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THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND ANOTHER versus BALDEO PRASAD

Citation: [1961] 1 S.C.R. 970 · Decided: 03-10-1960 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: BHUVNESHWAR PRASAD SINHA · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

970 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1961) 
196° 
the appellant's right is based a.re rules or regulations 
M 
having the force of law the impugned executive order 
adhavrao PhaJAe • 
ed b 
d 
t l 
Jd be · 
) 'd 
Th 
· h 
1ssu 
y respon en 
wou 
mva 1 • 
e rig t 
n, ;;ate of 
guaranteed to the appellant by an existing law can-
Jt.dhya Bharat not be extinguished by the issue of an executive order. 
·. 
-
In fact on this point there has never been a dispute 
Ga1••dragadAar I between the parties in the present proceedings. That 
is why the only point of controversy between the 
parties was whether the Kalambandis in question 
amount to an existing law .or not. Since we have 
answered this question in favour of the appellant we 
must allow the appeal, set a.side the order passed by 
the High Court and direct that & proper writ or order 
should be issued in favour of the appellant as prayed 
for by him. The appellant would be entitled to his 
oosts throughout. 
Appeal allowed. 
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH 
AND ANOTHER 
ti. 
BALDEO PRASAD 
(B. P. SINHA, c. J., J. L. KAPUR, 
P. B. GAJENDBA· 
GADKAB, K. SuBBJ RAo and K. N. WANCHOO, JJ.) 
GOOflllas, Conlrol and EJtcl11si011 of-Conslil11ti-Onal validity of 
enadment-Test-Central PrOl!inces and Berar G0011tlas Act, r946 
(X of r946) a.s amerukd by Act XLIX of r950, ss. 4, 4-A-C011s· 
litllltOfl of IM.ia, Aris. r9(r}(d) & (e), IJ. 
By an order passed under s. 4-A of the Central Province. 
and Berar Goondas Act, 1946 (X o! 1946), as amended by the 
Madhya Pradesh Act XLIX of 1950, the State of Madhya Pra. 
desh directed the respondent to leave the district of Chhind-
wara, which bad been specified as a proclaimed area under the 
Act, and the District Magistrate by another order communicat-
ed the same to the respondent. The respondent challenged the 
said orders under Art. 226 of the Constitution on the growul 
that the Act violated his lundamental rights under Art. 19o)(d) 
and (e) of the Constitution and was, therefore, invalidated' by 
Art. 13 of the Constitution. The HigJ> Court held that ss. 4 and 
4-A of the impugned Act were invalid and since they w~e the 
r 
.. 
,l/'I 
-. 
1 s.c.R: SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
971 
main operative provisions of the Act, the whole Act was in-
I960 
valid. 
Ileld, that when a statute authorises preventive action 
.gainst.the citizens, it is essential that it must expressly provide 
tlfat the specified authorities should satisfy themselves that the 
d>nditions precedent laid down by the statute existed before 
they acted thereunder. If the statute fails to do so in respect 
of any such condition precedent, that is an infirmity sufficient to 
take the statute out of Art. 19(5) of the Constitution. 
Although there can be no doubt that ss. 4 an.d 4-A of the 
impugned Act clearly contemplated. as the primary condition 
preced~nt to any action thereunder that the person sought to be 
proceeded against must be a goonda, they fail to provide that 
the District Magistrate should first find that the person sought 
to be proceeded against was a goonda or provide any guidance 
whatsoever .in that regard 01 afford any opportunity to. the 
person proceeded against to show that he was not a goonda. 
The definition of a goonda laid down by the Act, which is of an 
inclusive character, indicated no tests for deciding whether 
the person fell within the first part of the definition. 
Gurbachan Singh v. The Slate of Bombay, [1952] S.C.R. 737, 
Bhagubhai Dullabhabhai Bhandari v. The District Magistrate, 
Thana, [1956] S:C.R. 533 and Hari Khenu Gawali v. The Deputy 
Commissioner of Police, Bombay, [1956] S.C.R. 506, referred to. 
Although the object of the impugned Act was beyond rep-
roach and might well attract Art. i9(5) of the Constitution, 
since the Act itself failed to provide sufficient safeguards for 
the protection of the fundamental rights and the operative 
sections were thus rendered invalid, the entire Act must fail. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: 
Civil Appeal 
No. 271 of 1956. 
Appeal from the judgment a.nd order dated August 
2, 1955, of the former Nagpur High Court in Misc. 
Petition No. 249 of 1955 . 
. M. Adhikari, Advocate.General "for the State of 
Madhya Prade8h, B. K. B. Naidu a.nd I. N. Shroff, 
for the a.ppella.nts. 
R. Patnai.k, for the respondent. 
1960. October 3. The Judgment of the Court we.a 
delivered by 
· 
The Sta.le of 
Madhya Pradesh 
c;. Anothet 
v. 
Bald10 Prasad 
GAJENDBAGADKAB J.-'J;hia appeal with &. oertifi, Goj1ndra1adhr J. 
ca.te i

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