RAMESH BIRCH & ORS. ETC. versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ETC.

Citation: [1989] 2 S.C.R. 629 · Decided: 21-04-1989 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SABYASACHI MUKHERJI · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 4 judgment(s) · cites 17 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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. )..., 
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RAMESH BIRCH & ORS. ETC. 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ETC. 
APRIL 21, 1989 
[SABYASACHI MUKHARJI AND S. RANGANATHAN, JJ.) 
Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966: s. 87-Power to extend enact-
ments to Union Territory of Chandigarh-Delegation of to the 
Executive-Validity of-Held, not a case of abdication or effacement of 
legislative power-Contains sufficient declaration of guideline-Power 
A 
B 
to extend future laws and amendments necessary corollary. 
C · 
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act 1985-
Extension of to Union Territory of Chandigarh by Central Government 
Notification dated December 15, 1986--Validity of. 
D 
Constitution of India, Article 246(4)-Executive-Power of adap-
tation by extension of laws to Union Territory of Chandigarh by 
notification-Constitutional validity of . 
Administrative Law: Central Government Notification dated 
December 15, 1986--Extension of East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction E 
(Amendment) Act, 1985 to Union Territory of Chandigarh-Nature 
and scope of-Whether suffers from vice of impermissible delegation. 
Section 87 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 empowered the 
Central Government to extend, with such restrictions and modifications 
as it thought fit, to the Union Territory of Chandigarh any enactment F 
which was in force in a State at the date of the notification. Section 89 
provided for adaptation and modification by the appropriate Govern-
ment of any law made before the appointed day, whether by way of 
repeal or amendment, for application in relation to the State of Punjab 
or Haryana or to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh or 
Chandigarh before the expiration of two years. The State of Punjab, of G 
which the Union Territory of Chandigarh originally formed part, was 
then governed by the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. 
Section 2(j) of that Act defined 'urban area' as any area administered 
by a municipal committee, a cantonment board, a town committee, or a 
notified area committee or any area declared by the State Government 
by notification to be an urban area for the purposes of the Act. 
H 
629· 
A 
B 
630 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1989] 2 S.C.R. 
The Central Government had issued under s. 89 of the Reorgani-
sation Act, the Punjab Reorganisation ,(Chandigarh) (Adaptation of 
Laws on State and Concurrent Subjects) Order, 1968 with effect from 
Isl November, 1966 Paragraph 4 of which directed that in all the exist-
~~ 
ing laws, in its application to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, any 
reference to the State of Punjab should be read as a reference to the 
Union Territory of Chandigarh. In exercise of the power conferred by 
)... 
s. 2(j) of the Rent Act, the Central Government had also issued on 13th 
October, 1972 a notification declaring the area comprising Chandigarh -~ 
to be an "urban area" for the purpose of that Act. 
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c 
0 
E 
This notification was, however, quashed by the High Court in 
Harkishan Singh v. Union, AIR 1975 P & H 160, on the ground that no 
notification had been issued priorto 1st November, 1966 under s. 2(j) 
declaring Chandigarh to be an urban area, and there was no notifica-
tion under s. 87 making the 1949 Act operative in Chandigarh with the 
necessary adaptation. Thereupon, Parliament enacted the East Punjab 
Urban Rent Restriction (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1974. Section 3 
of that Act extended to Chandigarh the 1949 Act subject to modifica-
tions specified in the schedule with retrospective effect from 4th 
November, 1972 with a view to regularies all proceedings for eviction 
which might have been initiated during the interregnum. These 
included a modification of the definition of 'urban areas' as including 
the area comprising Chandigarh, as defined in s. 2 of the Capital of 
Punjab (Development Regulation) Act, 1952, and such other areas com-
prised in the Union Territory of Chandigarh as the Central Govern-
ment may by notification declare to be urban for the purposes of the 
Act. 
·-,. 
In 1982 Parliament passed the East Punjab Urban Rent Restric-
. ).... 
f 
tiou (Chandigarh Amendment) Act, 1982 effecting-certain amendments 
in the 1949 Act in its application to Chandigarh. 
t · 
In 1985 the Leg1stature of .the. State of Punjab enacted East 
Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1985 to make the 
1949 Act more effective. This amendment came into force with effect 
G 
from 16th November, 1985. 
~ 
By a notification dated 15th December, 1986 purportedly in exer-
cise 

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