MADHO SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Bihar Money-lenders Act, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') after it was passed by the Bihar Legislature received the assent of the President of India on the 20th of March, 1975. The Act as passed in Hindi was published in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 25th of March, 1975. An authoritative English text of the Act was published in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 29th of April, 1975. However, another authoritative English text of it was published in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 25th of July, 1975 superseding the authoritative English text published earlier in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 29th of April, 1975. The provisions of the Act referred to in this judgment are as published in the Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 25th of July, 1975.

(2.) The Act came into force immediately after the publication in the Bihar Gazette as Section 1 (3) of it provides that it shall come into force at once. Section 12 of the Act reads as follows:--

(3.) Madho Singh, the petitioner of the present case before us, filed a writ application before this Court for quashing the notice issued to him under rule 10 of the Rules read with Section 12 of the Act. He also made a prayer for declaring Section 12 of the Act and the Rules ultra vires. That writ application was numbered as C. W. J. C. No. 2919 of of 1975. By its judgment dated 28th of March, 1975, the same Bench which had disposed of Kailash Pati Singh's case dismissed the writ application. That order has been made annexure 4 to the present writ application. That order gives no separate reason but merely states that as in Kailash Pati Singh's case the Act and Rules were held intra vires, the application was being dismissed. After the said Presidential order dated 8th of Jan. 1976 was withdrawn, the present writ application was filed by the petitioner on 7th of April, 1977. The writ application was admitted on 12th of May, 1977 and it was stated in the same order:-- "Let it be placed before Hon'ble the Chief Justice for placing it before an appropriate Bench at the time of hearing as vires of Section 12 of the Bihar Moneylenders Act, 1'974 (Bihar Act 22 of 1975) is challenged on the ground that it contravenes Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution." By the above quoted observation it was intended that in view of the provisions of Article 228A of the Constitution (introduced by the 42nd Amendment) the vires of the Act can be determined only by a Bench of not less than five Judges of the Court and the case may be placed before such a Bench. However, this case and another case, C. W. J. C. No. 936 of 1977, in which also the vires of Section 12 of the Act was challenged on the said ground, were placed before a Division Bench for hearing. That Bench again directed that the two cases be placed before Hon'ble the Chief Justice for constituting an appropriate Bench for hearing them. Reference was made in that order to Article 228A of the Constitution. The detailed order which is dated 26th of July, 1977 was passed in C. W. J. C. No. 936 of 1977. The order in this case of that date merely reads as follows :-- "Vide order of the date in C. W. J. C. No. 936 of 1977" That is how this case has come up before a Bench of five Judges for hearing. C. W. J. C. No. 936 of 1977 could not be listed for hearing along with this case as adjournment was taken in that case on the ground of illness of the senior counsel appearing therein for the petitioner.