il Appeal No 1102 of 1966
Appeal from the judgment and order dated December 27 1965 of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in W P No 67 of 1965
CK Daphtary Attorney General section V Gupte Solicitor General Jaswant Singh Advocate General for the State of J  K H R Khanna section Javali Ravinder Narain for the appellants
B Sen I N Shroff M K Banerjee B N Kirpal R K Kaul R N Kaul P L Handu Lalit Bhasin and T R Bhasin for respondent No 1
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Sarkar CJ
This is an appeal by the State of Jammu and Kashmir G M Sadiq Chief Minister of that State and D PDhar its Home Minister
The appeal is contested by respondent 403 No 1 Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad
The other respondent N Rajagopala Ayyangar a retired Judge of this Court has not appeared in this Court or in the court below
These are the parties to the proceedings before us
After the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India in 1947 a responsible Government was set up there under the Prime Ministership of Shiekh Mohammad Abdulla
Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad was the Deputy Prime Minister in that Government and G M Sadiq was also in the Cabinet
In 1953 Sheikh Mohammad Abdulla was dismissed from office and a new Government was formed with Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad as the Prime Minister and G M Sadiq and D P Dhar were included in the Cabinet
On January 26 1957 a new Constitution was framed for Jammu  Kashmir
In the first elections held under the Constitution a party called the National Conference got the majority of votes
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and Sadiq were members of this party
A Ministry was then formed with Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad as the Prime Minister
It appears that G M Sadiq left the party sometime after 1957 and rejoined it along with D P Dhar in December 1960 and they were taken into the Cabinet
The next General Elections were held in 1962
Again the National Conference Party came into power
In the Government that was formed Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad became the Prime Minister and G M Sadiq and D P Dhar were taken in the Ministry
In September 1963 Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad resigned from the Ministry under what is called the Kamraj Plan and Shamsudd in became the Prime Minister in his place
It will be noticed that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was the Deputy Prime Minister of the State from 1947 to 1953 and its Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963
So he held these offices one after the other for a total period of about sixteen years
In February 1964 Shamsuddin left office and a new Govern ment was formed with G M Sadiq as the Prime Minister
It is said that shortly thereafter political rivalry between him and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad started
In August 1964 a notice was issued fixing a session of the Legislature of the State in the following September
According to Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad thereafter some of the legislators wanted to bring in vote of no confidence against G MSadiqs Ministry and by September 21 1964 the no confidence motion had obtained the support of the majority of
members of the Assembly
On September 22 1964 at 5 o clock in the morning Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and some of his supporters were arrested under the Defence of India Rules
At 830 am on the same day the notice of the motion of no confi dence with the signatures of some members was handed over to the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly
G M Sadiq challenges the genuineness of the signatures on the notice of the motion and also denies that it had the support of a majority of the Assembly  At 9 am the Legislative Assembly which was to meet on that day
404 was prorogued by the Speaker under the directions of the Sadar i Riyasat the constitutional head of the State
Sometime in November 1964 a petition for a writ of habeas corpus for the release of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was presented to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
On December 15 1964 before the petition could be heard and decided Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was released from arrest by the State Government
On January 30 1965 a Notification was issued by the State Government appointing a Commission of Inquiry constituted by N Rajagopala Ayyangar to enquire into 1 the nature and extent of the assets and pecuniary resources of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and the members of his family and other relatives mentioned in the first Schedule to the Order in October 1947 and in October 1963 and ii whether during this period Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and the others mentioned in the Schedule had obtained any assets and pecuniary resources or advantages by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad abusing the official positions held by him or by the aforesaid people set out in the first Schedule by exploiting that position with his knowledge consent and connivance
The Notification provided that in making the inquiry under head ii the Commission would examine only the allegations set out in the second Schedule to it
It is this Noti fication that has given rise to the present proceedings
The Commission held certain sittings between February 1965 and August 1965 in which Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad took part
On September 1 1965 Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad moved the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir under sections 103 and 104 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir which correspond to articles 226 and 227 of the Indian Constitution for a writ striking down the Notification and quashing the proceedings of the Commission taken till then and for certain other reliefs to which it is not necessary to refer
The petition was heard by a Bench of three learned Judges of the High Court
The High Court allowed the petition set aside the Notification and quashed the proceedings of the Commission
This appeal is against the judgment of the High Court
In the High Court eight grounds had been advanced in support of the petition three of which were rejected but the rest were accepted some unanimously and some by the majority of the learned Judges
They have however not all been pressed in this Court
The Notification had been issued under the Jammu  Kashmir Commission of Inquiry Act 1962
The first point taken was that the Notification was not justified by the Act because under the Jammu  Kashmir Constitution a Minister was responsible for his acts only to the Legislature and no action could be taken against him except for criminal and tortuous acts in the ordinary courts of law unless the Legislature by a resolution demanded it
The substance of this contention is that an inquiry cannot be directed under the Act into the actions of a Minister except at the instance of the Legislature it cannot be directed by an order of the Government
This contention is based on section 37 of the Jammu 405  Kashmir Constitution
That section states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly
It is contended that this implies that in no other way is a Minister responsible for anything that he does when in office
It is also said that is the convention in Britain and it has been adopted in the State of Jammu  Kashmir
We confess to a certain amount of difficulty in appreciating this argument
The point about the British convention need not detain us
It has not been shown that any such convention even if it exists in England as to which we say nothing has been adopted in the State of Jammu  Kashmir
The Jammu  Kashmir Constitution is a written document and we can only be guided by its provisions
It is said that section 37 indicates that the British convention was adopted by the State of Jammu  Kashmir
We are unable to agree with this view
Section 37 talks of collective responsibility of Ministers to the Legislative Assembly
That only means that the Council of Ministers will have to stand or fall to other every member being responsible for the action of any Other
The emphasis is on collective responsibility as distinguished from individual responsibility
The only way that a legislature can effectively enforce this responsibility of the Council of Ministers to it is by voting it out of office
Furthermore this responsibility is of the Council of Ministers
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad did not at the date of the Notification belong to that Council
He did not on that date owe any responsibility to the Legislature under section 37
That section has no application to this case Again section 3 of the Inquiry Act states The Government may and shall if a resolution in this behalf is passed by the Jammu  Kashmir State Legislative Assembly or the Jammu  Kashmir Legislative Council by notification appoint a Commission of Inquiry
It would therefore appear that the Act gave power to the Government to set up a Commission and also to both the Houses of the Legislature to require a Commission to be set up
It is important to note that even the Legislative Council has a right to get a Com mission appointed though section 37 of the Constitution does not say anything about the responsibility of the Ministers to that Council
The Act was passed by the State Legislature consisting of both the Houses
It would show that the Legislature did not consider that there was any convention or anything in section 37 which prevented a Commission of Inquiry being set up under the Act at the instance of the Government or the Legislative Council
The High Court had rejected this contention and we think that it did so rightly
The next point urged in support of the petition was that the Act permitted a Commission to be set up for making an inquiry into a definite matter of public importance and the matters which the Commission had been set tip to inquire into were not such
This contention found favour with all the learned Judges of the High Court
We are however unable to accept it
It is true that 406 a Commission can be set up only to inquire into a definite matter of public importance
But we think that the matters into which the Commission was asked to inquire were such matters
The first inquiry was as to the assets possessed by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and the other persons mentioned in the Notification in October 1947 and in October 1963 and the second was whether during this period being the sixteen years when he held office as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister he and the other persons named had obtained any assets or pecuniary advantage by abuse of his official position or by that position being exploited by the others with his consent knowledge or connivance this inquiry being confined only to the instances set out in the second Schedule to the Notification
That Schedule contains 38 instances the first of which in substance repeats the second head of inquiry earlier mentioned
The other items refer to individual instances of people being made to part with property under pressure brought upon them by abuse of official position and of public money being misappropriated
At the end of this Schedule there is a note  stating that the gravamen of the charge was that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad abused his official position and the other persons named exploited that position with his consent knowledge or connivance in committing the acts whereby they acquired vast wealth
The inquiry was therefore into the assets possessed by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and the persons named respectively in October 1947 and in October 1963 and to find out whether they had during this period acquired wealth by the several acts mentioned in the second Schedule by abuse or exploitation of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s official position
The first question is whether these are matters of public importance
Two of the learned Judges held that they were not and the third took the contrary view
This was put on two grounds
First it was said that these matters were not of public importance because they had to be so at the date of the Notification and they were not so on that date as Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad did not then hold any office in the Government
It was next said that there was no evidence of public agitation in respect of the conduct complained of and this showed that they were not matters of public importance
We do not think that either of these grounds leads to the view that the matters were not of public importance
As regards the first it is difficult to imagine how a Commission can be set up by a Council of Ministers to inquire into the acts of its head the Prime Minister while he is in office
It certainly would be a most unusual thing to happen
If the rest of the Council of Ministers resolves to have any inquiry the Prime Minister can be expected to ask for their resignation
In any case he would himself go out
If he takes the first course then no Commission would be set up for the Ministers wanting the inquiry Would have gone
If he went out himself then the Commission would be set up to inquire into the acts of a person who was no longer in office and 407 for that reason if the learned Judges of the High Court were right into matters which were not of public importance
The result would be that the acts of a Prime Minister could never be inquired into under the Act
We find it extremely difficult to accept that view
These learned Judges of the High Court expressed the view that the acts of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad would have been acts of public importance if he was in office but they ceased to be so as he was out of office when the Notification was issued
In taking this view they appear to have based themselves on the observation made by this Court in Ram Krishan Dalmia vs Shri Justice section R Tendolkar1 that the conduct of an individual may assume such a dangerous proportion and may so prejudicially affect or threaten to affect the public well being as to make such conduct a definite matter of public importance urgently calling for a full inquiry
The learned Judges felt that since Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was out of office he had become innocuous apparently it was felt that he could no longer threaten the public wellbeing by his acts and so was outside the observation in Dalmia s case
We are clear in our mind that this is a misreading of this Court s observation
This Court as the learned Judges themselves noticed was not laying down an exhaustive definition of matters of public importance
What is to be inquired into in any case are necessarily past acts and it is because they have already affected the public well being or their effect might do so that they became matters of public importance
It is irrelevant whether the person who committed those acts is still in power to be able to repeat them
The inquiry need not necessarily be into his capacity to do again what he has already done and it may well be into what he has done
The fact that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad is no longer in office does not affect he question whether his acts already done constitute matters of public importance
If once it is admitted as it was done before us that if he had been in office his acts would have been matters of public importance that would be acknowledging that his acts were of this character
His resignation from office cannot change that character
A Minister of course holds a public office
His acts are necessarily public acts if they arise out of his office
If they are grave enough they would be matters of public importance
When it is alleged that a Minister has acquired vast wealth for himself his relations and friends as is done here by abuse of his official position there can be no question that the matter is of public importance
It was said that the object of inquiry was to collect material for the prosecution of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and therefore the matters to be required into were not of public importance
This contention is in our view fallacious
It is of public importance that public men failing in their duty should be called upon 1  5SCI 28 408 to face the consequences
It is certainly a matter of importance to the public that lapses on the part of the Ministers should be exposed
The cleanliness of public life in which the public should be vitally interested must be a matter of public importance
The people are entitled to know whether they have entrusted their affairs to an unworthy man
It is said that the Notification did not mention anything about the steps to be taken to prevent recurrence of the lapses in future
But that it could not do
Before the facts were found steps could not be thought of for the steps had to suit the facts
The inquiry proposed in this case will in the course of finding out the lapses alleged find out the process as to how they occurred and it is only after the process is known that steps can be devised to meet them
It was also contended that the inquiry was into allegations of misconduct against Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and an inquiry into allegations was not contemplated by the Inquiry Act
We are wholly unable to agree
An inquiry usually is into a question
That question may arise on allegations made
Dabnia s case1 dealt with an inquiry ordered at least in part into allegations made against people in charge of a big mercantile enterprise
Allegations may very well raise questions of great public importance
Suppose it is alleged that people in a city are suffering from ill health and that is due to the contaminated water supplied by the city admi nistration
It cannot be said that these allegations about the existence of poor health and its causes are not matters of grave public importance
They would be so even if it was found that the people s health was not poor and the water was not contaminated
It cannot also be said that allegations can never be definite
They can be as definite as any existing concrete matter
It must depend on what the allegation is
Then as to the question whether the allegations against Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad were not matters of public importance because there was no public agitation over them
The Notification itself and the affidavits filed in this case on behalf of the appellants in fact state that there had been allegations made by the public against Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad that he had amassed a large fortune by the misuse of his office
But it was said that there was no proof that the allegations had actually been made
Whether there was proof would depend on whether the statements in the Notification and the affidavits were accepted or not
We are however unable to agree that a matter cannot be of public importance unless there was public agitation over it
Public may not be aware of the gravity of the situation
They may not know the facts
Some members of the public may be aware of individual cases but the entire public may not know all of them
There may have been influences working to prevent public agitation
Again whe 11959 SCR 279 409 ther a matter is of public importance or not has to be decided essentially from its intrinsic nature
If a matter is intrinsically of public importance it does not cease to be so because the public did not agitate over it
Take this case
Suppose the Government sets up a Commission to inquire into the mineral wealth in our country
The public are not likely to agitate over this matter for they would not know about the mineral wealth at all
Can it be said that the inquiry does not relate to a matter of public importance because they did not agitate over it The answer must plainly be in the negative
This would be so whether there were in fact minerals or not
Considering the allegations contained in the Notification by themselves we think for the reasons earlier mentioned that they constitute matters of public importance even if there was no public agitation over them
It was said that G M Sadiq D P Dhar and various other people had praised the administration of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad
That they no doubt did
But these were speeches made in support of party politics
They might again have been made without knowledge of full facts
They cannot in any event turn a matter of public importance into one not of that character
It was then pointed out that the Notification only mentioned that the matters were of public importance but did not say that they were definite matters of public importance
The Act as we have earlier pointed out requires that the matters to be inquired into shall be definite matters of public importance
But this omission of the word definite in the Notification does not in our opinion make any difference
A Court can decide whether the matters to be inquired into are definite matters of public importance Definite  in this connection means something which is not vague
One of the learned Judges of the High Court held that the matters set out in the second Schedule were vague as some of the instances did not give any date or year
He also said that the note at the end of the second Schedule to which we have earlier referred added to the vagueness
We are unable to accede to this view
What the learned Judge had in mind was apparently the particulars of the acts
In most cases the acts are identifiable from the particulars given in the second Schedule in respect of them
Further it is obvious that they had to be identified at the hearing and could not be proved nor any notice taken of them unless that was done
It does not appear to have been contended before the Commission that there was any matter not so identifiable
Neither do we think that the note drawing attention to the gravamen of the charges at the end of the second schedule indicates any indefiniteness
In most of the allegations it had been expressly stated that the act was done by the misuse of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s official position and by his permitting others to exploit that it is this which made the matters matters of public importance and it was for greater safety that the note was appended so that no 5SCI 28a 410 doubt was left as to the gravamen of the charge in each of the allegations made
The next point against the validity of the Notification was based on section IO of the Act which is in these terms 10
1 If at any stage of the inquiry the Commission considers it necessary to inquire into the conduct of any person or is of opinion that the reputation of any person is likely to be prejudicially effected by the inquiry the Commission shall give to that person a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the inquiry and producing evidence in his defence Provided that nothing in this sub section shall apply when the credit of a witness is being impeached
2The Government every person referred to in sub section 1 and with the permission of the Commission any other person whose evidence is recorded by the Commission a may cross examine any person appearing before the Commission other than a person produced by it or him as a witness b may address the Commission
3 It was contended that it showed that an inquiry may be made under the Act into the conduct of a person only incidentally that is to say it can be made only when that becomes necessary in connection with an inquiry into something else
It was therefore contended that the present inquiry which was directly into the conduct of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was outside the scope of the Act
It was also said that section 10 gives a statutory form to the rules of natural justice and provides for the application of such rules only in the case when a person s conduct comes up for inquiry by the Commission incidentally
It was then said that the Act could not have contemplated an inquiry directly into the conduct of an individual since it did not provide specifically that he should have the right to be heard the right to cross examine and the right to lead evidence which were given by section 10 to the person whose conduct came to be inquired into incidentally
We are unable to accept this view of section 10
Section 3 which permits a Commission of Inquiry to be appointed is wide enough to cover an inquiry into the conduct of any individual
It could not be a natu ral reading of the Act to cut down the scope of section 3 by an implication drawn from section 10
We also think that this argument is illfounded for we are unable to agree that section 10 does not apply to a person whose conduct comes up directly for inquiry before a Commission set up under section 3
We find nothing in the words of section 10 to justify that view
If a Commission is set up to inquire directly into the conduct of a person the Commission must find 411 it necessary to inquire into that conduct and such a person would therefore be one covered by section 10
It would be strange indeed if the Act provided for rights of a person whose conduct incidentally came to be enquired into but did not do so in the case of persons whose conduct has directly to be inquired into under the order setting up the Commission
It would be equally strange if the Act contemplated the conduct of a person being inquired into incidentally and not directly
What can be done indirectly should obviously have been considered capable of being done directly
We find no justification for accepting the reading of the Act which learned counsel for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad suggests
The next attack on the Notification was that it had been issued mala fide
One of the learned Judges of the High Court expressly rejected this contention and the others also seem to have been of the same view for they did not accept it
We find no reason to accept it either
In that view of the matter we consider it unnecessary to discuss this aspect of the case in great detail
We have set out the broad events of the case and it is on them that the case of mala fide is based
It is not in dispute that for some time past there was political rivalry between Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and G M Sadiq
It was also said that there was personal animosity because G M Sadiq wanted to advance the interest of his relatives and followers by ousting persons belonging to Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s group in various fields
This allegation of personal animosity cannot be said to have been established
It is really on the political rivalry and the events happening since September 21 1964 that the allegation of male fide is founded
It was said that the steps taken since the arrest of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad down to the setting up of the Commission of Inquiry were all taken with the intention of driving him out of the political life so that G M Sadiq would have no rival as a political leader
First as to the arrest
The case of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was that the arrest was mala fide
On the other side it was said that since about July 1964 various allegations of abuse of power by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad some of which formed the subject matter of inquiry had come to the notice of the Government and thereupon investigations were started by the Criminal Investigation Department at the instance of the Government
In order to stop the investigation Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and his followers started dowdyism and other form of breaches of law and order endangering public safety and maintenance of public order
It was pointed out that the situation in Kashmir had not been easy for some time past due to the hostile intentions of Pakistan and China and breach of law and order added to the seriousness of the position
It was said that for these reasons Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad had to be arrested and detained under the Defence of India Rules
it was said on behalf of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad that prior to the arrest a no confidence motion had been sponsored and had actually gathered in volume and the arrest was made to stultify 412 it
What support the no confidence motion had we do not know
It would appear however that the Criminal Investigation Department had been making inquiries against Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s acts for some time past and the situation in Kashmir was inflammable
In those circumstances it cannot be said that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s arrest was mala fide
He was no doubt released from arrest after a petition had been moved for his release and before the petition was heard
It was said that he was released because the Government found that the petition was bound to succeed
We have no material before us on which we can say that the petition was bound to succeed
On behalf of G M Sadiq and D P Dhar it was said that he was released because of ill health
This does not appear to have been denied
It was also said on behalf of G M Sadiq that the investigation having been completed there was no cause for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to instigate breaches of law and order and therefore it was not necessary to keep him in detention any longer
On the evidence before us we are unable to say that the case made by G M Sadiq cannot be accepted
As to the prorogation of the Assembly it is said by the appellants that it was necessary because it was apprehended that if the Assembly met there might have been trouble inside the House created by Bakshi Ghufam Mohammad s followers who resented the arrest
On the materials before us we are unable to say that this apprehension was pretended
It was also said by the appellants that the prorogation had been decided upon before the arrest of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad but the order could not be passed because the Sadar i Riyasat was out of Srinagar from before September 15 1964 when both the arrest and prorogation had been decided upon and did not return there till some time on September 21 1964
The fact that the Sadar i Riyasat returned on that date is not denied
As we have said the arrest and the prorogation took place on the next day that is September 22 1964
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was released on December 15 1964 and the Notification challenged was issued on January 30 1965
On these facts we are unable to hold that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad has been able to establish that the inquiry had been set up mala fide owing to political rivalry
It has been said on behalf of the appellants that there could be no political rivalry because as appears from Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad s own affidavit he had declared his intention to retire from politics
On behalf of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad it was stated that G M Sadiq had made a statement that he would be released after a Commission of Inquiry was set up and this would show that the detention was mala fide and that would indicate that the Notification had also been issued mala fide
That statement is not before us
On behalf of G M Sadiq it was said that such a statement had not been made and what had been said was that he would be released after the completion of investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department as thereafter there 413 will be no occasion for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to disturb the public peace and safety
It was also said that it had been mentioned that after the completion of the investigation the Commission of Inquiry would be set up
This is not denied
It however does not make the arrest mala fide
It was further said by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad that the statement showed that the Commission was set up to prevent him from disturbing public safety and law and order and that therefore it was outside the scope of the Inquiry Act
This was denied on behalf of G M Sadiq
In the absence of the statement it is impossible for us to say which is the correct version
Another point taken was that the affidavits filed on behalf of the appellants showed that the Government were satisfied about the correctness of the allegations into which the inquiry was directed
It was contended that since the inquiry is for finding facts if the Government were already satisfied about them there was no need for further inquiry
This contention has no force at all
What the affidavit really said was that the Government were prima facie satisfied
They had to be so before they could honestly set up the Commission to make the inquiry
It was said on behalf of G M Sadiq that before setting up the Commission the Government had investigated into the facts through the Criminal Investigation Department and if the Government s intention was mala fide they could have started criminal proceedings and ruined the political life of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad just as well thereby and kept him busy and out of politics for a long time
It was pointed out that this might have resulted in serious consequences for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad which the Commission of Inquiry would not
It was also pointed out that the Commissioner appointed was a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India
All this it was said would indicate that the action had not been prompted by malice
We cannot say that these contentions of the appellants have no force
The next ground of attack on the Notification was based on article 14
It was said that most of the matters into which the Commission had been directed to inquire formed the subject matters of Cabinet decisions
It was pointed out that since such matters are confidential and no one is allowed to divulge in what way the members of the Cabinet voted on them it must be held that they were all equally responsible for the acts sanctioned
That being so it was contended that by picking Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad out of the entire Cabinet for the purpose of the Inquiry the Government had discriminated against him in a hostile way
It was contended that the Notification must be set aside on that ground
We find this contention untenable
The inquiry is in respect of wealth acquired by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and his friends and relatives by misuse of his official position
It would be strange if all the members of the Cabinet voluntarily abused their office for putting money into the pockets of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and his friends
Let us however assume that all the 414 members of the Cabinet assisted Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad in doing this
It is however not said that other members had acquired wealth by these acts
He was therefore in a class by himself
This classification has further a rational connection with the setting up of the Commission for the object is to find out whether the wealth had been acquired by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad by the abuse of official position
It remains now to deal with the last point
This was directed against the proceedings of the Commission
It was said that the proceedings had been conducted in a manner contrary to the rules of natural justice and to statutory provisions
Two specific complaints were made
The first was that the Commission had not allowed Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to inspect all the documents before he was called upon to answer the allegations made against him
The second was that the Commission had refused him permission to cross examine persons who had filed affidavits supporting the allegations made against him
We have now to set out the procedure followed by the Commission
It first called upon the Government to file affidavits in support of the allegations in the second schedule to the Notification and to produce the documents which supported them
It then asked Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to file his affidavit in answer
Thereafter the Commission decided whether any prima facie case had been made for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to meet and in that process rejected some of the allegations
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was told that there was no case which be had to meet in respect of them
Out of the remaining allegations a group was selected for final consideration and it was decided that the rest would be taken up gradually thereafter
In connection with that group of cases counsel for Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad wanted to cross examine all the persons who had filed affidavits supporting the Government s allegations in the cases included in that group
The Commissioner ordered that he would not give permission to cross examine all the deponents of affidavits but would decide each case separately
It was after this that the petition for the writ was presented
The question of inspection is no longer a live question
It is true that when Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was directed to file his affidavits he had not been given inspection of  all the documents and files which the Government proposed to use to support their case
On behalf of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad it was said that this was a denial of the rules of natural justice
It is not necessary to consider this question because it is admitted that since then inspection of the entire lot of files and documents has been given
At the final hearing of the allegations therefore Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad would no longer be at any disadvantage
The next point is as to the right of cross examination
This claim was first based on the rules of natural justice
It was said 415 that these rules require that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad should have been given a right to cross examine all those persons who had sworn affidavits supporting the allegations against him
We are not aware of any such rule of natural justice
No authority has been cited in support of it
Our attention was drawn to Meenglas Tea Estates vs Their Workmen1 but there all that was said was that when evidence is given viva voce against a person be must have the opportunity to hear it and to put the witnesses questions in cross examination
That is not our case
Furthermore in Meenglas Tea Estate case1 the Court was not dealing With a fact finding body as we are
Rules of natural justice require that a party against whom an allegation is being inquired into should be given a hearing
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was certainly given that It was said that the right to the hearing included a right to cross examine
We are unable to agree that is so
The right must depend upon the circumstances of each case and must also depend on the statute under which the allegations are being inquired into
This Court has held in Nagendra Nath Bora vs Commissioner of Hills Division and Appeals Assam1 that the rules of natural justice vary with the varying constitution of statutory bodies and the rules prescribed by the Act under which they function and the question whether or not any rules of natural justice had been contravened should be decided not under any preconceived notions but in the light of the statutory rules and provisions
 We have to remember that we are dealing with a statute which permits a Commission of Inquiry to be set up for fact finding purposes
The report of the Commission has no force proportion vigorous
This aspect of the matter is important in deciding the rules of natural justice reasonably applicable in the proceedings of the Commission of Inquiry under the Act Then we find that section 10 to which we have earlier referred gives a right to be heard but only a restricted right of cross exaniination
The latter right is confined only to the witnesses called to depose against the person demanding the right
So the Act did not contemplate a right of hearing to include a right to crossexamine
It will be natural to think that the statute did not intend that in other cases a party appearing before the Commission should have any further right of cross examination
We therefore
think that no case has been made out by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad that the rules of natural justice require that lie should have a right to cross examine all the persons who had sworn affidavits supporting the allegations made against him
We will now deal with the claim to the right to cross examine based on statutory provision
That claim is based on section 4c of the Act
The relevant part of the section is as follows The Commission shall have the power of a Civil Court
while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Proce 1  2  416 dure Svt
1977 in respect of the following matters namely a summoning and ao enforce the attendance yof an person and examining him on oath b c receiving evidence on affidavits  It is not in dispute that the Code of Civil Procedure of Jammu and Kashmir State referred to in this section is in the same terms as the Indian Code of Civil Procedure
Order 19 r I of the Indian Code reads as follows Any Court may at any time for sufficient reason order that any particular fact or facts may be proved by affidavit or that the affidavit of any witness may be read at the hearing on such conditions as the Court thinks reasonable Provided that where it appears to the Court that either party bona fide desires the production of a witness for cross examination and that such witness can be produced an order shall not be made authorising the evi dence of such witness to be given by affidavit
 The contention is that the powers of the Commission therefore to order a fact to be proved by affidavit are subject to the proviso that power cannot be exercised when a party desires the production of the persons swearing the affidavits for cross examining them
The contention was accepted by the High Court
We take a different view of the matter
We first observe that the inquiry before the Commission is a fact finding inquiry
Then we note that section 10 which in our opinion applies to a person whose conduct comes up for inquiry by the Commission directly has a right to cross examine only those persons who give viva voce evidence before the Commission against him
If section 4c conferred a right to cross examine every one who swore an affidavit as to the facts involved in the inquiry then section 102 would become superfluous
An interpretation producing such a result cannot be right
It also seems to us that O 19 r
I has to be read with O 18 r 4 which states that the evidence of the witnesses in attendance shall be taken orally in open court
It would appear therefore that O 19 r I is intended as a sort of exception to the provisions contained in O 18 r 4
The Act contains no provision similar to O 18 r 4
Therefore when section 4c of the Act gave the Commission the power of receiving evidence on affidavits it gave that as an independent power and not by way of an exception to the general rule of taking evidence viva voce in open court
It would be natural in such circumstances to think that what the Act gave was only the power 417 to take evidence by affidavit and did not intend it to be subject to the proviso contained in O 19 r I
If it were not so then the result really would be to require all evidence before the Commission to be given orally in open court
If that was intended it would have been expressly provided for in the Act
We should here refer to Khandesh Spinning etc
Co Ltd vs Rashtriya Girni Kamgar Sangh1 where this Court dealing with a somewhat similar section like section 4c observed that facts might be proved by an affidavit subject to O 19 r 1
The observations appear to have been obiter dicta
In any case that case was dealing with a statute different from the one before us
The observation there made cannot be of much assistance in interpreting the Jammu and Kashmir Inquiry Act
The number of witnesses swearing affidavits on the side of the Government may often be very large
In fact in this case the number of witnesses swearing affidavits on the side of the Government is it appears in the region of four hundred
The statute could not have intended that all of them had to be examined in open court and subjected to cross examination for then the proceedings of the Commission would be interminable
We feel no doubt that the Act contemplated a quick disposal of the business before the Commission for otherwise
the object behind it might have been defeated
While on this topic we would impress upon the Commission the desirability of speedy disposal of the inquiry
For these reasons in our view section 4c of the Act does not confer a right on a party appearing before the Commission to require a witness giving evidence by an affidavit to be produced for his cross examination
The Commission would of course permit cross examination in a case where it thinks that necessary
The view that we take should not put any party in any difficulty
He can always file affidavits of his own denying the allegations made in affidavits filed on behalf of the other party
If the evidence on both sides is tendered by affidavits no one should be at any special disadvantage
We have also to remember that section 9 of the Act gives the Commission power to regulate its own procedure subject to any rules made under the Act
We find that the rules provide that evidence may be given by affidavits and the Commission may after reading it if it finds it necessary to do so record the evidence of the deponents of the affidavits and also of others see ff
6 7 and 8
Rule 10 reproduces the restricted right of cross examination given by section 10
Rule 11 says that in all matters not provided by the rules the Commission may decide its own procedure
One of the matters covered by the rules is cross examination of witnesses
So the rules contemplate cross examination as a matter of procedure and the Commission is free to decide what cross examination it will allow provided that in doing so it cannot go behind the rules relating to cross examination
Section 9 of the Act has to be read in the light of these rules
All this
we think supports 11060 2 SCR 841
418 the interpretation we have put on section 4c
We also feel that the procedure before a body like the Commission has necessarily to be flexible
We therefore reject the last contention
In our view for these reasons the judgment of the High Court cannot be supported
We accordingly set it aside
The appeal is allowed
Appeal allowed


Summary:
The first respondent became a member of the Council of Ministers of the State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 and was the Prime Minister of the State from 1953 to January 1963 when he resigned
Thereafter a Notification was issued by the State Government under section 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir Commission of Inquiry Act 1962 setting up a Commission to inquire into the wealth acquired by the first respondent and certain specified members of his family during his period of office the Commission was also to inquire whether in acquiring this wealth there was any abuse of his official position by the first respondent or the said relatives
The Commissioner so appointed held certain sittings between February 1965 and August 1965 in which the first respondent took part
In September 1965 he filed a writ petition before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and the High Court allowing the said petition set aside the Notification instituting the inquiry and quashed the proceedings of the Commission
The State appealed to the Court
HELD i Section 37 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir talks of the collective responsibility of Ministers to the Legislative Assembly
That only means that the Council of Ministers will have to stand or
fall together every member being responsible for the action of any other
The section does not mean that a Minister is responsible for his acts only to the Legislature and no action can be taken against him except for criminal or tortuous acts in the ordinary course of law unless the Legislature by a resolution demanded it
No British convention to this effect if any can be said to have been adopted by section 37
Furthermore the responsibility to the Legislature is of the Council of Ministers and not of those who have like the first respondent ceased to be Ministers
405C E
iiSection 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act expressly gives power to Government as well as to both the Houses of Legislature to initiate action instituting an inquiry
When enacting it the Legislature obviously did not consider that there was any convention or anything in section 37 which prevented a Commission of Inquiry being set up under the Act at the instance of the Government or the Legislative Council
405F G iiiThe acts of a Minister while in office do not cease to be matters of public importance after he ceases to hold office their character cannot change
When it is alleged that a Minister has acquired vast wealth for himself and his friends by abuse of his official  position there can be no question that the matter is of public 402 importance
It does not cease to be of public importance merely because what is proposed is to inquire into allegations and not into the steps to be taken to prevent lapses in the future
Nor can absence of public agitation show that the facts to be inquired into are not of public importance
407E G 408 G Ram Krishan Dalmia vs Shri Justice section R Tendolkar   referred to
iv It is incorrect to say that allegations mentioned are not definiteor that an inquiry into them is not contemplated by the Inquiry Act
409 E F v It cannot be inferred from the provisions of section 10 of the Act that a Commission of Inquiry can inquire into the conduct of a person only incidentally when the main inquiry is in respect of something else
What can be done indirectly should obviously have been considered capabe of being done directly
411B viOn the facts of the case the inquiry could not be said to be mala fide
412F viiThe doctrine of Cabinet responsibility does not mean that if an inquiry was made against one of the members of the Cabinet that would be discrimination under article 14
The respondent was in a class by himself and the classification was justified
414A B viiiThe rule of natural justice only requires that a hearing should be given
When the Commission refused permission to the first respondent to cross examine all the witnesses who had filed affidavits against him no rule of natural justice was violated
415G Meenglas Tea Estate V Their Workmen 19642 SCR 165 and Nagendra Nath Bora vs Commissioner of Hills Division  Appeals Assam  ixSection 10 of the Act gives a right to cross examine only these persons who give viva voce evidence before the Commissioner
416F xSection 4c of the Act does not confer a right on a party appearing before the Commission to require a witness giving evidence by affidavit to be produced for his cross examination
The Commission would of course permit cross examination in a case where it thinks that necessary
417E