AMARENDRA NATH ROY CHOWDHURY Vs. BIKASH CHANDRA GHOSE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this case challenges the validity of the City Civil Court Act, being West Bengal Act XXI of 1953, which was passed by the West Bengal Legislature and has received the assent of the President, such assent being published in the Calcutta Gazette, Extraordinary, dated the 1st September 1953. It is stated to be an Act to establish an additional Civil Court for the City of Calcutta. It is to be called the City Civil Court Act, 1953, and was to come into force on such date as the State Government might by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. For the purposes of this application the following provisions of the Act are important:---

(2.) It will be necessary to deal with the First Schedule in some detail later on. It is sufficient to mention here that under Item 5 of the First Schedule, suits and proceedings exceeding Rs, 5,000 in value relating to or arising out of, bills of exchange, hun-dis or other negotiable securities for money as well as letters of credit or letters of advice are excluded from the jurisdiction of the City Civil Court; but suits and proceedings relating to or arising out of, cheques, promissory notes not exceeding Rs. 10,000 in value, which would otherwise have been tried in the Ordinary Original Civil Jurisdiction of the High Court of Calcutta, will now be tried and determined by the City Civil Court. Tho petitioner states that he intends to file a suit under O. XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure for a sum of Rs. 3,500 based upon a promissory note, in this High Court in its Ordinary Original Civil Jurisdiction. He says that his plaint is ready but he has been' prevented from filing the suit because of the provisions of the City Civil Court) Act. The petitioner also challenges the appointment ofi the respt. Sri Bikash Chandra Ghose, Chief Judga of the City Civil Court, on the ground that his appointment is not in accordance with law. Before I proceed further, it will be convenient to refer to the several notifications whereby the City Civil Court was established and the Chief Judge appointed. As I have stated above, the Act was passed by the West Bengal Legislature in 1953, but it was to come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. Section 3 lays down that the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette; establish a Civil Court to be called the City Civil Court. Three orders were made 011 the 14th February 1957, which were published simultaneously in an extraordinary issue of the Calcutta Gazette published on the 20th February 1957, The first notification is No, 1057-], by which the Governor appointed the 23rd day of February 1957, as the date on which the Act shall come into force. By notification No. 1058-J the Governor was pleased to establish with effect from 23rd day of February 1957 a Civil Court to be called a City Civil Court. By notification No. 1059-J, the Governor was pleased to establish with effect from 23rd February 1957, for the Presidency Town of Calcutta the Court of Session, to be called a City Sessions Court. By notification No. 1214-J dated the 20th February 1957, the Governor in exercise of power conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the City Civil Court Act of 1953, was pleased to appoint the respondent No. 1, who was then employed as the Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta, to be the Chief Judge of the City Civil Court. This notification has not been published in the Gazette yet, or at least was not at the time of the hearing of the application.

(3.) The points taken by Mr. Kar on behalf of the petitioner may be summarised as follows:--