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TMI Blog1970 (1) TMI 83X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce and now Sections Nos. 4, 6, 9 and 10 of the Act, are being challenged in these petitions. The main grounds of attack which were argued before us are:- (1) That the Punjab Legislature is not competent to make Law pertaining to Banking Corporations. Co-operative Societies doing banking business are Banking Corporations and, therefore, the Amending Ordinance and the Amending Act, which have replaced it are ultra vires the Constitution so far as the Banking Co-operative Societies are concerned. (2) That the exercise of the power by the State Legislature in enacting the Amending Act and the promulgation of the Ordinance by the Governor are a colourable exercise of power so far as the Banking Cooperative Societies are concerned. (3) T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Bank the Board of Directors is elected for a period of three years and l/3rd of the Directors retire annually in rotation. The Bank was established in the year 1927 with a nominal capital. Its present working capital is over two crores. The Punjab Government have also subscribed to the share capital of the Bank to the extent of about 20 lacs. It has also nominated three Directors as members of the Board of Directors under Section 26 of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961. It is claimed that by reason of the Ordinance and the Amending Act, the rights and powers of the share-holders in managing the co-operative Banks have been considerably curtailed and the Registrar of the Co-operative Societies has taken over completely the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... operative societies. 5. On the basis of these entries the argument of the learned counsel for the Petitioners is that entry No. 43 clearly confers the power of regulation of Corporations including Corporations doing banking business in the Central Parliament and only those Co-operative Societies are excluded from entry No. 43 which are not doing the business of banking. This fact, according to the learned counsel, finds further support if entry No. 32, List II is taken into consideration. That entry only brings those Corporations within the purview of the legislative power of the State Legislature which are not specified in List I. As Banking Corporations are specified in List I, Entry No. 43, any legislation pertaining to banking, nec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 43. But Co-operative Societies are excluded from this entry and have been put in entry No. 32, List II, Schedule VII. This is also evident from the Banking Companies Act, as amended up to date, and the Reserve Bank of India Act. The Co-operative Societies doing banking business are put on par so far as entry No. 45. List I is concerned, with other banking institutions. While construing entry No. 45, the Federal Court of India in Bank of Commerce, Ltd.. Khulna v. Nripendra Nath Datta, AIR 1945 FC 7, observed as follows :- On a reasonable construction, the entry must be limited to laws which affect the conduct of the business of banks qua banks. Their Lordships were considering entry No. 38. List I of the Government of India Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lary or subsidiary matters which can fairly and reasonably be said to be comprehended in that subject. 11. In Banarasi Dass v. The Wealth Tax Officer, Special Circle, Meerut, AIR 1965 SC 1387, their Lordships of the Supreme Court relying on United Provinces v. Mst. Atiqa Begum. AIR 1941 FC 16, observed that the relevant words used in the entries of the Seventh Schedule must receive the widest interpretation. It was also observed:- Another rule of construction which is also well established is that it may not be reasonable to import any limitation in interpreting a particular Entry in the List by comparing the said Entry or contrasting it with any other Entry in that very List. While the Court is determining the scope of the area c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ned counsel for the petitioners is that the various provisions in the Ordinance, which has been replaced by the Amending Act, impinge on the business of banking inasmuch as the entire control of the management is more or loss vested with the Registrar and the right of the shareholders to elect their representatives has been taken away. This is so. It is evident that entry No. 43 and entry No. 45 relate to different heads of legislation. Whereas entry No. 45 gives the power to the Central Legislature to legislate qua banking business, entry No. 43, on the other hand, gives power to the Central Legislature to legislate regarding corporations. It is immaterial whether those Corporations were doing the banking business or not. In other words, C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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