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PETITIONER: HARSHARAN VERMA

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: CHARAN SINGH AND oRS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT19/11/1984

BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)

CITATION:  1985 SCR  (2)  70        1985 SCC  (1) 162  1984 SCALE  (2)788

ACT:      Constitution of India 1950, Article 75.-Prime Minister- Continuance in  office as head of Caretaker Government-Fresh oath-Taking of-Whether necessary      Practice and Procedure-Academic importance-Question of- Not to be decided by Supreme Court.

HEADNOTE:      The appellant  in his  writ petition  to the High Court challenged the continuance in office of Shri Charan Singh as the Prime  Minister contending that Shri Charan Singh failed to seek  the mandate  of the Lok Sabha".a within three weeks after assuming  the office of the Prime Minister as directed by the  President of  India, that  instead  of  "facing  the House" he  submitted the  resignation of  his Government  on August  20,  1979,  and  that  his  continuation  in  office thereafter as  a caretaker  Prime Minister  without taking a fresh oath of office was unconstitutional.      The High Court dismissed the writ petition, but granted a certificate of fitness to appeal to this Court      Dismissing the Appeal, ^      HELD: 1.  The continuation  in office  of  Shri  Charan Singh and his ministers was not unconstitutional. [71 G]      2. It  is not  the practice  of this  Court  to  decide questions of  mere academic  importance The issues raised by the appellant are no longer live. 171 E]      3. Our  Constitution knows  no such  hybrid thing  as a "Prime Minister  subject  to  a  condition  of  defeasance". Conditions   imposed    by   the    President   may   create considerations  of   political  morality   or   conventional propriety but not of constitutional validity. [71 F]

JUDGMENT:      CIVIL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3491 of 1979.      on appeal  by Certificate  from the  Judgment and order dated 10.12.79  of the Allahabad High Court in W.P. No. 2402 of 1979. 71

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    Appellant in person. A      Girish Chandra and R.N. Poddar for the respondents.      The order of the Court was delivered by      The appellant  had filed  a writ  petition in  the High Court of  Allahabad challenging the continuance in office of Shri Charan  Singh ’  as the  Prime Minister  and Shri  S.N. Kacker as  Minister of  Law, Justice  and  Company  Affairs. Stated briefly, the contention of the appellant is that Shri Charan Singh  failed to  seek the  mandate of  the Lok Sabha within three  weeks after  assuming the  office of the Prime Minister as directed by the President of India, that  instead of  "facing the House" he submitted the resignation of  his Government  on August  20, 1979 and that his continuation  in office  therefore as  a caretaker Prime Minister  without   taking  a   fresh  oath  of  office  was unconstitutional. The  writ petition  was dismissed  by  the High Court  by a judgment dated December 10, 1979 but it has granted a  Certificate of  fitness to  the appellant to file this appeal.  It is  a well-known  fact of  history that the Government of  Shri Charan  Singh was  in office  for a very brief spell.  It fell  soon after it assumed office, indeed, too soon  the issues  raised by  the appellant are no longer live and  it is  not the  practice of  this Court  to decide questions of  more academic  importance. We  must,  however, hasten to  add that the High Court is right in its view that Shri Charan  Singh’s appointment as the Prime Minister could not be  said to be conditional upon his seeking a mandate of the Lok  Sabha. Our  Constitution knows no such hybrid thing as  a   "Prime  Minister   subjected  to   a  condition   of defeasance". Conditions  imposed by the President may create considerations  of   political  morality   or   conventional propriety but not of constitutional validity. The High Court is also  right that  it was  not necessary  for Shri  Charan Singh and  his ministers  to take  a fresh  oath after being called upon  by the  President to  continue in  office as  a caretaker Government.  Thus, the  continuation in  office of Shri   Charan    Singh   and    his   ministers    was   not unconstitutional.      For these reasons, the appsal is dismissed. N.V.K,                                      Appeal dismissed 72