due to the claimant. If the claim be not established to the satisfaction of the said Comptroller
General or Accountant General, as the case may be, the claimant may apply by
petition to the High Court at the Presidency town against the Secretary of
State for India, and after taking evidence either orally or on affidavit in a
summary way as the Court thinks fit, the Court shall make such order on the
petition for the payment of such portion of the said principal sum as justice
requires, and such order shall be binding on all parties to the suit, and the
Court may direct by whom the whole or any part of the costs of each party shall
be paid. Whenever any person, other than a Hind?, Muhammadan or Buddhist or a person
exempted under the Indian Succession Act, 1865, section three hundred and
thirty-two, from the operation of that Act, dies leaving assets within the
limits of the jurisdiction of a District Judge, the District Judge shall report
the circumstance without delay to the Administrator General of the Presidency,
stating the following particulars so far as they may be known to him:? (a)
the amount and nature of
the assets, (b)
whether or not the
deceased left a Will, and, if so, in whose custody it is, and, on the lapse of
one month from the date of the death, (c)
whether or not any one
has applied for probate of the Will of the deceased or letters of
administration to his effects. The District Judge shall retain the property under his charge, or appoint
an officer under the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1865, section two
hundred and thirty-nine, to take and keep possession of the same until the
Administrator General has obtained letters of administration, or until some
other person has obtained such letters or a certificate from the Administrator
General under the provisions of this Act, when the property shall be delivered
over to the person obtaining such letters of administration or certificate, or,
in the event of a Will being discovered, to the person who may obtain probate
of the Will. Nothing in this Act is intended to require the Administrator General to
take proceedings to obtain letters of administration to the estate or effects
of any officer or soldier or other person subject to any Articles of War,
unless when the Administrator General is duly authorized or required so to do
by the Military Secretary to Government, or by a Committee of Adjustment or
other officers or persons acting under any law for the time being in force
relating to the payment of regimental debts; nor is anything in this Act contained intended to interfere with or alter
the provisions of any Act of Parliament for regulating the payment of
regimental debts, and the distribution of the effects of officers and soldiers
dying in the service of Her Majesty in India, or of any Articles of War. Nothing contained in the Indian Succession Act, 1885, or the Indian
Companies' Act, 1868, shall be taken to supersede or affect the rights, duties
and privileges of the Administrators General and officiating Administrators
General of Bengal, Madras and Bombay respectively. Saving of provisions of Presidency Police Acts as to
petty estates.? And nothing contained
in the Indian Succession Act, 1865, or in this Act, or in the said Act No. XXIV
of 1867, shall be deemed to affect, or to have affected, any provisions for the
time being in force relating to the moveable property under two hundred rupees
in value of persons dying intestate within any of the Presidency Towns, which
shall be or has been taken charge of by the Police for the purpose of safe
custody.Administrator General's Act, 1874
[Repealed]
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