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PETITIONER: STATE OF ASSAM

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: ASSAM TEA CO.  LTD.

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 21/08/1970

BENCH: SHAH, J.C. BENCH: SHAH, J.C. HEGDE, K.S. GROVER, A.N.

CITATION:  1971 AIR 1358            1971 SCR  (1) 631

ACT: Assam  General Clauses Act (2 of 1915), s.  26--Notification issued  under Assam Municipal Act,  1923--1923-Act  repealed and Assam Municipal Act, 1957, enacted--Whether notification under 1925-Act deemed to be in force under 1957-Act.

HEADNOTE: Under  ss.4  and  5 of the Assam Municipal  Act,  1923,  the Provincial   Government  was  authorised  to   signify   its intention to include within a municipality any local area in its vicinity, and, after considering. any objections to  the proposed  action  to  so  include  the  area.   Section  328 provided for the constitution of notified areas.  Sections 4 and  5  were  not  applicable to a  notified  area  but  the Provincial Government could extend to any notified area  any section  of  the Act by virtue of s.  330(1)(d).   Under  s. 330(3), for the purpose of any section so extended, the town committee constituted for such notified area would be deemed to be a Municipal Board.  In 1957, the 1923-Act was repealed and was replaced by the Assam Municipal Act, 1957. The  respondent owned tea gardens in the village of  Nazira. In 1909, a town committee was constituted at Nazira adjacent to  the tea garden.  In 1951, by a notification  issued  by the  Government of Assam, s.4(1)(b) and (c), and s.5(1)  and (2)(b)  of the 1923-Act were extended to the  notified  area committee  including the Nazira Town Committee.  On  January 6,  1964,  a notification was issued under  the  1957Act  to revise  the boundaries of the notified area at  Nazira,  and after  considering  the  objections  of  the  respondent  on September  30, 1964, by a final notification, a part of  its tea   estate  was  incorporated  within  the   Nazira   Town Committee. On the question whether notifications dated January 6,  1964 and September 30, 1964 were unauthorised, because, ss. 4 and 5 of 1957-Act, corresponding to ss. 4 and 5 of the 1923-Act, were not extended to the notified area on these dates, HELD  : There is no express provision in the 1957 Act  which supersedes  the notification issued in 1951 under the  1923- Act nor is the continuance of the notification  inconsistent with any provision in the 1957-Act.  Therefore, under s.  26 of   the   Assam  General  Clauses  Art,  1915,   the   1951

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notification  continues in force and must be deemed to  have been issued under the 1957-Act.  Hence, the State Government was competent, in exercise of the power conferred upon it by the  1957-Act,  to  include  within the  area  of  the  Town Committee any local area contiguous to it. [934 H; 935 A]

JUDGMENT: CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 435 of 1970. Appeal  by special leave from the judgment and  order  dated March 28, 1969 of the Assam and Nagaland High Court in Civil Rule No. 183 of 1965. 932 Naunit Lal, for the appellant. M. C. Chagla, P. K. Goswami and R. Gopalakrishnan,for the respondent. B. Datta, for the intervener. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Shah J. The Assam Tea Company Ltd owns,teagardens in  the village  of Nazira in the State of Assam. By a  notification dated  June 16, 1909, the Government of Bengal  (which  then had  territorial jurisdiction over the territory now  within the  State of Assam) constituted a Town Committee at  Nazira adjacent  to  the tea garden of the, Company.  In  1923  the Legislature  enacted  the  Assam Municipal Act  1  of  1923. Section  328  of the Act provided for  the  constitution  of notified  areas.   By sub-s. (1) of s.  328  the  Provincial Government  was authorised by notification, to  signify  its intention to declare that with respect to some or all of the matters  upon  which  a  municipal  fund  may  be  expended, improved arrangements are required within a specified  area. After  issuing  such  a  notification  the  Government   was competent, after six weeks from the date of Publication, and after  considering  the objections, if any, to  declare,  by notification., the specified area or any portion thereof  to be  a  notified area.  Section 4 of the Act  authorised  the Provincial  Government  by  notification,  inter  alia,   to signify  its intention to include within a municipality  any local  area  in the vicinity of the same or exclude  from  a municipality   any  local  area  comprised   therein.    Any inhabitant  of  any  part  of a  local  area  defined  in  a notification published under S. 4, was entitled by virtue of s.  5  to  raise objections to  the  proposed  action.   The Government  would, after considering the  objections,  inter alia, include the local area or any part thereof within  the municipality or exclude it therefrom.  The provisions of ss. 4  and,  5  were  not of their own  force  applicable  to  a notified area constituted under S. 328 but by virtue of  cl. (d) of, sub-s. (1) of s. 330   it  was  competent   to   the Provincial Government to extend to any  notified  area   the provisions of any section of the Act. By     sub-s.  (3)  of s. 330 it was provided :               "For  the purposes of any section of this  Act               which may be extended to a notified area,  the               town  committee  constituted  for  such  area,               under  section  329. shall be deemed to  be  a               Municipal  Board under this Act and the  area               to be a municipality."               Notifications  were issued from time  to  time               applying  certain  provisions  of  the   Assam               Municipal  Act, 1923.  In 1951 the  Government               of  the State of Assam issued  a  notification               applying ss. 4(1)               933

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             (b)&  (c)  and  5(1) &_(2) (b)  of  the  Assam               Municipal  Act,  1923 to  the  notified area               committee including the Nazira Town Committee.               But no notification under s. 328 of the  Assam               Municipal  Act, 1923 extending the  boundaries               of the Nazira Town Committee area was  issued.               In  1957  the Assam Municipal  Act,  1923  was               repealed   and  was  replaced  by  the   Assam               Municipal Act 15 of 1957.  On January 6,  1964               notification was issued under S. 4 (1) (b)  of               Act 15 of 1957 to revise the boundaries of the               notified area at Nazira, and thereby  included               a  part  of the tea estate  belonging  to  the                             Assam Tea Co. Ltd. in the Nazira Town Committee               area.   Objections submitted by the Assam  Tea               Company  Ltd. were, considered  and  overruled               and  the Government of Assam  by  notification               dated September 30, 1964, incorporated  within               the  Nazira Town Committee area a part of  the               area  of  the  tea  garden  belonging  to  the               Company.               The Company then filed a petition in the  High               Court of Assam challenging the validity of the               notification.  The High Court was of the  view               that  the Company had provided  all  amenities               and   facilities  which  a  municipality   may               provide, and since it did not appear that  any               "improved  arrangements" could be provided  by               the Town Committee the notification issued  by               the  Government was  "colourable  legislation"               and was liable to be struck down insofar as it               related   to  the  area  of  the  tea   estate               belonging to the Company.  We have  considered               in  appeal No. 2052 of 1969-State of Assam  v.               The   Amalgamated  Tea  Estates  Co.  Ltd.   &               Ors.the,  correctness of this decision and  we               have rejected it.  But Mr. Chagla appearing on               behalf  of  the  Company  contended  that  the               notification dated January 6, 1964  signifying               the  intention  of  the  State  Government  to               include  the  area belonging  to  the  Company               with  in  the Nazira Town  Committee  and  the               final  notification dated September 30,  1964,               were  unauthorised, because the provisions  of               ss.  4 and 5 of the Assam Municipal Act 15  of               1957  were  not extended to  the  Nazira  Town               Committee by notification issued under  sub-s.               (3)  of  s. 336 of the  Assam  Municipal  Act.               Counsel  invited our attention to S. 2 of  the               Assam Municipal Act, 15 of 1957 as  originally               enacted.   By  S.  2 of  that  Act  the  Assam               Municipal  Act, 1923 was repealed; and by  cl.               (b)  of  the- proviso to that section  it  was               provided               "   all  municipalities  constituted,   limits               defined.   regulations  and  divisions   made,               licenses  an  notices  issued,  taxes,  tolls,               rates  and fees imposed or  assessed,  budgets               passed,  assessments  made,  plans   approved,               permissions  or sanctions granted,  under  the               Assam  Municipal  Act, 1923, shall so  far  as               they are in force at the commencement of  this               Act,  be  deemed  to  have  been  respectively               constituted,    defined,   issued,    imposed,

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             assessed,  passed, made, approved or  granted               under this Act, and shall               934               remain  in force for the period, if  any,  for               which  they  were  so  constituted,   defined,               issued,   imposed,  assessed,  passed,   made,               approved or granted." Counsel  said that under the proviso,  notifications  issued under  the:  Act of 1923 were not saved and it was  for  the first   time   by  the  Amending  Act  of  1958   that   the notifications issued under the Act of 1923 were sought to be saved, notwithstanding the repeal of the Assam Municipal Act of  1923.  But no retrospective operation was given  to  the Amending  Act of 1958.  Counsel submitted that this  attempt on the part of the Legislature to save notifications  issued under the Act of 1923 was ineffective.  It is true that  for the  existing  cl.  (b) of the proviso to S. 2  by  the  new clause  substituted "all municipalities constituted,  limits defined, regulations and divisions made, all rules and  bye- laws,  notifications, orders, appointments  and  assessments made,  licences and notices issued, taxes, tolls, rates  and fees  imposed or assessed, budgets passed,  plans  approved, permissions  or sanctions granted, contracts  entered  into, suits  instituted  and  proceedings taken  under  the  Assam Municipal  Act,  1923" are saved from the repeal.   But  the Amending Act of 1958 came into force on June 13, 1958,  when it was published in the Assam Gazette.  The attempt to  save notifications  issued  under the Act of 1923  by  the  Assam Municipal   (Amendment)   Act  17  of  1958   is   therefore ineffective. It  is  unnecessary  to consider whether,  as  suggested  by counsel  for the State of Assam, by virtue of s. 3 3 6 (3  ) once  a  notification  under s. 4 of the  Act  of  1923  was issued,   for  all  purposes  a  Town  Committee  became   a municipality and on that account the notification  continued to  remain  in  operation.   In  our  judgment,  under   the provisions  of  the Assam General Clauses Act, 1915,  s.  26 saves  the notification in question.  Section  26  provides, inter alia :               "Where  any  enactment  is  repealed  and  re-               enacted  with or without  modification,  then,               unless it is otherwise expressly provided, any               appointment,   notification,  order,   scheme,               rule,  form, or by-law, made or  issued  under               the repealed enactment, shall so far as it  is               not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions   re-               enacted,  continue in force and be  deemed  to               have been made or issued under the  provisions               so reenacted.......... There  is no express provision in the Act 15 of  1957  which supersedes the notification issued in 1995 under the Act  of 1923,   nor   is  the  continuance   of   the   notification inconsistent  with  any  provision  in  the  new  Act.   The notification must, therefore, be deemed to have remained  in force and the State Government was competent in exercise  of the power conferred upon it by s. 4 of Act 15 of 1957 935 to include within the area of Town Committee any local  area contiguous to the same. We   are  here  dealing  only  with  the  validity  of   the notification  issued by the State Government, and  not  with the  validity of the, demand for licence fee or other  taxes levied  by  the notified Town Committee.   Nothing  in  this judgment  will affect the right of the Company to  challenge the  validity  of the demand for such taxes  in  appropriate

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proceedings. The appeal is allowed and the order passed by the High Court is  set  aside.   The  petition  is  dismissed  with   costs throughout.   In all these three appeals there will  be  one hearing fee. V.P.S.                               Appeal allowed- 936