(1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Court of Wards Act, 1963.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) "Government ward" shall mean any person of whose property, or of whose person and property, the Court of Wards may, for the time being, have the superintendence under this Act;
(b) "District Court" shall include the Court of an Assistant Judge invested under section 19 of the Bombay Civil Courts Act, 1869, with all the powers of a District Judge;
(c) "Land Revenue Code" means—
(a) in the Bombay and Saurashtra areas of the State of Gujarat, the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, and
(b) in the Kutch area of the State of Gujarat the said Code as applied to that area; and
(d) "property-holder" means a person holding property whether as an owner or otherwise and includes a holder of land holding the land either as an occupant or a tenant of such land.
Explanation.-In this clause "person" or "holder" means a person who has attained the age of majority according to the Indian Majority Act, 1875 but where property or land is held by an undivided Hindu family or by two or more persons jointly, it is sufficient, if at least one of the members of such family or one of such joint holders has attained the age of majority according to the said Act.
3. Subject to the provisions of section 10, the Collector shall be the Court of Wards for the limits of his district:
Provided that the State Government may, if it thinks fit, by notification in the Official Gazette-
(a) appoint a special officer to be the Court of Wards for a division;
(b) constitute a Board consisting of two or more officers to be the Court of Wards for a division; or
(c) appoint any other officer or officers to be a Court of Wards for any part of the State of Gujarat and direct that such part shall thereupon be excluded from the jurisdiction of the Court of Wards of any division in which it lies wholly or partly.
Short title and extent.
Definitions.
XIV of 1869.
IX of 1875. .
Collector to be Court of Wards.
1963 : Guj. XXXVII ] Gujarat Court of Wards Act, 1963 5 of 15