Judgment

GROVER, J. :- This is an appeal by certificate from a judgment of the Punjab High Court by which the petition under Art, 226 of the Constitution filed by the respondent was allowed and the ban imposed on the sale of a news weekly called. "The Indian Observer" by the licensees of the Railway Book Stalls throughout the country under directions issued by the appellant was set aside.

2. According to the writ petition, the petitioner was the owner and publisher of a weekly newspaper known as "The Indian Observer" which had a wide sale in India, its weekly circulation being approximately 1,35.000 copies. Till March 1965 the aforesaid news weekly was being sold at all the railway stations which were managed and were under the administrative control of the Railway Board. It was alleged that the policy of the news weekly was to publish a constructive criticism and fair comment in public interest on the working of different departments of the Government and to suggest remedial measures. In some of the copies of the news weekly, certain matters regarding the mal-administration of the Railway had been published. Reference was made in particular to the issue of 11th September, 1964 in wh