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Section 3: Saving of jurisdiction of Courts of Wards and Chartered High Courts

Guardians and Wards Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1890
Section 2 All 53 Sections of Guardians and Wards Act Section 4

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 3

Section 3 contains statutory savings preserving the inherent jurisdiction of High Courts and the specialized authority of the Court of Wards over minors and disqualified proprietors.

  • Preservation of High Court Inherent Powers: Explicitly saves the inherent jurisdiction and powers of Chartered High Courts (Letters Patent) over the persons and estates of infants.
  • Court of Wards Authority Saved: Nothing in the Act takes away any power vested in any Court of Wards by any local or special enactment.
  • Parens Patriae Jurisdiction: Recognizes that the sovereign parens patriae power of the constitutional courts operates over and above statutory provisions.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Raja Anand Brahma Shah v. State of U.P. (1967) 1 SCR 373: The Supreme Court confirmed that statutory savings under Section 3 preserve the specialized administrative jurisdiction of Courts of Wards over estate management.
  • Nil Ratan Kundu v. Abhijit Kundu (2008) 9 SCC 413: The Supreme Court held that the High Court exercising parens patriae jurisdiction under Section 3 is not bound by rigid procedural technicalities in securing child welfare.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Where extraordinary circumstances demand urgent intervention (such as an international child abduction or flight risk), invoke the High Court's inherent parens patriae jurisdiction preserved under Section 3 alongside Article 226.

Section 2 All 53 Sections of Guardians and Wards Act Section 4