The Government Servants' Conduct Rules, R.80 to 82, were held to be valid and not violative of the fundamental right to form an Association guaranteed under Art.19 (1) (c) of the Constitution.

1. These two petitions under Art.226 of the Constitution have been filed on behalf individually, of two Service Associations of Government servants against the same Respondent State, and seek to canvass the validity of a directive issued in the form of a Circular, forbidding both the Associations from retaining a non-official, who happened to be the same, as their President. In view of the importance of the question involved, they were referred by one of us, before whom they came on in the first instance, to a Division Bench. The petitions were heard together and are being disposed of by this single judgment.

2. Of these petitions O. P. 80 is filed by the Secretary of the Government School Teachers' Federation which was formed on 14-1-1955. The Federation is composed of three constituent units, Primary School Teachers' Association, Secondary School Teachers' Association and Graduate Teachers' Association, each of which elect 25 representatives who together constitute the General Body of the Federation. From the very inception Sri. G. Chandrasekhara Pillai, Advocate, had been elected as the President of the Federation and had been functioning as such O. P. 81, the other petition herein, is by the Secretary of the Travancore-Cochin Primary Teachers' Association with its Head Office at Kadambanad. As originally constituted no non-official was to be admitted into the Association, but subsequently in the Annual Conference held on 7-2-1953 the constitution was amended so as to admit non-officials also and in exercise of such power, the Association elected Sri G. Chandrasekhara Pillai as its president for the year. He had been continuing as president ever, since, having been re-elected year after year. While so the Associations received the following communication:

"GOVERNMENT OF TRAVANCORE - COCHIN

No. D. Dis.12781/66/Public Public Department, (Services)

CIRCULAR

Trivandrum, 25-5-1956

Subject:- Service Associations with non-officials as office bearers-Legality of. R.80 (a) of the Government Servants' Conduct Rules states that the membership of a Service Association shall be confined to distinct class of Government servants and shall be open to all Government servants of that class Since membership of a service Association is open to Government Servants only, office bearers of the Association have necessarily to be Government servants. Hence it is irregular for a Service Association to appoint outsiders to function as office-bearers of the Association. It has Come to the notice of Government that certain Service Associations with non-officials as office-bearers are functioning in the State. Such Associations are not eligible for recognition by Government under the provisions of the Government Servants' Conduct Rules. Recognition granted to any such Association should be withdrawn forthwith unless the position is rectified within a fortnight. Departments of the Secretariat and the Heads of Departments will take action accordingly.

(By order of His Highness the Rajpramukh)

Sd/

Assistant Secretary."

3. The main grounds of attack relied on in the two petitions were (i) that R.80 (a) of the Government Servants' Conduct Rules, did not on proper construction,contemplate the prohibition of non-officials from being office bearers of Service Associations and therefore the threat of withdrawal of recognition (under R.82) as if for violation of a condition thereof did not arise. Alternatively and assuming that the construction contended for was wrong, the R.80 (a) was violative of the fundamental right to form associations guaranteed under Art.19 (1) (c) and therefore was hit by Art.13 (2) of the Constitution and (ii) that Government, having once recognised and acted on the basis of the Associations' election of President for some time, must be held estopped from questioning the propriety of the choice for the future. The prayer was therefore made for issue of a writ of certiorari or other appropriate writ or direction quashing the circular o