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TMI Blog1975 (3) TMI 139X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction as he held an office of profit under the Government of Bihar, and (2) that he obtained the services of a Sub-Inspector of Police for the furtherance of the prospects of his election. The facts relating to the first question are these : Under the Bihar and Orissa Mining Settlement Act, 1920 a Board called the Mines Board of Health may be established to provide for the control and sanitation of any area within which persons employed in a mine reside and for the prevention therein of the out break and spread of epidemic diseases. Before the area is declared to be a mining settlement for the purposes of the Act certain prescribed formalities like receiving objections etc. have to be observed. The Board is a body corporate having prepetual ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ult to accept the argument that the Board is wholly under the control of the State Government in all its functions. The Board levies taxes and other assessments and has, got its own funds, The fact that the Government and other local authorities might make grants to the Board does not mean that all the funds of the Board are Government funds or Government property. The provisions we have set out above are enough to establish that the Board is a 'local authority' within the meaning of that expression as defined in clause (31) of section 3 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. Indeed this position does not seem to have been disputed by the petitioner before the High Court in the course of his argument. We do not, therefore, think that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of those functions ? Here again it is to be pointed out that the Government does not pay the remuneration nor does the holder perform his functions for the Government. To hold otherwise would be to hold that local bodies like Municipal Councils perform their functions for the Government though in one sense the functions they perform are governmental functions. The decision of this Court in Gurushantappa v. Abdul Khaddus A.I.R. 1969 S.C. 744-[1969] 3 S.C.R. 425, which was also relied upon by the High Court, may be usefully referred to. It was there observed: Thus, in the case of election as President or Vice-President, the disqualification arises even if the candidate is holding an office of profit under local or any other au ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Legislature. Therefore, the control exercised by the Government over the Board in this case does not make the Board an organ of the Government nor does it make the respondent a person holding an office under the Government. It is, therefore, unnecessary to go into the question whether the office held by the respondent was an office of profit, though we may indicate that on the evidence available in this case we have come to the conclusion that it is not an office of profit. We are not setting out the evidence at length only because it is unnecessary for the purpose of this case. As regards the 2nd question the allegation of the appellant was that the respondent taking advantage of his position as a former Cabinet Minister of the Sta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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