U N R RAO Vs. INDIRA GANDHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by certificate is directed against the judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Madras dismissing Writ Petition No. 63 of 1971 filed by U. N. R. Rao, appellant before us. In this petition the appellant had prayed that a writ of quo warranto be issued to the respondent, Smt. Indira Gandhi, and it be declared that the respondent has no constitutional authority to hold the office of and to function as Prime Minister of India.

(2.) In brief, the appellant contends that under the Constitution as soon as the House of the People is dissolved under Art. 85 (2) of the Constitution the Council of Ministers, i.e., the Prime Minister and other Ministers, cease to hold office. According to him this follows plainly from the wording of Art. 75 (3) , which provides that "the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People." How can the Council of Ministers be responsible to the House of the People when it has been dissolved under Art. 85 (2) According to him no void in the carrying out of Government will be created because the President can exercise the Executive Power of the Union either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution as provided in Art. 53 (1) of the Constitution.

(3.) In constitutional matters it is advisable to decide only those points which necessarily arise for determination on the facts of the case. It seems to us that a very narrow point arises on the facts of the present case. The House of the People was dissolved by the President on 27-12-1970. The respondent was the Prime Minister before the dissolution. Is there anything in the Constitution, and in particular in Art. 75 (3) , which renders her carrying on as Prime Minister contrary to the Constitution It was said that we must interpret Article 75 (3) according to its own terms regardless of the conventions that prevail in the United Kingdom. If the words of an article are clear, notwithstanding any relevant convention, effect will no doubt be given to the words. But it must be remembered that we are interpreting a Constitution and not an Act of Parliament, a Constitution which establishes a Parliamentary system of Government with a Cabinet. In trying to understand one may well keep in mind the conventions prevalent at the time the Constitution was framed.