section 443 of 1955 and 40 41 of 1956
Petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for enforcement of Fundamental Rights
M C Setalvad Attorney General of India section N Andley J B Dadachanji Rameshwar Nath and PL Vohra for the petitioners In all the petitions
R H Dhebar and T M Sen for the State of Madras
K V Suryanarayana Iyer Advocate General for the State of Kerala and T M Sen for the State of Kerala
A V Viswanatha Sastri and M R Krishna Pillai for respondents Nos 2 to 9
Purshottam Trikamdas and M B Krishna Pillai for respondent No 12 In Petn
40 41 of 56
A V Viswanatha Sastri and K R Krishnaswami for respondents Nos 13 and 15 17 In Petn
No 443 of 55
K B Krishnaswami for respondents Nos 11 and 14 In all the petitions
892 Purshottam Trikamdas and K R Krishnaswami for respondent No 12 In Petn
No 443 of 55
AV Viswanatha Sastri and M R Krishna Pillai for Intervener No 1
Sardar Bahadur for Intervener No 2 1960
May 4
The judgment of Sinha C J Subba Rao and Shah JJ was delivered by Subba Rao J
The judgment of Imam and Sarkar JJ was delivered by Sarkar J SUBBA RAO J These three connected petitions filed under article 32 of the Constitution raise the question of the constitutional validity of the Madras Marumakkathayam Removal of Doubts Act 1955 Madras Act 32 of 1955 hereinafter referred to as the impugned Act
These petitions were heard by this Court on a preliminary question raised by the respondents and the judgment thereon was delivered on March 4 1959
This Court rejected the preliminary objection and directed the petitions to be heard on merits and pursuant to that order these petitions were posted for disposal on merits
The facts have been fully stated by Das C J in the preliminary judgment and it would therefore be sufficient if the relevant facts pertaining to the questions raised were stated here
The petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 is Kavalappara Kottarathil Kochunni Moopil Nair
He is the holder of the Kavalappara sthanam to which is attached Kavalappara estate situate in Walluvanad Taluk in the district of South Malabar
In pre British times the Kavalappara Moopil Nair who was the senior most male member of Kavalappara Swaroopam dynasty was the ruler of Kavalappara territory
He had sovereign rights over his territory
Besides the Rajasthanam the Kavalappara Moopil Nair held five other sthanams granted by the Raja of Palghat for rendering military services and two other sthanams granted to his ancestors by the Raja of Cochin for rendering similar services
Properties are attached to each of these sthanams
The petitioner s immediate predecessor died in 1925 and the petitioner became the Moopil Nair of Kavalappara estate and as such the sthanee of the properties 893 attached to the various sthanams held by him
The petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 will hereafter be referred to as  the sthanee 
Respondents 2 to 17 are the junior members of the Kavalappara tarwad and according to the sthanee they have no interest in the said properties
In 1932 the Madras Marumakkathayam Act Mad
Act XXII of 1932 came into force where under the members of a Malabar tarwad were given a right to enforce partition of tarwad properties or to have them registered as impartable
After some infructuous proceedings under the provisions of the said Act respondents 10 to 17 who then constituted the entire Kavalappara tarwad filed OS No 46 of 1934 in the court of the Subordinate Judge of Ottapalam for a declaration that all the properties under the management of the sthanee were tarwad properties belonging equally and jointly to the sthanee and the members of the tarwad
The Subordinate Judge dismissed the suit
On appeal the High Court of Madras on April 9 1943 allowed the appeal and reversed the decision of the Subordinate Judge and decreed the suit
On farther appeal to the Privy Council the Board by its judgment dated July 29 1947 restored the judgment of the Subordinate Judge
The Privy Council found that the Kavalappara estate in Walluvanad Taluk was an impartible estate and that nothing had happened to alter the original character of the property in its relation to the members of the family
On that finding the Privy Council held that respondents 10 to 17 were not entitled to the declaration they sought in that case
The result of that litigation was that all the properties in the possession of the sthanee were declared to be sthanam properties and that the members of the tarwad had no interest therein
After the title of the sthanee was thus established the Madras Legislature passed the impugned Act in 1955
Under the impugned Act every sthanam possessing one or other of the three characteristics mentioned therein it is common case that the impugned Act applies to the petitioner s sthanam shall be deemed and shall be deemed always to have been properties belonging to the tarwad
The sthanee 116 894 states that the impugned Act is ultra vires the Madras Legislature void and inoperative and that the said Act cannot affect the rights of the sthanee or his estate to any extent
The first petitioner in Petition No 40 of 1956 is the wife of the sthanee who has also been added as respondent 18 to this petition  and petitioners 2 and 3 therein are their daughters
The first respondent to the said petition is the State of Madras and respondents 2 to 17 are the members of the tarwad
On August 3 1955 the sthanee executed a gift deed in favour of the petitioners in the said petition in respect of properties granted to his predecessor by the Raja of Palghat
This petition raised the same questions as Petition No 443 of 1955 and seeks for the same reliefs
Petition No 41 of 1956 is filed by Ravunniarath Rajan Menon who is the son of the sthanee
The first respondent therein is the State of Madras and respondents 2 to 17 are the members of the tarwad and respondent 18 is the stanee
This petitioner alleges that on August 3 1955 the sthanee executed a gift deed in his favour in respect of the properties granted to the sthanee s predecessor by the Raja of Cochin
This petition contains similar allegations as the other two petitions and asks for similar reliefs
The learned Attorney General appearing for the petitioners in all the three petitions raised before us the following points 1 The impugned Act is constitutionally void because it offends against article 14 of the Constitution
2 It is also void because it deprives the sthanee of his fundamental right to hold and dispose of property and thereby offends against article 191 f of the Constitution and is not saved by cl
5 of article 19
3 The impugned Act is further bad because it has been made by the Legislature not in exercise of its legislative power but in exercise of judicial power
Learned counsel for the respondents while countering the arguments advanced by the learned Attorney General raised two further points viz 1 the petitioner s sthanam is an  estate  within the meaning of article 31A of the Constitution and therefore the Act 895 extinguishing or modifying the rights pertaining to the said sthanam cannot be questioned on the ground that it infringes articles 14 19 and 31 of the Constitution and 2 the impugned Act purports to deprive the petitioner of his sthanam properties by authority of law within the meaning of article 311 of the Constitution and as he is legally deprived of his properties article 191 f of the Constitution has no application for it is said article 191 f pre supposes the existence of the petitioner s title to the sthanam and its properties and as he is deprived of his title therein by the impugned Act he can no longer rely upon his fundamental right under article 191 f
Learned counsel for the respondents further contended that the gifts of the sthanam properties by the sthanee in favour of the petitioners in the other two petitions were void and that therefore they have no fundamental right to enable them to come to this Court under article 32 of the Constitution
Before we pass on to the merits of the case it would be convenient at the outset to clear the ground
It cannot be disputed that the impugned Act passed by the Madras Legislature could not have had any extra territorial operation so as to affect the properties in the quondam Cochin State
It is not disputed that after the States Reorganization the provisions of the Act were not extended by any legal process to the properties situate in that area of the Kerala State which originally formed part of Cochin State
In the premises we are not called upon to decide the fundamental right of the sthanee in respect of the sthanam properties in the said area
We do not also propose to express any opinion on the validity or otherwise of the gift deeds executed by the sthanee in favour of his wife and daughters and son for if the gifts were valid the donees would have a right to maintain the petitions and if they were not valid the donor would continue to be the owner of the properties gifted
The title inter se is not really germane to the present
enquiry for the validity of the Act in respect of sthanam properties other than those in the Cochin State falls to be decided in the first petition itself
896 We therefore leave open the question of the validity of the gift deeds
We shall take first the contention of the respondents based on article 31A of the Constitution for if that contention was accepted no other questions except one would arise for consideration
Learned Attorney General contends that the question was not specifically raised in the pleadings that it was a mixed question of fact and law and that if it was allowed to be raised at this stage his clients would be irreparably prejudiced
Further he argues that there is no material on the record on the basis of which we can decide whether the properties of the petitioners are held in janmam right or not
In the counter affidavit filed by respondents 2 to 17 no plea on the basis of article 31A is taken
Only in the counter filed by the State of Kerala this contention is raised
Paragraph 6 of the counter affidavit contains the said plea and it is  I am advised that the impugned statute is Dot open to attack on any of the grounds set forth in the petition and further and in any view of the case that it is saved by virtue of the provisions of article 31A of the Constitution as amended by the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
 Except this bald statement no statement is made to the effect that all the properties of the sthanee or any portion thereof are held in janmam right
Learned Advocate General appearing for the State of Kerala while conceding that the plea could have been more precise and supported by definite particulars contends that there is material on the record containing the admission of the petitioner in the first petition that the properties are janmam properties and even apart from such admission whatever properties the petitioner held as appertaining to the sthanam they could not be other than janmam properties or properties held as a subordinate tenure holder under a janmi and that in either case they would form part of an it estate within the meaning of article 31 A of the Constitution
It is true that in the previous proceedings which went up to the Privy Council there is a statement 897 that in regard to the properties under the management of the Court of Wards  sthanam registration took place in Malabar and all the properties belonging to the sthanee were registered in the name of Kavalappara Moopil Nair 
But that in itself does not conclude the matter
Ordinarily when a question raised depends upon elucidation of further facts not disclosed in the statements already filed we would be very reluctant to allow a party to raise such a plea at the time of arguments
But in this case we do not think we would be justified in not allowing the respondents to raise the contention as the validity of the impugned Act depends upon the application of  article 31A of the Constitution
We would therefore for the purpose of this petition assume against the petitioner that he is in possession of the properties in janmam right and proceed to consider on that basis the contention raised
Learned counsel for the respondents contends that article 31A of the Constitution excludes the operation of Art13 in the matter of the extinguishment or modification of any rights in an estate that the impugned legislation either extinguishes or modifies the sthanam right in the janmam property which is an  estate as defined in the said Article and that therefore the impugned Act cannot be challenged on the ground that it infringes articles 14 19 and 31 in Part III of the Constitution
To appreciate this contention it will be convenient to read the material portions of article 31A Article 31A 1 Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13 no law providing for a the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights          shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14 article 19 or article 31        2 In this article 898 a The expression  estate  shall in relation to any local area have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include any jagir inam or muafi or other similar grants and in the States of Madras and Kerala any janmam right
b the expression  right  in relation to an estate shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor sub proprietor under proprietor tenure holder raiyat under raiyat or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue
 This Article was introduced in the Constitution by the Constitution First Amendment Act 1951
As it originally stood the said Article only provided that no law affecting rights of any proprietor or intermediate holder in any estate shall be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with any of the fundamental rights Included in Part III of the Constitution
Article 31A has been amended by the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
The object of the amendment was explained in the Statement of the Objects and Reasons and the relevant part thereof reads It will be recalled that the Zamindari abolition laws which came first in our programme of social welfare legislation were attacked by the interests affected mainly with reference to articles 14 19 and 31 and that in order to put an end to the dilatory and wasteful litigation and place these laws above challenge in the courts articles 31A and 31B and the Ninth Schedule were enacted by the Constitution First Amendment Act
Subsequent judicial decisions interpreting articles 14 19 and 31 have raised serious difficulties in the way of the Union and the States putting through other and equally important social welfare legislation on the desired lines eg the following i While the abolition of zamindaries and the numerous inter mediaries between the State and the tiller of the soil has been achieved for the most part our next objectives in land reform are the fixing of limits to the extent of agricultural land that may be owned or occupied by any person the disposal of 899 any land held in excess of the prescribed maximum and the further modification of the rights of land owners and tenants in agricultural holdings
          It is accordingly proposed in clause 3 of the Bill to extend the scope of article 31A so as to cover these categories of essential welfare legislation
 The object of the amendment relevant to the present enquiry was only to enable the State to implement its next objective in the land reform namely the fixing of limits to the extent of agricultural lands that may be owned or occupied by any person the disposal of any land held in excess of the prescribed maximum and the further modification of the rights of land owners and tenants in agricultural holdings
The object was therefore to bring about a change in the agricultural economy but not to recognize or confer any title in the whole or a part of an estate on junior members of a family
This Court has held in Aswini Kumar Ghose vs Arabinda Bose1 that the statement of objects and reasons is not admissible as an aid to the construction of a statute
But we are referring to it only for the limited purpose of ascertaining the conditions prevailing at the time the bill was introduced and the purpose for which the amendment was made
Unhampered by any judicial decision let us now scrutinize the express terms of the Article to ascertain its scope and limitations
Sub el
a of article 31A1 enables the State to acquire any estate or of any rights therein or to extinguish or modify any such rights
 Estate  is defined in el
2a to have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and by inclusive definition it takes in any jagir inam or muafi or other similar grants and in the States of Madras and Kerala any janmam right
Clause 2b defines the expression  rights  in relation to an estate to include any rights vesting in a proprietor sub proprietor under proprietor tenure holder raiyat under raiyat or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue
If 1  900 an estate so defined is acquired by the State no law enabling the State to acquire any such estate can be questioned as inconsistent with the rights conferred by articles 14 19 or 31 of the Constitution
So too any law extinguishing or modifying any such rights mentioned in cl
1a and defined in el
2b cannot be questioned on the said grounds
The broad contention that a law regulating inter se the rights of a proprietor in his estate and the junior members of his family is also covered by the wide phraseology used in cl
2b may appear to be plausible but that argument cannot be sustained if that clause is read along with the other provisions of article 31 A
The definition of  estate refers to an existing law relating to land tenures in a particular area indicating thereby that the Article is concerned only with the land tenure described as an  estate 
The inclusive definition of the rights of such an estate also enumerates the rights vested in the proprietor and his subordinate tenure holders
The last clause in that definition viz that those rights also include the rights or privileges in respect of land revenue emphasizes the fact that the Article is concerned with land tenure
It is therefore manifest that the said Article deals with a tenure called estate and provides for its acquisition or the extinguishment or modification of the rights of the land holder or the various subordinate tenure holders in respect of their rights in relation to the estate
The contrary view would enable the State to divest a proprietor of his estate and vest it in another without reference to any agrarian reform
It would also enable the State to compel a proprietor to divide his properties though self acquired between himself and other members of his family or create interest therein in favour of persons other than tenants who had none before
Such acts have no relation to land tenures and the are purely acts of expropriation of a citizen s property without any reference to agrarian reform
Article 31A deprives citizens of their fundamental rights and such an Article cannot be extended by interpretation to overreach the object implicit in the Article
The unsondness of the wider interpretation will be made clear if the Article is construed with reference to the 901 janmam right
Under the definition any janmam right in Kerala is an  estate 
A janmam right is the freehold interest in a property situated in Kerala
Moor in his  Malabar Law and Custom  describes it as a hereditary proprietorship
A janmam interest may therefore be described as  proprietary interest of a landlord in lands  and such a janmam right is described as estate in the Constitution
Substituting janmam right  in place of estate  in cl 2 b the rights  in article 31 A 1 a will include the rights of a proprietor and subordinate tenure holders in respect of a janmam right
It follows that the extinguishment or modification of a right refers to the rights of a proprietor or a subordinate tenure holder in the janmam right
A proprietor called the janmi or his subordinate tenure holder has certain defined rights in janmam right 
Land tenures in Malabar are established by precedents or immemorial usage
Janmam right is a freehold interest in property and the landlord is called  janmi 
He can create many subordinate interests or tenures therein such as verum pattom simple lease kushikanom mortgage of waste land with a view to its being planted on kushikara pattam mortgage of waste land for improvements the tenant paying rent kanom kuzhikanom mortgage of waste land for improvements the landlord receiving some pecuniary consideration kanom mortgage with possession a fee being generally paid mel kanom higher mortgage koyu panayam mortgage of the right of cultivation kanom poramkadani loan advanced on the security of land already held on mort gage otti usufructuary mortgage the full value of the land being advanced kaivituka otti usufructuary mortgage with relinquishment of the power of transfer ottikkumpuiram where a sum is advanced beyond the otti amount neermuthal where a further sum is advanced on an otti mortgage in addition to the ottikkunipuram peruvartham usufructuary mortgage the land being redeemable at its value in the market at the time of redemption anubham or anubhavam relinquishment of land for enjoyment by the tenant in perpetuity karankari or jamma koyu sale 117 902 or transfer in perpetuity of the right of cultivation kariama right of perpetual enjoyment cooderoopad or nelamuri assignment of rent produce kutti kanom mortgage of forests the mortgagee felling the timber for trade and paying a fee on each stump or tree to the landlord
These rights may be extinguished or modified
A law may regulate the rights between a janmi and his subordinate tenure holders but it may also affect his rights unconnected with the tenure
To illustrate A janmi holds 10 acres of land in janmam right out of which he may sell 2 acres each to five persons the land is divided into 5 plots held by different holders but each one continues to have full rights of a janmi  the janmam right is not extinguished or modified though the land is divided between 5 persons
That is what the impugned Act purports to do
It does not modify any of the rights appertaining to  janmam right  but only confers shares in the property on other members of the tarwad
It is said that the inclusive definition of the expression  rights  in cl
2 b takes in such a case as it extinguishes or modifies the proprietor s right in the land
This is a superficial reading of the Article
We have already explained how such a modification is not a modification of a right pertaining to a  janmam right  but only a deprivation of a particular janmi of his right in his property or a curtailment of his right therein leaving all the characteristics of a janmam right intact
It is said that a contrary construction has been accepted by this Court in two decisions
The first is that in Sri Ram Ram Narain vs State of Bombay 1
In that case the constitutional validity of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Amendment Act 1956 Bom
XIII of 1956 was canvassed
Under that Act the title to the land which vested originally in the landlord passes to the tenant on the tiller s day or within the alternative period prescribed in that behalf
This title is defeasible only in the event of the tenant failing to appear or making a statement that he is not willing to purchase the land or committing default in payment of the price thereof as determined 1 1959 SUPP
1 SCR 489
903 by the Tribunal constituted for that purpose
This Act was therefore enacted to implement the agrarian reform in that part of the country and it expressly confers certain rights on tenants in respect of their tenements which they did not have before
The Act creates absolute rights in a tenant which was either by the extinguishment or by modification of a landlord s rights and conferment of the same on the tenant
This law is therefore one pertaining to the land tenure of the State
The second decision is that in Atma Ram vs State of Punjab 1
There this Court was concerned with the provisions of the Punjab Security of Land Tenure Act IO of 1953 as amended by Act 11 of 1955
Under that Act the substantive rights of a landowner were modified in three respects namely 1 it modified his rights of settling his lands on any terms and to any one he chooses 2 it modified if it did not altogether extinguish his right to cultivate the surplus area as understood under the Act and 3 it modified his right of transfer in so far as it obliged him to sell lands not at his own price but at a price fixed under the statute and not to any one but to specified persons in accordance with the provisions of the Act
It is clear from the said Act that the provisions thereof purport to regulate the rights in respect of lands which are estates within the meaning of the law relating to land tenures in Punjab
It was contended therein that in the purview of article 31A only the entire estates were included but not portions thereof but that contention was negatived
Sinha J as he then was who delivered the judgment of the Court observed at p 526 thus Keeping in view the fact that article 31A was enacted by two successive amendments one in 1951 First Amendment and the second in 1955 Fourth Amendment with retrospective effect in order to save legislation effecting agrarian reforms we have every reason to hold that those expressions have been used in their widest amplitude consistent with the purpose behind those amend
ments 
1 1959 Supp 1 SCR 748
904 This Court has therefore recognised that the amendments inserting article 31A in the Constitution and subsequently amending it were to facilitate agrarian reforms and in that case it was held that the impugned Act affected the rights of the landlords and tenants
Neither of the two decisions therefore supports the contention that article 31A comprehends modification of the rights of an owner of land without reference to the law of land tenures
The impugned Act does not purport to modify or extinguish any right in an estate
The avowed object of it is only to declare particular sthanams to be Marumakkathayam tarwads and the property pertaining to such sthanams as the property of the said tarwads
It declares particular sthanams to have always been tarwads and their property to have always been tarwad property
The result is that the sole title of the sthanee is not recognised and the members of the tarwad are given rights therein
The impugned Act does not effectuate any agrarian reform and regulate the rights inter se between landlords and tenants
We therefore hold that the respondents cannot rely upon article 31A to deprive the petitioner of his fundamental rights
Now coming to the arguments advanced by the learned Attorney General as we propose to hold in his favour on point 2 we are relieved of the necessity to express our opinion on points 1 and 3 raised by him
On the basis of this elimination the question that falls to be decided is whether the impugned Act deprives the petitioner of his fundamental right to hold and dispose of property and is not protected by cl
5 of article 19 of the Constitution
This question is inextricably connected with the contention raised by the respondents that article 311 excludes the operation of article 191f of the Constitution
We shall therefore proceed to consider both these questions
The argument of the learned counsel for the respondents is that article 191f must give place to article 311 of the Constitution
In other words a 905 person s fundamental right to acquire hold and dispose of property is conditioned by the existence of property and if he is deprived of that property by authority of law under article 311 his fundamental right under article 191f disappears with it
Fundamental rights have a transcendental position in the Constitution
Our Constitution describes certain rights as fundamental rights and places them in a separate Part
It provides a machinery for enforcing those rights
Article 32 prescribes a guaranteed remedy for the enforcement of those rights and makes the remedial right itself a fundamental right
Article 131 declares that  All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part shall to the extent of such inconsistency be void  and article 132 prohibits the State from making any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution and declares that any law made in contravention of that clause shall to the extent of the contravention be void
It is true that any other Article of the Constitution may exclude the operation of the fundamental rights in respect of a specific matter for instance articles 31A and 31B
It may also be that an Article embodying a fundamental right may exclude another by necessary implication but before such a construction excluding the operation of one or other of the fundamental rights is accepted every attempt should be made to harmonise the two Articles so as to make them co exist and only if it is not possible to do so one can be made to yield to the other
Barring such exceptional circumstances any law made would be void if it infringes any one of the fundamental rights
The relevant Articles read Article 19
1 AU citizens shall have the right          facquire hold and dispose of property      5 Nothing in sub clauses d e and f of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes or prevent the State 906 from making any law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe
 Article 31
1 No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law
2 No property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save for a public purpose and save by authority of a law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixes the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation is to be determined and given and no such law shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate
2A Where a law does not provide for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a Corporation owned or controlled by the State it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property
 Clause 2 of article 31 has been amended and cl
2A has been inserted in article 31 by the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
The said cl
2 in its original form ie before the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955 read as follows   2 No property moveable or immoveable including any interest in or in any company owning any commercial or industrial undertaking shall be taken possession of or acquired for public purposes under any law authorizing the taking of such possession or such acquisition unless the law provides for compensation for the property taken possession of or acquired and either fixes the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation is to be determined and given
 To have a correct appreciation of the scope of the amended clauses of article 31 it is necessary to consider 907 in the words of Lord Coke the following circumstances  i What was the law before the Act was passed ii What was the mischief or defect for which the law had not provided iii What remedy Parliament has appointed and iv the reason of the remedy
The unamended clauses of the Article were the subject of judicial scrutiny by this Court in the State of West Bengal vs Subodh Gopal Bose 1
There the respondent purchased certain property at a revenue sale and as such purchaser he acquired under section 37 of the Bengal Revenue Sales Act 1859 the right  to avoid and annul all under tenures and forthwith to eject all under tenants  with certain exceptions
In exercise of that right he brought a suit for eviction of certain under tenants and obtained a decree therein
When the appeal against the said decree was pending the Act was amended
The amending Act substituted by section 4 the new section 37 in place of the original section 37 and it provided by section 7 that all pending suits appeals and other proceedings which had not already resulted in delivery of possession should abate
It was contended on behalf of one of the respondents therein that section 7 was void as abridging his fundamental rights under article 191f and article 31
The Court by a majority held that the Act was void as it infringed article 31 of the Constitution
The majority of the Judges who constituted the bench took the view that cls
1 and 2 of article 31 related to the same subject of eminent domain and that the State had no power to seriously impair the rights of a citizen in property without paying compensation
Patanjali Sastri C J expressed his view thus at p 618  Under the Constitution of India however such questions must be determined with reference to the expression  taken possession of or acquired  as interpreted above namely that it must be read along with the word  deprived  in clause 1 and understood as having reference to such substantial abridgement of the rights of ownership as would 1  908 amount to deprivation of the owner of his property
No cut and dried test can be formulated as to whether in a given case the owner is  deprived of his property within the meaning of article 31 each case must be decided as it arises on its own facts
Broadly speaking it may be said that an abridgement would be so substantial as to amount to a deprivation within the meaning of article 31 if in effect it withheld the property from the possession and enjoyment of the owner or seriously impaired its use and enjoyment by him or materially reduced its value
 Das J as he then was observed that article 312 dealt with only acquisition and requisition of property where under title passed to the State and that article 311 conferred police power on the State
Ghulam Hasan J concurred with the view of the Chief Justice
Jagannadhadas J did not agree with the view of Das J that article 311 conferred police power on the State but he was not also able to agree with the view of the Chief Justice that article 311 has reference only to the power of eminent domain
He also expressed his disagreement with the view of Das J that acquisition and taking possession in article 312 have to be taken as necessarily involving transfer of title or possession
The result of the decision is that this Court by majority held that article 311 and 2 provided for the doctrine of eminent domain and that under cl
2 a person must be deemed to have been deprived of his property if he is  substantially dispossessed  or if his right to use and enjoy his property has been seriously impairedor the value of the property is  materially reducedby the impugned law
This view was followed in Dwarakadas Shrinivas of Bombay vs The Sholapur Spinning and Weaving Co Ltd 1 and in Saghir Ahmad vs The State of UP 2
Presumably Parliament accepted the minority view of Das J on the interpretation of el
2 of article 31 and amended the Constitution by the Constitution Fourth Amend ment Act 1955
The amendment made it clear that cl
2 of article 31 applies only to acquisition and requisition
Clause 2A of the said Article which was inserted 1  2  909 by the said amendment
explains that unless a law provides for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property
The result is that it did not accept the majority view of this Court that deprivation of property need not be by acquisition alone but also by any serious impairment of an dividual s right to property whether his ownership or right to possession of the property has been transferred to the State or its nominee or not
This amendment also in effect accepted the view of Das J that deprivation of property in el
1 of article 31 covers cases other than acquisition or requisition of property by the State
But the amendment in other respects does not give any indication as regards the interpretation of article 311 of the Constitution for no change in the phraseology of that clause is made
Therefore we must look at the terms of that clause to ascertain its true meaning
The words are clear and unambiguous and they do not give rise to any difficulty of construction
The said clause says in a negative form that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law
The law must obviously be a valid law
Article 132 says that  the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall to the extent of the contravention be void 
The law depriving a person of his property cannottherefore take away or abridge the right conferred by Part III of the Constitution
In a recent decision in Deep Chand vs State of UP 1 this Court considered the limitations placed by the Constitution on the Parliament and the Legislatures of the States in making laws
After reading articles 245 246 13 and 31 of the Constitution this Court proceeded to state at p 655 thus   The combined effect of the said provisions may be stated thus Parliament and the Legislatures of States have power to make laws in
respect of any 1 1959 SUPP
2 SCR 8
118 910 of the matters enumerated in the relevant lists in the Seventh Schedule and that power to make laws is subject to the provisions of the Constitution including article 13 ie the power is made subject to the limitations imposed by Part III of the Constitution 
When cl
2 of article 13 says in clear and unambiguous terms that no State shall make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Part III it will not avail the State to contend either that the clause does not embody a curtailment of the power to legislate or that it imposes only a check but not a prohibition
A constitutional prohibition against a State making certain laws cannot be whittled down by analogy or by drawing inspiration from decisions on the provisions of other constitutions nor can we appreciate the argument that the words  any law  in the second line of article 132 posit the survival of the law made in the teeth of such prohibition
 The same view was expressed by this Court in Basheshar Nath vs Commissioner of Income tax Delhi Therein Das C J says at p 158 thus  As regards the legislative organ of the State the fundamental right is further consolidated by the provisions of article 13
Clause 1 of that Article provides that all laws in force in the territories of India immediately before the commencement of the Constitution in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of Part III shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void
Likewise cl
2 of  this Article prohibits the State from making any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by the same Part and follows it up by saying that any law made in contravention of this clause shall to the extent of the contravention be void
It will be observed that so far as this Article is concerned there is no relaxation of the restriction imposed by it such as there are in some of the other Articles     Bhagwati J observed much to the same effect at p 161 thus  It is absolutely clear on a perusal of article 132 of the Constitution that it is a constitutional mandate 1 1959 SUPP
1 SCR 528
911 to the State and no citizen can by any act or con
duct relieve the State of the solemn obligation imposed on it by article 132    One of us had also stated to the same effect after citing article 13 at p 181   This Article in clear and unambiguous terms not only declares that all laws in force before the commencement of the Constitution and made thereafter taking away or abridging the said rights would be void to the extent of the contravention but also prohibits the State from making any law taking away or abridging the said rights
 It is therefore manifest that the law must satisfy two tests before it can be a valid law namely 1 that the appropriate legislature has competency to make the law and 2 that it does not take away or abridge any of the fundamental rights enumerated in Part III of the Constitution
It follows that the law depriving a person of his property will be an invalid law if it infringes either article 191f or any other Article of Part III
Learned counsel appearing for the respondents while conceding that the validity of a law must pass the test of the foregoing two conditions contends that in the context of article 31 we should apply the construction analogous to that put upon by this Court on the word  law  in article 21 of the Constitution in the case of A K Gopalan vs The State of Madras1
In the said case the question was whether the provisions of the IV of 1950 were ultra vires the Constitution
This Court by a majority held that the said Act with the exception of section 14 thereof did not contravene any of the Articles of the Constitution and therefore the detention of the petitioner therein was not illegal
In that context a question was raised whether the said Act must be struck down as infringing article 191d of the Constitution
This Court held that the concept of the right  to move freely throughout the territory of India  referred to in article 191d of the Constitution was entirely different from the concept of the right to personal liberty referred to in article 21 and that article 21 11950 SCR 88
912 should not therefore be read as controlled by the provisions of article 19
Though the learned Judges excluded the operation of article 19 in considering the question of fundamental right under article 21 the judgment of the court discloses three shades of opinion
As much of the argument is centred on the analogy drawn from this decision the relevant Articles may be summarized Under article 21 no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except in accordance with the procedure established by law
Clauses1 and 2 of article 22 afford protection in the matter of arrest and detention in certain cases
Clauses 4 5 and 6 thereof provide for preventive detention and constitutional safeguards relating thereto
It may not be inappropriate to describe these provisions as forming an exhaustive code as they elaborately deal with a particular subject namely life and personal liberty
In construing the said provisions Kania C J said at p 100 101 thus  So read it clearly means that the legislation to be examined must be directly in respect of one of the rights mentioned in the sub clauses
If there is a legislation directly attempting to control a citizen s freedom of speech or expression or his right to assemble peaceably and without arms etc the question whether that legislation is saved by the relevant saving clause of article 19 will arise
If however the legislation is not directly in respect of any of these subjects but as a result of the operation of other legislation for instance for punitive or preventive detention his right under any of these sub clauses is abridged the question of the application of article 19 does not arise
The true approach is only to consider the directness of the legislation and not what will be the result of the detention otherwise valid  on the mode of the detenue s life
 Mahajan J as he then was gave the reason for his conclusion at p 226  I am satisfied on a review of the whole scheme of the Constitution that the intention was to make article 22 self contained in respect of laws on the subject of preventive detention
 913 The learned Judge further elaborated the point thus at p 228  If the intention of the Constitution was that a law made on the subject of preventive detention had to be tested on the touchstone of reasonableness then it would not have troubled itself by expressly making provision in article 22 about the precise scope of the limitation subject to which such a law could be made and by mentioning the procedure that the law dealing with that subject had to provide
Some of the provisions of article 22 would then have been redundant     Mukherjea J as he then was said much to the same effect at p 225  In my opinion the group of articles 20 to 22 embody the entire protection guaranteed by the Constitution in relation to deprivation of life and personal liberty both with regard to substantive as well as to procedural law
 Patanjali Sastri J as he then was stated at p 191  Read as a whole and viewed in its setting among the group of provisions articles 19 to 22 relating to  Right to Freedom  article 19 seems to my mind to pre suppose that the citizen to whom the possession of these fundamental rights is secured retains the substratum of personal freedom on which alone the enjoyment of these rights necessarily rests The learned Judge further dilated on the point at p 191  Deprivation of personal liberty in such a situation is not in my opinion within the purview of article 19 at all but is dealt with by the succeeding articles 20 and 21
In other words article 19 guarantees to the citizens the enjoyment of certain civil liberties while they are free while articles 20 22 secure to all persons citizens and non citizenscertain constitutional guarantees in regard to punishment and prevention of crime
 Das J as he then was stated at p 302 thus  The purpose of article 191d is to guarantee that there shall be no State barrier
It gives protection against provincialism
It has nothing to do with the freedom of the person as such
 914 The learned Judge continued to state at p 304  Therefore the conclusion is irresistible that the rights protected by article 191 in so far as they relate to rights attached to the person ie the rights referred to in sub clauses a to e and g are rights which only a free citizen who has the freedom of his person unimpaired can exercise
 The views of the learned Judges may be broadly summarized under three heads viz 1 to invoke article 191 a law shall be made directly infringing that right 2 articles 21 and 22 constitute a self contained code and 3 the freedoms in article 19 postulate a free man
On the basis of the said theories this Court with Fazl Ali J dissenting rejected the plea that a law made under article 21 shall not infringe article 191
Had the question been res integra some of us would have been inclined to agree with the dissenting view expressed by Fazl Ali J but we are bound by this judgment
Even so there is no analogy between article 21 as interpreted by this Court and article 311
Article 21 deals with personal liberty
Personal liberty Kania CJ observed includes  the right to eat or sleep when one likes or to work or not to work as and when one pleases and several such rights  and  deprivation of such liberty  in the words of the learned Chief Justice  is quite different from restriction which is only a partial control of the right to move freely which is relatively a minor right of a citizen
 Personal Liberty  is a more comprehensive concept and has a much wider connotation than the right conferred under article 191d
articles 191d and 22 deal with different subjects whereas both articles 191f and 311 deal with the same subject namely property while under article 191f a citizen has the right to acquire hold and dispose of property article 311 enables the State to make a law to deprive him of that property
Such a law directly infringes the fundamental right given under article 191f
Further articles 21 and 22 are linked up together while article 21 enables the State to deprive a person of his life or personal liberty according to the procedure established by law article 22 prescribes certain procedure in respect of both punitive and preventive detention
They constitute an 915 integrated code in the matter of personal liberty
On the other hand article 311 by reason of the amendment ceases to be a part of the guarantee against acquisition or requisition of property without the authority of law and must therefore be construed on its own terms
The said Articles are not in pari materia and they differ in their scope and content
There is material difference not only in the phraseology but also in their setting
Article 311 therefore cannot be construed on the basis of the construction placed upon article 21
The decision in The State of Bombay vs Bhanji Munji 1 on which reliance is placed by learned counsel for the respondents in support of their contention that article 311 excludes the operation of article 191 is one based on the pre existing law before the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
In that case it was contended that sections 51 and 64a of the Bombay Land Requisition Act 1948 Bom
Act XXXIII of 1948 as amended by Bombay Act 11 of 1950 and Bombay Act XXXIX of 1950 were ultra vires articles 191f and 312 of the Constitution
The premises in question there belonging to the respondents were requisitioned by the Governor of Bombay under the said Act
The Act also provided for compensation and this Court found that there was a clear public purpose for the requisition and upheld the law under article 312 of the Constitution
This Court also considered the alternative argument advanced namely that the Act was hit by article 191f of the Constitution inasmuch as unreasonable restrictions were imposed on the rights of the respondents to acquire bold and dispose of property
In rejecting that argument Bose J speaking for the Court observed at p 780 thus   We need not examine those differences here because it is enough to say that article 191f read with clause 5 postulates the existence of property which can be enjoyed and over which rights can be exercised because otherwise the reasonable restrictions contemplated by clause 5 could not be brought into play
If there is no property which can be acquired held or disposed of no restriction 1 1955 1 SCR 777
916 can be placed on the exercise of the right to acquire hold and dispose of it and as clause 5 contemplates the placing of reasonable restrictions on the exercise of those rights it must follow that the article postulates the existence of property over which these rights can be exercised
 For these observations the learned Judge has drawn upon the principle laid down in A K Gopalan s Case 1
These observations prima facie appear to be against the contentions of the petitioner herein
But a further scrutiny reveals that they have no bearing on the construction of article 311 of the Constitution after cl
2 of article 31 has been amended and el
2A has been inserted in that Article by the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
Before the amendment this Court as we have already noticed held by a majority in The State of West Bengal vs Subodh Gopal Bose 2 that cls
1 and 2 of article 31 were not mutually exclusive in scope and content but should be read together and understood as dealing with the same subject namely the acquisition or taking possession of property referred to in cl
2 of article 31
In that view article 31 before the amendment was a selfcontained Article providing for a subject different from that dealt with in article 19
On that basis it was possible to hold as this Court held in The State of Bombay vs Bhanji Munji 3 on the analogy drawn from article 21 that when the property therein was requisitioned within the meaning of article 31 the opera tion of article 19 was excluded
But there is no scope for drawing such an analogy after the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955 as thereafter they dealt with two different subjects article 312 and 2A with acquisition and requisition and article 311 with deprivation of property by authority of law
The decision of this Court in Bhanji Munji s Case 3 no longer holds the field after the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
Strong reliance is placed upon the observations of Das J as he then was in Subodh Gopal Bose s Case  2 
Therein the learned Judge dissented from the view of the majority on the interpretation of article 311 and 2 of the Constitution
In the course 1  2  3 1955 1 SCR 777 917 of his dissenting judgment the learned Judge made certain observations on the effect of his interpretation of article 31 on article 19
The learned Judge said at p 632 thus  Such being the correct correlation between article 191 sub clauses a to e and g on the one hand and article 21 on the other the question necessarily arises as to the correlation between article 191 f and article 31
Article 191f guarantees to a citizen as one of his freedoms the right to acquire hold and dispose of property but reasonable restrictions may be imposed on the exercise of that right to the extent indicated in clause 5
Article 31 as its heading shows guarantees to all persons citizens and non citizens the  right to property  as a fundamental right to the extent therein mentioned
What I ask myself is the correlation between article 191f read with article 195 and article 31  If as held by my Lord in A K Gopalan s Case1 at p 191 subclauses a to eand g of article 191 read with the relevant clauses 2 to 6  presuppose that the citizen to whom the possession of these fundamental rights is secured retains the substratum of personal freedom on which alone the enjoyment of these rights necessarily rests  it must follow logically that article 191f read with article 195 must likewise presuppose that the person to whom that fundamental right is guaranteed retains his property over or with respect to which alone that right may be exercised
I found myself unable to escape from this logical conclusion
 The learned Judge earlier expressed the same opinion in Chiranjit Lal Chowdhuri vs The Union of India 2
When it was pointed out to the learned Judge that if his view was correct the legislature while it cannot restrict a person s right to property unless the restriction is reasonable and for a public purpose it can deprive him of his property without any such limitations the learned Judge negatived the objection in the following words at p 654 1   2  119 918  What is abnormal if our Constitution has trusted the legislature as the people of Great Britain have trusted their Parliament  Right to life and personal liberty and the right to private property still exist in Great Britain in spite of the supremacy of Parliament
Why should we assume or apprehend that our Parliament or State legislatures should act like mad men and deprive us of our property without any rhyme or reason Further the learned Judge was of the view that unless article 3 ll was construed in the manner he did it would not be possible for the State to bring about a welfare State which our Constitution directs it to do
Elaborating this point the learned Judge observed at p655 thus We must reconcile ourselves to the plain truth that emphasis has now unmistakably shifted from the individual to the community
We cannot overlook that the avowed purpose of our Constitution is to set up a welfare State by subordinating the social interest in individual liberty or property to the larger social interest in the rights of the community
As already observed the police power of the State is the most essential of powers at times most insistent and always one of the least limitable powers of the government  
In the matter of deprivation of property otherwise than by the taking of posession or by the acquisition of it within the meanings of article 312 our Constitution has trusted our legislature and has not thought fit to impose any limitation on the legislature s exercise of the State s police power over private property 
Relying upon the said observations learned counsel for the respondents pressed on us the following three points 1 After the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955 cl
1 of article 31 must be read independently of el
2 thereof and if so read cl
1 must be held to deal with police power
2 Without such power the State cannot usher in a welfare State which the Constitution enjoins it to do
3 The fact that there is no limitation on the power of the legislature to make law depriving a citizen of his property need not deter us from recognising such power as we 919 can trust our legislatures and Parliament as the people of Great Britain have trusted their Parliament
We cannot agree with the con tention of the learned counsel that article 311 deals with  police power 
In the view expressed by Das J as he then was the legislature can make any law depriving a person of his property and the only limitation on such power is its good sense
But  police power  as it is understood in American Law can never be an arbitrary power
Willis on Constitutional Law  says at p 727  The United States Supreme Court has said that the police power embraces regulations designed to promote the public convenience or the general prosperity as well as regulations designed to promote the public health the public morals or the public safety 
 In the Constitution of the United States of America prepared by the Legislative Reference Service Library of Congress Senate Document No 170 82D Congress  police power  is generally defined thus at p 982  The police power of a State today embraces regulations designed to promote the public convenience or the general prosperity as well as those to promote public safety health morals and is not confined to the suppression of what is offensive disorderly or unsanitary but extends to what is for the greatest welfare of the State 
Prof Willoughby states in his Constitutional Law of the United States Vol
III p 1774  the police power knows no definite limit
It extends to every possible phase of what the Courts deem to be the public welfare 
Holmes J in Noble State Bank vs Haskell1 concisely defines police power thus  It may be said in a general way that the police power extends to all the great public needs 
It is therefore clear that police power cannot be divorced from social control and public good
We cannot therefore import the doctrine of police power in our Constitution divorced from the necessary restrictions on that power as evolved by judicial decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
Indeed uninfluenced by any such doctrine the plain meaning of the clear words 1219 US 104 920 used in article 311 of the Constitution enables the State to discharge its functions in the interest of social and public welfare which the State in America can do in exercise of police power
The limitation on the power of the State to make a law depriving a person of his property as we have already stated is found in the word  law  and that takes us back to article 19 and the law made can be sustained only if it imposes reasonable restrictions in the interest of the general public
We find it also very difficult to accept the second and third aspects of the approach to the question
The duty of this Court is only to interpret the provisions of the Constitution in a liberal spirit but not to eradicate or modify the fundamental rights
That apart our constitution makers thought otherwise
The Constitution declares the fundamental rights of a citizen and lays down that all laws made abridging or taking away such rights shall be void
That is a clear indication that the makers of the Constitution did not think fit to give our Parliament the same powers which the Parliament of England has
While the Constitution contemplates a welfare State it also provides that it should be brought about by the legislature subject to the limitations imposed on its power
If the makers of the Constitution intended to confer unbridled power on the Parliament to make any law it liked to bring about the welfare State they would not have provided for the fundamental rights
The Constitution gives every scope for ordered progress of society towards a welfare State
The State is expected to bring about a welfare State within the framework of the Constitution for it is authorized to impose reasonable restrictions in the interests of the general public on the fundamental rights recognized in article 19
If the interpretation sought to be placed on article 311 was accepted it would compel the importation of the entire doctrine of police power and grafting it in article 311 or the recognition of arbitrary power in the legislature with the hope or consolation suggested that our Parliament and legislatures may be trusted not to act arbitrarily
The first suggestion is not legally permissible and the second does not stand to reason 921 for the Constitution thought fit to impose limitations on the power of the legislatures even in the case of lesser infringements of the rights of a citizen
Another argument raised by learned counsel for the respondents may also be noticed
If the view expressed by us be correct the argument proceeds the law depriving a person of his property however urgent the need may be and whatever grave danger or serious vice it seeks to avert or suppress can never be a reasonable restriction on the right to enjoy property and therefore every such law would be void
The learned Attorney General argues that in the present case the petitioner is not deprived of his property but his right is only restricted
It depends upon the per spective from which we look at the facts
In one sense the petitioner has been deprived of his shares in the property given by the statute to the respondents but even on that assumption we do not think that the argument of the respondents has any substance
The correct approach to the question is first to ascertain what is the fundamental right of the petitioners then to see whether the law infringes that right
If the law ex facie infringes that right the State can support that law only by establishing that the law imposes reasonable restrictions on the petitioner s fundamental right in the interests of the general public
If so approached the impugned Act by seeking to deprive the petitioner of his property certainly infringes his fundamental right
There is absolutely nothing on the record to sustain the validity of the law under the said clause 5 of article 19
The apprehension that deprivation can never be a restriction and therefore every law depriving a person of his property must necessarily be void even if justifiable cannot help the respondents for if it is not saved by cl
5 that result must flow from the promises
But that apprehension has no justification
This Court has held in a recent decision that under certain circumstances a law depriving a citizen of his fundamental right to property may amount to a reasonable restriction
In Narendra Kumar vs The Union of India 1 Das Gupta J observed 1  922  It is reasonable to think that the makers of the Constitution considered the word restriction  to be sufficiently wide to save laws  inconsistent  with article 191 or  taking away the rights  conferred by the Article provided this inconsistency or taking away was reasonable in the interests of the different matters mentioned in the clause
There can be no doubt therefore that they intended the word restriction  to include cases of  prohibition  also
The contention that a law prohibiting the exercise of a fundamental right is in no case saved cannot therefore be accepted
It is undoubtedly correct however that when as in the present case the restriction reaches the stage of prohibition special care has to be taken by the Court to see that the test of reasonableness is satisfied
The greater the restriction the more the need for strict scrutiny by the Court
 If so the State can establish that a law though it purports to deprive the petitioner of his fundamental right under certain circumstances amounts to a reasonable restriction within the meaning of cl
5 of article 19 of the Constitution
We therefore hold that a law made depriving a citizen of his property shall be void unless the law so made complies with the provisions of el
5 of article 19 of the Constitution
This leads us to the question whether the provisions of the Act infringe article 191f of the Constitution
The impugned Act is The Madras Marumakkathayam Removal of Doubts Act 1955 Madras Act No XXXII of 1955
As the argument turns upon the provisions of the Act and as the Act itself is a short one it will be convenient to set out all the provisions thereof
The Madras Marumakkathayam Removal of Doubts Act 1955 Act No XXXII of 1955
An Act to remove certain doubts in the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 Madras Act XXII of 1933 in regard to sthanams and sthanam properties
Whereas doubts have arisen about the true legal character of certain properties which are erroneously 923 claimed to be or regarded as sthanam properties but which are properties of the tarwad the male members of which are entitled to succeed to the sthanam and it is necessary to remove those doubts in respect of this question  Be it enacted in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows 1
This Act may be called the MADRAS MARUMAKKATHAYAM REMOVAL OF DOUBTS ACT 1955
2It shall apply to all persons governed by the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 Madras Act XXII of 1933
2Notwithstanding any decision of Court any sthanam in respect of which athere is or had been at any time an intermingling of the properties of the sthanam and the properties of the tarwad or bthe members of the tarwad have been receiving maintenance from the properties purporting to be sthanam properties as of right or in pursuance of a custom or otherwise or cthere had at any time been a vacancy caused by there being no male member of the tarwad eligible to succeed to the sthanam shall be deemed to be and shall be deemed always to have been a Marumakkathayam tarwad and the properties appertaining to such a sthanam shall be deemed to be and shall be deemed always to have been properties belonging to the tarwad to which the provisions of the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 Madras Act XXII of 1933 shall apply
Explanation All words and expressions used in this Act shall bear the same meaning as in the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 Madras Act XXII of 1933
The Act presupposes the existence of a sthanam and its properties
It says that the sthanam and its properties possessing one or more of the characteristics mentioned therein shall be deemed and shall be always deemed to have been a Marumakkathayam tarwad and its properties respectively
The 924 impugned Act applies also to sthanams whose title to properties has been declared by courts of law
Further the Act is given retrospective operation
It is suggested that the provisions of the Act have not been happily worded and if properly understood with the help of the preamble it would be clear that the sthanams were not converted into tarwads but only tarwads which were wrongly claimed to be sthanams were declared to be not sthanams
The preamble of a statute is  a key to the understanding of it  and it is well established that  it may legitimately be consulted to solve any ambiguity or to fix the meaning of words which may have more than one or to keep the effect of the Act within its real scope whenever the enacting part is in any of these respects open to doubt 
We do not find any ambiguity in the enacting part of the Act
Assuming that there is some doubt the preamble confirms our view of the construction of the Act
According to the preamble certain properties of the tarwad are erroneously claimed to be or regarded as sthanam properties and it has become necessary to remove those doubts by making the Act
The preamble also recognizes the existence of sthanams and the doubts related only to the title to the property of sthanams
The enacting part purports to resolve these doubts by laying down three tests and if any one of these tests is satisfied the sthanam shall be deemed to be a tarwad and the properties tarwad properties
In short the Act read with the preamble takes the sthanam lays down certain tests and proceeds to say that if one or other of the tests is satisfied in respect of any property claimed to be that of the sthanam the sthanam by statutory fiction is treated as the tarwad and its properties as tarwad properties
The tests as we will presently show are arbitrary and not germane to the question whether the properties belong to a sthanam or a tarwad
Whatever may be the phraseology used in effect and substance the Act in the guise of applying certain tests seeks to convert certain sthanams into tarwards and their properties into tarwad properties
It applies equally to sthanams governed by decrees of courts and sthanams whose character and title to the properties can be established by clear 925 evidence and to sthanams whose title is admitted
In the said cases no question of doubt can conceivably arise
The Act in the guise of dispelling doubts abolishes a class of sthanams and deprives them of their properties
The question is whether the said legislation can stand the test of article 195 of the Constitution
The learned Advocate General of Kerala seeks to support the legislation on the ground that under the Marumakkathayam law the three characteristics of properties mentioned in section 2 pertain to tarwad and therefore when wrong decisions were given by courts introducing confusion in titles the legislature rightly stepped in to set right the wrong and declare such sthanams possessing definite characteristics of the tarwad to be and always to have been the tarwad properties
He further argues that as the law was made to protect the rights of the members of the tarwad in a parti cular class of sthanams the restrictions imposed on the sthanees  rights in their properties would be reasonable and would be in the interests of the general public notwithstanding the fact that the legislation indirectly affects the rights of a few decree holder sthanees who have established their rights in a court of law
Mr Purshottam Tricumdas supported the learned Advocate General in this contention
Mr A V Viswanatha Sastri who followed him preferred to found his contention on a broader basis namely that the members of a tarwad and a sthanee have some interest in each other s property and the legislation did nothing more than regulate their interest inter se to restore peace and harmony among them and to change the mutual relationship to bring it in accord with the concept of a modern welfare State
If that be the object of the Act the argument proceeds the mere fact that the law incidently disturbs the rights of parties who have obtained decrees of court does not make it unreasonable
Before we consider the validity of these arguments it would be convenient at this stage to notice the scope of article 191f and article 195 of the Constitution
The said Articles read 120 926 Article 19
1 All citizens shall have the right          f to acquire hold and dispose of property          5Nothing in sub clauses d e and f of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes or prevent the State from making any law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe
Under cl
5 the State can make a law imposing reasonable restrictions on the fundamental rights embodied in article 191f in the interests of the general public
What is  reasonable restriction  has been succinctly stated by Patanjali Sastri C J in State Of Madras vs V G Row1 thus at p 607 It is important in this context to bear in mind that the test of reasonableness wherever prescribed should be applied to each individual statute impugned and no abstract standard or general pattern of reasonableness can be laid down as applicable to all cases
The nature of the right alleged to have been infringed the underlying purpose of the restrictions imposed the extent and urgency of the evil sought to be remedied thereby the disproportion of the imposition the prevailing conditions at the time should all enter into the judicial verdict
 If we may say so with respect this passage summarizes the law on the subject fully and precisely
The learned Chief Justice in his description of the test of reasonableness in our view has not stated anything more than the obvious for the standard of reasonableness is inextricably conditioned by the state of society and the urgency for eradicating the evil sought to be remedied
Some of the American decisions and passages from text books cited at the Bar may be useful in ascertaining whether in the instant case the restrictions imposed by the statute are reasonable
1  927 In Willoughby s Constitutional Law it is stated at p 795 thus As between individuals no necessity however great no exigency however imminent no improvement however valuable no refusal however unneighbourly no obstinacy however unreasonable no offers of compensation however extravagant can compel or require any man to part with an inch of his estate
 The Supreme Court of th United States of America in Henry Webster vs Peter Cooper1 observed  The result of the decision is that the constitution of the State has secured to every citizen the right of acquiring possessing and enjoying property and that by the true intent and meaning of this section property cannot by a mere act of the Legislature be taken from one man and vested in another directly nor can it by the retrospective operation of law be indirectly transferred from one to another or be subjected to the government of principles in a court of justice which must necessarily produce that effect In The Citizens  Savings and Loan Association of Cleveland Ohio vs Topeka City 2 the Supreme Court of the United States of America again declares the importance of individual property right thus  The theory of our governments state and national is opposed to the deposit of unlimited power anywhere
The executive the legislative and the judicial branches of these governments are all of limited and defined powers
There are limitations on such power which grow out of the essential nature of all free governments
Implied reservations of individual rights without which the social compact could not exist and which are respected by all governments entitled to the same
No court for instance would hesitate to declare void a statute which enacted that A and B who were husband and wife to each other should be so no longer but that A should thereafter be the husband of C and B the wife of D Or which should enact that the homestead now owned by A should 1   517
2   461
928 no longer be his but should henceforth be the property of B We have cited the relevant passages from the textbook and the decisions not with a view to define the scope of  reasonable restrictions  in article 195 of our Constitution but only to point out that as between citizens the individual proprietary rights are ordinarily respected unless a clear case is made out for imposing restrictions thereon
There must therefore be harmonious balancing between the fundamental rights declared by article 191 and the social control permitted by article 195
It is implicit in the nature of restrictions that no inflexible standard can be laid down each case must be decided on its facts
But the restrictions sought to be imposed shall not be arbitrary but must have reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved and shall be in the interests of the general public
Before we proceed to consider whether the restrictions imposed by the impugned Act are reasonable within the meaning of el
5 of article 19 it would be necessary to ascertain precisely the law on the following three matters 1 What is a sthanam in Marumakkathayam law 2 what is tarwad under the said law   and 3 what is the relationship between members of a tarwad and a sthanee Marumakkathayam law governs a large section of people inhabiting the West Coast of South India
Marumakkathayam literally means descent through sisters  children
It is a body of custom and usage which have received judicial recognition
Though Sundara Aiyar J in Krishnan Nair vs Damodaran Nair1 suggested that  Malabar law is really only a school of Hindu law  it has not been accepted by others
There is a fundamental difference between Hindu Law and Marumakkathayam system in that the former is founded on agnatic family and the latter is based on matriarchate
Marumakkathayam family consists of all the descendants of the family line of one common ancestor and is called a tarwad
The incidents of a tarwad are so well settled that it is not necessary to consider the case law but it would 1 Mad
929 be enough if the relevant passages from the book Malabar and Aliyasanthana Law by Sundara Aiyar are cited
The learned author says at p 7 thus   The joint family in a Marumakkathayam Nayar tarwad consists of a mother and her male and female children and the children of those female children and so on
The issue of the male children do not belong to their tarwad but to the tarwad of their consorts
The property belonging to the tarwad is the property of all the males and females that compose it
Its affairs are administered by one of those persons usually the eldest male called the karnavan
The individual members are not entitled to enforce partition but a partition may be effected by common consent
The rights of the union members are stated to be 1 if males to succeed to management in their turn 2 to be maintained at the family house 3 to object to an improper alienation or administration of the family property 4 to see that the property is duly conserved 5 to bar an adoption and 6 to get a share at any partition that may take place
These are what may be called effective rights
Otherwise everyone is a proprietor and has equal rights
 For the purpose of this case it is not necessary to go into further ramifications of the incidents of a tarwad for nothing turns upon them
We are concerned in this case with a sthanam
In the book of Sundara Aiyar the origin scope and incidents of a sthanam are discussed at p 249  As a technical word  stanom  means a position of dignity of this kind that is one to which certain specific property is attached and which passes with it and is held by the person as the  stani    
The origin of stanom is by no means clear and is more or less a matter for speculation The learned author proceeds to give the three modes of the origin of sthanams namely 1 in a ruling family  it was considered necessary in the circumstances that for the maintenance of the dignity of the ruler he should own properties in which the 930 members of the tarwad as such had no right or interest and which would pass with the Crown to his successor sthanams in the families of Zamorin Palghat Wulluvanad and other Rajas are given as instances of this class of sthanams 2  in the case of some chieftains and public officers sthanams were created by the ruling king who when he appointed the head of a particular family to an office with hereditary succession attached also certain lands for the maintenance of the officer holder  Para Nambi is given as a prominent instance of this class and 3  when a family became very opulent and influential it was sometimes deemed necessary in order to keep its social position and influence that the head should be able to maintain a certain amount of state and for that purpose the members of the family agreed to set apart certain property for him and such property would descend to the head of the family for the time being 
To some of the questions posed by the decisions or that are likely to arise the learned author suggested some answers
The learned author describes the position of a sthanee vis a vis the members of the tarwad thus  It is rather that of a member of a tarwad who separates himself from it by division
His accession to the stanom operates as a severance from the family
In consideration of his solely becoming entitled to the stanom property it was probably considered fair that he should give up his existing right in the property of the tarwad
But he and his tarwad will have the same right of succession to the properties of each other as if his severance from the family had been the result not of his accession to the stanom but a voluntary division between him and the rest of the family Another difficulty visualized and attempted to be answered by the learned author is the case of a family which has no male member to succeed to the sthanam
He gives three possible answers namely i escheat to the Crown  ii descent according to the rules of devolution applicable to the property of a divided member  and iii on the assumption that 931 the property is dedicated for the purpose of the tarwad reverting to the tarwad
On the question what would happen to the sthanam if at the time of the death of the sthanee there was no male member in the tarwad though he cited a decision of the Madras High Court where a subsequent born male infant was given a decree to recover the properties he was of the view that the question was not an easy one to decide
The decided cases considered the nature of this institution and also its incidents
A division bench of the Madras High Court in Vira Rayen vs The Valia Rani of Pudia Kovilagom Calicut 1 held that according to the custom obtaining in the family of the Zamorin Rajas of Calicut property acquired by a sthanam holder and not merged by him in the properties of his sthanam or otherwise disposed of by him in his lifetime became on his death the property of the kovilagom in which he was born and if found in the possession of a member of the kovilagom belonged presumably to the kovilagom as common property
In the course of the judgment the learned judges pointed out that in the family of the Zamorin of Calicut there were five sthanams or places of dignity with separate properties attached to them which were enjoyed in succession by the senior male members of the kovilagom
It appears from the judgment that the senior lady of the whole family also enjoyed a sthanam with separate property
The Judicial Committee in Venkateswaralyany Shekhari Varma 2 was considering the validity of a perpetual lease of sthanam lands effected by one of the Valia Rajas of Palghat
In that context Sir Arthur Hobhouse delivering the judgment of the Judicial Committee described a sthanam thus at p 386  It appears that in the families of the Malabar Rajas it is customary to have a number of palaces to each of which there is attached an establishment with lands for maintaining it called by the name of a sthanam
The Palghat family have no less than nine sthanams
Each sthanam has a raja as its head or Sthanamdar
The Sthanamdar represents 1 Mad 141
2 Mad
932 the corpus of his sthanam much in the same way as a Hindu widow represents the estates which have devolved upon her and he may alienate the property for the benefit or proper expenses of the sthanam
 This passage equates a sthanamdar to a Hindu widow vis a vis his rights both in the matter of representation as well as his right to alienate the property pertaining to the sthanam
The decision in Mahomed vs Krishnan 1 dealt with a suit filed by the junior members of a tarwad which consisted of the three sthanams against the karnavan and others including certain persons to whom he had alienated some tarwad property inter alia for a declaration that the alienations were invalid as against the tarwad and for possession of the property alienated
One of the questions raised was whether the plaintiffs were competent to maintain the suit
The suit was resisted on several grounds and one of them was that the tarwad was not a Malabar family in the ordinary sense of the term but that it consisted of three sthanams and three illakur houses or subsidiary tarwads
In considering the objections the learned Judges considered the nature of a sthanam property and made the following observations at p 112  According to the custom of Malabar the nature of stanom property is such that the present holder has in it a life interest and the successor derives no benefit from it during the life of his predecessor whereas in ordinary tarwad property each member of the tarwad has a concurrent interest and a joint beneficial enjoyment
Although the position of a stani is analogous to that of a childless widow in that both have a life interest both represent the estate ate or the inheritance for the time being and both have a disposing power only to the estate taken by reversioner
Each male reversioner becomes under Hindu Law the full owner when the reversion falls in whereas the person that succeeds to a stanom takes the same qualified estate that his predecessor bad
The legal relation therefore between the Vayoth Nair and the other stanomdars and the karnavans of the three subsidiary tarwads is that 1 Mad 106 933 which subsists among a group of person  entitled to succeed to the stanom property in a certain order each having only a life interest therein and qualified power of disposition over it
The relation between the stani and the junior members of each subsidiary tarwad is that which exists between the representative of the stanom for the time beinog and the class of persons who may become karnavans of their tarwads and therefore representatives of the junior and senior stanoms in the order of seniority
 This decision not only brings out the differences between a Hindu widow s estate and the sthanee s interest in a sthanam property but also points out that the interest of a member of a tarwad is only a right to succeed to the sthanam property in a certain order
It is nothing more than a spes successionis
Seshagiri Ayyar J in Krishnan Kidavu vs Raman1 throws some light on the relationship to the tarwad of a person who had succeeded to a sthanam
The learned Judge says at p 920 thus  It is clear that if in his new sphere the stani acquires property and does not dispose of it his tarwad will be entitled to it
The converse position is at least arguable
If the tarwad becomes extinct the quondam member who had become a stani may lay claim to the property
It cannot therefore be said that the attainment to a sthanam severs the relationship altogether
The person thus ceasing to be a member is not in the position of a stranger
 The Judicial Committee in considering some of the aspects of the institution of a sthanam in K Kochunni vs K Kuttanunni 2  a case that was fought out between the petitioner and some of the respondents in the present petition accepted the meaning given to the word  sthanam  by Sandara Aiyar in his book on  Malabar and Aliyasanthana Law  namely that it is a dignity to which property is attached for its maintenance and for the fulfilment of the duties attached to the position but rejected the contention that the following two circumstances indicated that the sthanam was a tarwad 1 maintenance was 1 Mad
2 ILR 121 934 decreed against Moopil Nair to the junior members of the family and that maintenance was being paid to the junior members and 2 the Court of Wards treated the sthanam property as tarwad property
The first circumstance was explained away with the following remarks at p 691  The maintenance claimed was a customary one originating in ancient times when admittedly the Muppil Nair was a sthani in possession of sthanam rights
There is no evidence as to how the maintenance allowance arose whether it was given in recognition of a legal claim or was only a generous provision made for the benefit of the women and younger members which the Raja was perfectly competent to do out of property which he regarded exclusively as his own
 In respect of the second circumstance the Judicial Committee remarked at p 693 thus  It appears from the evidence that the Court of Wards throughout the entire period of their management from 1872 till 1910 treated the estate as if it was a tarwad but this was apparently without any investigation into the true nature of the property  
Besides there was no adult male at that time to question the treatment by the Court of Wards of the property as tarwad property A third circumstance was relied upon namely that in 1872 the only surviving member of the family was then a girl of six years of age and that therefore there being no male heir to succeed to the sthanam the sthanam became extinct
The Judicial Committee did not allow this plea to be raised for the first time before them
That apart quoting from Sundara Aiyar s book they pointed out that the question whether a sthanam becomes extinct on the extinction of the male members or is only in abeyance during the absence of the male members so as to be capable of being revived does not admit of an easy solution  This decision lays down that if once it has been  established that a property is a sthanam property the mere fact that the sthanamdar was giving maintenance to the members of the family or that the Court of Wards treated the entire property as tarwad 935 property would not in itself convert what is sthanam property into a tarwad property
To summarize The origin of the sthanam is lost in antiquity
It primarily means a dignity and denotes the status of the senior Raja in a Malabar Kovilagom or palace
It is surmised that sthaiiams were also created by the Rajas by giving certain properties to military chieftains and public officers and also by tarwads creating them and allocating certain properties for their maintenance
Most of the the incidents of a sthanam are well settled
Usually the seniormost male member of the family and occasionally a female member attains a sthanam
Properties are attached to the sthanam for the maintenance of its dignity
The legal position of a sthanee is equated to that of a Hindu widow in that he represents the estate for the time being and he can alienate the properties for necessity or for the benefit of the estate
Unlike a Hindu widow the successor to a sthanee is always a life estate holder
In that respect his position is more analogous to an impartable estate holder
He ceases to have any present interest in the tarwad properties
Like a Hindu widow or an impartible estate holder he has an absolute interest in the income of the sthanam properties or acquisitions therefrom
His position is approximated to a member separated from the family and that the members of the tarwad succeed to his acquisitions unless acereted to the estate and he succeeds to the tarwad properties if the tarwad becomes extinct
Questions like what would happen if there is no male heir to a sthanam at any point of time whether the properties pertaining to the sthanam would escheat to the State or devolve upon the members of the tarwad or whether a subsequent birth of a male heir would revive the athanamare raised by Sundara Aiyar in his book but there is a decision of the Madras High Court where in the case of Punnathoor family a subsequent born male heir was given a decree for the possession of the properties of a sthanam
On the question whether a sthanam property not being the property of a member of a tarwad be blended with the property of the tarwad so as to make it a tarwad property there is no direct 936 decision
On principle if the sthanee on attaining the sthanam is in the position of a separated member of a Hindu family there may not be any scope for the application of the doctrine of blending
No member of a tarwad has any right to maintenance from out of the sthanam properties and the mere fact that a sthanee for the time being out of generosity or otherwise gives maintenance to one or other members of the tarwad cannot legally have the effect of converting the sthanam property into a tarwad property nor the fact that the sthanam properties are treated as tarwad properties can have such a legal effect
Now what is the relationship between the tarwad and the sthanee  It is true that whatever may be the origin of the sthanam ordinarily the seniormost member of a tarwad succeeds to that position but once he succeeds lie ceases to have any proprietary interest in the tawad
So too the members of the tarwad have absolutely no proprietary interest in the sthanam property
Thereafter they continue to be only  blood relations with perhaps a right of succession to the property of each other on the happening of some contingency
The said right is nothing more than a spes successions the tarwad may supply future sthanees
With this background let us look at the terms of the Act to see what it purports to do
What is the effect of the impugned Act  It is not the form that matters but the substance of it in its operation on the vested rights of citizens
The Act destroys the finality of decrees of courts establishing the title of janmies to the sthanam properties
It affects the undisputed title of sthanees in sthanam properties though they may not have obtained decrees in respect thereof
It statutorily confers title retrospectively on the members of the tarwad who had none before
It arbitrarily dislocates the title of particular sthanees in respect of certain sthanam with particular characteristics which have no relation to the title of the sthanees
The first characteristic mentioned in the impugned Act is that there is or had been at any time an intermingling of the properties of the sthanam and the properties of 937 the tarwad
If the word intermingling conveys only the idea of mere factual mixing up of the sthanam properties with the tarwad properties it cannot by any known legal notion of Marumakkathayam Law or on any analogy drawn from Hindu Law convert the sthanam property into the tarwad property
Even if it is understood in the sense of blending the sthanee who ceases to be a member of the tarwad and is in a position of a separated member cannot legally blend his property with that of the tarwad for the legal concept of blending implies that the person who blends his property with that of the family is an undivided member of the family
The second characteristic mentioned in the impugned Act is that the members have been receiving maintenance from properties purporting to be sthanam properties as of right or in pursuance of custom or otherwise
This characteristic is foreign to the concept of sthanam
No member of a tarwad is entitled as of right to any maintenance from out of properties of the sthanam
Under this clause if maintenance is so received the sthanam is deemed to be a tarwad on the basis that the receipt of maintenance from the sthanee out of the sthanam property brings about the said result
If a sthanee creates any such right in favour of a tarwad it may bind him but it cannot certainly be binding on the sthanam properties or its successor
If a custom be established on evidence it may become an incident of the sthanam but it cannot obliterate or extinguish it or convert it into a tarwad
The word otherwise in the context it is contended must be construed by applying the rule of ejusdem generis
The rule is that when general words follow particular and specific words of the same nature the general words must be confined to the things of the same kind as those specified
But it is clearly laid down by decided cases that the specific words must form a distinct genus or category
It is not an inviolable rule of law but is only permissible inference in the absence of an indication to the contrary
On the basis of this rule it is contended that the right or the custom mentioned in the clause is a distinct genus and the words  or otherwise  must be 938 confined to things analogous to right or custom such as lost grant immemorial user etc
It appears to us that the word  otherwise  in the context only means  whatever may be the origin of the receipt of maintenance 
One of the objects of the legislation is to by pass the decrees of courts and the Privy Council observed that the receipt of maintenance might even be out of bounty
It is most likely that a word of the widest amplitude was used to cover even acts of charity and bounty
If that be so under the impugned Act even a payment of maintenance out of charity would destroy the character of an admitted sthanam which ex facie is expropriatory and unreasonable
Nor does the third characteristic embody an unimpeachable test of the extinction of a sthanam or the conversion of the same into a tarwad
Under the impugned Act if there had been at any time a vacancy caused by there being no male member of the tarwad eligible to succeed to the sthanam the sthanam would be deemed to be a tarwad
Not only there is no justification for enacting that non existence of such a male heir at any point of time should put an end to the character of the sthanam but the only decided case of the Madras High Court on the point recognized the right of a subsequently born male member in a tarwad to succeed to the sthanam and its properties
Therefore the three tests laid down by the impugned Act to enable the drawing of the statutory fiction are not only not germane but extraneous to the object sought to be achieved
What is more the impugned Act is made retrospective so as to make the sthanee liable to arrears of maintenance and past profits
The contention that the impugned Act is nothing more than a readjustment of rights inter se between the members of the tarwad and the sthanee is without substance for before the Act except ties of blood and a right to succeed in a particular contingency the members of the tarwad had no interest in presenti in the sthanam property nor vice versa
The impugned Act is only a legislative device to take the property of one and vest it in another without compensation and therefore on its face stamped with unreasonableness
In short the 939 impugned Act is expropriatory in character and is directly hit by article 191 f and is not saved by cl
5of article 19
Another condition for the application of cl
5 of article 19 is that the restrictions should be in the interests of the general public
We assume for the purpose of this case that there are sthanams with characteristics similar to those of the petitioner s sthanam and that the Act confers title on the junior members of tarwad in properties of such sthanams and that they form a defined section of the public
If so a question arises whether a section of the public is general public  within the meaning of article 195
This fell to be considered by a full bench of the Calcutta High Court in Iswari Prosad vs N R Sen 1
It was contended before the full bench of the said High Court that the words  in the interests of the general public  mean  in the interests of the public of the whole of the Republic of India 
Negativing this contention Harries CJ observed at p 278 thus  The phrase  in the interests of the general public  means I think nothing more than in the public interest  and it may well be that legislation affecting a limited class of persons or a limited area might well be legislation in the public interests though the public of other parts of India might not be directly affected by such legislation
If they are indirectly affected such would be quite sufficient to make such legislation in the public interest
Legislation affecting a particular class or a particular area would only directly affect the members of that class or the inhabitants of that particular area
But the removal of some serious abuse or grievance or discontent is a matter indirectly affecting the public generally
It is not in the interests of the general public or in the public interest to allow any class of persons to labour under some grievance and to be genuinely discontented
It is in the interests of the general public or in the public interest that all classes of the citizens of India are content and that their grievances should be removed
A festering sore on the human body may eventually affect the whole 1 AIR 1952 Cal
273 940 body though at first its effect is localised
Grievances or discontent in some particular area or in some State or in some class of persons may eventually affect the whole Republic of India though originally the effects might be limited
The removal of any grievance abuse or discontent is a matter not only where the discontent or grievance is genuine it may well be in the public interest to remove such though the public in other parts of India may not be directly affected
It is in the public interest that persons should be governed justly and well and removal of hardship and grievances of a particular class is I think clearly a matter of public interest
We agree with these observations
Relying upon these observations it is said that the decision of the Privy Council created a stir among the members of that class of the public who are governed by the Marumakkathayam Law either because the pre existing rights were disturbed or because there is no justification in a welfare State for one member of the tarwad succeeding to the entire sthanam property to the exclusion of the other members of the tarwad and so the argument proceeds that the State has stepped in to rectify the mistake or to do justice consistent with modern trends
It is further argued that the redress of this grievance of a section of the com munity is in the interest of the public
This argument is purely based on surmises
We have pointed out that the junior members of the tarwad had never any interest in the sthanam properties
We cannot say on the materials placed before us that any public interest will be served by depriving a sthanee of his properties and conferring title in his properties so deprived on others
Nor is there any evidence that there was a real and genuine grievance in this particular section of the public belonging to tarwads justifying the interference by the State
We cannot on the materials placed before us hold that this reform is in the public interest
The learned Attorney General raised a further point that no law can impose restrictions retrospectively on fundamental rights aid in support of his contention he relied upon the wording of cl
5 of article 19 of the 941 Constitution and also on the decision of the Privy Council in Punjab Province vs Daulat Singh 1
But as we have held that the restrictions imposed are not reasonable within the meaning of cl
5 of article 19 of the Constitution this question need not be decided in this case
We declare that Madras Act 32 of 1955 is void and ultra vires the Constitution and issue a writ of mandamus restraining the State of Kerala from enforcing the provisions of the said Act against the petitioner and his sthanams
In the result Petition No 443 of 1955 is allowed with costs Petition No 40 of 1956 is allowed but in the circumstances without costs  and Petition No 41 of 1956 is dismissed but in the circumstances without costs
SARKAR J
In our view these petitions fail
The petitions challenge the validity of an Act passed by the Madras Legislature called the Madras Marumakkathayam Removal of Doubts Act 1955
The substantive provisions of the Act are contained in section 2 which is in these terms section 2
Notwithstanding any decision of Court any sthanam in respect of which athere is or had been at any time an intermingling of the properties of the sthanam and the properties of the tarwad or bthe members of the tarwad have been receiving maintenance from the properties purporting to be sthanam properties as of right or in pursuance of a custom or otherwise or cthere had at any time been a vacancy caused by there being no male member of the tarwad eligible to succeed to the sthanam shall be deemed to be and shall be deemed always to have been a Marumakkathayam tarwad and the properties appertaining to such a sthanam shall be deemed to be and shall be deemed always to have been properties belonging to the tarwad to which the provisions of the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 Madras Act XXII of 1933 shall apply 1 122 942 Sthanams and tarwads are peculiar institutions of the Malabar area and a few words about them are necessary
A tarwad is an undivided family governed by the Marumakkathayam Law the customary law of Malabar
The outstanding feature of that law is that for the purposes of inheritance descent is traced through the female line
The property of the tarwad or family is owned by all its members but is managed ordinarily by the eldest male member such manager being called the karnavan
Before the Madras Maru makkathayam Act 1932 was passed a member of the tarwad could not insist on a partition and a partition took place only when all the adult members agreed
The members had however the right to be maintained by the karnavan and had certain other rights to which it is not necessary for us to refer
The Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 made some changes in the customary law
The more important changes were that the junior members were given power to inspect the accounts of the karnavan and a right to ask for partition subject to certain limitations
We turn now to sthanams
A sthanam is a station rank or dignity
A sthani is the holder of a sthanam
A sthanam usually has lands attached or granted to keep up the station rank or dignity of the sthani and it appears to have come into existence in one or other of the manners hereinafter stated
The ancient rulers of the Malabar coast possessed sthanams and it may be taken that the lands which they held as rulers were regarded as being sthanam lands in character
The sthanam held by a ruler went by the name of Rajasthanam
The Rajasthanams have continued though there are no rulers now
Apart from Rajasthanams there are other kinds of sthanams
The rulers often granted sthanams with lands attached to them to their subsidiary chieftains or other persons of consequence in their States
Sthanams with lands were also sometimes granted for rendering military service
Again when a family became opulent and influential the members of the tarwad sometimes agreed to set aside for the karnavan certain lands in order that he might keep up his social position and influence and so again a sthanam was created
A sthanam with the 943 lands attached thereto devolved on the death of the holder for the time being to the next senior member of his tarwad
When a member of the tarwad becomes the sthani he loses his interest in the tarwad properties though he does not cease to be a member of the tarwad
The members of the tarwad in their turn have no interest in the sthanam lands
The sthani is entitled to utilize the income of the sthanam properties for his own purposes
For a more detailed state ment of the character of a sthanam reference may be made to P R Sundara Ayyar s book on Malabar and Aliyasanthana Law
We have taken the greater part of what we have said in this paragraph from Kuttan Unni vs Kochunni 1
The important point to note for the purposes of these petitions is that the sthani for the time being is alone entitled to the lands of his sthanam and the members of his tarwad are not enti tled to them while all members of a tarwad except the sthani are entitled jointly to all the properties of a tarwad
There are altogether three petitions before us bearing numbers 443 of 1955 and 40  41 of 1956 and they have been heard together
The petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 is the Moopil Nayar or the senior member of the Kavalappara tarwad or family to which the parties to this petition other than the States of Kerala and Madras belong
As the head of
the family he claimed to be entitled to eight sthanams with the lands attached to them respectively
It appears that the Kavalappara family was a ruling dynasty in pre British times and ruled over the Kavalappara territory
The Moopil Nayar or senior member of this family for the time being was the ruler of the Kavalappara State
The Kavalappara territory was the Ruler s Rajasthanam
When Malabar was ceded by Tippu Sultan to the East India Company in 1792 the Kavalappara family lost its sovereign rights
The Kavalappara territory however continued as a Rajasthanam held by the Moopil Nayar or the senior member of the family for the time being
The petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 has been the Moopil Nayar of the Kavalappara family since his elder 1 ILR 914 brother s death in 1925 and claims the lands of the Rajasthanam as such
This is the first of the eight sthanams mentioned earlier
The head of the Kavalappara family was entitled to five other sthanams granted from time to time by the rulers of Palghat to whom the Kavalappara State was subordinate
Each of these sthanams also had lands attached to it
The lands attached to the Rajasthanam and sthanams granted by the rulers of Palghat were situate in the South Malabar district which originally appertained to the State of Madras and is now part of the State of Kerala
The head of the Kavalappara family was also entitled to two further sthanams with the lands attached to them which had been granted by the ruler of Cochin
The lands belonging to these two sthanams were situate in the former State of Cochin now merged in the State of Kerala
The petitioner made a gift of the lands attached to the five sthanams which had been granted by the Raja of Palghat to his wife and daughters
The donees under this gift are the petitioners in Petition No 40 of 1956
He likewise made a gift of the lands attached to the two sthanams which had been granted by the Raja of Cochin to his son who is the petitioner in Petition No 41 of 1956
These gifts had been made before the impugned Act bad been passed
It is necessary now to refer to a previous litigation
On April 10 1934 the then junior members of the Kavalappara family filed a suit in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Ottapalam for a declaration that all the properties managed by the Moopil Nayar were tarwad properties belonging equally and jointly to all the members of the tarwad including the Moopil Nayar and that the latter was managing them as Karnavan and not as sthani
The defendant to this suit was the petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 the Moopil Nayar or the senior member of the family
The Moopil Nayar resisted the suit claiming to be solely entitled to the disputed lands on the basis that they were sthanam lands and he was the sthani
The suit was dismissed by the learned Subordinate Judge but on appeal the decision of the Subordinate Judge was reversed by the High Court of Madras and a decree 945 was passed as claimed in the suit
It is this judgment of the High Court which is reported in ILR  to which reference has been made earlier
On a further appeal to the Privy Council by the Moopil Nayar the decision of the High Court was set aside and that of the Subordinate Judge restored
The decision of the Judicial Committee was given on July 29 1947
The result was that the petitioner Moopil Nayar was declared to be entitled as sthani to the disputed properties and it was held that those properties were sthanam properties and not tarwad properties
The impugned Act came into force on October 19 1955
At that time the South Malabar District was part of the State of Madras
Later with the formation of the State of Kerala this area became part of that State and continued to be governed by the Act
That Act was never extended to any other part of Kerala and never applied to the territories covered by the former Cochin State which had been merged in the State of Kerala
The petitions were filed challenging the validity of the Act soon after it came into force
We will take up Petition No 443 of 1955 first
In this petition we are concerned only with the Kavalappara Rajasthanam
The petitioner the Moopil Nayar was entitled at the date of the petition only to the lands attached to that sthanam for he had earlier given away the lands belonging to the other sthanams to his wife daughters and son as already stated
He complains that as a result of the impugned Act he has been deprived of the exclusive ownership of the lands attached to the Kavalappara Rajasthanam and has to share it with the other members of his tarwad or family
It is not in dispute that the Act applies to Kavalappara Rajasthanam
The respondents to this petition are the junior members of the Kavalappara family and the States of Kerala and Madras
The State of Madras has not appeared perhaps because the Act applies to lands which have since the filing of the petition been transferred from Madras to Kerala upon which transfer the State of Kerala had been made a party to the petition
There are three interveners in 946 this petition two of whom support the respondents and one supports the petitioner
The petitioner Moopil Nayar first says that the Act violates article 14 of the Constitution inasmuch as it applies to the stbanam held by him only and to no other sthanams
This raises a question of fact
He however also says that the Act is bad as infringing articles 191f and 311 of the Constitution as it deprives him of his right to hold property and that it is not saved by cl
5 of article 19
If however the Act enacts a law within the meaning of article 31 A of the Constitution the petitioner cannot be heard to complain of violation of articles 14 191f and 311
So the question arises Is it saved by article 31A That article so far as is material in this case is set out below  article 31A 1 Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13 no law providing for a the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights           shall be deemed to be void on the around that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14 article 19 or article 31  Provided that where such law is a law made by the Legislature of a State previsions of this article shall not apply thereto unless such law having been reserved for the consideration of the President has received his assent
2 In this article a the expression  estate  shall in relation to any local area have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include any jagir inam or muafi or other similar grant and in the States of Madras and Kerala any janmam right bthe expression rights  in relation to an estate shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor sub proprietor under proprietor tenureholder raiyat under raiyat or other intermediary 947 and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue 
It appears that the Act had been reserved for the consideration of the President and had received his assent
If then the Act provides for a modification of rights in an  estate  it would not be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with articles 14 19 and 3l the violation of which the petitioner complains
Under article 31A 2 a an  estate  includes in the State of Kerala any janmam right
This of course means lands held in janmam rights for janmam rights exist only in lands
Again under sub cl
b of el
2 of article 31A the expression  rights  used in relation to an  estate  in that article includes the rights of the proprietor of the estate or others holding under him
In regard to this sub clause it has been held by this Court in Alma Ram vs State of Punjab 1 that the expression  rights  in relation to an estate has been used in a very comprehensive sense and includes not only the interest of the proprietor or sub proprietor but also of lower grades of tenants that is all those who have acquired rights under him by what are called processes of sub infeudation
The respondents contend that the rights affected by the Act are janmam rights and therefore the Act is one contemplated by article 31A
The petitioner Moopil Nayar states that the respondents have not alleged that the sthanam properties are held in janmam right
It appears that in the affidavit of the State of Kerala it is stated that the Act is saved by virtue of the provisions of article 31A As we are concerned with lands in the State of Kerala the Act could be saved by article 31A if the lands were held in janmam rights or in rights held under the holder of the janmam rights
The allegation that the Act is saved by article 31 A therefore clearly implies that the lands attached to the sthanams were held in janmam rights or rights subordinate to janmam rights
There is no statement by the petitioner anywhere on the records that the lands were not held on such rights
On the other hand it would appear from what we state later that 1 1959 SUPP
I SCR 748
948 the rights in the lands were janmam rights or rights subordinate to janmam rights
Janmam right is really a freehold interest in land
In section 3 k of the Malabar Tenancy Act 1929 a janmi has been defined as a person entitled to the absolute proprietorship of land
What we have earlier stated leaves no doubt that the lands belonging to the sthanams were lands held in absolute proprietorship that is in freehold interest
It has not been alleged that the freehold interest in the sthanam lands has undergone any change
Neither has it been shown to us that in the Malabar area land can be held in any right other than janmam right or subordinate rights created by the holder of a janmam right
Again in his written statement in the suit of 1934 earlier mentioned which is on the record of this case the petitioner Moopil Nayar stated that the lands of the sthanams situated in Madras remained in the management of the Court of Wards Madras from 1872 to 1916 and were registered as held in janmam rights
Therefore it seems to us that it has been established that the lands belonging to the sthanams in South Malabar district are held in janmam rights
That being so rights in such lands would be rights in an estate within the meaning of article 31 A 1 a
It is said on behalf of the petitioner Moopil Nayar that the Act compels him to share the lands with the other members of his family
If so it seems to us that the effect of the Act is to modify the interest of a holder of a sthanam in the lands attached thereto
His rights as sole owner of the lands are modified by making him one of the joint owners of them along with the other members of his family
As the lands were held in janmam rights or rights subordinate thereto the Act would be saved by article 31A though it may infringe articles 14 19 1 f or 311
The petitioner however contends that even if the lands were held in janmam rights article 31A would not protect the Act
He first says that the Act contemplated by Art 31Ala is an Act passed with the object of effecting agrarian reforms which the Act before us is not
But we find nothing in the article to justify this contention
The article does not mention 940 any agrarian reform
Under it any janmam right may be acquired extinguished or modified this would be so whether the land held on janmam right was agricultural land or land which can never be used for agricultural purposes
Article 31 A was introduced into the Constitution by the Constitution First Amendment Act 1951
It was subsequently amended by the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act 1955
Both these Acts made the amendments with retrospective effect from the commencement of the Constitution
The petitioner seeks to support the contention that the Act contemplated by article 31A 1a is an Act dealing with agrarian reforms by referring to the objects and reasons stated in the Bills by which the Acts amending the Constitution were introduced in the Parliament
It does not seem to us that it is permissible to refer to such objects and reasons for the construction of a statute see Aswini Kumar Ghose vs Arabinda Bose 1
We conceive therefore that we are not entitled to read the word  law  in article 31A 1 in relation to sub cl
a only as a law intended to achieve agrarian reforms on the basis of the supposed object of the legislature in enacting article 31A We also observe that apart from the objects and reasons found in the Bills there is nothing on which the contention that the law contemplated by article 31 A 1a is a law intended to achieve agrarian reform can be based
It is next said that the Act did not effect any modification of janmam rights and hence again article 31A is of no avail to protect it
It is contended that the modification contemplated by the Article is a modification of the incidents of the janmam rights
It is said that what the Act did was to distribute janmam rights among various persons and several owners held the same janmam rights which before the Act had been held by one
That it may be stated is so but that does not affect the real question for decision
When the Article talks of modification of janmam rights it does not talk of such rights in the abstract
It contemplates the modification of the 11953 SCR 1 950 rights held by a person
It would be as much modification of janmam rights if such rights held by one person are directed to be held by a number of persons jointly as when the incidents of such rights are altered
Further our view receives support from two decisions of this Court namely Sri Ram Ram Narain Medhi vs The State of Bombay1 and Atma Ram vs The State of Punjab 2 
These cases dealt with Acts one of the provisions of which compelled a landlord to sell to his tenant the whole or a portion of the land held by the latter at a price to be fixed in the manner indicated
It was held that though this provision violated article 191f yet it was saved by article 31A It will be seen that here the incidents of the tenure on which the landlord held the land were not altered
After he had been compelled to transfer the lands to his tenants he held the remainder on the same terms as before yet it was held that the Acts compelling the landlord to sell a part of the land held by him were saved by article 31A
In our view therefore the Act now before us is saved by article 31A and it cannot be declared invalid even if it violates the provisions of articles 191f 14 and 31 1 of the Constitution
In this view of the matter it is not necessary for us to consider whether the Act in fact violates articles 14 191f and 311 or any of them or is saved by el
5 of article 19
Next it is said that the Act is bad as it is really an exercise by the legislature of judicial power which it does not possess and not an exercise of a legislative power at all
We are unable to hold that this is so
There are two things in the Act on which this contention has been based
The first is that the Act has been given a retrospective operation
It is quite clear to us that by itself does not make the Act a thing done in the exercise of judicial power
The legislature has the power to give retrospective opera tion to an Act
That of course interferes with vested rights but the legislature can interfere with such rights in the exercise of its legislative power
That is not adjudicating between parties affected by the Act
It is laying down the law to be followed by 1 1959 SUPP
I SCR 489
2 1959 SUPP
1 SCR 748
951 951 courts in future
It is so none the less that the law is altered as from a past date
Then it is said that the Act provides that it is to have effect notwithstanding any decision of the Court contrary to its provisions
That the Act no doubt does
Can it be said that it thereby adjudicates and not legislates  In Piare Dusadh vs King Emperor 1 it was pointed out that in India the legislature very often in the enactments that it makes sets aside decisions of Courts
In America a rule appears to obtain that  Legislative action cannot be made to retroact on past controversies and to reverse decisions which the courts in the exercise of their undoubted autho rity have made  Cooley s Constitutional Limitations 8th Ed p 190
It was held in Piare Dusadh s case 1 at p 104 that this rule had no application in India
The observation there made may be set out It is clear from the American authorities that this limitation has been derived from the interpretation placed by the American courts on what are known as the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments which provide against any person being  deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law 
The expression  due process of law has been interpreted as referring only to  judicial process  and as not including legislation  
As this requirement had been made part of the written constitution it followed that no enactment passed by a legislature limited by that constitution could authorise anything in violation of it Hence the rule stated by Cooley that  it would be incompetent for the legislature by retrospective legislation to make valid any proceedings which had been had in the courts but which were void for want of jurisdiction over the parties  The constitutional position in India is different
 It seems to us that this observation of the Federal Court which no doubt was made with reference to the Government of India Act 1935 applies with equal force to the position obtaining under our Constitution
It has been held by this Court that there is no scope 1 952 under our Constitution for the application of the American concept of  due process of law
The American cases cited in support of the contention that a legislation cannot override judicial decisions therefore afford no assistance in our country
Article 31B itself provides that it would apply notwithstanding any judgment decree or order of any court to the contrary and it had been enacted by an Act passed by the Parliament
There have been many Acts passed since the Constitution came into force which contained similar provisions
In no case has it ever been contended that such an Act amounted to an exercise of the judicial function by the legislature
The Act before us lays down a law to be applied by courts in future in the adjudication of disputes between parties
It also says that the courts shall apply the law notwithstanding that there is an earlier decision on the rights of the parties which are being litigated upon in a subsequent proceeding
The Act does not itself annul any decision of any court
All that it says is that the law laid down is to be applied by courts irrespective of any previous decision
It does not in any sense adjudicate between parties
It therefore seems to us that the contention that the impugned Act is really an exercise of judicial power is ill founded
In our view the challenge brought against the impugned Act fails
Petition No 443 of 1955 should therefore be dismissed with costs
Coming now to the Petition No 40 of 1956 the petitioners here are the wife and the two daughters of the petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955
The respondents are the junior members of the tarwad as also the Moopil Nayar
The petitioners claim as donees from the Moopil Nayar to be entitled to the sthanam lands in the Palghat area
It is not necessary for us to decide whether the petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 had the right to make the gift in favour of his wife and daughters
That question has not been gone into by consent of the parties
If the gift is valid then what we have said earlier in connection with Petition No 443 of 1955 will apply to this petition also and it must for the same reason 953 fail
If the gift is invalid the petition must fail on the ground that the Act has not affected the petitioners  rights in any lands held by them
We would therefore dismiss that petition with costs except the costs of the hearing before us for all the three petitions were heard together
Lastly we come to Petition No 41 of 1956
This petition must clearly be dismissed
It was filed by the son of the petitioner in Petition No 443 of 1955 claiming to be entitled to the sthanam lands situate in an area which was formerly part of the Cochin State
It is not in dispute that the impugned Act was never extended to that area
Therefore whether the gift to him was valid or not as to which we say nothing the petitioner in this petition is not affected by that Act at all
His petition is clearly misconceived
His petition is therefore dismissed and he will pay the costs excepting the costs of the hearing
ORDER OF COURT
In view of the judgment of the majority Petition No 443 of 1955 is allowed with costs Petition No 40 of 1956 is allowed without costs and Petition No 41 of 1956 is dismissed without costs


Summary:
On June 3 1956 riots broke out after a public meeting held in Bombay in connection with the re organisation of the State of Bombay was dispersed on account of the disturbances created therein
The car in which the appellant was travelling was stopped by the crowd and some of those who surrounded the car caught hold of him by his neck and hair and wanted to drag him out of the car
The appellant then opened fire with his revolver
The respondent s brother S who was hit on the chest by one of the shots fired was removed to the hospital but died before medical assistance could be given
The police surgeon who made a postmortem examination expressed the opinion that the shot must have been fired from a distance of 2 to 18 inches only
The Coroner s jury returned a verdict that S died of the wound caused by a bullet fired by the appellant  under such circumstances as would render the firing to be in the exercise of the right of private defence and as such justified
 The respondent filed a complaint in the court of the Presi dency Magistrate Bombay on the allegation that his brother died as a result of the firing resorted to by the appellant who thereby committed an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and prayed that process might be issued against him
The Magistrate referred the complaint to the police for enquiry and report under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and after considering the report said  From the statements recorded by the Police in this case and from the surrounding circumstances of the case I have come to the definite conclusion that the report of the Police stating that the shot was fired by the accused in self defence is true
The statement of the police surgeon conclusively supports the conclusion
The eye witnesses brought by the complainant are not credible witnesses
It will be harassment to the accused and waste of public time if any process is issued in this case 
The Magistrate accordingly dismissed the complaint under section 203 of the Code of Criminal 2 Procedure
The High Court in revision set aside the order of dismissal and directed the Magistrate to issue process against the appellant and deal with the case in accordance with law on the grounds that this was not a case in which it was proper for the Magistrate to dismiss the complaint under section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that proof of the plea of self defence could not be held to have been established from the mere report of the police and that there was nothing in section 202 or section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which abrogated the rule as to the pre sumption laid down in section 105 of the Indian Evidence Act
Held that under section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure the judgment which the Magistrate has to form must be based on the statements of the complainant and his witnesses and the result of the investigation or inquiry and in arriving at his judgment he is not fettered in any way except by judicial considerations  provided that there are satisfactory and reliable materials on which he can base his judgment as to whether there is sufficient ground for proceeding on the complaint or not if he has not misdirected himself as to the scope of an enquiry under section 202 and has applied his mind judicially to the materials before him it would be erroneous in law to hold that a plea based on an exception can never be accepted by him in arriving at his judgment
Held further that on the facts of the present case the order of the Magistrate was correct and that the judgment of the High Court setting aside that order on an erroneous view of the scope of section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be set aside