The Chairman of the Board is a non-official member of the Board and the provisions contained in Sections 7, 11, 12, 13 and 17 which relate to tenure and conditions of service of a non-official member will equally apply to him - The Chairman can, therefore, be removed from his office in the manner provided in S. 13 of the Act - Section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act does not provide any assistance or power to the State Government to remove him from his office - The term of office of a non-official member, including the Chairman, is two years from the date of the appointment - The doctrine of pleasure or section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act cannot be resorted to remove the Chairman - The petitioner was holding a public office and the action of the respondents terminating his service without any good cause and without following the principles of natural justice is arbitrary and invalid - The impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) removing the petitioner from the office of the Chairman of the Board is held to be illegal and void, and it is hereby quashed and set aside.

Headnote:
RAJASTHAN KHADI & VILLAGE INDUSTRIES BOARD ACT, 1955 - S. 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 37 - RAJASTHAN KHADI & VILLAGE INDUSTRIES BOARD (TERM OF OFFICE OF MEMBERS) RULES, 1961 - R. 3 - RAJASTHAN GENERAL CLAUSES ACT, 1955 - S. 18 - CONSTITUTION OF INDIA - ART. 14, 310, 311 - Whether the Chairman of the Board could be removed from his office by the State Government at its pleasure without assigning any reason or following the principles of natural justice; Whether there are any limitations or restrictions on the power of the appointing authority in removing the Chairman of the Board ? - Held, yes - The Chairman of the Board is a non-official member of the Board and the provisions contained in Sections 7, 11, 12, 13 and 17 which relate to tenure and conditions of service of a non-official member will equally apply to him - The Chairman can, therefore, be removed from his office in the manner provided in S. 13 of the Act - Section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act does not provide any assistance or power to the State Government to remove him from his office - The term of office of a non-official member, including the Chairman, is two years from the date of the appointment - The doctrine of pleasure or section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act cannot be resorted to remove the Chairman - The petitioner was holding a public office and the action of the respondents terminating his service without any good cause and without following the principles of natural justice is arbitrary and invalid - The impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) removing the petitioner from the office of the Chairman of the Board is held to be illegal and void, and it is hereby quashed and set aside.
Fact of the Case:

The petitioner challenged the validity of the Notification dated January 13,1993 issued by State Government, withdrawing its earlier Notification of September 15, 1992, whereby he was appointed as Chairman of the Rajasthan Khadi & Village Industries Board (for short, 'the Board').
Finding of the Court:

The Chairman of the Board is a non-official member of the Board and the provisions contained in Sections 7, 11, 12, 13 and 17 which relate to tenure and conditions of service of a non-official member will equally apply to him - The Chairman can, therefore, be removed from his office in the manner provided in S. 13 of the Act - Section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act does not provide any assistance or power to the State Government to remove him from his office - The term of office of a non-official member, including the Chairman, is two years from the date of the appointment - The doctrine of pleasure or section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act cannot be resorted to remove the Chairman - The petitioner was holding a public office and the action of the respondents terminating his service without any good cause and without following the principles of natural justice is arbitrary and invalid - The impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) removing the petitioner from the office of the Chairman of the Board is held to be illegal and void, and it is hereby quashed and set aside.
Issues: Whether the Chairman of the Board could be removed from his office by the State Government at its pleasure without assigning any reason or following the principles of natural justice; Whether there are any limitations or restrictions on the power of the appointing authority in removing the Chairman of the Board ?
Ratio Decidendi: The Chairman of the Board is a non-official member of the Board and the provisions contained in Sections 7, 11, 12, 13 and 17 which relate to tenure and conditions of service of a non-official member will equally apply to him - The Chairman can, therefore, be removed from his office in the manner provided in S. 13 of the Act - Section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act does not provide any assistance or power to the State Government to remove him from his office - The term of office of a non-official member, including the Chairman, is two years from the date of the appointment - The doctrine of pleasure or section 18 of the Rajasthan General Clauses Act cannot be resorted to remove the Chairman - The petitioner was holding a public office and the action of the respondents terminating his service without any good cause and without following the principles of natural justice is arbitrary and invalid - The impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) removing the petitioner from the office of the Chairman of the Board is held to be illegal and void, and it is hereby quashed and set aside.
Final Decision: The impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) removing the petitioner from the office of the Chairman of the Board is held to be illegal and void, and it is hereby quashed and set aside.

JUDGMENT

1. - In the present writ petition, the petitioner challenges the validity of the Notification dated January 13,1993 issued by State Government, withdrawing its earlier Notification of September 15, 1992, whereby he was appointed as Chairman of the Rajasthan Khadi & Village Industries Board (for short, 'the Board'). The principal questions for consideration in the petition may be formulated :

(i) Whether the Chairman of the Board could be removed from his office by the State Government at its pleasure without assigning any reason or following the principles of natural justice; and

(ii) Whether there are any limitations or restrictions on the power of the appointing authority in removing the Chairman of the Board ?

2. The facts of the case may be stated in brief : The petitioner was nominated as Chairman of the Board by the State Government vide Notification No.F. 29(26) Udyog/2/72, dated, September 15, 1992 in exercise of powers under S. 4(a) of the Rajasthan Khadi & Village Industries Board Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). After the promulgation of President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution of India in the State of Rajasthan, the petitioner apprehended his removal. He, therefore, filed the writ petition on 21.12.1992 with a prayer to issue an order or direction or writ of appropriate nature, restraining the respondents to remove him from the post of Chairman without compliance of the provisions of the Act. The petition was listed on the same day before Hon'ble S.N. Bhargava, J., at his residence. After hearing the learned Advocate for the petitioner, Shri U.N. Bhandari, the learned Judge passed the following order:

"My attention has been drawn to Sections 4, 7 and 13 of the Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Act and also to Rule 3 of the Rules of 1965 made under the above mentioned Act, which provide that the term of a member shall be two years. My attention was also drawn to Annexure 1, Notification dated 15.9.1992 appointing Shri Manak Chand Surana petitioner as Chairman of the Board. Reliance has been placed on AIR 1958 SC 36,1975 RLW 552,1991 (1) RLR 218 and AIR 1992 SC 1872.

Admit Issue notice. Shri Garg learned counsel for the petitioner is directed to serve non-petitioners with the copy of the petition. Put up on 4.1.1993 before the concerned bench and till then non-petitioners are prohibited from making any order dismissing petitioner in violation of the Act and the Rules. However, it will be open for the non-petitioners to take any action against the petitioner as envisaged in the Act and orders keeping in mind observation made in the above mentioned rulings."

3. The interim stay order was extended by this Court from time to time, but in the mean-time, the impugned order dated 13.1.1993 (Annexure 7) came to be issued by the State Government. The petitioner, thereafter, sought an amendment in the writ petition and challenged the above order/notification, removing him from the post of Chairman of the Board, on various grounds set out in the writ petition.

4. Before dealing with the rival contentions of the parties, it would be convenient at the out-set to note the relevant provisions of the Act. For encouraging and organising Khadi and Village Industries in Rajasthan, the Rajasthan Khadi & Village Industries Act, 1955 was enacted Section 3 of the Act provides the establishment of Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Board by the State Government for the purposes of the Act. The Board is a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, to contract and to do all things necessary for the purposes of this Act and by the said name to sue and be sued through its Secretary. S. 4 states the composition of the Board. Originally, when the Act was enacted in the year, 1955, Section 4 provided the composition of the Board as under :

"4. Composition-The Board shall consist of the following

(a) The Minis

Click Here to Read the rest of this document

1993 Supreme(Raj) 534

RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT AT JAIPUR BENCHN.L.Tibrewal, J.Manik Chand Surana - AppellantVersusState of Rajasthan & ors. - RespondentS.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 39 of 1993.Decided On : 26-04-1993

Cases Referred (11)

RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT AT JAIPUR BENCH
N.L.Tibrewal, J.
Manik Chand Surana - Appellant
Versus
State of Rajasthan & ors. - Respondent
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 39 of 1993.
Decided On : 26-04-1993