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Allahabad High Court · body

1959 DIGILAW 360 (ALL)

Ratan Rai v. R. A. Rahmani Election Tribunal

1959-12-17

DWIVEDI, GURTU

body1959
JUDGMENT Dwivedi, J. - This writ petition seeks to challenge the validity of the Election Tribunal's order dated 4-9-1958, dismissing the election petition of the Petitioner on the ground that the petition was not validly presented to the Addl. Collector. 2. The facts are not in dispute. It is admitted that the Petitioner presented the election petition to Sri Gauri Shanker Singh Addl. Collector, Meerut and not to the Collector, Meerut but it is submitted that the presentation was nonetheless proper and valid. 3. Sri Gauri Shankar Singh was appointed Addl. Collector, Meerut by the following notification: Sri Gauri Shanker Singh. City Magistrate, Kanpur is transferred to Meerut and with effect from the date he takes overcharge is appointed vice Sri Meharban Singh. (a) Under Sub-section (2) of Section 10, Code of Criminal Procedure to be an Addl. D.M. of Meerut District with jurisdiction extending over the whole of the said district and with all the powers of a District Magistrate under the said Code and under any other law for the time being in force; and (b) Under Sub-section (1) of Section 14A of the UP Land Revenue Act, 1901 to be an Addl. Collector in the said district and under Sub-section (3) of the said section he is hereby authorised to exercise all the powers and to perform all the duties of a Collector in all classes of cases. Sub-Sections (3) and (4) of the UP Land Revenue Act, under which the notification has been issued, read thus- (3) An Addl. Collector shall exercise such powers and perform such duties of a Collector in such cases or clashes of cases as the State Government or, in the absence of orders from the State Government the Commissioner concerned, may direct. This Act and every other law for the time being applicable to a Collector shall apply to every Addl. Collector when exercising any powers or discharging any duties, under Sub-section (3) as if he were the Collector of the district. 4. It is obvious from the notification that under Sub-section (3) of Section 14A of he UP Land Revenue Act, Sri Gauri Shanker Singh was empowered to exercise all the powers and to perform all the duties of a Collector in all classes of cases. 4. It is obvious from the notification that under Sub-section (3) of Section 14A of he UP Land Revenue Act, Sri Gauri Shanker Singh was empowered to exercise all the powers and to perform all the duties of a Collector in all classes of cases. The words all classes of cases are sufficiently spacious to confer upon Sri Gauri Shanker Singh the powers of the Collector under the UP Land Revenue Act as well as under other enactments. Section 22(2) of the UP Municipalities Act, which applies also to Notified Area elections, empowers the Collector of the district to receive an election petition and the wide words of the notification authorised Sri Gauri Shanker Singh to exercise that power. Sub-section (4) of Section 14A provides that the Addl. Collector, when exercising any power or discharging any duty under Sub-section (3) would be deemed "as if he were the Collector of the District". The Election Tribunal has overlooked these words which enact the legal fiction that the Addl. Collector should be deemed to be the Collector of the district. The Legislature has by these words endowed him with the 'persona' of the Collector, so that Sri Gauri Shanker Singh, though in fact the Addl. Collector, would in law be deemed to have acted as the Collector of the District while receiving the Petitioner's election petition. The Tribunal's opinion that the election was not validly presented to him is therefore patently wrong. 5. In Baikunth Narain Major v. Surend (1) an order passed u/s 3 of the UP Land Utilization Act by the Addl. Collector was held to be valid although that section gives power only to the Collector to make the order. The contention that the Additional Collector had no power to make the order was overruled by Mr. Justice Bhargava, who observed as follows: It may be noticed that Sub-section (4) of Section 14A of the UP Land Revenue Act does not use the words "as if he were a Collector of the distt." but the words "as if he were the collector of the distt." This means that the Legislature by this fiction intended that an Addl. Justice Bhargava, who observed as follows: It may be noticed that Sub-section (4) of Section 14A of the UP Land Revenue Act does not use the words "as if he were a Collector of the distt." but the words "as if he were the collector of the distt." This means that the Legislature by this fiction intended that an Addl. Collector, once he is empowered under Sub-section (3) of Section 14A of the U.P. Land Revenue Act, should have the status of and should be treated as if he were "the Collector" of the district for purposes of the UP Land Revenue Act as well as for purposes of every other law for the time being applicable to a Collector.... I, therefore, hold that the Addl. Collector, Sri S.C. Singha who passed order in this case had jurisdiction to deal with the proceedings under the UP Land Utilization Act (V of 194 ) 6. We, therefore, allow the writ petition, quash the order of the Election Triburral dated 4-9-1958 and direct it to hear and determine the election petition of the Petitioner in accordance with> law. The Petitioner will get his costs from the Respondents Nos. 2, 6 and 4.