RAM SINGH AND ORS. Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioners, residents of village Sasoli Tehsil Jagadhri, District Ambala, have impugned in this writ petition notifications Annexures T -1' and 'P -2'. Notifications Annexures 'P -1' and 'P -2' have been issued under Sub -section (1) and (3) respectively of Section 4 of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), whereby their land and the village inhabited by them were sought to be brought within the municipal limits of Yamuna nagar Municipal Committee. The notification under Sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the Act (Annexure 'P -1') has been impugned on the ground that it did not satisfy the requirement of Sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the Act in regard to its publication. Provisions of Sub -section (1) of Section 4 are in the following terms:

(2.) MR . H.S. Gill, Advocate, appearing for the State has taken the stand that the requirement of Sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the Act regarding the other manner of notifying the State's intention is merely directory and not mandatory.

(3.) SUB -section (2) of Section 4 of the Act requires the persons affected from the inclusion of their area within the municipal limits to file their objections in writing to the State Government through the Deputy Commissioner within six weeks from the publication of the notification under Sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the Act. The affected persons can file their objections within time only if they were made aware of the notification in time. As everyone knows that even literate people do not come to know of the existence of a notification, what to talk of the illiterate villagers, so it hardly requires stressing that where ignorance of law is no excuse, the law that effects the citizens requires such publicity as may be considered sufficient to inform of its existence to a man in the street, and any provision requiring publication, of a fact which affects the citizens, in a given manner to achieve the aforesaid object of giving information to the affected persons, has to be considered mandatory one.