# GURDIT SINGH AULAKH (DECEASED) THROUGH L.RS v. THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS

- **Citation:** [1975] 1 S.C.R. 737
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1974-08-16
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 2062 of 1970
- **Bench:** A. N. Ray, K. K. Mathew
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/gurdit-singh-aulakh-deceased-through-l-rs-v-the-state-of-punjab-others-6241
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

737
Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, Sec. 12(1) and (5)-Constitution of Tribunal-Re111orat'
nf nzember-Consequent dissolution and re-constitution-Validity of notification
Held,
the
statutory require1nent and practical expediency justified the action.
By an order dated Septe·mber 10, 1965, A was removed from Membership of the
Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal and K was appointed to the vacancy so created. On
October 18, 1966, the order of removal was quashed by the High Court. The
en5uing special leave petition was rejected by this Court. By two separate notifications dated October 22, 1966, the Tribunal was respectively dissolved and re--
constituted with K as a member. A, who challenged by a writ petition the noti- ·
fication of dissolution, died on July 18, 1969. His legal representatives confined
their claim to the emolun1ents alleged to be due to him. The High Court dismissed
the petition. On appeal, by certificate, to this Court, the appellants contended that
the notification dissolving the Tribunal was issued for a collateral puTJJoSe and by
a person who had no authority to do.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD : (i) Under Sec. 12(5) of the Act, it was not competent for the Govern--
ment to remove a member once appointed except on the grounds specified therein·
and the fact that the High Court declared that the removal of A from the membership of the Tribunal was bad would not have warranted the removal of K from
the membership of the Tribunal under that provision. S. 12(5) provides for aU.
cases of removal of a member once appointed and since the removal of K would not
have been justified on any of the grounds mentioned in that section, the State··
Government could not have removed him from the membership and, therefore, an
impossible situation \Vas created which justified the dissolution of the Tribunal
under S. 12(1). From the fact that the judgment of the High Court declared that
the 1emoval of A was bad in law, it would not follow that the appointment of Kin
the vacancy created by the removal of A was void. K's appointment remained
unchallenged. He was functioning as a member of the Tribunal and was participating in the decision of cases. The provisions of s. 12(1) made it essential that on
removal of A, there should be an appointment to the vacancy as the business of the
Tribunal could not have been carried on without filling the vacancy created by the
removal. On the ground of practical expediency also the appointment of K was
not void or non est in the eye of law. · Therefore, the dissolution of the Tribunal'
was not for a collateral purpose.
[739A-740A1
(ii) The notification dissolving the Tribunal did not abolish any public office
of the description specified in sub-rule (l)(xxii) of R. 28 of the Rules of Business
of the Government of Punjab, 1953. The Tribunal was not abolished.
ft was
only re-constitUted. Abolition means "to destroy, extinguish, abrogate or anni- -
hilate". The Secretary, Home Department was competent to issue the notification.
[740H-74!A]

## Text

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GURDIT SINGH AULAKH (DECEASED)
THROUGH L.RS
v.
THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS
August 16, 1974
[A. N. RAY, C. J. AND K. K. MATHEW, J.]
737
Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, Sec. 12(1) and (5)-Constitution of Tribunal-Re111orat'
nf nzember-Consequent dissolution and re-constitution-Validity of notification
Held,
the
statutory require1nent and practical expediency justified the action.
By an order dated Septe·mber 10, 1965, A was removed from Membership of the
Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal and K was appointed to the vacancy so created. On
October 18, 1966, the order of removal was quashed by the High Court. The
en5uing special leave petition was rejected by this Court. By two separate notifications dated October 22, 1966, the Tribunal was respectively dissolved and re--
constituted with K as a member. A, who challenged by a writ petition the noti- ·
fication of dissolution, died on July 18, 1969. His legal representatives confined
their claim to the emolun1ents alleged to be due to him. The High Court dismissed
the petition. On appeal, by certificate, to this Court, the appellants contended that
the notification dissolving the Tribunal was issued for a collateral puTJJoSe and by
a person who had no authority to do.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD : (i) Under Sec. 12(5) of the Act, it was not competent for the Govern--
ment to remove a member once appointed except on the grounds specified therein·
and the fact that the High Court declared that the removal of A from the membership of the Tribunal was bad would not have warranted the removal of K from
the membership of the Tribunal under that provision. S. 12(5) provides for aU.
cases of removal of a member once appointed and since the removal of K would not
have been justified on any of the grounds mentioned in that section, the State··
Government could not have removed him from the membership and, therefore, an
impossible situation \Vas created which justified the dissolution of the Tribunal
under S. 12(1). From the fact that the judgment of the High Court declared that
the 1emoval of A was bad in law, it would not follow that the appointment of Kin
the vacancy created by the removal of A was void. K's appointment remained
unchallenged. He was functioning as a member of the Tribunal and was participating in the decision of cases. The provisions of s. 12(1) made it essential that on
removal of A, there should be an appointment to the vacancy as the business of the
Tribunal could not have been carried on without filling the vacancy created by the
removal. On the ground of practical expediency also the appointment of K was
not void or non est in the eye of law. · Therefore, the dissolution of the Tribunal'
was not for a collateral purpose.
[739A-740A1
(ii) The notification dissolving the Tribunal did not abolish any public office
of the description specified in sub-rule (l)(xxii) of R. 28 of the Rules of Business
of the Government of Punjab, 1953. The Tribunal was not abolished.
ft was
only re-constitUted. Abolition means "to destroy, extinguish, abrogate or anni- -
hilate". The Secretary, Home Department was competent to issue the notification.
[740H-74!A]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 2062 of 1970.
Appeal from the judgment and order dated the 23rd April, 1970·
of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Civil Writ No. 2788 of 1966.
H
R.K. Garg, S.C. Agarwal, S.S. Bhatnagar and A.K. Gupta, for·
the appellants.
O.P. Shal'lna,_ for respondents nos. 1-4.
738
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) 1 S.C.R.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
MATHEW J. The Governor of Punjab constituted the Sikh Gurd-
·waras Tribunal with effect from April l, 1962 and· one Gurdit Singh
Aulakh (•Aulakh' for short) was appointed as a member of the Tri-
·bunal. He was removed from the membership by an order dated
September 10, 1965 and one Shri S.S. Kahta ('Kahla' for short) was
appointed to the vacancy so created. Aulakh challenged the validity
of his removal in a writ petition filed before the High Court of Punjab.
!hat petition was ultimately allowed inletters patent appeal and the
·order removing Aulakh from the membership of the Tribunal was
-quashed. That was on October 18, 1966. An application for leave
10 appeal to this Court against the decision of the Letters Patent Bench
·was r~jected. So also an application before this Court for special leave
to appeal. Therefore, a notification was issued on October 26, 1966
·stating :
"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (!)
of section 12 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, the President
of India is pleased to direct the dissolution with immediate
effect of the Tribunal constituted vide the Punjab Government
Notification No. 432-UP dated the 26 April, 1962".
This notification was challenged by Aulakh in a writ petition. Aulakh
died on July 18, 1969 and the appellants were impleaded as his legal
·rnpresentatives. They confined their claim to the emoluments alleged
to be due to the writ petitioner from September 11, 1965, till the date
of' his death. The High Court dismissed the petition and this appeal,
·by certificate, is from this decision.
Mr. Garg, appearing for the appellants, submitted that the notification dissolving the Tribunal was issued for a collateral purpose, viz.,
·to circumvent the effect of the decision of the High Court quashing
the order removing Aulakh fro1ll the membership of the Tribunal
and, therefore, the dissolution was bad. In support of this contention,
.counsel relied upon the note written by the Deputy Advocate General
,after the writ petition filed by Aulakh was allowed. In that note he
·said :
-
"If Mr. Aulakh is to be considered to be a member of the
Tribunal then the very working of the Tribunal will become impossible. Now there are 4 members instead of 3 contemplated by
law".
He, therefore, recommended the dissolution of the Tribunal by a notification issued under s. 12(1) of the Act and its re-constitution on the
·-same day by another notification.
Counsel contended that when the High Court allowed the writ
·petition filed by Aulakh on the ground that his removal was bad in law
there was no legal vacancy to which an appointment could have bee~
made and for that reason the appointment of Kahla as a member of
-the Tribunal was void and, therefore, the Government should have
, allowed the Tribunal to function with Aulakh as its member in place
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GURDIT SINGH V, PUNJAB (Mathew, !.)
739
of Kahla and thereby given effect to the judgment of the High Court
instead of circumventing it by dissolving the Tribunal under s. 12(1).
On the other hand, counsel for the State of Punjab urged that under
s. 12(5) of the Act, it was not competent for the Government to remove
a member once appointed except on the grounds specified therein and
the fact that the High Court declared that the removal of Aulakh from
the membership of the Tribunal was bad would not have warranted the
removal of Kahla from the membership of the Tribunal under that
provision. To put it differently, the contention of the counsel for the
State of Punjab was thats. 12(5) provides for all cases of removal of
a member of the Tribunal once appointed and since the removal of
Kahla would not have been justified on any of the grounds mentioned
in that section, the State Government could not have removed him from
the membership and, therefore, an impossible situation was created
which justified the dissolution of the Tribunal under s. 12(1) of the
Act.
.
We think that the contention urged on behalf of the State of Punjab must prevail. From the fact that the judgment of the High Court
declared that the removal of Aulakh was bad in law, it would not
follow that the appointment of Kahla in the vacancy created by the
removal of Aulakh was void. Assuming that the appointment was
void, it was void only as against Aulakh. There is nothing strange in
the notion of the appointment being void as against Aulakh only,
for. it was his rights that were effected by the appointment of Kahla
and as Aulakh did not challenge the validity of the appointment, the
appointment became valid, even on the assumption that it was origi·
nally void. The appointment of Kahla, however void in the eyes of a
court will prevail unless Aulakh challenged it successfully. Unless the
law upheld the challenge, Aulakh must accept whatever the Government
had done as valid and effectual. The fact that Aulakh successfully
challenged the order removing him from the membership as against the
Government is of no consequence as Kahla was not bound by that
decision. The validity of his appointment was not challenged in the
writ petition filed by Aulakb; Kahla was not even made a par~ to
that writ petition. His appointment, therefore, remained unchallenged.
That apart, he was functioning as a member of the Tribunal and was
participating in the decision of cases. Section 12(1) of the Act provides
for the constitution of one or more Tribunals by the State Government
for deciding claims made in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
The Tribunal so constituted should consist of a President and two other
members
appointed by the Sta(e Government. Therefore, it was
essential that on 1.he removal of Aulakh. there should be an appointment to the vacancy as the business of the Tribunal could not have been
carried on without filling the vacancy created by the removal. We,
therefore find it difficult to hold on the ground of a practical expediency also' that the appointment of Kahla as a member of the Trib!lal
was void and, therefore, non est in the eye of law. Kahla havrng
been appointed as a member of the Tribunal, he could have been
740
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975] 1 S.C.H.
removed only in accordance with the provisions of s. 12(5). That·
section provides :-
"The local Government may by notification remove
any member of a Tribunal, other than the President--
(i) lf he refused to act or becomes in the opinion of the local
Government incapable of acting, or unfit to act, as a member
or .
(ii) If he has absented himself from more than three consecutive
meetings of the Tribunal, or
(iii) Ifhe is an undischarged insolvent".
The High Court has considered the question whether the sub-section
was in force on the relevant date and its conclusion was that it continued to be operatives notwithstanding the purported repeal. The
provisions of the sub-section did not contemplate a removal in the contingency created by the facts of the case and so the State Government
had no power to remove him under the sub-section. The Tribunal
could not have functioned with both of them as members in the teeth
of the provisions of s. 12(2). The grounds for dissolution of the
Tribunal are not enumerated in the Act. We, therefore, agree with the
view of the High Court that the dissolution of the Tribunal was not for
a collateral purpose.
The other contention raised by Mr. Garg to the validity of the
notification dissolving the Tribunal was that the notification was
issued by S. K. Chhiber, Secretary, Home Department, and not by the
Governor.
At the relevant time, Punjab was under the President's Rule and
according to Mr. Garg, the only person competent to issue the notification in question was the Governor. In support of this contention,
he relied upon the Governor's Secretariat Order dated July 6, 1966,
which allocated the business of the Government among various functionaries. In paragraph C of that Order, it was provided that the Sec- ·
retaries to the Government would dispose of the business relating
to their respective Departments except cases which, under the Rules
of the Government of Punjab, 1953, were required to be submitted
to the Governor, the Council of Ministers or the Chief Minister, and
as the business in question should have been submitted to the Chief
Minister before issuing orders, the_ Governor_ alone was competent
to sanction the issue of the notJfication. Counsel relied on Rule
28, sub-rule (I) (xxii) of the Rules of Business which reads :
"28.(1) The following classes of cases shall be submitted to
the Chief Minister before the issue of ordors :
(xxii) Proposals for the creation. for a period exceeding six
months or abolition of any public office, the maximum remuneration of which is between Rs. 800 and Rs. 2,000/-"
We do not think that the notification disrnlving the Tribunal
abolished any public office of the description specified in the sub-rule.
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GURDIT SINGH V. PUNJAB (Mathew, J.)
741
The Tribunal was not abolished. It was only re-constituted. There
was no abQlition of any public office. Abolition means, "to destroy,
extinguish, abrogate or annihilate". We, therefore, overrule the
contention of the counsel.
The result is that the appeal has to be dismisscd and we do so with
costs.
S.B.W.
Appeal dismissed.
Mi5-185Sup.CI/75