Case: U.N. R. Rao Vs. Smt. Indira Gandhi

1. This appeal by certificate is directed against the judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Madras dismissing Writ Petition No. 63 of 1971 filed by U. N. R. Rao, appellant before us. In this petition the appellant had prayed that a writ of quo warranto be issued to the respondent, Smt. Indira Gandhi, and it be declared that the respondent has no constitutional authority to hold the office of and to function as Prime Minister of India.      2. In brief, the appellant contends that under the Constitution as soon as the House of the People is dissolved under Art. 85 (2) of the Constitution the Council of Ministers, i.e., the Prime Minister and other Ministers, cease to hold office. According to him this follows plainly from the wording of Art. 75 (3), which provides that "the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People." How can the Council of Ministers be responsible to the House of the People when it has been dissolved under Art. 85 (2)? According to him no void in the carrying out of Government will be created because the President can exercise the Executive Power of the Union either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution as provided in Art. 53 (1) of the Constitution.

Court's reasoning:
9. It seems to us that we must read the word "shall" as meaning "shall" and not "may". If Article 74 (1) is read in this manner the rest of the Provisions dealing with the Executive must be read in harmony with it. Indeed they fall into place. Under Article 75 (l) the President appoints the Prime Minister and appoints the other Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister, and under Article 75 (2) they hold office during the pleasure of the President. The President has not said that it is his pleasure that the respondent shall not hold office10. Now comes the crucial clause three of Art. 75. The appellant urges that the House of People having been dissolved this clause cannot be complied with. According to him it follows from the provisions of this clause that it was contemplated that on the dissolution of the House of People the Prime Minister and the other ministers must resign or be dismissed by the President and the President must carry on the Government as best as he can with the aid of the Services. As we have shown above, Art. 74 (1) is mandatory and therefore, the President cannot exercise the executive power without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. We must then harmonise the provisions of Art 75 (3) with Art. 74 (1) and Art. 75 (2).Article 75 (3) brings into existence what is usually called "Responsible Government". In other words the Council of Ministers must enjoy the confidence of the House of People. While the House of People is not dissolved under Art. 85 (2) (b), Art. 75 (3) has full operation. But when it is dissolved the Council of Ministers cannot naturally enjoy the confidence of the House of People. Nobody has said that the Council of Ministers does not enjoy the confidence of the House of People when it is prorogued. In the context, therefore, this clause must be read as meaning that Art 75 (3) only applies when the House of People does not stand dissolved or prorogued. We are not concerned with the case where dissolution of the House of People takes place under Art. 83 (2) on the expiration of the period of five years prescribed therein, for Parliament has provided for that contingency in S. 14 of the Representation of the People Act, 195111. On our interpretation other articles of the Constitution also have full play; e. g. Article 77 (3) which contemplates allocation of business among Ministers, and Article 78 which prescribes certain duties of Prime Minister12. We ate grateful to the learned Attorney General and the appellant for having supplied to us compilations containing extracts from various books on Constitutional Law and extracts from the debates in the Constituent Assembly. We need not burden this judgment with them. But on the whole we receive assurance from the learned authors and the speeches that the view we have taken is the right one and is in accordance with conventions followed not only in the United Kingdom but in other countries following a similar system of responsible Government.