SUB DIVISIONAL OFFICER Vs. MEHAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals raise a common point. They arise out of two out of a batch of writ petitions, disposed of by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which challenged the validity of S. 244 of the Punjab Municipal Act. The High Court concluded that, both on principle and precedent, the provisions should be struck down as they plainly suffer from the taint of unconstitutionality. The State of Punjab has preferred these appeals.

(2.) The Punjab Municipal Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') was an Act to make better provisions for the administration of municipalities in Punjab. The procedure for constituting any local area as a municipality is set out in Ss. 4 to 10 (Chapter II) of the Act. Under S. 4, the State Government is empowered by notification to propose any local area (other than any part of a military cantonment) to be a municipality under the Act. Any inhabitant, who desires to object to such a proposal, can put forward his objections in writing within a specific period. The State Government is obliged to take such objections into consideration. It may then, by a notification, declare the local area to be a municipality of the first, second or third class as the case may be. Section 5 enables the Government to alter the areas of a municipality by including within the municipality and other local area. In such a case also the inhabitants of the municipality or the local area proposed to be included, are entitled to file objections which the State Government is obliged to take into account before notifying the inclusion of the local area in the municipality. Section 6 provides for a notification of the intention of the Government to exclude from a municipality any local area comprised therein. Here again, any inhabitant of the municipality or local area is entitled to put forward his objections and a final notification of exclusion of the local area from the municipality will be issued by the State Government after taking such objections into consideration. Section 9 confers a power on the State Government to except any municipality or part thereof from the operation of such of the provisions of the Act as are unsuited thereto. Section 10 of the Act (as originally enacted) gave power to the State Government to withdraw from the operation of the Act the area of any municipality constituted thereunder with the result that the Act would not apply within the .limits of that area. These are the sets of provisions relating to the constitution of a local area as a municipal area to be fully governed by the provisions of the Municipal Act. These municipalities are managed by committees constituted as provided in S. 12 and they have powers of raising money by taxation. The fund of the municipality, called the municipal fund, consists of all sums raised by or on behalf of the Committee under the Act or otherwise. The funds are to be defrayed by the committee on various types of civic needs set out in detail in S. 52 of the Act.

(3.) The Act also contemplates the constitution of certain local areas into what may be described as 'notified areas'. These notified areas do not function as municipalities proper but they are given a certain amount of local autonomy. The State Government appoints a committee and the committee manages the affairs of the local area. They are in charge of all aspects of local administration like a full-fledged municipality. They are given powers to impose certain taxes as are permitted by the State Government and only such provisions of the Act are applicable to them as may be extended by the State Government. The creation of a notified area is the recognition by the Government of the necessity for granting powers of local administration to a particular area in a smaller measure than is the case with a municipality. The provisions governing the constitution of a notified area are set out in S. 241 to S. 245 (Chapter XIII) of the Act. It is, however, sufficient to set out the provisions of Ss. 241 to 244 here for a proper appreciation of the issue that arises in these appeals: Section 241: Constitution of Notified Area