TRILOK CHAND ETC. Vs. Y.S. PARMAR ETC.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution the Petitioners challenge the validity of two notifications dated January 21, 1974, whereby the Governor of Himachal Pradesh has fixed the headquarters of the Solan Sessions Division and of the Solan Civil District at Nahan in the district of Sirmur.

(2.) Three notifications were issued by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. The first notification No. 11 -2/66 -Apptt. (DP) (i), dated August 30/31, 1972, was made under Sec. 7(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and by it the limits of the existing Sessions Divisions were altered and the Sessions Divisions were re -constituted, the limits of the newly constituted Solan Sessions Division being the Solan and Sirmur districts with headquarters at Solan. By the same notification the Governor, acting under Sec. 9(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, established a court of Sessions for each of the Sessions Divisions so constituted. A copy of this notification is Annexure 'A' to the writ petition. The next notification is No. 1l -2/66 -DP(Apptt.) (ii), dated January 21, 1974, whereby while modifying the aforesaid notification the Governor, acting under Sec. 7(2) and 9(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, fixed the headquarters of the Solan Sessions Division at Nahan in the district of Sirmur and directed that the Sessions Judge for the Sessions Division of Solan would sit at Nahan and would also hold his court at Solan and at Nalagarh of the Solan district. A copy of this notification is Annexure 'B' to the writ petition. By another notification of the same date the Governor acting under Sec. 161) of the Himachal Pradesh Courts Order, 1948, and Sec. 19 (1) (ii) of the Punjab Courts Act, 1918, ordered that the headquarters of the Solan Civil District would be Nahan. A copy of this notification is Annexure 'C' to the writ petition. In the writ petition the Petitioners have assailed the validity of the notifications set out at Annexures 'B' and 'C to the writ petition.

(3.) In challenging the validity of the two notifications, the submissions made by learned Counsel for the Petitioners are as follows: