RULERS OF INDIAN STATES
(ABOLITION OF PRIVILEGES) ACT, 1972 RULERS OF INDIAN
STATES (ABOLITION OF PRIVILEGES) ACT, 1972 [Act No. 54 of 1972] [9th September, 1972] An Act further to
amend certain enactments consequent on derecognition of Rulers of Indian States
and abolition of privy purses,so as to abolish the privileges of Rulers and to
make certain transitional provisions to enable the said Rulers to adjust progressively
to the changed circumstances. Be
it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-- (1) This Act may be called the Rulers of Indian States
(Abolition of Privileges) Act, 1972. (2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall
come into force at once. In
section 197A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898,-- (a) in sub-section (1), for clause (b), the following
clauses shall be substituted, namely: -- (b) '(b) "commencement of the Constitution"
means the 26th day of January, 1950; and (c) "Ruler", in relation to a former Indian
State, has the same meaning as in article 363
Preamble - THE RULERS OF INDIAN STATES
(ABOLITION OF PRIVILEGES) ACT, 1972PREAMBLE
(d) in sub-section (2), after the words "Ruler of
a former Indian State", the words "before the commencement of the
Constitution" shall be inserted;
(e) in sub-section (3), after the words "Ruler of
a former Indian State", the words "for such offence" shall be
inserted.
Section 3 - Amendment of Act 5 of 1908
In section 87B of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,--
(a) for sub-section (1), the following sub-section
shall be substituted, namely: --
"(1)
In the case of any suit by or against the Ruler of any former Indian State
which is based wholly or in part upon a cause of action which arose before the
commencement of the Constitution or any proceeding arising out of such suit,
the provisions of section 85 and sub-sections (I) and (3) of section 86 shall
apply in relation to such Ruler as they apply in relation to the Ruler of a
foreign State.";
(b) in sub-section (2),--
(i) the word "and" at the end of clause (a)
shall be omitted;
(ii) for clause (b), the following clauses shall be
substituted, namely: --
'(b) "commencement of the Constitution"
means the 26th day of January, 1950; and
(c) "Ruler", in relation to a former
Indian State, has the same meaning as in article 363of
the Constitution.'.
Section 4 - Amendment of Act 43 of 1951
Section 168 of
the Representation of the People Act, 1951, shall be omitted.
Section 5 - Amendment of Act 27 of 1957
In
the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, in section 5,
in sub-section (1),--
(a) in clause (iii), for the words "any one
building in the occupation of a Ruler declared by the Central Government as his
official residence", the words, brackets and figures "any one
building in the occupation of a Ruler, being a building which immediately
before the commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971,
was his official residence by virtue of a declaration by the Central
Government'' shall be substituted with effect from the 28th day of December,
1971;
(b) to clause (xiv), the following provisos shall be
added, namely: --
"Provided
that in the case of jewellery recognised by the Central Government as
aforesaid, such recognition shall be subject to the following conditions,
namely: --
(i) that the jewellery shall be permanently kept in
India and shall not be removed outside India except for a purpose and period
approved by the Board:
(ii) that reasonable steps shall be taken for keeping
the jewellery substantially in its original shape;
(iii) that reasonable facilities shall be allowed to any
officer of Government authorised by the Board in this behalf to examine the
jewellery as and when necessary; and
(iv) that if any of the conditions hereinbefore
specified is not being duly fulfilled, the Board may, for reasons to be
recorded in writing, withdraw the recognition retrospectively with effect from
the date of commencement of clause (b) of section 5 of
the Rulers of Indian States (Abolition of Privileges) Act, 1972 and in such a
case, wealth-tax shall become payable by the Ruler for all the assessment years
after such commencement for which the jewellery was exempted on account of the
recognition.
Explanation.--For
the purposes of clause (iv) of the foregoing proviso, the fair market value of
any jewellery on the date of the withdrawal of the recognition in respect
thereof shall be deemed to be the fair market value of such jewellery on each
successive valuation date relevant for the assessment years referred to in the
said proviso:
Provided
further that the aggregate amount of wealth-tax payable in respect of any
jewellery under clause (iv) of the foregoing proviso for all the assessment
years referred to therein shall not in any case exceed fifty per cent of its
fair market value on the valuation date relevant for the assessment year in
which recognition was withdrawn;".
Section 6 - Amendment of Act 18 of 1958
In section 5 of the Gift-tax Act, 1958, in sub-section
(1), clause (xvi) shall be omitted with effect from the 1st day of April, 1973.
Section 7 - Amendment of Act 43 of 1961
In
the Income-tax Act, 1961,--
(a) in section 10,--
(i) after clause (18), the following clause shall be
inserted, namely:--
"(18A)
any ex gratia payments made by the Central Government consequent on the
abolition of privy purse;";
(ii)
clause
(19) shall be omitted with effect from the 2nd day of April, 1973;
(iii) before clause (20), the following clause shall be
inserted and shall be deemed to have been inserted with effect from the 28th
day of December, 1971, namely:--
"(19A)
the annual value of any one palace in the occupation of a Ruler, being a
palace, the annual value whereof was exempt from income-tax before the
commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971, by virtue
of the provisions of the Merged States (Taxation Concessions) Order, 1949 or
the Part B States (Taxation Concessions) Order, 1950 or, as the case may be,
the Jammu and Kashmir (Taxation Concessions) Order, 1958:
Provided
that for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1972, the
annual value of every such palace in the occupation of such Ruler during the
relevant previous year shall be exempt from income-tax;";
(b) in section 297, in sub-section (2),--
(i) in clause (1), the words "until rescinded by
the Central Government" shall be omitted;
(ii) to clause (1) as so amended, the following proviso
shall be added, namely:--
"Provided
that the Central Government may rescind any such notification or amend it so as
to rescind any exemption, reduction in rate or other modification made
thereunder;".