Judgement

SHAH, J. : In the First Schedule to the Constitution, as originally enacted under the heading "Part C States" were set out the names of ten "C" States. The Parliament of India enacted The Government of Part C States Act 49 of 1951 providing for the constitution of Legislative Assemblies, Councils of Ministers and Councils of Advisers for Part C States. Under S.4 of the Act, the President was authorised to delimit by order the constituencies into which each Part C State was to be divided & the areas of the constituencies, the number of seats allocated to each such constituency and the number of seats reserved for scheduled castes and tribes. In exercise of the powers conferred by S.4 of the Act, the President made an order determining the constituencies into which the State of Himachal Pradesh was to be divided. In 1952, elections were held to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly and 36 members were elected in the different constituencies. In the Legislative Assembly of the State, Bill No. 7 of 1953 was introduced by the Government for the abolition of certain intermediaries in respect of landed estates. Before that Bill was passed into an Act, on May 8, 1954, the Parliament of India enacted the Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur (New State) Act No. 32 of 1954. This Act which constituted a new State by uniting the States of Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur received the assent of the President on May 28, 1954, and was brought into force under a notification dated 1-7-1954. Under S. 12 of Act 32 of 1954, a Legislative Assembly for the new State of Himachal Pradesh was to be constituted with 41 seats to be filled by direct elections. No fresh elections to the new State. Assembly were held, but on July 7, 1954, a notification was issued by the Lieutenant-Governor of the new Himachal Pradesh State purporting to exercise the powers conferred by S. 9 of the Government of Part C States Act, 1951 convening the second session of 1954 of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Pursuant to this notification, the Legislature assembled and Bill No. 7 of 1953 which was introduced in the old Himachal C State Assembly was passed into an Act. This Act called the Himachal Pradesh Abolition of Big Landed Estates and Land Reforms Act, 1954 - hereinafter called the Abolition Act - received the assent of the President on 23-11-1954, and was brought into force under a notification issued by the State Government on 26-1-1955.

2. This Court, in petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution challenging the constitutional validity of the Abolition Act, held that the said Act could not be recognised as a piece of legislation validly enacted. It was held that even though S.15(1) of the New State Act provided that each of the 36 sitting members representing a constituency of the old Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh was to be deemed. To have been elected by that constituency, and by "the deeming provision", these members were placed in the same position in which they would have been placed had they gone through the entire process of election and been elected, as no notification had been issued under S. 74 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the 36 members of the old Himachal Pradesh Assembly could not constitute the Legislative Assembly. It was further held that by the notification issued by the Lieutenant-Governor, the 2nd session of the old Legislative Assembly was summoned, and not the new Legislative Assembly; and in the session held pursuant to the command of the Lieutenant Governor, Bill No. 7 of 1953 pending before the Assembly of the old State which had lapsed when that Assembly was dissolved could not be enacted as an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the new State.

3. After this decision was pronounced on 11-10-1958, the President issued Ordinance No. 7 of 1958 validating the constitution and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of the new State of Himachal Pradesh formed under Act 32 of 1954, and prohibiting the Courts from question