Civil Writ – Habeas Corpus - Preventive Detention – Constitutionality – Article 13(2) & Preventive Detention Act, 1950 – Validity upheld – Petitioner contended that the Preventive Detention Act abridges fundamental rights under Part III and is void under Article 13(2) – Held: The issue already decided in A.K. Gopalan v. State where Act was upheld except Sect...
Constitutional Law – Government Servants – Freedom of Speech and Assembly – Rule 4-A of Bihar Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1956 prohibiting any demonstration or strike in connection with conditions of service – Held, government servants do not lose their fundamental rights under Part III merely by entering public service – Article 33 applies only to armed...
Constitutional Law – Legislative Competence – Entry 49 List II – “Taxes on Lands and Buildings” – Scope – Challenge to U.P. Large Land Holdings Tax Act, 1957 on ground that “lands” in Entry 49 does not include agricultural land – Held: Word “lands” in Entry 49 is of wide amplitude and includes agricultural land – Constit...
Citizenship Law – Termination of Indian Citizenship – Section 9(2), Citizenship Act, 1955 – Rule 3, Schedule III of Citizenship Rules – Conclusive Proof of Foreign Citizenship – Petitioners, originally Indian citizens, were deported or directed to leave India under the Foreigners Act on the ground that they had obtained Pakistani passports – They challenged Sect...
Constitutional Law – Civil Writ - Freedom of Speech and Press – Ban on entry and circulation of newspaper – Article 19(1)(a) & 19(2) – Section 9(1-A), Madras Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1949 – Majority per Patanjali Sastri, J. – Order prohibiting entry/circulation of “Cross Roads” directly restricts freedom of speech and expression as circul...
Civil Writ - Constitutional Law - Fundamental Rights – Article 19(1)(g) – Bidi Manufacture Ban – Sections 3–4, 1948 Act – Reasonable Restrictions vs. Total Prohibition – Petitions under Article 32 by a proprietor and an employee assailing Deputy Commissioner’s orders prohibiting bidi manufacture in notified villages during agricultural seasons – Held...
Constitutional Law – Civil Writ - Freedom of Speech and Press – Pre-censorship order – Article 19(1)(a) & 19(2) – Section 7(1)(c), East Punjab Public Safety Act, 1949 – Prior restraint on “Organizer” requiring pre-publication scrutiny of specified classes of matter – Held: Pre-censorship is a restriction on freedom of speech and of the press &nda...
Civil Writ - Fundamental Rights – Right to Carry on Trade – Article 19(1)(g) – Monopoly in favour of a single contractor – Bye-laws of Municipal Board struck down – The petitioner, a wholesale commission agent in vegetables and fruits, was prohibited from carrying on his trade as monopoly rights were auctioned to another person by the Municipal Board – Bye-laws ...
PIL - Motor Vehicles – High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) – Enforcement of Statutory Scheme – States directed to take final decision within six months – Petitioner sought implementation of Supreme Court's earlier judgment in Association of Registration Plates v. Union of India regarding mandatory use of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) under Rule 50 of CMV...
Environmental Law – Aravalli Hills – Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 – Land Notified under Sections 4 & 5 – Treated as Forest – Any non-forest use requires approval under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 – Applicants’ plea of exemption for constructions rejected – Court held that once land is notified and treated in government records as forest...