RAMBHAVU BHIMARAO POTDAR Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a resident of Belgaum City. After the expiry of the terms of the, members of the Municipal Council of Belgaum, an Administrator was appointed by the State Govt under C1(C) of sub-sec(l) of S.315 of the Karnatakta Municipalitties Act, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) to administer the affairs of the Municipal Council, for a period of six months from 1st March, 1974 or till the Municipal Council was reconstituted whichever was earlier, by its order dt.27-2-1974. On 24th April 1974, the State Grovt, in exercise of its powers conferred by sub-sec(S) of S.315 of the Act, appointed respondents 2 to 21 as membars of the Advisory Council to advise and to assist the Administrator in exercise of the powers and to perform and discharge the duties and functions conferred or imposed on him under the Act.

(2.) In this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the issue of a writ quashing the orders of the State Govt dt .24-4-1974 constituting the Advisory Council and directing respondents 2 to 21 not to function as members of the Advisory Council on th ground that their appointment is illegal. The relief prayed for by the petitioner is primarily based on the contrition that sub-sec(3) of S.315 of the Act is uncontitutional. The writ petition is contested by the respondents. The principal contention urged in support of the writ petition is that gub-sec(3) of S.314 suffers from the vice of excessive delegation. In other words, it is contended that the State Legislature had conferred unguided power on the State Govt and had abdicated its essential legislative powers in enacting sub-sec(3) of S.315 of the Act. Sub-sec(3) of S.315 of the Act reads as follows : (3) The State Govt may, if it thinks fit, appoint an advisory council to advise and assist the administrator appointed under sub-sec (1) in the exercise of the powers and the performance and discharge of they duties and functions conferred or imposed on him under this Act or any other law. The members of the advisory council shall hold office during the pleasure of the State; Government."

(3.) The Administrator is appointed for a, Municipal Council when an elected Municipal Council is not functioning. The Administrator is empowered by sub-sec(2) of S.315 to exercise all the powers exercisable by a Municipal Council, its committees, the President and Vice-President under the Act or ary other law. The) Advisory Council is appointed under sub-sec(3) of S.315 of the Act only to advise the Administrator. The advice tendered by the Advisory Council is not stated to be binding on the Administrator. It was argued by Sri B. V. Krishnaswamy Rao, learned Counsil for the petitioner that in the absence of any guidelines given by the Statute itself, regarding the qualification of persons who could bet appointed as members of the Advisory Council, sub-sec(3) of S.315 should be struck down on the ground of exclussive delegation. In support of his contention, he relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in Devi Das Gopal Krishnan v State of Punjab ,. AIR. 1967 SC. 1895. It has to be observed here that the decision relied by the learned Counsel has no bearing on the case on hand. In that case, the Supreme Court was considering the validity of a provision in the Punjab General Sales Tax Act which conferred unlimited power on the State Government to determine the rate at which sales tax had to be paid by the assessees The present case is not one in which the State Govt is entrusted with the power to detormine the rate of tax, In that very decision, reference is made to an earlier decision of the Supreme Court in Corpn of Calcutta v. Liberty Cinema, AIR. 1965 SC. 1107, in which" power of the Municipal Corporation to levy a licence fee in resp'ct of a Cinema was upheld by the Supreme Court although there was no express restriction on the power of the, Municipality to levy the fee or a tax on the ground that there was enough guidance in the various provisions of the Calcutta Municipal Act 1951 with regard to the rate of fee or tax leviable on cinema shows.