RAMA KANT Vs. CANTONMENT BOARD ALLAHABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petitioner's special appeal directed against an order of Mr. Justice Mehrotra dismissing a petition filed by him under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) The appellant is the proprietor of a brick kiln situate in village Tar Bagh, Mazra Umarpur Neema, tahsil Chail, district Allahabad. The brick kiln is situate just outside the limits of the Canton ment of Allahabad. Near its north east corner starts a road of the Cantonment of Allahabad known as Meagharganj Road or Ravidas Road. That road is under the control and management of the Cantonment Board. In the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by Clause (4) of Section 282 after obtaining the approval of the Central Government under Section 283 of the Cantonments Act 1924 (Act No. II of 1924) the Cantonment Board has framed certain bye-laws for the regulation and prohibition of traffic within its area. One of the bye-laws authorises the Board to prohibit either absolutely or during such hours as may be notified by the Cantonment Board in that behalf on any road within the Cantonment limits traffic of a particular kind mentioned in the bye-law. Another bye-law provides that if a notice prohibiting vehicular traffic is displayed on a particular road no person shall drive or propel any vehicle along that road. The bye-laws also provide for a penalty in the case of their breach. Acting under these bye-laws the Cantonment Board first passed a resolution bearing No. 10 on 29-9-1955 according to which the Meagharganj Road (Ravidas Road) in the Cantonment was prohibited for motor lorries with immediate effect. Later by resolution No. 23 dated 8-11-1955 the earlier resolution was slightly modified and in its modified form it provided that traffic by motor lorries or country carts would be prohibited on the Meagharganj Road (Ravidas Road) with immediate effect except when actually crossing or proceeding to a bungalow, house or shop which cannot be reached by any other road within the Cantonment area. The appellant claimed a right to carry his bricks from his brick kiln along the Meaghafganj Road through motor lorries. As he felt that that right of his had been wrongly infringed by the bye-laws and the resolutions passed thereunder by the Cantonment Board, he filed the writ petition out of which this appeal has arisen. He prayed for a writ in the nature of mandamus to be issued commanding the Cantonment Board not to enforce resolution No. 23 dated 8-11-1955 otherwise than in accordance with law. He also prayed that resolution No. 10 dated 29-9-1955 and resolution No. 23 dated 8-11-1955 be quashed because they were in excess of the authority possessed by the Cantonment Board. Though he did not claim any spepific relief in respect of the bye-laws his contention was that the resolutions were bad because the bye-laws under which they had been framed were invalid.

(3.) The petition was opposed on behalf of the Cantonment Board mainly on two grounds. It was contended in the first place that the appellant had no right at all to ply his motor lorries over the road in question and could not therefore maintain the petition. The other ground was that the impugned resolutions and bye-laws were quite valid and could not therefore be questioned by the petitioner.