Section 16 of The Central Provinces Court of Wards Act, 1899
- (1)When all claims have been investigated under section 15, the Court of Wards shall submit to the Local Government a schedule of the debts and liabilities of the Government ward, and the Local Government may, when the estate appears to be involved beyond all hope of extrication or for any other sufficient reason, by an order published in the Local official Gazette, direct that, on a date to be fixed by the order, the superintendence of the property and person of the ward shall be relinquished by the Court of Wards.
- (2)On the date so fixed--
- (a)the superintendence shall terminate;
- (b)the owner of the property under superintendence shall be restored to the possession thereof, subject to any contracts entered into by the Court of Wards for the preservation or benefit of such property;
- (c)the claims referred to in section 12, sub-section (2), shall revive.
- (3)In calculating the periods of limitation applicable to suits to recover and enforce debts and liabilities revived under this section, the time during which such superintendence has continued shall be excluded.
Summary
- After investigating all claims, the Court of Wards sends a list of the estate's debts to the Local Government.
- If the estate is drowning in so much debt that it cannot be saved, or for any other good reason, the Local Government can publish an order to abandon the management on a specific fixed date.
- On that fixed date, the Court's management ends, and the property goes back to the original owner, though the owner must honor any contracts the Court made to preserve the property.
- Any old claims that were previously cancelled because the creditors missed the submission deadline are brought back to life on that date.
- When figuring out the legal time limits for creditors to file lawsuits on those revived claims, the time the estate was managed by the Court of Wards is ignored.
Practical examples
FAQ
1. Why would the Court of Wards give property back if it is still in debt?
The Local Government can order the property returned if the estate appears to be involved beyond all hope of extrication, meaning the debts are too massive to ever be paid off.
2. What happens to deals the Court of Wards made to fix the property before handing it back?
When the owner gets the property back, they take it subject to any contracts the Court of Wards entered into for the preservation or benefit of the property.
3. If a claim comes back to life, does the time limit for filing a lawsuit start from zero again?
The time limit does not start from zero, but the specific period during which the Court of Wards managed the estate is excluded from the calculation.
Test yourself
Q1.Under Section 16 of The Central Provinces Court of Wards Act, 1899, what happens to claims that were previously discharged under Section 12 for missing the submission deadline, if the estate is relinquished due to hopeless debt?
Q2.Under Section 16 of The Central Provinces Court of Wards Act, 1899, what must the Court of Wards complete under Section 15 before submitting a schedule of debts to the Local Government?
Q3.Under Section 16 of The Central Provinces Court of Wards Act, 1899, how does the period of Court of Wards superintendence affect the limitation period for revived lawsuits?
Q4.Under Section 16 of The Central Provinces Court of Wards Act, 1899, what condition burdens the owner when they get their property back?