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TMI Blog1968 (9) TMI 117X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rental of ₹ 20. According to the allegations made by the appellant herein in the petition which he filed in the High Court under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution, Batala Engineering Co. Ltd. (respondent No. 1 herein) had filed an application for his ejectment in January 1964 before the Rent Controller, Batala but realising the weakness of its case the said respondent resorted to the device of getting the shop requisitioned at the instance of the Labour Commissioner who wrote to the Additional District Magistrate that the shop was required for setting up a Cooperative Consumer Store. On March 24, 1964, the Additional District Magistrate (respondent No. 2 herein) issued a requisitioning order purporting to be under s. 29 of the Act requisitioning the shop in question and directing the tenant to surrender and deliver possession thereof to the Manager, Cooperative Consumer Store, Batala, within two days of the service of the order. The requisitioning order was challenged by means of a writ petition on two grounds; the first was that it had been made mala fide and the second was that the notification which had been issued under s. 40 (1 ) of the Act by the Central Government ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 13, 1962 the Central Government promulgated a notification delegating its power under certain sections of the Act including s. 29. This notification need not be set out in extensor. Its material part is as follows :-- "G.S.R. 1716---In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of s. 40 of the Defence of India Act 1962 (5 of 1962) and of all other powers enabling it in this behalf, the Central Government hereby directs that the powers exercisable by it under the provisions the said Act specified in column (2) of the Schedule hereto annexed shall also he exercisable by each of the authorities mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said schedule in respect of any immovable property situated within its jurisdiction. Schedule S.No. Provision of the Act Authorities. 1 2 3 1. Section 29,30(except the provise thereto),31,32,33,35, and 36 and sub-ss.(1)and (3) of s. 37. All collectors, District Magistrates and Deputy Commission ers in the State and all politi officers in Nefa It is necessary now to turn to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code in order to. determine whether the Additional District Magistrate would be one of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of a District Magistrate if the State Government makes a direction under s. 10(2) of the Code but even an officer who heads the chief executive administration of the district temporarily under s. 11, exercises all the powers of a District Magistrate. The scheme of s. 10 of the Code leaves no, room for doubt that the District Magistrate and the Additional District Magistrate are two different and distinct authorities and even though the latter may be empowered under sub-s. (2) to exercise all or any of the powers of a District Magistrate but by no stretch of reasoning can an Additional District Magistrate be called the District Magistrate which are the words employed in sub-s. (1) of s. 10. The argument which prevailed in the High Court and which the appellant has had to seriously meet in this Court, is that the Additional District Magistrate when invested by the State Government under s. 10 (2) of the Code with all or any of the powers of the District Magistrate under the Code or under any other law for the time being in force, would squarely fall within the expression "District Magistrate" employed in column 3 of the notification dated December 13, 1962 by means of wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Magistrate. Both these contentions prevailed with the Nagpur High Court and it was held that the Additional District Magistrate could not exercise powers under Rule 26 of the Defence of India Rules simply by virtue of the notification under s. 10(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. There is an exhaustive discussion on the first point in the Nagpur judgment but it is altogether unnecessary to examine its correctness because we are of the opinion that most of the reasons given in support of the determination of the second point are clear and cogent and must be accepted as correct. These reasons may be summarised as follows (i) very wide, 'almost autocratic, powers are conferred on the Government in the matter of detention .and therefore they must be exercised with a due sense of responsibility and circumspection by an officer of a certain status and experience; (ii) when the Government delegates its power to an officer or authority subordinate to it, is not unreasonable to assume that it fully considers the fitness of the delegate before making the order in respect of delegation: (iii) the Additional District Magistrate who is invested with the powers of a District Magistrate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... wer in rank than a District Magistrate. The Additional District Magistrate was below the rank of a District Magistrate and even though he had been invested with all the powers under the Code and also under any other law for the time being in force he was still not the District Magistrate unless the Government appointed him as such under s. 10(1). This case would have been most apposite for the present case but for the clear distinction that in provisions under which the detention was made it was provided that the powers could be delegated to no one who. was lower in rank than a District Magistrate. There is no such provision in the matter of delegation in the present case. One rule, however, emerges quite clearly which is even otherwise unexceptionable that unless a person has been appointed under s. 10( 1 ) of the Code he cannot be called a District Magistrate and that an Additional District Magistrate is below the rank of a District Magistrate. The Central Talkies Ltd. Kanpur v. Dwarka Prasad([1961] 3 S.C.R. 495) on which reliance was placed by the counsel for the respondents related to interpretation of certain provisions of the U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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