Section 45 - Bar of Jurisdiction of Civil Courts

Text of Section 45: Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts

What Section 45 means

Section 45 channels disputes falling within the statutory decision-making machinery of the Benami Act away from ordinary civil suits. Where the Act gives a specified authority, the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal power to determine a matter, a civil court cannot assume jurisdiction over that same statutory matter.

The provision is therefore concerned with subject-matter jurisdiction. The key question is whether the matter raised before the civil court is one that the Act itself authorises its designated authorities or tribunal to determine.

Scope of the bar on civil court jurisdiction

The bar is not expressed as a general exclusion of every dispute involving a property that is alleged to be benami. It applies to matters that the authorities created or recognised under the Act are empowered to decide. In practice, the nature of the relief claimed and the statutory power relied upon must be examined carefully before concluding that civil jurisdiction is excluded.

Important features of Section 45

• The bar applies to a suit or proceeding before a civil court.
• The disputed matter must be one that an authority, the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal is empowered to determine under the Act.
• The section also contains a separate prohibition concerning injunctions against action taken or proposed under the Act.
• Statutory remedies provided by the Act remain important because the Act establishes its own adjudicatory and appellate framework.

Bar on injunctions

The second part of Section 45 provides that no court or other forum shall grant an injunction in respect of action taken or proposed to be taken in exercise of powers conferred by or under the Act. The language is intended to prevent statutory proceedings from being halted through ordinary injunctive relief where the challenged action is being undertaken under the Benami Act.

Statutory remedies under the Benami Act

Section 45 should be read with the appellate structure provided in the Act. For example, Section 46 provides for appeals to the Appellate Tribunal, while Section 49 provides for an appeal to the High Court in the circumstances specified by that provision.

A person affected by proceedings under the Act should therefore identify the particular order, the authority that passed it, the available statutory remedy and the applicable limitation period before choosing the appropriate forum.

Official legal source

For the consolidated statutory text and subsequent amendments, refer to the Government of India source:

India Code - Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988

Related provisions

Section 45 appears in the part of the Act dealing with the Appellate Tribunal and the statutory adjudicatory framework. Readers may also review the surrounding provisions on Tribunal administration, appeals, rectification and representation.