# MADHAORAO PHALKE v. THE STATE OF MADHYA BHARAT

- **Citation:** [1961] 1 S.C.R. 957
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1961
- **Bench:** B. P. Sinha, J. 1. Kapur, ·p. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, K. SuBBA RAo, K. N. Wanohoo
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/madhaorao-phalke-v-the-state-of-madhya-bharat-2190
- **Pages:** 14

## Headnote

Hereditary Military Pension-Bachat-Right to receive guaranteed by Katambandis issued by Rulers of Gwalior-If can .be termi11ated by executive order-Kalambandis, if existing law-Katambandis of r9rn and i935 (Gw.alior)-Constitution of India, Art. 372.
The appellant was the recipient of a hereditary military
pension called Bachat granted by the Rulers of Gwalior to his
ancestors in recognition of military service. The right to
receive the said pension was recognised by the Kalambandis of
":I
i912 and 1935 issued by the said Rulers. When Gwalior integrated wilh Indore and Malwa in i948 to form a union, s. 4 of
122
October 3.
958
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1961]
1960
Act No. l of 1948 provided for the continuance of all laws, ordinances, rules and regulations having the force of law in the
Madha .. ao PhalkeCOvenanting states. After the formation of the State of Madhya
v.
Bharat under the Constitution, the Government of that State,
n, Slal• of
which remained liable to pay the said pension, by an executive
Madhya Bh"'"' order, terminated the right. The appellant moved the High
Court against the said order under Art. 226 of the Constitution
and his case was that the right to receive the said pension,
having been statutorily recognised by the State of Gwalior,
could not be extinguished by an executive order. The Full
Bench of the High Court held against him. The question was
whether the Kalamhandis of 1912 and 1935, on which the appellant rested his case, were existing law within the meaning of
Art. 372 of the Constitution.
Held, that the question must be answered ·in the affirmative
No distinction could be made between an executi\·c order
and a legislative command made by an absolute monarch, such
as the Rulers of the Indian State of Gwalior were, since they
have the same force of law, passed in whichever capacity they
may be, and govern the rights of the subjects.
Ameer-un-Nissa Begum v. Mahboob Begum, A.LR. 1955 S.C.
352 and Director of EndOlllments, Government of Hyderabad v.
Akram Ali, A.LR. 1956 S.C. 60, referred to.
Consequently. even supposing that the Kalambandis did not
amount to a quanun or law technically so called, they would
nevertheless be orders or regulations having the force of law in
the State at the material time and would be existing law within
the meaning of Art. 372 of the Constitution.
Edward Mills Co., Ltd., Beawar v. State of Ajmer, [1955] l
S.C.R. 735, referred to.
The contents of the two Kalambandis aod the character of
their provisions clearly show that they could not be mere
administrative orders, and if not statutes, must, in any event,
be rules and regulations having the force of law.
C1v1L APPELLATE JURISDICTION:
Civil Appeal
No. 84 of lll54.
Appeal from the judgment and order dated September l, 1954, of the former M&dhya Bharat High Court
iD Civil Misc. Case No. 11 of 1952.
B. Sen, P. V. Sahasrabudhe, B. K. B. Naidu a.nd
I. N. Shroff, for the appellant.
M. Adhikan, Advowte-General for the State of
Madhya PradeJJh, H.J. Umrigar and R.H. Dhehar,
for the respondents.
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1 s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
959
1960. October 3. The following Judgment of the
Court was delivered by
ltfadhavrao Phalke
GAJENDRAGADKAR J.-The question of law which
Th• ;;ate of
arises for our decision in this appeal is whether the Madhya Bharat
Kalamba.ndis under which the appellant's right to
receive Rs. 21/8/- per month by way of Bacha.tGajendragadka• .f.
(balance) is guaranteed constitute an existing law
within the meaning, of Art. 372 of the Constitution.
This question arises in this way. The appellant
Ma.dhaorao Phalke describes himself as an Ekkan and
claims that as such Ekka.n he and his ancestors have
been receiving the monthly payment of Rs. 21/8/-
from the State of Madhya Bharat. It appears that
the appellant's ancestors had accompanied the Scindias
to Gwalior from Maharashtra. about 200 years ago,
and had rendered military service in conquering the
territory of Gwalior. In recognition of this service the
appe

## Text

l S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
957
provision, the settlement on which this land was held
1960
as inam land must be deemed to have been made under
this Chapter and therefore it cannot be said that no
Rangildas
Varajdas
assessment has been fixed under the provisions -of Ch.
Khandwala
VIII-A in this case. We are of opinion that there is
v.
no force in this argument. Section 117. R of the Code Collector of SuYa
is a deeming provision. Section 52 on the other hand
when it says that that section will not apply where
Wanchoo J.
assessment has been fixed under Ch. VIII-A, refers to
actual assessment under Ch. VIII-A and not to what
is deemed to be an assessment under that Chapter by
virtue of s. 117-R. It is not in dispute that there has
in fact been no assessment under Ch. VIII-A in this
case. We are therefore af opinion that as the land in
this case was not wholly exempt from revenue and as
in fact no assessment has been fixed on this land
under Ch. VIII-A, s. 52 would apply and the Collector would have power to make an assessment in the
manner provided by that section.
There is therefore no force· in this appeal and it is
hereby dismissed with costs.
Appeal diBmiBBed.
MADHAORAO PHALKE
v.
THE STATE OF MADHYA BHARAT
(B. P. SINHA, C. J., J. 1. KAPUR,
·p. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, K. SuBBA RAo and
K. N. WANOHOO, JJ.)
Hereditary Military Pension-Bachat-Right to receive guaranteed by Katambandis issued by Rulers of Gwalior-If can .be termi11ated by executive order-Kalambandis, if existing law-Katambandis of r9rn and i935 (Gw.alior)-Constitution of India, Art. 372.
The appellant was the recipient of a hereditary military
pension called Bachat granted by the Rulers of Gwalior to his
ancestors in recognition of military service. The right to
receive the said pension was recognised by the Kalambandis of
":I
i912 and 1935 issued by the said Rulers. When Gwalior integrated wilh Indore and Malwa in i948 to form a union, s. 4 of
122
October 3.
958
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1961]
1960
Act No. l of 1948 provided for the continuance of all laws, ordinances, rules and regulations having the force of law in the
Madha .. ao PhalkeCOvenanting states. After the formation of the State of Madhya
v.
Bharat under the Constitution, the Government of that State,
n, Slal• of
which remained liable to pay the said pension, by an executive
Madhya Bh"'"' order, terminated the right. The appellant moved the High
Court against the said order under Art. 226 of the Constitution
and his case was that the right to receive the said pension,
having been statutorily recognised by the State of Gwalior,
could not be extinguished by an executive order. The Full
Bench of the High Court held against him. The question was
whether the Kalamhandis of 1912 and 1935, on which the appellant rested his case, were existing law within the meaning of
Art. 372 of the Constitution.
Held, that the question must be answered ·in the affirmative
No distinction could be made between an executi\·c order
and a legislative command made by an absolute monarch, such
as the Rulers of the Indian State of Gwalior were, since they
have the same force of law, passed in whichever capacity they
may be, and govern the rights of the subjects.
Ameer-un-Nissa Begum v. Mahboob Begum, A.LR. 1955 S.C.
352 and Director of EndOlllments, Government of Hyderabad v.
Akram Ali, A.LR. 1956 S.C. 60, referred to.
Consequently. even supposing that the Kalambandis did not
amount to a quanun or law technically so called, they would
nevertheless be orders or regulations having the force of law in
the State at the material time and would be existing law within
the meaning of Art. 372 of the Constitution.
Edward Mills Co., Ltd., Beawar v. State of Ajmer, [1955] l
S.C.R. 735, referred to.
The contents of the two Kalambandis aod the character of
their provisions clearly show that they could not be mere
administrative orders, and if not statutes, must, in any event,
be rules and regulations having the force of law.
C1v1L APPELLATE JURISDICTION:
Civil Appeal
No. 84 of lll54.
Appeal from the judgment and order dated September l, 1954, of the former M&dhya Bharat High Court
iD Civil Misc. Case No. 11 of 1952.
B. Sen, P. V. Sahasrabudhe, B. K. B. Naidu a.nd
I. N. Shroff, for the appellant.
M. Adhikan, Advowte-General for the State of
Madhya PradeJJh, H.J. Umrigar and R.H. Dhehar,
for the respondents.
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1 s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
959
1960. October 3. The following Judgment of the
Court was delivered by
ltfadhavrao Phalke
GAJENDRAGADKAR J.-The question of law which
Th• ;;ate of
arises for our decision in this appeal is whether the Madhya Bharat
Kalamba.ndis under which the appellant's right to
receive Rs. 21/8/- per month by way of Bacha.tGajendragadka• .f.
(balance) is guaranteed constitute an existing law
within the meaning, of Art. 372 of the Constitution.
This question arises in this way. The appellant
Ma.dhaorao Phalke describes himself as an Ekkan and
claims that as such Ekka.n he and his ancestors have
been receiving the monthly payment of Rs. 21/8/-
from the State of Madhya Bharat. It appears that
the appellant's ancestors had accompanied the Scindias
to Gwalior from Maharashtra. about 200 years ago,
and had rendered military service in conquering the
territory of Gwalior. In recognition of this service the
appellant's ancestors were granted a. fixed amount of
money per month, and this amount has been received
by the appellant's family for several generations past.
The right to receive this a.mount bas been recognised
by the Rulers of Gwalior in several statutes, orders,
rules or regulations having the force of statutes;·
amongst them are the Kalamba.ndis of 1912 and 1935.
On April 18, 1952, the Government of Madhya Bharat
issued an executive order terminating the said pay-
. ment to·the appellant; that is why the a.ppella.nt.ha.d
to file the present petition in the High Court of
Madhya. Bharat against the State of Madhya. Bharat
and the Government of Madhya. Bharat, . Revenue
Department, respondents 1 and 2 respectively under
Art. 226 of the Constitution. In this petition the
appellant had prayed for a.n order that a. writ in the
nature of mandamus, or in the alternative a.n · appropriate direction or order be issued calling upon the
respondents to forbear from giving effect to the said
executive order. In bis petition the appellant
challenged the said order on two grounds. It was
urged that since the appellant's right to ;receive the
specified a.mount had been. statutorily re\mgnised by
the s.a.te of Gwalior it was not open to respondent 1
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i,6o
to extinguish that right merely by an executive order.
Modha:;:: l'ha/ke In t.~e a.lterna.t.ive it was contended that the right to
v.
receive the said a.mount from month to month was
n. Stat• 01
property to which the appellant was entitled, and he
Madhya Bha•at could not· be divested of that property without the pay-
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ment of compensation under Art. 31 of the Constituca1tndragadkar J. tion.
These pleas were denied by the respondents.
Tho
respondents' case was that the payment ma.de t-0 the
appellant's ancestors and to him was by way of emoluments for military sen•ice and did not cons! itute property, and that the Kala.mbandis on which the a.ppeJ.
!ant relied did not constitute an existing law under
Art. -:172. It appears that along with tho appellant
ten other persons had filed similar petitions ma.king
prayers for similar writs or orders against the respondents and their pleas were similarly challenged by the
respondents. All the eleven petitions were accordingly
tried together.
These petitions were heard by a. Full Bench of the
Madhya. Bharat High Court consisting of Shinde, C.J.
and Dixit and Newa.ska.r, JJ. All the three learned
judges a.greed in holding that the Ka.la.mba.ndis on
which the petitioners bad rested their ca.so were orders
issued by the Ruler for the purpose of reorganising
the scheme of administration and that they did not
a.mount to law or regulation having the forre of law.
Dixit, J., gave a. specific reason in support of his con·
clusion that the Ka.la.mba.ndis did not a.mount to a.
statute. He held that in Gwalior there was a. well
recognised law-ma.king machinery or custom, and
since the Ka.la.mba.ndis in question did not satisfy the
requirements of the forms and solemnities specified in
that behalf they could not claim the status of a.
statute. In the result all the petitions were dismissed.
The appellant then applied for and obtained a. certificate from the High Court under Art. 133(l)(c) of the
Constitution, and it is with tho said certificate that he
has come to this Court in the present appeal.
When this appeal was heard by this Court 011
March 31, 1958, it was conceded by b-Oth the parties
that it would be better that they should be allowed to
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l S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
96-1
adduce additional evidence before the question of!aw
'960
which was undoubtedly one of general importance·,w dh --. Pk lk
was decided by this Court. In fact an application
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ha.d been ma.de by the appellant before this Court for
The s1~te of
leave to adduce additional evidence and no serious Madhya Bharat
objection was raised to the additional evidence by the
--
respondents. Therefore, by consent the matter was Gajendragadkar J.
sent ha.ck to the High Court with a. direction that ·
parties should be allowed to adduce additional evidence
and the High Court should record its finding on the
issue remitted to it in the light of the said additional
evidence. The issue remitted to the High Court was
whether the Kala.mbandis ·in question were statutes
or regulations having the force of statutes in the State
of Gwalior at the material time or were they merely
administrative orders.
After remand parties have led evidence before the
High Court, and the High Court has recorded its
finding on the issue remitted to it. Abdul Hakim
Khan and Newaskar, JJ., have found in favour of the
appellant and .have hefd that the Kalambandis in
question were regulations having the force of law in
the State of Gwalior at the material time ; Krishnan,
J., has taken 11 contrary view. After the finding of
the High Court wa.s thus recorded papers in the case
have been submitted to this Court, and the appeal has
now come before us for final disposal ; and so we are
called upon to decide the short question of law _set out
by us at the commencement of this judgment.
At. the outset it may be relevant to refer very briefly to the historical background of the claim made
by the appellant and the other petitioners in all
these matters.
We have already' state'd that the
appellant claims to be an Ekkan. These Ekkans, it
appears, were 11 class of horsemen who formed part of
the Pesh wa's Cavalry along with Silledars.
They
were single volunteers and they brought with them
f
their own horses and .accoutrements. The other petitioners olaimed to be Silledars whose ancestors formed
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part of the M11h11r11tta Cavalry.. These Silledars were
troopers who brought in their own horses ancl weapons/ , They brought bodies of troops armed and
!)62
SUPREME COURT P.EPogrs
[ lfJ61]
~::
equipped a.t their own expense. They were a.lso known
J/adha,,ao l'halh a.s Paiga.da.rA. It also a.rriea.rs that later on a.a aov.
count. was ma.de as to the expenAec which the Ekkan
TJ.r St•te of
may have to bear for thr. maintunance of his horse,
Madhya Ilhara1 and from the total amount payable to him the amount
.. . -
of expenses thus determined was deducted, and that
":"ndragodkar J. presumably left the balance Hs. 21/8/- which was
p1tid to him as Bachal or balance.
Broadly stated
this app<'ars to be the position on the pleadings of the
parties in the present proceedings.
The question·
which calls for our decision is whether the right to
rrceh'e this amount is a statutory right; in other
words, whdher the Kalambandis on which the right
is based were rules or regulations having the force of
law in the Sta.to of Gwalior?
The two Kalambandis in question were iAsued in
1912 A. D. and 1935 A. D. respectively. The first
Kala.mbandi was issued by the Ruler Sir Ma.dhiwrao
himself, w hcrea.s the second was issued by the Council
which was then in charge of the administration of the
State subsequent to the death of Sir Madhavra.o which
took place in 1925. It is well-known tha.t the States
of Gwalior, Indore and l\falwa integrated and formed
a. Union in 1948.
After tho Union was thus formed
Act ~o. I of 1948 was passed for the purpose of taking over the administration of the covenanting States.
Section 4 oft-his Act provided for the a.pplicat.ion of
local laws, and as a result a.II laws, ordinances, rules,
regulations, etc., having the force of law in any of the
covenanting States were to continue to remain in
force until they were repealed or a.mended according
to law. Thus the existing laws which were in force
in the State of Gwalior continued even after the
union ; and according to the appellant the operation
of tho Kalambandis continued under s. 4.
On September 19, 1950, a notification was issued by
the CommiAsioncr, Jagir Ina.ms, Court of Wa.rds,
Madhya Bharat, declaring that in the case of a.rmy
pl'rso1rncl described in p~rag_ra.ph 1, question o'. mutation, adoption. etc., a.rrnmg Ill regard to the sa.1d personnel would be dealt with by the office of the Commissioner, and Ba.chat and other amounts payable to
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1 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
963
the said personnel would be distributed by the same
1960
office.
Members of the said army personnel were
-' I
accordingly asked to claim payment in respect of their Ma<havrao Phalke
Nemnook from the office of the Commissioner. Sub.
n.e ;;.,.of
sequently, under the new set up which came into exis. Madhya Bharat
tence after the formation of Madhya Bharat the
a.rniies of the covenanting States were a.ma.lga.ma.. Gafendragadkar J.
ted and reorganised by the Government of India
so as to fit them into the overall plans of the
defence of the country. The report of the general
administration of Madhya Bharat shows how this
reorganisation was carried out.
As a result.of this/
reorganisation the expenditure on account of hereditary military pensiof1s of Ba.chat to Silleda.rs and
Ekka.ns was a.greed to be charged to the Mua.fi department of the Madhya Bharat Government; that is how
the Madhya Bharat Government continued to be
liable to pay the a.mount to the appellant from month
to month.
Then followed the impugned order passed by respimdent 1 on April 18, l!J52. · Clauses 1 to 4 of this
order made provision for the continued payment to
the persons specified thereunder. Clause 5, however,
declared that the distribution of a.mounts to Silleda.rs
a.ncj Ekka.ns not covered by els. 1 to 4 would be absolutely stopped from May 1, 1952. It is this order
which ha.s given rise to the present proceedings.
Before dealing with the question as to whether the
Ka.la.mba.ndis constitute a.n existing la.w or. not it m1<y
be useful to refer. very briefly to t\le constitutional ,
position in regard to the Government of Gwalior a.t ·
the material time.
It appears that in 1905 Sir
Ma.dha.vrao Scindia. set up an advisory council known
a.s Ma.jlis Kha.s.
He was himself the President of this
Council and assumed the title of Mir Ma.jlis.
This
Council wa.s constituted as a. sort of law-ma.king body,
bu tin s. 5 of the Qua.id Ma.jlis Kha.s it wa.s expressly
provided that the acceptance or rejection of a.ny
recommendations ma.de by the ma.jorit,y of the Council
would depend entirely oh the discretio~ of the President. This was f?llowed in 1916 by the establishment
·of Ma.jlis Quan)lnifor the purpose of ma.king laws for ·
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SUPHE:\IE COURT REPORTS
[I 961]
•96•
the State.
\.Vith this body v:erc associated some
Modhavi~o PAo!Acl\ll~~l~na.Qtcd pnbli
1
c citizen8. Section 4{a.) of tho Qua.id
v.
·
•B.J 1s
na.nnn, wwevor, ma.do it clear that its func-
• nc s1a" of tion wa.s lllerely to a.dviso His Highness on such ma.tMadh_va F>ha,01 ters aR would be placed before it, and s. ·4(b) left it to
.
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. the absolute discrotion of His Highness eithPr to
G"J'"'1"'C"d"•• f. ~ccept or not tho recommenrla.tions of tho body.
In
1918 the Constitutional Manual describing the functions of the members of the Ruler's Cabinet was published and :lfajlis Am which was the House of the
People was established. It consbted ma.inly of nominated members though some members elected from
recognised public bodies also were associated with it.
According to s. 31(6) of the relevant law crei,ting this
body, deliberations of the body were ultimatt>ly to be
submitted to His Highness for his final orders, and it
was his orders which a.lone could be executed. It
would thus be seon that though Sir Madha.vra.o was
gradually ta.king steps to a.ssociato the·public with the
government of tho Sta.to and with that object he was
establishing institutions consistent with the democratic form of rule, he ha.d maintained a.If his powors a.s a.
sovereign with himself a.nd had not delegated any of
his powers in favour of any of the ea.id bodies. In
other words, despite the creation of these bodies the
Me.ha.ra.ja. coritinued to be a.n absolute monarch in
whom were vested the supreme power of the legisla..
ture, the executive and the judiciary.
In dee.ling with the question a.s to whether the
orders issued by such a.n a.bsol ut-0 monarch a.mount to
a. law or regulation having the force of law, or whether they constitute merely administrative orders, it
is important fQ bea.r in mind ~hat the distinction between executive orders a.nd legislative commands is
likely to be merely academic where the Ruler is the
source of a.II power. There was no constitutional limitation' upon the authority of the Ruler to act in any
ca.pa.city he liked ; he would be the supreme legislature, the supreme judiciary and the supreme head of
the executive, and a.11 his orders, however issued,
would ha. ve the force of law and would govern and
regulate the a.lfa.irs of the State including the rights of
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1 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
965
its citizens. Tn Ameer-un.Nissa Begum v. · Mahboob
1960
.
B~gum ('). this Court had. to deal wit~ the effect of a Madho;,; Pl;;ih• ·
FJrman issued by the N 1zam, and 1t observed that
v. ·
so long as the particular Firman issued by the Nizam
Th• Sl•l• of
held the field that alone would govern and regulate Madhya !IA•••'
the rights of the parties concerned though it .would
.
-::~. 1 1
b
11 d
d.fi d b.
1
F'
·
G•1•"4••1-•"
e annu e or mo 1 e
y a ater < irman at any time
·
·
that the Nizam willed.
What was held about the
Firman issued by the Nizam would. be equally· true
about all effective orders issued by the Ruler of
Gwalior (Vide also: Director of Endowments, Government of Hyderabad v. Akram Ali(')) .
It is also· clear ·that an order issued by an absolute monarch in an Indian. State which had .the
force ·of law would amount to an existing- law under Art. 372 of the Constitution. Article 372 provideA for the continuance in force of the existing laws
which were in force in the territories of India immediately before the commencement of the Constitution,
and Art. 366(10) defines an existing law, inter alia, as
meaning any .. law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation
passed or made before the commencement of the Constitution by any person having a power to make such
law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation. In Edward
Mills Co., Ltd., Beawar v. State of Ajmer (3), this Court
has held t.hat " there is not any material difference
between the expressions 'existing ht.w.' and the 'law
in force'. The definition of an existing law in Art.
)166(10) as well as the definition of an Indian law contained in s. 3(29) of the General Clauses Act make this
position clear". Therefore, even if it is held that the
Kalambandisin question did not amount to a qua.nun
or law technically so called, they would nevertheless
be orders or regulations which had the force of law in
the State of Gwalior at the material time, and would
be.saved under Art. 372: The question which then
.aris~s is-whether these Kalambandis were regulations
havmg the force of law at the material time.
/
·In support of the conclusion that they are merely.
~dministrative orders it js urged by '.the learned
(1) _A.I.R. 1955 S.C. 352..
.
(2) A.LR. 1956 S.C. 60.
(3) [1955] 1 S.C;R. 735·
.
966
SUPRE:llE COURT REPORTS
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· r96o
Advoca.te-General of Madhya. Pradesh
that Sir
Madh•= Phalkr Madh~vrao was a.n ~nlif;lhtened Ruler and was fully
v.
conscious of the d1stmct1on between executive orders
The State of
and st.a.tut-Ory provisions, and so if the Kala.mbandis in
Modh>• Rha••' question did not take the form of a quanun or a eta.-
-·-
tute it would be safe w iufer tha.t they were intended to
Gaj•nd.agadka• f. operate merely a.s executive orderR.
In support of
this argument rt>liance ha.s been placed on the obser-
¥ations made by Sir Ma.dha.vra.o, in Volume 7 which
deals with Durbar Policy. "Broadly spea.king ",
says Sir Madha.vrao, "all orders and directions issued
by the Ruin may be reg .• rded as laws.
In the tech•
nical senS{', however, the latter term signified only
commands whose fulfilment is accompanied by the
conferment of a. particular concession and whose contravention spells punishment or the extinguishment
of a right. Orders issued for the purpose of regulating
the working of a de pa; tment generally take the form
of Rules, Manual or Kalambandi and are superscribed
as such". It may be conceded that this statement
does make a distinction between laws technically socalled and Rules, .Manual or Kala.mbandi; but it is
significant that the very statement on which this
argument is founded ends with the observation that
the differentiation in the names is merely intended to
indicate the group to which a given set of orders belongs.
In other words, the name given to the order
would not be decisive; its character, its content and
its purpose must be independently considered.
Then it is urged that the Kalambandis in question
were not published in the Government Gazette a;.s
other laws are; they were published only in th,,
military gazette, and it is argued that they are not
called quauun or laws as they would have been, if
they were intendod to operate as laws.
In this connection our attention was also drawn to certain acts
\passed in the State of Gwalior which a.re described aa
'acts or laws. On the other hand, it is clear that the
distinction between Kalambandi and quanun was not
always strictly observed. In regard to the juriadictiou of the High Court and the functioning of the Civil
and Criminal Court~ rules were issued and yet they
f
•
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1 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
967
were described 11.s a Manual. There can be no doubt
'960
that the rules contained in this Ma.n~al which govern Madha"'"-:; I'!.alk·,
the jurisdiction, powers and authority of· Courts in
v.
.
the State of Gwalior had the force of law, and yet
The s1a1e of
they were included in a Manual which, judging merely Madhya llharat
by the description of the document, can be distin-
-
· h d f
s·
·1
l
"
·
f
Gajend,agad!wr J.
gms e
rom a quanun.
1m1 ar y 1o appears rom
·
circulars collected in a bbok called Majmua Circulars
(1971 to 1993 Samvat) that the notification issued
under the said Circular had the effect of modifying the
provisions of the Customs Law. There is also another
instance that amendment of statutory provisions was
made by Sir Madhavrao by giving directions in that
behalf though such directions did not take the form
of a quanun. In fact in s. 39 of .the Dur bar Policy,
Volume.3, Sir Madhavra.o has described the Kalambandi of Sa.mvat 1969 as quayada. To the same
effect is the Durb3r Order No. 5 .dated April 14, 1923.
It would thus be clear that the decision of the question with which we a.re concerned cannot rest merely
on the description of the order.. It would not be
possible to accept the argument urged by the learned
Advocate-General that because the Ka.lamba.ndi is not
described as a quanun or was not published in the
government gazette therefore. it should be treated as
an executive order. The words used in describing the
several orders issued by the Ruler can afford no
material assistance in determining their character. In
this connection it is necessary to recall that all orders
issued by the absolute monarch had the force of law.
Therefore it would be necessary to consider the
character of the orders oontained in these Kalambandis .. The first Kalamba.ndi which was issued in 1912
consists of 54 clauses. No doubt it begins by saying
that it has been issued for the purpose of arranging
for the administration of the department of irregular
unit of Shileda.ri, but the nature of the provisions cont,ained in· this document una.mbiguouly impresses upon
it the character of a statute or a regulation having
the . force of a statute. It recognises and confers
hereditary rights; it provides for the adoptioo of a son
by ·the · widow of a deceased ·siJlredar sobjeOi' to the
968
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1961)
196°
a.pprov1~l of the Stil.te; it also provides for the ma.in-
--
lk tcnance of widows out of funds specially set a.pa.rt for
A!adhavran l'h:J
t
.
l
.
v.
that purposo; 1t contemp ates the offermg of a subs.
The State of
titute when a Silleda.r has become old or has other-
.uad/1ra Rh"'"' wise !w.come unfit to render service; it makes detailed
-·-
provisions as to mutation of names after the death of
Ga1e,,dragadkor f a. SiJl.,da.r, and it also directs that the Asa.mi being
for the Shiledari service it cannot be mortgaged for a.
debt of any banker, and it forther pro\'idcs that if a.
decree is passed against a Silleda.r and the decree.
holder seeks to proceed against the a.mount payable
to him the. nxecution has to be carried out in accordance with the manner and subject to the limitations
prescribed in that behalf. It would thus be set>n that
the detailed provisions made by this Kalambandi deal
with several aspects of the amount payable to the
recipient, and considered as a. whole it. cannot be
tre1tted as a.n administrative order issued merely for
the purpose of regulating the working of the administration of the department of irregular forces.
The second order which was issued. by the Council
is substantially on the same lines a.s the first order.
It consists of 39 clauses.
fts preamble shows that a.s
per orders of the Durbar the depa.rtmtmt of irregulars
was governed by the regulations issued in that behalf
·in 1912 A.D., and it adds that "because the aforesaid
Bedas have now been a.malga.ma.ted with the regular
army and a.re ma.de subject to a.II the laws that a.re
in force in t.be Gwalior army, the Regulations of 1912
are repealed and orders are issued as under". This
dearly reads like a. statutory provision whereby the
earlier relevant statute is repealed. The scheme of
this ordm follows the pattern of the earlier order. It
provides for succession, for the regulation of adoption, for the mutation a.nrl heirship enquiry, for a.
substitute being giv()ll in case the Silleda.r is unable
to work himself, prescribes a disqua.Iifica.tion from
service where the Ismdar is convicted, a.nd imposes a.
similar limitation on execution age.inst the a.mount
of the Asa.mi.
Clause 22 of this order says that in
case there is no legal heir or the widow of, the deceased Ismd11.r his na.me will be struck off and the
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l S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS
969
Asami will at once be given to other person. In rio
I96o
case will the Asalrii be abolished. In our opinion, Madhavrao Phalk«
having regard to the contents of the two orders and
v.
the character of the provisions made by them in such
The state of
a detailed manner it is difficult to distinguish them Madhya Bharat
from statutes or laws; in_ any event they must be
. --
treated as rules or regulations having the force ofG•1endragadkar J.
law. That is the finding recorded by Abdul Hakim
Khan and Newaskar, JJ,, and we think that the said
finding is correct.
After the finding was rec_orded and submitted to
this Cour.t the appellant has made one more application for permission to lead another piece of additional
evidence; This evidence consists of a book named
"Guide Book Kalambandi" of October l, 1899. It
has been printed, p~blished and issued under the
signature of the Ruler, and it relates among other
things to the administration of the Revenue :pepa:rtment of the State of Gwalior; it is written in Hindi.
It contains a preface and introduction. According to
the appellant. the r_elevant portions of this document
would clearly show that Kalambandi was treated as
indistinguishable from q:aanun or law. This position
in not seriously disputed by the respondents; but
they contend that the appellant should not be allowed
any further opportunity to lead additional evidence
because by the.order of remand he was given such an
opportunity and he should have produced all the evidence on which he wanted' to rely before the High
Cour't.' There is some force in this contention; on the
other hand it is clear that publications Jike the one
on which the appellant now seeks to rely would be
·rrimarily within the knowledge of respondent l and
respondent l should have produced all relevant and
material documents to assist the High Court in determining the issue sent to it after remand. However,
in view of the conclusion which we have reached on
the material that has already been adduced on the
record we·do not~think it necessary to consider :whether.the additio,nal. evidence should be allowed to be
1¥}duced. .
·
·
' It is not disputed that if the Kalambandis on which
970
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1961)
196°
the appellant's right is based a.re rules or regulations
M
having the force of law the impugned executive order
adhavrao PhaJAe •
ed b
d
t l
Jd be ·
) 'd
Th
· h
1ssu
y respon en
wou
mva 1 •
e rig t
n, ;;ate of
guaranteed to the appellant by an existing law canJt.dhya Bharat not be extinguished by the issue of an executive order.
·.
-
In fact on this point there has never been a dispute
Ga1••dragadAar I between the parties in the present proceedings. That
is why the only point of controversy between the
parties was whether the Kalambandis in question
amount to an existing law .or not. Since we have
answered this question in favour of the appellant we
must allow the appeal, set a.side the order passed by
the High Court and direct that & proper writ or order
should be issued in favour of the appellant as prayed
for by him. The appellant would be entitled to his
oosts throughout.
Appeal allowed.
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
AND ANOTHER
ti.
BALDEO PRASAD
(B. P. SINHA, c. J., J. L. KAPUR,
P. B. GAJENDBA·
GADKAB, K. SuBBJ RAo and K. N. WANCHOO, JJ.)
GOOflllas, Conlrol and EJtcl11si011 of-Conslil11ti-Onal validity of
enadment-Test-Central PrOl!inces and Berar G0011tlas Act, r946
(X of r946) a.s amerukd by Act XLIX of r950, ss. 4, 4-A-C011s·
litllltOfl of IM.ia, Aris. r9(r}(d) & (e), IJ.
By an order passed under s. 4-A of the Central Province.
and Berar Goondas Act, 1946 (X o! 1946), as amended by the
Madhya Pradesh Act XLIX of 1950, the State of Madhya Pra.
desh directed the respondent to leave the district of Chhindwara, which bad been specified as a proclaimed area under the
Act, and the District Magistrate by another order communicated the same to the respondent. The respondent challenged the
said orders under Art. 226 of the Constitution on the growul
that the Act violated his lundamental rights under Art. 19o)(d)
and (e) of the Constitution and was, therefore, invalidated' by
Art. 13 of the Constitution. The HigJ> Court held that ss. 4 and
4-A of the impugned Act were invalid and since they w~e the
r
..