IN RE: J M SEN GUPTA Vs. HEACOTTON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Section 45 of the Specific Relief Act (I of 1877) for an order directing the Hon ble Mr. H.E.A. Cotton, President of the Bengal Legislative Council, to decide on the admissibility of a certain motion, being item No. 6 in the list of business to be brought forward at the session of the Bengal Legislative Council, which commences to-day at 3 P.M., and to disallow the said motion or to forbear putting the same at the said session of the Bengal Legislative Council, and for such further or other order as to this Court may seem fit and proper, and for an order that the said Mr. Cotton and the other respondents do pay the costs of and incidental to this application. The other respondents are the Hon ble Mr. A.K. Fazlul Huq and the Hon ble Mr. A.K. Ghuznavi, being the Ministers in charge of the departments of Education and Agriculture of the Government of Bengal. The Hon ble Mr. Donald, who is a member of the Executive Council of His Excellency the Governor of Bengal, in charge of the Finance Department, was served with notice of this application under Rule 5 of Chapter XXIX of the rules of this Court (Hechle's Rules, p. 356,) as it appeared from the list of business circulated to the members of the Bengal Legislative Council that it was he who is to move a supplementary demand for a grant of Rs. 1,71,000 for expenditure under the head "11--General Administration (Transferred)" on account of the salaries of the Ministers.

(2.) This application was brought on before me on Thursday last, when, in view of the urgency of the matter, I directed that it should be renewed before me on Friday morning on notice to the respondents and to the said Mr. Donald. This was done and I heard at length on Friday learned Counsel for the applicant and the learned Advocate-General on behalf of the respondents. The arguments were not concluded till after 4 P.M. on Friday and I then stated that I would deliver judgment at the earliest possible moment, namely, at 11 o clock this morning.

(3.) The facts which have given rise to the present application are as follows: At the last session of the Bengal Legislative Council on the 18 day of March 1924, a statement of the estimated annual expenditure and revenue of the Presidency of Bengal for the year 1924-25, commonly called the budget, was presented and in connection therewith a separate demand for grant on account of the salaries of the Ministers was made under Section 72(d), Sub-clause (2) of the Government of India Act. The said demand was for a sum of Rs. 2,20,000 under the head "22 (e)--General Administration--Ministers (Transferred)." At the said last session of the Bengal Legislative Council, to wit, on March 24, 1924, the said demand for a grant on account of the salaries of the Ministers was, on the motion of Maulvi Mohamed Nurul Huq Chowdhuri, a member of the said Bengal Legislative Council, rejected by the Council, as appears from the official report of the proceedings of the said Council held on the 24 March 1924. Although the said demand for grant on account of the salaries of the Ministers was rejected by the said Council, the Ministers have continued to remain in office and are in office now. On or about June 30, 1924, the applicant received a printed list of business to be brought forward at the session of the Bengal Legislative Council which commences to-day, signed by J. Bartley, Officiating Secretary to the Government of Bengal and Secretary to the Bengal Legislative Council, The said printed list included an item being item No. 6, which ran as follows: "Supplementary demands for grants--22 General Administration (Transfer red). The Hon. Mr. J. Donald to move that a sum of Rs. 1,71,000 be granted for expenditure under the head 22-- General Administration (Transferred) on account of the salaries of the Ministers".