DARSHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON 23.11.2004, the State of Punjab had sent a Notification to the Controller, Printing and Stationery, Punjab with a request to publish the Notification in the Punjab Extraordinary Gazette. By this Notification, petitioner No. 1 has been nominated as Chairman and petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 as Members of the Market Committee, Anandpur Sahib, Distt. Ropar. Before this notification could be published in the Gazette, the respondents have issued another Notification dated 29.11.2004 which is styled as an amendment of the Notification dated 23.11.2004. This notification has also been sent to the Controller, Printing and Stationery, Punjab with a request to publish in the Punjab Extraordinary Gazette. It is not disputed by Mr. Randhawa that the notification dated 23.11.2004 has not been published in the Punjab Govt. Gazette. He, however, submits that as soon as the Notification dated 23.11.2004 was brought to the notice of the petitioners, it vested certain rights in them. The withdrawal of the offices which had been offered to the petitioners by Notification dated 29.11.2004, causes civil consequences. Therefore, subsequent Notification dated 29.11.2004 could not have been given effect to without complying with rules of natural justice.

(2.) IT is not disputed that the decision to nominate the petitioners was taken under Section 12(2) of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 which reads as follows :-

(3.) HAVING perused the relevant provision of the Act reproduced above, we are of the view that "nomination" of the petitioners cold be effective only on the publication of the Notification in the official gazette. Since the notification was admittedly not published in the official gazette, the petitioners cannot be said to have been duly nominated. This view of ours will find support from the judgment of the Supreme court in the case of Sammbhu Nath v. Kedar Prasad, AIR 1972 SC 1515 wherein, while interpreting sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Commissions of Enquiry Act, which requires appointment of a Commission of Enquiry "by notification in the official Gazette", their Lordships held as follows :-