GURULINGAPPA SHIVANANDAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these writ petitions, the petitioners who are employees of various municipalities in the District of Bijapur, have questioned the constitutional validity of S. 320 of the Karnataka Municipalities Act 1964 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and have also prayed for quashing an order made by the Divisional Commissioner, Belgaum Division, by which they have been transferred from the municipalities in which they were working to some other municipalities in the same district.

(2.) Sri K. Subba Rao, learned Counsel for the petitioners urged the following cententions :

(3.) In support of the first contention learned Counsel for the petitioners submitted as follows. Under S. 10 of the Act each municipal council is a separate corporate body The petitioners joined the service in the service of the respective municipality. Consequently the concerned municipality is their master and the petitioners were the servants of the municipality to which they got themselves recruited at their own volition. The Legislature is not competent to make a law effecting the change of masters. Art. 23 of the Constitution which forbids forced labour stands violated by S. 320 of the Act as it empowers the State Government to force a servant of one municipality to become a servant of another municipality.