' When this application came up for hearing, a doubt had arisen as to the competency of this application before the High Court. The Deputy Attorney-General and counsel of the respondent were asked to address the Court on this point with reference to the jurisdiction under section 53 of the Insurance Act of 1938. With reference to the definition of the term "Court" given under section 2
(6) of the Insurance Act, it has to be decided as to where this application should have been filed.
2. The learned Deputy Attorney-General has referred to section 162 of the Companies Act, 1913 saying that the "Court" mean the Court having jurisdiction under that Act and that Court would be, the High Court. He contended that section 3 (1) of the Companies Act lays down that the Court having jurisdiction under the Act shall be the High Court having jurisdiction in the place at which the registered office of the Company is situate. Since winding has to be ordered under section 162 of the Companies Act, it will be the High Court that could order winding up of the Insurance Company. The learned Deputy Attorney-General contended that the Insurance Company has been defined under section 2 (8) of the Companies Act and since winding up of the Company is provided under section 162 of the Companies Act proper forum for filing application for winding an Insurance Company will be the High Court. His further contention is that the High Court of Baluchistan has been separated from Sind and Baluchistan High Court by President's Order 6 of 1976 and jurisdiction of the High Court of Baluchistan as well as that of the High Court of Sind has been defined under section 4 of the said Order and High Court of Baluchistan exercises the same jurisdiction as was exerciseable by Sind and Baluchistan High Court in respect to the province of Baluchistan. There is no dispute with this proposition. Section 4 (1) is reproduced below :- "4. Jurisdiction of New High Courts and transfer of cases. -(1) Each new High Court shall have such original, appellate and other jurisdiction and such powers and authority in respect of the territories of the Province for which it is established as the High Court Sind and Baluchistan, immediately before the appointed day, had in respect of the territories in relation to which it exercised appellate jurisdiction."
' Separate High Court for Baluchistan came into existence under this Order. The High Court of Baluchistan would exercise the same jurisdiction as was vested in the High Court of Sind and Baluchistan before the appointed day, i. e. First day of December, 1976, for the Province of Baluchistan. Reference to section 4 of the President's Order 6 of 1976 is made to find out the extent of the jurisdiction of the High Court with reference to section 2 (6) of the Insurance Act of 1938.
3. The definition of the term "Court" as given in that Act is reproduced below "2 (6) "Court" means the principal Civil Court of Original jurisdiction in a District, and includes the High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction."
' The term "Court" means the principal civil Court of original jurisdiction in a District and includes the High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction. There is no dispute as to the jurisdiction of the principal civil Court of original jurisdiction of the district to make an order under section 53 of the Insurance Act. For the purpose of the present application we are concerned with the later portion of section 2 (6) of the Act which says that the term would include High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction. This is a jurisdiction to try civil suits as a Court of first instance.
4. The counsel of the respondent has urged that the High Court of Baluchistan does not exercise ordinary original civil jurisdiction. The High Court of West Pakistan was established by the Governor-General's Order No, 19 of 1959 section 3 (I) and (2) are relevant for this purpose and these are as under :- "3. Establishment of the High Court of West Pakistan. -(1) As from the commencement of this Order there shall be established a High Court of Judicature for the Province of West Pakistan, to be called the High Court of West Pakistan (hereinafter referred to as the High Court),.And the High Court of Judicature at Lahore, the Chief Court of Sind, the Judicial Commissioner, Court in the Nor th-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, and any other Court functioning as High Court in relation to the territories or areas now included in the Province of West Pakistan shall cease to exist.
(2) The High Court shall have such original appellate and other jurisdiction and such powers and authority in respect of the territories included in the Province of West Pakistan as the High Court of judicature at Lahore had, immediately before the commencement of this Order, in respect of the territories in relation to which it exercised appellate jurisdiction."
' Subsection (2) of section 3 circumscribes the jurisdiction of the High Court of West Pakistan. The High Court of West Pakistan had to exercise original, appellate and other jurisdiction as the High'
Court of judicature of Lahore had been exercising before the commencement of that Order. The High Court of Lahore had been established under Letters Patent. The question of jurisdiction of the High Court of West Pakistan had been examined by the Supreme Court in the case of Ahmad Khan v. Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court of West Pakistan (1). It was observed by their Lordships of the Supreme Court that High Court of Lahore did not have ordinary original civil jurisdiction and Presidency High Court had been given such jurisdiction under the Letters Patent.
Since the High Court of Lahore bad no ordinary original civil jurisdiction such a jurisdiction could not be passed on to the West Pakistan High Court under Governor-General's Order 19 of 1955. The Sind and Baluchistan High Court inherited the same jurisdiction with respect to Baluchistan which was vested in the High Court of West Pakistan till 30th June, 1970. The Order No, 8 of 1970 was enforced by the President and the Chief Martial Law Administrator, of which section 3 (1) and (2) are relevant :- "3 (1) Establishment of High Courts for New Provinces. -As from the 1st day of July, 1970 hereinafter referred to as the appointed day, there shall be established the following new High Courts, namely :-
(a) a High Court for the North-West Frontier Province to be called the Peshawar High Court with its principal seat at Peshawar;
(b) a High Court for the Province of the Punjab and the Islamabad capital Territory to be called the Lahore High Court with its principal seat at Lahore ; and
(c) a High Court for the Province of Baluchistan and Sind to be called the Sind and Baluchistan High Court with its principal seat at Karachi.
(2) Each new High Court shall be a Court of record and shall have such original, appellate and other jurisdiction and such powers and authority in respect of the territories for which it is established as the High Court of West Pakistan, immediately before the appointed day, had in respect of the territories in relation to which it exercised appellate jurisdiction."
' Separate High Court of Baluchistan was established under President's (1) P L I) 1968 SC 171 Order 6 of 1976. According to section 4 of the said order, High Court of Baluchistan succeeded to the same jurisdiction which vested in the High Court of Sind and Baluchistan (before the appointed day) in respect to the Province of Baluchistan. Again reverting to the Governor-General's Order 19 of 1955, it will be seen that section 5 gives original civil jurisdiction to the Karachi Bench of the High Court of West Pakistan for Civil District of Karachi as was exercisable by it under section 8 of the Sind Courts Act, 1926 and it also gave it the powers of Court of Sessions for Karachi Sessions Division. Section 5 of the Order is as under :- "5. Original civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Bench at Karachi. -Notwithstanding anything in this order or in any other law for the time being in force, the Bench of the High. Court at Karachi shall have the same original civil jurisdiction for the civil district of Karachi and the same criminal jurisdiction and powers of the Court of Sessions for the Sessions Division of Karachi as were exercise-able, immediately before the commencement of this Order, by the Chief Court of Sind under section 8 of the Sind Courts Act, 1926 (Sind Act VII of 1926) : ' Provided that the Governor-General may by notification in the official Gazette direct that, as from a specified date such jurisdiction by that Bench and as from that date that Bench shall cease to exercise that jurisdiction and powers ."
' Original Civil Jurisdiction was exercised by the Karachi Bench of High. Court of West Pakistan in respect of Civil District of Karachi alone by virtue of section 5 of the Governor-General's Order 19 of 1955 and not by virtue of section 3 (2) of the Order. It. Was only the civil district of Karachi where the Karachi Bench exercised original civil jurisdiction for which exception had been made in section 5 of the Order and in the rest of the West Pakistan the High Court of West Pakistan had no original civil jurisdiction. There is now no doubt left in the proposition that Baluchistan High Court does not possess ordinary civil jurisdiction.
5. Section 53 of the Insurance Act itself shows that the Court may order the winding up of a Insurance Company and provisions of Companies Act shall subject to the provisions of Insurance Act apply. The word "in accordance with the Companies Act, 1913" has no relation to the word "Court" used in this section. These words indicate the procedure and the manner in which a company is to be wound up by the court. Subsection (2) of section 53 of the same Act provides some additional grounds for winding up of an Insurance Company. These grounds are specific for winding up of an Insurance Company and are available to the Court for making an order of winding up of such a company in addition to the other grounds on which an order can be made.
Similarly section 155 of Companies Act prescribes the modes of winding up. There is also provision for voluntary winding up. As against this section 54' of the Insurance Act restricts voluntary winding up. It only allows voluntary winding for the purpose of affecting an amalgamation or re- construction of the company while such a provision is not available for any other company. These instances will show that an Insurance Company is a company all purposes of the Companies Act but subject to the provisions of Insurance Act. The argument of the learned Deputy Attorney- General fails that as a company it can be wound up by that Court which can order winding of any other company under the Companies Act. In the ordinary parlance the provisions of the Companies Act can be said to be of a generic nature while Insurance Act is specific.
6. The learned Deputy Attorney-General has referred to the definition of Insurance Company as given in section 2 (8) of the Companies Act 1913. This definition of Insurance Company in the Companies Act does not mean to assign the meaning of the High Court to the word "Court" used in section 52 of the Insurance Act. The object of providing definition of Insurance Company in the Companies Act was to apply the provision of section 136 of the Companies Act to an insurance Company. Under section 136 of the Companies Act certain companies are required to submit a statement in the Form 'C' of the Third Schedule of that Act. The insertion of the definition of Insurance Company under the Companies Act would not therefore affect in any manner jurisdiction of the Court under section 53 of the Insurance Act. This argument of the learned Deputy Attorney-General has also no force.
7. The definition of the Court given in section 2 (6) also indicates that the word Court means the principal civil Court of original jurisdiction in a District and includes the High Court only where the High Court exercises its ordinary original civil jurisdiction. When section 53 of the Act is seen in the light of this definition the irresistible inference would be that for the purposes of application under section 53 of the Insurance Act the Court that could order winding up of Insurance Company would be the principal civil Court of original jurisdiction, i.e, the District Court, Quetta since the High Court of Baluchistan does not exercise ordinary original civil jurisdiction. The application is therefore dismissed. Parties are left to bear their own costs.