TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1960 (10) TMI 87
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.... said orders, inter alia, on the ground that the Act under which the said orders were passed was itself ultra vires. The appellants disputed the respondent's contention about the vires of the Act. The High Court, however, has upheld the respondent's plea and has held that ss. 4 and 4-A of the Act are invalid, and since the two sections contain the main operative provisions of the Act, according to the High Court, the whole Act became invalid. It is the correctness of this conclusion which is challenged before us by the appellants. It would be convenient at this stage to refer briefly to the scheme of the Act and its relevant provisions. The Act was passed in 1946 and came into force on September 7, 1946. It was subsequently amended and the amended Act came into force on November 24, 1950. As the preamble shows the Act was passed because it was thought expedient to provide for the control of goondas and for their removal in certain circumstances from one place to another. Section 2 defines a goonda as meaning a hooligan, rough or a vagabond and as including a, person who is dangerous to public peace or tranquillity. It would thus be seen that the definition of the word " goond....
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....de except with the previous approval of the State Government: Provided further that no such order shall be made directing exclusion of any goonda from the district in which he ordinarily resides. (2) No order under sub-section (1) shall be made by a District Magistrate in respect of a goonda without giving to such goonda a copy of the grounds on which the order is proposed to be made and without giving an opportunity to be heard : Provided that where the District Magistrate is of opinion that it is necessary to make an order without any delay he may for reasons to be recorded in writing, make the order and shall, as soon as may be within ten days from the date on which the order is served on the goonda concerned, give such goonda a copy of the grounds and an opportunity to be heard. (3) After hearing the goonda, the District Magistrate may cancel or modify the order as he thinks fit. " This section confers on the District Magistrate jurisdiction to make an order against a goonda if there are reasonable grounds for believing that his presence, movements or acts in any proclaimed area is likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the general public, or it there is a reas....
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....e State Government papers connected with the recommendation which the District Magistrate makes. Sub-section (2) of s. 4-A then requires the State Government to consider the matter and empowers it to make an order either under cl. (a) or cl. (b) of the said sub-section. The proviso to this section lays down that Do order shall be made by which the goonda would be excluded or removed from the State where he ordinarily resides. The last section to which reference may be made is s. 6. It gives a goonda aggrieved by an order made against him, inter alia, under s. 4 or s. 4-A to make a representation to the State Government within the time prescribed, and it requires the State Government to consider the representation and make such orders thereon as it may deem fit. That in brief is the scheme of the Act. At this stage it would be material to state the relevant facts leading to the writ petition filed by the respondent. Appellant 1 issued a proclamation under S. 3 on August 10, 1954, specifying the limits of Police Stations Parasia and Jamai and Chhindwara Town as proclaimed area. This proclamation was renewed in November, 1954 and February, 1955. Thereafter on May 9, 1955, appellant 1 ....
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....ct did not attract the provisions of Art. 19(5). The legislative competence of the State Legislature to pass the Act cannot be disputed. The Act relates to public order which was Entry I in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution Act of 1935. There can also be no doubt that the State Legislature would be competent to pass an act protecting the interests of the general public against the commission of prejudicial acts which disturb public peace and order. Section 3 of the Act indicates that it is only where the public peace or tranquillity is threatened in any 'given area of the State that the State Government is authorised to issue a proclamation, and as we have already noticed, it is in respect of such proclaimed areas and for the limited duration prescribed by s. 3(2) that orders can be passed against goondas whose prejudicial activities add to the disturbance in the proclaimed areas. Therefore, broadly stated the purpose of the Act is to safeguard individual rights and protect innocent and peaceful citizens against the prejudicial activities of goondas, and in that sense the Act may prima facie claim the benefit of Art. 19(5). This position is not seriously disputed.....
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....nfirmity in its scheme. Incidentally it would also be relevant to point out that the definition of the word " goonda " affords no assistance in deciding which citizen can be put under that category. It is an inclusive definition and it does not indicate which tests have to be applied in deciding whether a person falls in the first part of the definition. Recourse to the dictionary meaning of the word would hardly be of any assistance in this matter. After all it must be borne in mind that the Act authorises the District Magistrate to deprive a citizen of his fundamental right under Art. 19(1)(d) and (e), and though the object of the Act and its purpose would undoubtedly attract the provisions of Art. 19(5) care must always be taken in passing such acts that they provide sufficient safeguards against casual, capricious or even malicious exercise of the powers conferred by them. It is well known that the relevant provisions of the Act are initially put in motion against a person at a lower level than the District Magistrate, and so it is always necessary that sufficient safeguards should be provided by the Act to protect the fundamental rights of innocent citizens and to s....