HAJI AHMAD RAZA Vs. MUNICIPAL BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This suit which was originally instituted before the learned Civil Judge of Allahabad has, by an order of the Court, been removed to the extraordinary original side of this Court. It came up for hearing before a Division Bench which recorded the statements of learned counsel for the parties, framed issues and took down evidence which was concluded on the 10th December, 1951. On the 11th December, 1951, it directed the case to be laid before the Hon'ble the Chief Justice for constituting a Full Bench to decide it as it raised questions of general importance in this State. The case then came up before this Full Bench on the 18th January, 1952, when at the request of the learned counsel for the defendant the following issue was added: "Is the suit bad for want of notice under Section 326 of the U. P. Municipalities Act?" Learned counsel for the plaintiffs requested for time to argue on this new issue and this was granted to him. It may be mentioned that in para. 11 of the written statement the defendant had already raised the plea that the suit was not maintainable without a notice.

(2.) The plaintiffs are three in number and they have brought this suit under Order 1, Rule 8, of the Code of Civil Procedure representing the butchers and the hide merchants of city of Allahabad. Plaintiffs 1 and 2 are butchers by profession and plaintiff 3 is a hide merchant. The defendant is the Municipal Board of Allahabad. At first the State of Uttar Pradesh was also impleaded as a defendant but subsequently it was exempted.

(3.) It is common ground of the parties that in this Municipality bye-laws in respect of slaughter houses have been in existence since 1916. By a notification published in the U. P. Gazette, dated the 31st March, 1951, these bye-laws were amended and the following was inserted as Clause