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TMI Blog1971 (2) TMI 117X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion and the manner of its working. It had three classes of members, viz., special members (Vishisht Sadasya), permanent members (Sthayi Sadasya), and ordinary members (Sadharan Sadasya). Under the bye-laws, apart from the original members constituting the Society, further members could be admitted under these three classifications on being elected by the working committee of the Society. Under the Rules and bye-laws of the Society, other bodies could be constituted for carrying on activities of the Society. These included a Governing Body, a Working Committee, a Hindi University Council, Literary Council (Sahitya Samiti), Library Committee, Parchar Samiti and Rashtriaya Bhasha Prachar Samiti. Through the agencies of these various Committees, the Society carried on the work of development and propagation of Hindi, of spreading the use of Devnagri scrip, of holding examinations, and of conferring Degrees for proficiency in Hindi. The Society owned landed properties and buildings at Allahabad as well as at some other places such as Warding, and was holding considerable funds for carrying on its activities. The Society worked very successfully for a number of years. It appears that in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ammelan which has its head office at Allahabad and is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Under section 4(1) of the Act, the Sannnelan was constituted which was to consist of the first members of the Sammelan and all persons who may hereafter become members thereof in accordance with the rules made in that behalf. This statutory Sammelan was constituted as a body corporate by the name of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, and under sub-section (2) of section 4, it was to have perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provision of the. Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and to sue and be sued by that name. The Head Office of the Sammelan was to be at Allahabad. Under subs.(4) of section the first members of the Sammelan were to consist of persons who, immediately before the appointed day. (a) were special members (Vishisht Sadasya) of the Society; (b) (were. life members (Sthayi Sadasya) of the Society. (c) had been Presidents of the Society; or (d) were awarded the Mangla Prasad Paritoshik by the Society. This sub-s. (4) of section 4 was amended retrospectively with effect from the date that the Act came ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Governing Body with the approval of the Government and have been published as required. The Rules come into force on 1st of February, 1971. The petition under Art. 32, and the petition under Art. 226, out of which the civil appeal arises, were both moved much earlier and long before these Rules were framed. These petitions challenged the validity of the Act, without taking into account the actual Rules framed, mainly on the ground that he Act had interfered with the right of the petitioners to form association Linder Art. 19(1)(c) of the Constitution and was not protected by Art. 19(4). In the petition before the Allahabad High Court, the Court held that, since all the members of the Society had also become members of the Sammelan under the Act, there was no infringement of the right to form association, so that the Act could not be declared invalid on that ground. The writ petition in this Court has been filed by only one member of the Society, while the petition in the High Court and the appeal against the judgment of the High Court, which is before us, were filed by the original Hindi Sahitya Sammelan as one party and 72 members of that Sammelan joining as other petitioning part ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e included as members of the Sammelan, so that their right of forming association may not be taken away from them. The Society was never dissolved; instead of the Society remaining a body registered under the Societies Registration Act, it was converted into a statutory Sammelan under the Act. It, however, appears on examination of the provisions of the Act that the Sammelan under the Act is composed not only of persons, who were members of the Society, but of others who have been given the right to be members of the Sammelan without the consent of the preexisting members. Under section 4(4) itself, as retrospectively amended in 1963, apart from persons, who were members of the Society, others, who have been made members of the Sammelan, are all persons who, before that day, had been Presidents of the Society and all persons who, before that day, were awarded the Mangla Prasad Paritoshik by the Society. These members have been added without any option being available to the existing members of the Society to elect or refuse to elect them as members which was the right they possessed under the constitution of the Society itself. Further, under section 12 (1) (a), very wide powers we ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Act and by the Rules. Admission of future members is no longer at the choice of the original members who' had formed the Association,Persons, in whose admission as members the members of the, Society, had no hand, can become members and get the right of associating with them in the Sammelan, without the original members having any right to obecti. this is clear interference with the right to form an association which had been exercised by the members of the Society by forming the Society with its constitution, under which they were members and future members could only come in as a result of their choice by being elected by their Working Committee. We are unable to agree with the High Court that the new Sammelan, as constituted under the Act, is identical with the Society and that all the rights of forming an association, which were being exercised by members of the Society, have been kept in-tact under the Act. It was argued that the right guaranteed by Article 19 (1 (c) is only to form an association and, consequently, any regulation of the affairs of the Association, after it has been formed, will not amount to a breach of that right. It is true that it has been held by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rvice,,, (Conduct) Rules, 1955, which laid down that: No Government servant shall join or continue to be a member of any Service Association of Government servants (a)which has not, within a period of six months from its formation, obtained the recognition of the Government under the Rules prescribed in that behalf; or (b)recognition in respect of which has been refused or withdrawn by the Government under the said Rules. This Court held:- It is not disputed that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Art. 19 can be claimed by Government servants. Art. 33 which confers power on the Parliament to modify the rights in their application to the Armed Forces, clearly brings out the fact that all citizens including Government servants, are entitled to Claim the rights guaranteed by Art. 19. Thus, the validity of the impugned rule has to be judged on the basis that the respondent and his co-employees are entitled to form Associations or Unions. It is clear that Rule 4-B imposes a restriction on this right. It virtually compels a Government servant to withdraw his membership of the Service Association of Government Servants as soon as recognition accorded to the said citat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... association guaranteed under Art. 19(1) (c). Article 19(4), on-the face of it, cannot be called in aid to claim validity for the Act. Under Art. 19(4), reasonable restrictions can be imposed only in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, or in the interests of public order or morality. It has not been contended on behalf of the respondent, nor could it be contended that this alteration of the constitution of the Society in the manner laid down by the Act was. in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, or in, the interests of public order or morality. Not being protected under Art. 19(4), if must be held that the provision contained, in the Act for reconstituting the Society into the Sammelan is, void. Once that section is declared void, the whole Act becomes. ineffective inasmuch as the formation of the new Sammelan is the very basis for all the other provisions contained in the Act. In view of this position emerging in the course of arguments, Mr. B. Sen put forward an entirely different and alter-native case before us which we have mentioned earlier. The. position he took up was that the Act nowhere specifically lays. down that the Society sm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stitution of national importance. The third reason why this submission must be rejected, is that, if we were to hold that Parliament pased this Act so as to transfer all the properties and assets of the Society to the Sammelan, the Act would contravene Art. 19(1)(f) of the Constitution. On this interpretation, what the Act purports to do is to take away all the properties of the Society, leaving the Society as an existing body, and give them to the new Sammelan. This Sammelan is a new, separate and distinct legal entity from the Society. The Society is, thus' deprived of all its properties by the Act. Such a law depriving the Society of its properties al8 5 3 together cannot be held to be a reasonable restriction in the public interest on the right of the Society to hold the property. The property, under section 5 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, vested in the Governing Body of the Society. The members of the Governing Body, therefore had the right to hold the property under Art. 19(1)(f) and they having been deprived of that property have rightly approached the Courts for redress of their grievance. In this connection counsel for the respondents relied on decision of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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