PRAHLADJI MOHANJI THAKOR Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the petitioner, challenging the constitutional validity and vires of Section 264 of the Gujarat ... (hereinafter referred to as "The Act").

(2.) At the outset, it may be stated that one Sarojben S. Thakor filed Special Civil Application No.432 of 1999, which came up before us on 21st of January, 1999. In the said petition also validity of Section 264 of the Act was challenged on various grounds. After the matter was argued for some time, the learned counsel for the petitioner, did not press challenge to vires of Section 264 of the Act and we passed the following order :-

(3.) So far as the present petition is concerned, Mr.Parmar, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that though a similar contention was raised in Special Civil Application No.432 of 1999, the question can still be decided in the present petition inasmuch as the parties in Special Civil Application No.432 of 1999 and in the present petition, i.e. Special Civil Application No.789 of 1999, are different. Moreover, even on merits, contentions raised in the previous petition as well as in this petition are different. He submitted that in the previous petition, the validity of Section 264 was challenged on the ground that the provisions of Section 264 of the Act were not in consonanc... constitutional scheme envisaged by Part IX of the Constitution (Articles 243 to 243-O of the Constitution). In the present petition, however, the petitioners have challenged the validity of the said Section on the ground that it confers blanket, uncanalised and arbitrary powers on the State Government. The provisions of Section 264 are, therefore, arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution. In the light of the said submission, Mr.Parmar made a prayer that from the present petition, ground No.(v) may be permitted to be deleted. The said ground reads as under :-