SIDHARTHA SARAWGI versus BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE PORT OF KOLKATAAND OTHERS

Citation: [2014] 14 S.C.R. 1493 · Decided: 16-04-2014 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: GYAN SUDHA MISRA · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

(2014] 14 S.C.R. 1493 
SIDHARTHASARAWGI 
v. 
BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE 
PORT OF KOLKATAAND OTHERS 
(Special Leave Petition (C) No.1834 7 of 2013) _ 
.... 
APRIL 16, 2014 
[GYAN SUDHA MISRA AND KURIAN JOSEPH, JJ.] 
Administrative Law: 
Delegation - Meaning of - Discussed. 
Delegation of legislative powers and non-legislative/ 
administrative powers - Distinction between - Discussed. 
A 
B 
c 
Major Port Trust Act, 1963 : -
D 
Object of - Discussed. 
s.21 - Delegation of power to terminate the lease and 
issue ejectment notices - Lease granted by Port Trust to 
petitioner - Lease d,eeds issued by the Land Manager -
E 
Termination of lease by the Land Manager- Challenged on 
the ground that Land manager has no competence to issue 
ejectment notices - Held: s.21 provides for delegation of 
power of Board on the Chairman - Every contract is to be 
made by Chairman who is authori?ed to issue ejectment F 
notices - In the instant case, the decision to terminate was 
taken by the Chairman only - In implementation of the 
decision taken by the Chairman to terminate the leases, the 
Chairman authorized the Land Manager to issue the 
ejectment notices - The issuance of such notices was a mere G 
ministerial act for the implementation of a decision already 
taken by the Chairman as delegated by the Board - The 
Chairman having duly authorized the Land Manager in that 
'regard, it cannot be said that the ejectment notice issued by 
H 
1493 
1494 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2014) 14 S.C.R. 
A the Land Manager was without jurisdiction - It was not a case 
of sub-delegation - It was merely a ministerial exercise of 
issuance of a notice in implementation of the decision, as 
per the specific authorization in that regard ~ Viewing the 
situation from another angle, s.21 of the General Clauses 
B Act, 1897 provides that power to issue would include power. 
to.add, amend, vary or rescind-Admittedly, in the case of · 
. the petitioners, the. lease deed was executed by the Land 
Manager - The execu_tion of the lease deed was as per the 
decision by the competent authority- The lease, therefore, 
. C could be terminated by the same authority who execu,ted the 
lease deed, after a decision has been made in that regard 
by the competent -authority - General Clauses Act, 1897 -
s.21 ""-Administrative law- Delegation of power. 
' 
1 
In the year 1990, lease was granted by the Kolkata 
D Port Trust to the petitioners. The lease deeds were 
.·executed by the Land Manager of the Trust. In 2008, ·. 
notices terminating the lease were issued by the Land 
Manager .. The said notices were challenged on the 
ground that the same was illegal and without jurisdiction 
E as the Land Manager was not competent to issue such 
ejectment notices. The High Court held in favour of the 
Kolkata Port Trust. 
The questions which have arisen in the special 
F leave petitions were whether there is any exception to 
the well settled principle that a delegate has no power to 
delegate and whether there is any distinction between 
delegation of legislative and non-legislative powers. 
Dismissing the Special Leave Petitions, the Court 
' 
. 
G 
HELD: 1 .. Delegation is the act of making or 
commissioning a delegate. It generally means parting of 
· . powers by· the pers(;>n who grants the delegation and· 
conferring of an authority to do things which otherwise 
that person .would have to do himself. There is a subtle 
H 
SIDHARTHASARAWGI v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR 
1495 
THE PORT OF KOLKATA 
distinction between delegation of legislative powers and A 
delegation of non-legislative/administrative powers. As 
far as delegation of power to legislate is concerned, the 
law is well-settled that the said power cannot be sub-
delegated. The Legislature cannot delegate essential 
legislative functions which consist in the determination B 
or choosing of the legislative policy and formally 
enacting that policy into a binding rule of conduct. 
Subordinate legislatio·n which is generally in the realm 
,of Rules and Regulations dealing with the procedure on · 
implementation of plenary legislation is generally a task c 
· entrusted to a specified authority. Since the Legislature 
need not spend its time for working out the details on 
implementation of the law, it has thought it fit to entrust 
the said task to an agency. That agency cannot entrust · 
such task to its subordinates; it would be a breach of o 
the confidence reposed on the delegate. Regarding 
delegation of non-legislati

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