Tek Chand, J.

1. This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution praying for the issuance of a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, direction or order requiring the State of Punjab, the first respondent, and the Deputy commissioner, Hoshiarpur, the second respondent to restore the petitioner to the office of Municipal Commissioner, Mukerian Municipal Committee, from which it is alleged that he had been wrongly and improperly removed. According to the allegations made in the petition, the petitioner is said to be a persona non grata with the Punjab State because of his political activities. Accordingly, the State Government by notification No. 10212-ICI-60/53358 dated 16th September, 1960, ordered that the petitioners seat as-member of the Municipal Committee, Mukerian, shall be vacated from the date of publication of the said notification and it was further ordered that, under Section 16(3) of Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, the petitioner would be disqualified for election for a period of three years from the said date. This was contended to be a mala fide removal. It was further contended that Section 16 of the said Act dealt with the subject of removal of individual members for their acts and defaults, but they had a protection of being given an opportunity of tendering an explanation in writing which was not the case when resort was had to the provisions of Section 14. Notification was under Section 14(e) with ulterior motive of depriving the petitioner of having an opportunity to defend himself against contemplated removal. in this case, the petitioner did not receive any notice or intimation about the contemplated action against him and was given no opportunity to show cause against the action intended. It was then said that has he been given an opportunity to show cause against the proposed removal, he would have placed the entire material before the State Government to show that there was no cause against his removal. Consequently, it was prayed that a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, direction, or order be issued calling upon the respondents to restore the petitioner to the office of Municipal commissioner.

2. In the written statement filed on behalf of the Punjab State it was stated that the seat of the petitioner in the Municipality was declared vacant under Section 14(e) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 , on the basis of 3 report received from the Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, to the effect that the

"activities of the petitioner were detrimental to the communal harmony and was calculated to cause breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquility and were thus considered to be prejudicial to the public interest".

The respondents also maintained that

"the very fact that the State Government is empowered to disqualify a person for election in the case of those members whose seats are vacated under Section 15(3) of the Act, shows, that resort to Section 14 can also be had for purposes other than reducing the strength of the members of the Municipal Committee, Section 14 does not provide for the procedure of service of snow-cause notice and consideration of explanation before declaring the seat vacant. Hence nothing illegal had been done in this case."

It was denied that the Impugned order was passed on account of political affiliation of the petitioner and it was asserted that it was done in the public interest that his removal was warranted by Section 14(e) of this Act and, further, that the notification was bona fide, legal and intra vires. On the above grounds it was prayed that the petition be dismissed.

3. Mr. Chetan Dass Dewan, learned counsel on behalf of the Punjab State, has placed his main reliance upon an unreported case decided by a Division Bench of this Court on 16-3-1962, in Civil Writ No. 1194 of 1961, Ram DayaI V/s. Punjab State. The judgment has been read to me in extenso, and reliance was placed upon certain observations made therein. The petitioner reli