MANGU VENKATARAH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Munsif-Magistrate, Jangaon, in purported exercise of his powers under section 19 of the Gram Panchayats Act, 1956 (Act XVII of 1956), passed an ex parte injunction order which he made absolute until further orders. But on the application of the aggrieved party he reviewed his order and set it aside as being beyond his competence. It is against this order that the petitioner has come up in Revision invoking the powers of this Court under section 115, Civil Procedure Code.

(2.) The Office has taken objection as to the maintainability of this petition on the ground that the Munsif-Magistrate in deciding the dispute under section 19 of the Hyderabad Gram Panchayats Act is not a Court subordinate to the High Court within the meaning of section 115, Civil Procedure Code, and has placed the matter for decision before this Bench.

(3.) The point for consideration is whether the reference to Munsif-Magistrate in section 19 of Act XVII of 1956 is made as a persona designata or as a Court. If the Munsif-Magistrate while exercising the powers under section 19 of the Act was intended to act as a designated person and not as a Court, it should necessarily follow that for the orders made by him he will be amenable to the jurisdiction of this Court only under Article 227 of the Constitution and not under section 115, Civil Procedure Code, The expression ' persona designata' connotes a personl appointed by name or other personal description in contradistinction to one whose identity is to be ascertained by the office he holds. So, then, where a person is indicated in the statute not by name but by an official designation, the question always arises whether the intention was to single him out as a persona designata, i.e., as an individual, the designation being merely his further description or it was that he would cease to be the person so indicated on losing his official designation. If he be a judicial officer as in this case and is intended by the statute to act not otherwise than in a judicial capacity or a Court, certainly he cannot come within the expression ' persona designata' so that he may, irrespective of his continuance in office, perform the duty. Whether the intention is one or the other has to be gathered from the words used, the nature of the functions to be performed and the objects and purport of the statute.