TMI Blog1987 (4) TMI 486X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ule framed under the Act it had no power to specify a day on which such hat or fair shall be held. The issue involved is whether the Panchayat Samiti being vested with the authority to grant a licence for the holding of a hat or fair under s. 117 of the Act within the limits of its territorial jurisdiction, must necessarily be held to have the consequential or incidental power to specify a day for the holding of such hat or fair. The facts of the case are as follows. Ever since 1933, a cattle fair called Nagar Cattle Hat is being held on Saturday every week by the Nagar Quorania Junior High Madrassah, a charitable educational institution which runs a school and is also engaged in other social activities, which attracts a large gathering of buyers and sellers of cattle dealers within the district of Murshidabad and even beyond the district. Since 1974, respondent no. 6 a club called Prabartak Parishad, set up a parallel cattle fair at a place called Sherpur, about two kilometres away (as the crow flies) from the site of Nagar Cattle Hat on every Saturday, known as Sherpur Cattle Hat. The holding of two rival cattle fairs on the same day gave rise to a feeling of rivalry couple wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the ground that it acted in breach of the rules of natural justice while reserving liberty to the Panchayat Samiti to come to a decision afresh after affording an .opportunity to respondent no. 6 Prabartak Parishad to have its say before it. Aggrieved, the appellant preferred an appeal and applied for stay. A Division Bench of the High Court by its order dated March 19, 1985 admitted the appeal but declined to grant stay. and directed that the Panchayat Samiti should in the meanwhile comply with the order of the learned Single Judge. As a consequence, Khargram Panchayat Samiti was constrained to give effect to the direction made by the learned Single Judge. It accordingly issued notices to the contending parties i.e. both Nagar Quorania Junior High Madrassah and Prabartak Parishad requiring them to submit their claims for consideration. and also fixed a date being April 12, 1985 for hearing. On that date. the Panchayat Samiti at its open meeting heard the representatives of the parties and scrutinised the documents placed before it. After considering the claims of both the parties and the material record, it passed a resolution that the Nagar Cattle Hat would be held as before on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... however. Panchayat Samiti has been conferred with a power to see that sanitation, health and hygiene are properly maintained and looked after. The provisions of Rule 9 of the Rules, as stated already, imposed certain terms and conditions on the grant of license for holding a market or hat, but all these terms and conditions relate to maintenance or sanitation, health and hygiene or supply of water or making proper lighting arrangement. The essence of power is, therefore, the maintenance of sanitation, health and hygiene. Many incidental powers may be exercised by the Panchayat Samiti which are directly related to the exercise of the maintenance of, sanitation, health and hygiene. Such powers are not provided for under Rule 9, yet they could be exercised by the Panchayat Samiti in exercise of its power under Rule 9 incidentally. But, in our opinion. the Panchayat Samiti cannot exercise a power which has no connection whatsoever with sanitation, health and hygiene. The reason for fixing different days, viz., Fridays and Saturdays for the holding of the two hats, viz., apprehended breach of peace, has no connection whatsoever with the question of sanitation, health and hygiene. Exerci ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Legislature has authorised. ought not (unless expressly prohibited) to be held, by judicial construction, to be ultra vires. This principle was. enunciated by Lord Selborne in Attorney General v. Great Eastern Railway, supra, in these words: The doctrine of ultra vires ought to be reasonably. and not unreasonably, understood and applied and whatever may be fairly regarded as incidental to. or consequential upon, those things which the legislature has authorised ought not (unless expressly prohibited) to be held, by judicial construction. to be ultra vires. These words have been quoted by Professor wade in his monumental work Administrative Law. 5th edn. at p, 2 17 and also by Craies on Statute Law, 6th edn. p, 276. Craies also refers to the observations of Lord Watson in Baroness Wenlock v. River Lee Co., supra, .to the effect: Whenever a corporation is created by Act of Parliament with reference to the purposes of the Act, and solely with a view to carrying these purposes into execution, I am of opinion not only that the objects which the corporation may legitimately pursue must be ascertained from the Act itself, but that the powers which the corporation may lawfully us ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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