JUDGMENT

S. RANGANATHAN, J.:— These appeals raise a common point. They arise out of two out of a batch of writ petitions, disposed of by the Punjab & Haryana High Court, which challenged the validity of S. 244 of the Punjab Municipal Act. The High Court concluded that, both on principle and precedent, the provisions should be struck down as they plainly suffer from the taint of unconstitutionality. The State of Punjab has preferred these appeals.

2. The Punjab Municipal Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was an Act to make better provisions for the administration of municipalities in Punjab. The procedure for constituting any local area as a municipality is set out in Ss. 4 to 10 (Chapter II) of the Act. Under S. 4, the State Government is empowered by notification to propose any local area (other than any part of a military cantonment) to be a municipality under the Act. Any inhabitant, who desires to object to such a proposal, can put forward his objections in writing within a specific period. The State Government is obliged to take such objections into consideration. It may then, by a notification, declare the local area to be a municipality of the first, second or third cl