133 of 1959
Petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India for enforcement of Fundamental Rights
A V Viswanatha Sastri and G Gopalakrishnan for the petitioner
D Narasa Raju Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh D Venkatappayya Sastri and  T M Sen for respondents Nos
T V R Tatachari for respondent 1 No 4 1960
December 6
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by section K DAS J
This is a writ petition under article 32 of the Constitution
Gazula Dasarstha Rama Rao is the petitioner
The respondents are 1 the State of Andhra Pradesh 2 the Board of Revenue Andhra Pradesh 3 the Collector of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and 4 Vishnu Molakala Chahdramowlesshwara 933 Rao
The petitioner prays that this Court must declare section 6 of the Madras Hereditary Village Offices Act 1895 Madras Act III of 1895 hereinafter called the Act as void in so far as it infringes the fundamental right of the petitioner under articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and further asks for an appropriate writ or direction quashing certain orders passed by respondents 1 to 3 in favour of respondent No 4 in the matter of the latter s appointment as Village Munsif of a newly constituted village called Peravalipalem
When this petition first came up for hearing we directed a notice to go to other States of the Union inasmuch as the question raised as to the constitutional validity of the law relating to a hereditary village office was of a general nature and might arise in relation to the existing laws in force in other States
Except the State of Andhra Pradesh which has entered appearance through its Advocate General none of the other States have entered appearance
The Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh has appeared for respondents 1 to 3 and respondent 4 has been separately represented before us
These respondents have contested the application and have pleaded that section 6 of the Act does not violate any fundamental right nor are the impugned orders of respondents 1 to 3 invalid in law
The short facts are these Village Peravali in Tenali taluq of the district of Guntur in the State of Andhra Pradesh was originally comprised of a village of the same name and a fairly large hamlet called Peravalipalem
The two were divided by a big drainage channel
It is stated that for purposes of village administration the villagers felt some difficulties in the two being treated as one unit So the villagers particularly those of the hamlet but in an application to the Revenue authorities for constituting the hamlet into a separate village
This application was re commended by the Tehsildar and was accepted by the Board of Revenue and the State Government
By an order dated August 25 1956 Peravali village was bifurcated and two villages were constituted
The 118 934 order was published in the District Gazette on October 1151956 and was in these terms The Board sanctions the bifurcation of Peravali village of Tenali taluq Guntur district into two villages viz 1 Peravali and 2 Peravalipalem along the boundary line shown in the map submitted by the Collector of Guntur with his letter Re A 4
2815055 dated 30th June 1956
These orders will come into effect from the date of publication in the District Gazette
The Board sanctions the following establishments on the existing scale of pay for the two villages Peravali 1 Village Munsif
1 Karnam
1 Talayari
3 Vettians
Peravalipalem 1 Village Munsif
1 Karnam
1 Talayari
1 Vettian
 It is convenient to read at this stage sub section
1 of section 6 of the Act under which the bifurcation was made section 61
In any local area in which this Act is in force the Board of Revenue may subject to rules made in this behalf under section 20 group or amalgamate any two or more villages or portions thereof so as to form a single new village or divide any village into two or more villages and thereupon all hereditary village offices of the classes defined in section 3 clause 1 of this Act in the villages or portions of villages or village grouped amalgamated or divided as aforesaid shall cease to exist I and new offices which shall also be hereditary shall the created for the new village or villages
In choosing persons to fill such new offices the Collector shall select the persons whom he may consider the best qualified from among the families of the last holders of the offices which have been abolished
 935 On the division of the village into two villages all the hereditary village offices of the original village ceased to exist under the aforesaid sub section and new offices were created for the two villages
We are concerned in this case with the appointment to the office of Village Munsif in the newly constituted village of Peravalipalem
In accordance with the provisions of sub section
1 of section 6 and certain Standing Orders of the Board of Revenue the Revenue Divisional Officer Tenali invited applications for the post of Village Munsif of Peravalipalem
Eight applications were made including one by the petitioner and another by respondent 4
Respondent 4 be it noted is a son of the Village Munsif of the old village Peravali
By an order dated October 18 1956 the Revenue Divisional Officer appointed the petitioner as Village Munsif of Peravalipalem
From the order of the Revenue Divisional Officer respondent 4 and some of the other unsuccessful applicants preferred appeals to respondent 3 the Collector of Guntur
By an order dated April 1 1957 respondent 3 allowed the appeal of respondent 4 and appointed him as Village Munsif of Peravalipalem
In his order respondent 3 said Shri V Chandramowleswara Rao is qualified for the post
He is the son of the present Village Munsif of Peravali and is therefore heir to that post section 61 of the Hereditary Village Offices Act states that in choosing a person to fill a new office of this kind the Collector shall select the person whom he may consider best qualified from among the family of the last holder of the office which has been abolished
The Village Munsif s post of the undivided village of Peravali was abolished when the village was divided and the new post of Village Munsif of Peravalipalem has to be filled up from among the family of the previous Village Munsif
The same instructions are contained in Board s Standing Order 1482
 The petitioner then carried an appeal from the order of respondent 3 to the Board of Revenue
By an order dated April 24 1958 the Board dismissed the appeal and stated According to section 6 in choosing the person to fill 936 in a new office like this the Collector shall select the person whom he considers best qualified from among the families of the last holders of the office which have been abolished
Here the office of the Village Munsif was abolished and two new offices have been created
As the last holder of the office was appointed to the new village Peravali after bifurcation the Collector has appointed the son of the last office holder as Village Munsif of Peravalipalem as he is the nearest heir
The appellant before the Board cannot claim any preference over the son of the last office holder The Board therefore holds that the Collector s order is in accordance with the law on the subject
No interference is therefore called for The petitioner then moved respondent 1 but without success
Thereafter he filed the present writ petition
The petitioner relies mainly on clauses 1 and 2 of article 16 of the Constitution
We may read those clauses here article 161
There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State 2 No citizen shall on grounds only of religion race caste sex descent place of birth residence or any of them be ineligible for or discriminated against in respect of any employment or office under the State
 On behalf of the petitioner it has been contended that 1 the office of Village Munsif of Peravalipalem is an office under the State and 2 respondents 1 to 3 in passing their orders in favour of respondent 4 expressly stated that they proceeded on the basis of the hereditary principle laid down in section 61 of the Act and discriminated against him as a citizen
on the ground of descent only
This discrimination it is argued violates the guarantee of equal opportunity enshrined in article 16 cls
1 and 2 and section 61 of the Act to the extent that it permits such discrimination is void under article 131 of the Constitution
The first question before us is if the office of Village 937 Munsif under the Act is an office under the State within the meaning of cls
1 and 2 of article 16 of the Constitution
For determining that question it is necessary to examine the scheme and various provisions of the Act
The long title shows that it was an Act made to repeal Madras Regulation VI of 1831 and for other purposes
The purposes mentioned in the preamble are to provide more precisely for the succession to certain hereditary village offices in the State for the hearing and disposal of claims to such offices or the emoluments annexed thereto for the appointment of persons to hold such offices and the control of the holders thereof and for certain other purposes
 Section 3 of the Act refers to classes of village offices to which the Act applies and Village Munsif is one of such offices
Under section 4 emoluments of the office means and includes i lands ii assignment of revenue payable in respect of lands iii fees in money or agricultural produce and iv money salaries and all other kinds of remuneration granted or continued in respect of or annexed to any office by the State
Section 5 lays down that the emoluments of village offices whether such offices be or be not hereditary shall not be liable to be transferred or encumbered in any manner whatsoever and it shall not be lawful for any Court to attach or sell such emoluments or any portion thereof Sub section
1 of section 6 relates to the grouping or division of villages this sub section we have already read
Sub section
2 of section 6 gives a right to the Board of Revenue subject to the approval of Government to reduce the number of village offices and on such reduction the Collector is empowered to dispense with the services of the officers no longer required
Sub section
3 of6 which was subsequently added in 1930 says thatminor shall not be ineligible for selection by reasonof his minority only
Section 7 states the circumstances in which the Collector may of his own motion or on complaint and after enquiry suspend remove or dismiss etc
 some of the village officers mentioned in section 3
A similar power of punishment is also given to the Tehsildar
Under these provisions the Collector may suspend remove 938 or dismiss the Village Munsif
Section 10 lays down certain rules which are to be observed in making appointments to some of the village offices and these rules lay down among other things the general qualifications requisite for appointment to the offices in question
For example for the appointment to the office of Village Munsif no person
is eligible unless he has attained the age of
majority is physically and mentally capable of discharging the duties of the office has qualified according to the educational test prescribed for the office by the Board of Revenue has not been convicted by a Criminal Court of any offence which in the opinion of the Collector disqualifies him for holding the office and has not been dismissed from any post under the Government on any ground which the Collector considers sufficient to disqualify him for holding the office
One of the qualifications prescribed by section 10 as it originally stood required that the applicant must be of the male sex
This requirement was deleted by the Adaptation Amendment Order of 1950 presumably to bring the section into conformity with articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution which prohibit discrimination on the ground of sex
Sub section
2 of section 10 says that the succession shall devolve on a single heir according to the general custom and rule of primogeniture governing succession to impartable zamindar is in Southern India  Sub section
3 of section 10 says that where the next heir is not qualified the Collector shall appoint the person next in order of succession who is so qualified and in the absence of any such person in the line of succession may appoint any person duly qualified
Sub sections
4 5 and 6 of section 10 deal with matters with which we ore not directly concerned
Section 11 lays down the rules to be observed in making appointments to certain offices in proprietary estates and one of the rules is that succession shall devolve in accordance with the law or custom applicable to the office in question
Section 13 in effect says that any person may sue before the Collector for any of the village offices specified in section 3 or for the recovery of the emoluments of any such office on the ground that he is entitled to hold such office and 939 enjoy such emoluments
There are some provisos to the section which lay down limitations on the right of suit
With those limitations we are not concerned in the present case
Section 14 lays down the period of limitation for bringing a suit
Sections 15 16 and 17 relate to the transfer and trial of such suits and the decrees or orders to be passed therein
Section 20 empowers the Board of Revenue to make rules and section 21 bars the jurisdiction of Civil Courts
Section 23 provides for appeals
The above gives in brief the scheme and provisions of the Act
These provisions show in our opinion that the office of Village Munsif under the Act is an office under the State
The appointment is made by the Collector the emoluments are granted or continued by the State the Collector has disciplinary powers over the Village Munsif including the power to remove suspend or dismiss him the qualifications for appointment can be laid down by the Board of Revenue all these show that the office is not a private office under a private employer but is an office under the State
The nature of the duties to be performed by the Village Munsif under different provisions of the law empowering him in that behalf also shows that he holds a public office
He not only aids in collecting the revenue but exercises power of a magistrate and of a Civil Judge in petty cases
He has also certain police duties as to repressing and informing about crime etc
The learned Advocate General appearing for respondents 1 to 3 has contended that the expression  office under the State in article 16 has no reference to an office like that of the Village Munsif which in its origin was a customary village office later recognised and regulated by law
His contention is that the expression has reference to a post in a Civil Service and an ex cadre post under a contract of service as are referred to in articles 309 and 310 in Part XIV of the Constitution relating to the Services under the Union and the States
He has referred in support of his contention to Ilbert s Supplement to the Government of India Act 1915 p 261 where a similar 940 provision with regard to the Indian Civil Service has been referred to as laying down that no native of British India  is by reason only of his religion place of birth descent or colour or any of them disabled from holding any place office or employment under His Majesty in India and has pointed out that the aforesaid provision reproduced section 87 of the Act of 1833 and historically the office to which the provision related was an office or employment in a Service directly under the East India Company or the Crown
He also referred to section 298 of the Government of India Act 1935 which said inter alia that no subject of His Majesty domiciled in India shall on grounds only of religion place of birth descent colour or any of them be ineligible for office under the Crown in India
 The argument  of the learned Advocate General is that article 16 embodies the same principle as inspired the earlier provisions referred to above and like the earlier provisions it should be confined to an office or post in an organised public Service or an excadre post under a contract of service directly under the Union or the State
He has further suggested that the deletion of the requirement as to sex in section 10 of the Act was by reason of article 15 and not article 16 of the Constitution
The argument is plausible but on a careful consideration we are unable to accept it as correct
Even if we assume for the purpose of argument that articles 309 and 310 and other Articles in Chapter 1 Part XIV of the Constitution relate only to an organised public Service like the Indian Administrative Service etc and ex cadre posts under a direct contract of service which have not yet been incorporated into a Service we do not think that the scope and effect of cls
1 and 2 of article 16 can be out down by reference to the provisions in the Services Chapter of the Constitution
Article 14 enshrines the fundamental right of equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India
It is available to all irrespective of whether the person claiming it is a citizen or not
Article 15 prohibits discrimination on some special grounds religion race caste sex place 941 of birth or any of them
It is available to citizens only but is not restricted to any employment or office under the State
Article 16 cl
1 guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State and el
2 prohibits discrimination on certain grounds in respect of any such employment or appointment
It would thus appear that article 14 guarantees the general right of equality articles 15 and 16 are instances of the same right in favour of citizens in some special circumstances
Article 15 is more general than article 16 the latter being confined to matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State
It is also worthy of note that article 15 does not mention descent  as one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination whereas article 16 does
We do not see any reason why the full ambit of the fundamental right guaranteed by article 16 in the matter of employment or appointment to any office under the State should be cut down by a reference to the provisions in Part XIV of the Constitution which relate to Services or to provisions in the earlier Constitution Acts relating to the same subject
These Service provisions do not enshrine any fundamental right of citizens they relate to recruitment conditions and tenure of service of persons citizens or otherwise appointed to a Civil Service or to posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or any State
The word State  be it noted has a different connotation in Part III relating to Fundamental Rights it includes the Government and Parliament of India the Government and Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India etc
Therefore the scope and ambit of the Service provisions are to a large extent distinct and different from the scope and ambit of the fundamental right guaranteeing to all citizens an equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
The preamble to the Constitution states that one of its objects is to secure to all citizens equality of status and opportunity article 16 gives equality of opportunity in matters 119 942 of public employment
We think that it would be wrong in principle to cut down the amplitude of a fundamental right by reference to provisions which have an altogether different scope and purpose
Article 13 of the Constitution lays down inter alia that all laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of the Constitution in so far as they are inconsistent with fundamental rights shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void
In that Article law  includes custom or usage having the force of law
Therefore even if there was a custom which has been recognised by law with regard to a hereditary village office that custom must yield to a fundamental right
Our attention has also been drawn to cl
4 of article 16 which enables the State to
make provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which in the opinion of the State is not adequately represented in the services under the State
The argument is that this clause refers to appointments or posts and further talks of inadequate representation in the services and the learned Advocate General has sought to restrict the scope of cls
1 and 2 of article 16 by reason of the provisions in el
We are not concerned in this case with the true scope and effect of cl
4 and we express no opinion with regard to it
All that we say is that the expression office under the State  in cls
1 and 2 of article 16 must be given its natural meaning
We are unable therefore to accept the argument of the learned Advocate General that the expression  office under the State  in article 16 has a restricted connotation and does not include a village office like that of the Village Munsif
In M Ramappa vs Sangappa and Others 1 the question arose whether certain village offices governed by the Mysore Villages Offices Act 1908 were offices of profit under the Government of any State within the meaning of article 191 of the Constitution
This Court held that the offices were offices of profit under the Government and said
An office has to be held under someone for it is impossible to conceive of an office held under no one
1 943 The appointment being by the Government the office to which it is made must be held under it for there is no one else under whom it can be held
The learned Advocate said that the office was held under the village community
But such a thing is an impossibility for village communities have since a very long time ceased to have any corporate existence
 Learned Counsel for respondent 4 has presented a somewhat different argument on this question
He has submitted that the office of Village Munsif is not merely an office simpliciter but it is an office cum property
His argument is that article 16 does not apply to a hereditary village office because a person entitled to it under the Act has a pre existing right to the office and its emoluments which he can enforce by a suit
We now proceed to consider this argument
Learned Counsel for respondent 4 has relied on the decision of this Court in Angurbala Mullick vs Debabrata Mullick 1 where it was held that in the conception of shebaiti under Hindu law both the elements of office and property of duties and personal interest are mixed up and blended together and one of the elements cannot be detached from the other
He has argued that on the same analogy the office of a village Munsif must be held to be an office cum property
We do not think that the analogy holds
As this Court pointed out in Kalipada Chakraborti and Another vs Palani Bala Devi and Others 2 shebaitship is property of a peculiar and anomalous character and it is difficult to say that it comes under the category of immovable property as it is known to law
As to the office of a Village Munsif under the Act the provisions of the Act itself and a long line of decisions make it quite clear that what go with the office are its emoluments whether in the shape of land assignment of revenue agricultural produce money salary or any other kind of remuneration
These emoluments are granted or continued in respect of or annexed to the office by the State
This is made clear by section 4 of the Act
Apart from the office there is no right to the emoluments
In other words when a person is appoint 1 2 944 ed to be a Village Munsif it is an appointment to a an office by the State to be remunerated either by the use of land or by money salary etc
 it is not the case of a grant of land burdened with service a distinction which was explained by the Privy Council in Lakhamgouda Basavprabhu Sardesai vs Baswantrao and Others 1
In Venkata vs Rama 2 where the question for decision was the effect of the enfranchisement of lands forming the emoluments of the hereditary village office of Karnam it was pointed out Emoluments for the discharge of the duties of the office were provided either in the shape of land exempt from revenue or subject to a lighter assessment or of fees in grain or cash or of both land and fees
         When the emoluments consisted of land the land did not became the family property of the person appointed to the office whether in virtue of an hereditary claim to the office or otherwise
It was an appanage of the office inalienable by the office holder and designed to be the emolument of the officer into whose hands soever the office might pass
If the Revenue authorities thought fit to disregard the claim of a person who asserted an hereditary right to the office and conferred it on a stranger the person appointed to the office at once become entitled to the lands which constituted its emolument
 The same view was re affirmed in Musti Venkata Jagannada Sharma vs Musti Veerabhadrayya 3 where the history of the office of Karnam was examined and it was observed that the Karnam of the village occupies his office not by hereditary or family right but as personal appointee though in certain cases that appointment is primarily exercised in favour of a suitable person who is a member of a particular family This latter decision was considered by a Full Bench of the Madras High Court in Manubolu Ranga Reddi vs Maram Reddi Dasaradharami
Reddi 4 1 AIR 1931 PC 157
3 AIR 1922 PC 96
2 ILR 8 Mad
4 ILR 945 and it was pointed out that their Lordships of the Privy Council though they indicated the nature of the right which the Karnam had did not consider the  question whether on the creation of an office under section 61 the members of the family of the last holder of the abolished office had the right to compel the Collector to carry out the duty cast upon him by the section
It was held that section 61 creates a right in the family which can be enforced by suit
Learned Counsel for respondent 4 has relied on this decision
It is worthy of note however that the decision was given on the footing that section 61 was valid and mandatory in character
No question arose or could at that time arise of the contravention of a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution by_ the hereditary principle embodied in section 61 of the Act
The decision proceeded on the footing that the Act recognised a right vested in a family  to the office in question and contained provisions to enforce that right
It did not proceed upon the footing that the family had a right to the property in the shape of emoluments independent or irrespective of the office
In other words the decision cannot be relied upon in support of the contention that a hereditary village office is like a shebaiti that is office cum property
That was not the ratio of the decision
The ratio simply was this that the Act bad recognised the right vested in a family to the office in question
That decision cannot assist respondent 4 in support of his contention that article 16 cls
1 and 2 do not apply to the office even though the office is an office under the State
In Ramachandurani purshotham vs Ramachandurani Venkatappa and Another 1 the question was whether the office of Karnam was property  within the meaning of article 191f of the Constitution
It was held that it was not property within the meaning of that Article
The same view was expressed in Pasala Rama Rao vs Board of Revenue 2 where if was observed that the right to succeed to a hereditary office was not property and the relation back of an adopted son s rights was only with regard to property
1 AIR 1952 Mad
2 AIR 1954 Mad
946 This view was not accepted in Chandra Chowdary vs The Board of Revenue 1 where it was observed that the fact that the adoption was posthumous did not make any difference and the adoption being to the last office holder the adopted son must be deemed to have been in existence at the time of the death of the male holder and had the right to succeed to the office
It was further observed that the office of a Village Munsif was property  so as to attract the operation of the rule that the adoption related back to the date of the death of the last male holder
We are not concerned in this case with the doctrine of relation back in the matter of a posthumous adoption
The simple question before us is whether the office though it is an office under the State is of such a nature that cls
1 and 2 of article 16 of the Constitution are not attracted to it
We are of the view that there is nothing in the nature of the office which takes it out of the ambit of cls
1 and 2 of article 16 of the Constitution
An office has its emoluments and it would be wrong to hold that though the office is an office under the State it is not within the ambit of article 16 because at a time prior to the Constitution the law recognised a custom by which there was a preferential right to the office in the members of a particular family
The real question is is that custom which is recognised and regulated by the Act consistent with the fundamental right guaranteed by article 16 We do not agree with learned Counsel for respondent 4 that the family had any pre existing right to property in the shape of the emoluments of the office independent or irrespective of the office
If there was no such pre existing right to property apart from the office then the answer must clearly be that article 16 applies and section 61 of the Act in so far as it makes a discrimination on the ground of descent only is violative of the fundamental right of the petitioner
There can be no doubt that section 61 of the Act does embody a principle of discrimination on the ground of descent only
It says that in choosing the persons to fill the new offices the Collector shall select the persons whom he may consider the best qualified from 1 AIR 1959 Andhra Pradesh 343
947 among the families of the last holders of the offices which have been abolished
This in our opinion is discrimination on the ground of descent only and is in contravention of article 162 of the Constitution
Learned Counsel for respondent 4 has also submitted that the petitioner cannot be permitted to assert the invalidity of section 61 of the Act when he himself made an application for appointment as Village Munsif under the Act
He has drawn our attention to the decision in Bapatla Venkata Subba Rao v Sikharam Ramakrishna Rao1
That was a case where the appellant was appointed as a hereditary Karnam under the Act and but for the Act he would not have had any claim to be appointed to the office of Karnam
It was held that he could not be permitted to contend for the first time in appeal that the very Act but for which he would not have had any right to the office was unconstitutional
Apart from the question whether a fundamental right can be waived a question which does not fall for consideration in this case it is clear to us that the facts here are entirely different
The petitioner had the right to make an application for the new village office and he was accepted by the Revenue Divisional Officer
Respondents 1 to 3 however passed orders adverse to him and in favour of respondent 4 acting on the principle of discrimination on the ground of descent only as embodied in section 61 of the Act
It is we think open to the petitioner to say that section 61 of the Act in so far as it violates his fundamental right guaranteed under article 16 of the Constitution is void and his application for appointment must therefore be decided on merits
Finally we must notice one other argument advanced by the learned Advocate General on behalf of respondents 1 to 3
The argument is based on the distinction between articles 15 and 16
We have said earlier that article 15 is in one respect more general than article 16 because its operation is not restricted to public employment it operates in the entire field of State discrimination
But in another sense with 1 AIR 1958 Andhra Pradesh 322
948 regard to the grounds of discrimination it is perhaps less wide than article 16 because it does not include  descent  amongst the grounds of discrimination
The argument before us is that the provision impugned in this case must be tested in the light of article 15 and not article 16
It is submitted by the learned Advocate General that the larger variety of grounds mentioned in article 16 should lead us to the conclusion that article 16 does not apply to offices where the law recognises a right based on descent
We consider that such an argument assumes as correct the very point which is disputed
If we assume that article 16 does not apply then the question itself is decided
But why should we make that assumptions If the office in question is an office under the State then article 16 in terms applies therefore the question is whether the office of Village Munsif is an office under the State
We have held that it is
It is perhaps necessary to point out here that cl
5 of article 16 shows that the Article does not bear the restricted meaning which the learned Advocate General has canvassed for because an incumbent of an office in connexion with the affairs of any religious or denominational institution need not necessarily be a member of the Civil Service
For the reasons given above we allow the petition
The orders of respondents 1 to 3 in respect of the appointment to the post of Village Munsif of Peravalipalem in favour of respondent 4 are set aside and we direct that the application of the petitioner for the said office be now considered on merits by the Revenue authorities concerned on the footing that section 61 of the Act in so far as it infringes the fundamental right of the citizens of India
under article 16 of the Constitution is void
The petitioner will be entitled to his costs of the hearing in this Court
Petition allowed


Summary:
Village P in the State of Andhra Pradesh was originally comprised of a village of the same name and a fairly large hamlet called PP but in view of the difficulties in the two being treated as one unit for purposes of village administration the Board of Revenue sanctioned the bifurcation of P into two villages P and PP
On the division of the village all the hereditary village offices of the original village ceased to exist under section 61 of the Madras Hereditary Village Offices Act 1895 and new offices were created for the two villages
The section provided inter alia that in choosing persons to fill such new offices the Collector shall select the persons whom he may consider the best qualified from among the families of the last holders of the offices which have been abolished Though applications for the post of Village Munsif of PP had been invited by the Revenue authorities and the petitioner among others had made the application respondent 4 who was the son of the Village Munsif of the old village P was selected on the ground that in view of section 61 of the Act as the last holder of the office was appointed to the new village P after bifurcation respondent 4 as the son of the last holder and nearest heir had a preferential claim for the post of Village Munsif for PP
The petitioner challenged the validity of the order of the Revenue authorities on the grounds 1 that the office of Village Munsif was an office under the State and that the order in favour of 932 respondent 4 which expressly stated that they proceeded on the basis of the hereditary principle laid down in section 61 of the Act discriminated against him as a citizen on the ground of descent only and violated the guarantee of equal opportunity enshrined in article 16 of the Constitution of India and 2 that section 61 of the Act to the extent that it permitted such discrimination was void under article 131 of the Constitution
The plea of the respondents was 1 that the expression office under the State in article 16 had no reference to an office like that of the Village Munsif which in its origin was a customary village office later recognised and regulated by law and 2 that article 16 did not apply to a hereditary office because a person entitled to it under the Act had a pre existing right to the office and its emoluments which could be enforced by a suit
Held 1 that a village office like that of the Village Munsif was an office under the State within the meaning of article 16 of the Constitution of India M Ramappa vs Sangappa and otheys  167 referred to
2 that a person entitled to an office under section 61 of the Madras Hereditary Village Offices Act 1895 did not have any pre existing right to property in the shape of emoluments of the office independent or irrespective of the office and consequently to such an office article 16 applied and 3 that section 61 of the Act embodied a principle of discrimination on the ground of descent only and was in contravention of article 162 of the Constitution