IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. C.W.P. No. 7037 of 2010. [O&M] Date of Decision: 21st September, 2010. Life Insurance Corporation of India Petitioner through Mr. B.R.Mahajan, Advocate Versus Union of India & Ors. Respondents through Mr. Karminder Singh, Advocate. Mr. H.S.Brar, Addl.AG, Punjab. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? SURYA KANT, J. [ORAL] The petitioner – Life Insurance Corporation of India seeks quashing of the communication-cum-orders dated 06.04.2010, 09.04.2010 and 12.04.2010 [Annexures P-5, P-6 and P-8] whereby the Senior Divisional Manager, Life Insurance Corporation of India at Jalandhar has been directed to make available services of at least 150 employees to work as Enumerators/Supervisors for performing the work of Census in the State and the said Senior Divisional Manager has been deputed as 'Charge Officer' for the said purpose. The only question that arises for consideration is as to whether the petitioner's employees can be deployed for the Census work under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948? For the purposes of resolving the controversy, Sections 4, 4-A and 7 have been referred to which read as follows:- “Section 4[1] The Central Government may appoint a Census Commissioner to supervise the taking of the census throughout the area in which the census is intended to be taken and [Directors of Census Operations] to supervise the taking of the census within the several States. [2] The State Government may appoint persons as census-officers with such designations as that Government may deem necessary to take, or aid in, or supervise the taking of, the census within any specified local area and such persons when so appointed, shall be bound to serve accordingly. [3] A declaration in writing, signed by any authority authorized by the State Government in this behalf, that any person has been duly appointed a census-officer for any local area shall be conclusive proof of such appointment. [4] The State Government may delegate to such authority as it thinks fit the power of appointing census-officers conferred by sub-section [2]. [4A] Even local authority in a State shall, when so directed by a written order by the Central Government or by an authority appointed by that Government in this behalf, make available to any Director of Census Operations such staff as may be necessary for the performance of any duties in connection with the taking of census. 7. The District Magistrate, or such authority as the State Government may appoint in this behalf for any local area, may, by written order which shall have effect throughout the extent of his district or of such local area, as the case may be, call upon - [a] all owners and occupiers of land, tenure- holders, and farmers and assignees of land revenue, or their agents, [b] all members of the district, municipal, panchayat and other local authorities and officers and servants of such authorities, and [c] all officers and members of staff of any factory, firm or establishment, to give such assistance as shall be specified in the order towards the taking of a census of the persons who are, at the time of the taking of the census, on the lands of such owners, occupiers, tenure-holders, farmers and assignees, or in the premises of factories, firms and other establishments, or within the areas for which such local authorities are established, as the case may be, and the persons to whom an order under this section is directed shall be bound to obey it and shall, while acting in pursuance of such order, be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code”. There can indeed be no doubt that the Life Insurance Corporation is not a 'Local Authority' as it does not fulfill the ingredients of sub-Section [31] of Section 3 of the General Clauses Act. Similarly, the impugned communications do not fall within the ambit of Section 4[2] of the Census Act as the services of 150 employees of the LIC have been sought to work as Enumerators/Supervisors and not as 'Census Officers'. Likewise, Section 7[c] of the Act also can not be pressed into aid by the respondents as it merely enables the District Magistrate to seek assistance from the officers/members of the staff of an establishment for the purposes of 'taking of census of the officers who are, at the time of taking of census, are in the premises of the establishment and/or are within the areas for which the said local authorities are established........”. The impugned communications no where mention that the services of the employees of the LIC have been called upon for the purposes of carrying out the census work of the persons employed on the establishment of the LIC only. For the reasons afore-stated and in the light of the principles laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Election Commissioner of India v State Bank of India, Patna & Ors., 1995 [Suppl.2] SCC, 13, I am of the considered view that the impugned communications are beyond the scope and powers conferred by the Census Act, 1948. The same are accordingly quashed. This order, however, shall not preclude the state Government to invoke its powers under Section 4[2] and/or the District Magistrate to act within the ambit of Section 7[c] of the Act wherever and whenever so required. Disposed of. Dasti. September 21, 2010. ( SURYA KANT ) dinesh JUDGE