Judgment Case ID: 834

Judgment:
ION: Criminal Appeal No. 76 of 1956. Appeal from the judgment and order dated August 27	 1954	 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Misc. Writ No. 20 of 1954. 823 K. L. Misra	 Advocate General for the State of Uttar Pradesh. Mathur and C. P. Lal	 for the appellants. N. section Bindra	 for the respondent.1960. January 21. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SUBBA RAO J. This appeal raises the question of interpretation of the words " in the interest of public order " in article 19(2) of the Constitution. The facts are not in dispute and they lie in a small compass. The respondent	 Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia	 is the General Secretary of the Socialist Party of India. The U. P. Government enhanced the irrigation rates for water supplied from canals to cultivators. The party to which the respondent belongs resolved to start an agitation against the said enhancement for the alleged reason that it placed an unbearable burden upon the cultivators. Pursuant to the policy of his party	 the respondent visited Farrukhabad and addressed two public meetings wherein he made speeches instigating the audience not to pay enhanced irrigation rates to the Government. On July 4	 1954	 at 10 p.m. he was arrested and produced before the City Magistrate	 Farrukhabad	 who remanded him for two days. After investigation	 the Station officer	 Kaimganj	 filed a charge sheet against the respondent before Sri P. R. Gupta	 a Judicial Officer at Farrukliabad. On July 6	 1954	 the Magistrate went to the jail to try the case against the respondent	 but the latter took objection to the trial being held in the jail premises. When the Magistrate insisted upon proceeding with the trial	 the respondent obtained an adjournment on the ground that he would like to move the High Court for transfer of the case from the file of the said Magistrate. Thereafter the respondent filed a petition before the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus on the ground	 among others	 that section 3 of the U. P. Special Powers Act (Act No. XIV of 1932)	 1932	 (hereinafter called the Act) was void under the Constitution. 105 824 In the first instance the petition came up for disposal before a division bench of the High Court at Allahabad consisting of Desai and Chaturvedi	 Elaborate arguments were addressed before them covering a wide field. The learned Judges delivered differing judgments expressing their views on the main points raised before them. They referred the matter to the Chief Justice for obtaining the opinion of a third Judge on the following two points: " (i) Was the ' provision of section 3 of the U. P. Special Powers Act of 1932 making it penal for a person by spoken words to instigate class of persons not to pay dues recoverable as arrears of land revenue	 inconsistent with article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution on the 26th of January	 1950 ? " and " (ii) if so	 was it in the interests of public order ? ". The petition was placed before Agarwala	 J.	 as a third Judge	 who agreeing with Desai	 J.	 gave the following answers to the questions referred to him : Question No. (i). "The provision of section 's of the U. P. Special Powers Act	 1932	 making it penal for a person by spoken words to instigate a class of persons not to pay dues recoverable as arrears of land revenue	 was inconsistent with Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution on the 26th January	 1950." Question No. (ii). " The restrictions imposed by section 3 of the U. P. Special Powers Act	 1932	 were not in the interests of public order. " In the usual course the matter was placed before the two learned Judges who first heard the case and they	 on the basis of the majority view	 allowed the petition and directed the respondent to be released. The State has preferred the present appeal against the said order of the High Court. The learned Advocate General	 appearing for the appellant. stated before us that be did not propose to canvass the correctness of the majority view on one of the important points raised in the case	 namely	 that the effect of the passing of the Act did not ipso facto deprive a citizen of his freedom of speech guaranteed. under article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and its validity should be tested by the provisions 825 of article 19(2) thereof. He did not. concede the validity of the finding in this regard but assumed its correctness for the purpose of this case. Nothing further	 therefore	 need be mentioned on this point. The gist of the argument of the learned Advocate General may be stated thus: The legislature can make laws placing reasonable restrictions on the rights of a citizen to freedom of speech and expression in the interests of public order among other grounds. The words "in the interests of public order" are wider in connotation than the words " for the maintenance of public order ". Laws are rules made by the legislature for the governance of the people in the State which they are bound to obey	 and they are enacted to keep public peace and order. The avowed object of section 3 of the Act was to prevent persons from instigating others to break the laws imposing a liability upon a person or class of persons to pay taxes and other dues to the State	 any authority or to any land owner. The impugned section was enacted in the interests of public order and therefore the section was protected by article 19(2) of the Constitution. The learned Advocate General pointed out that the object of the State in preferring this appeal was to obtain the decision of this Court on the question of constitutional validity of section 3 of the Act and not to pursue the matter against Dr. Lohia. The respondent was not present at the time the appeal was heard and was not represented by an advocate. As the question raised was an important one	 we requested Mr. N. section Bindra to assist the Court	 and he kindly agreed to do so. He supported the majority view of the High Court. We record our thanks for his assistance. At the outset it would not be out of place to notice briefly the history of the Act. The Act was originally passed in the year 1932 during the British rule. In an attempt to offset the campaign of non payment of taxes and other forms of agitation resorted to by the Congress Party	 originally it was put on the statute book for one year; but in 1940 when the State was under the " Governor 's rule "	 the Act was made 826 permanent. Under the Act	 sections 1 and 2 came into effect immediately on the passing of the Act and section 1(2) enabled the Government by notification to extend all or any of the remaining sections to any district or to any part of a district in the United Provinces. After the Constitution	 the Act was not repealed but was allowed to continue	 with necessary adaptations	 in the statue book. Between April and June	 1954	 the State Government extended the provisions of the Act to 33 districts including Farrukhabad district. Now lot us look at the provisions of the Act to ascertain its scope and field of operation. The preamble discloses that it was enacted in 1932 to make provision against and to take powers to deal with instigation to the illegal refusal of the payment of certain liablities and section 2 defines " liablity " to mean " land revenue or any sum recoverable as arrears of land revenue or any tax	 rate	 cess or other dues or amount payable to Government or to any local authority	 or rent of agricultural land or anything recoverable as arrears of or along with such rent ". Section 3 prescribes the punishment for instigation to the non payment of a liability. As the argument centres round this section	 it will be convenient to read the same: Section 3: Whoever	 by word	 either spoken or written	 or by signs or by visible representations	 or otherwise	 instigates	 expressly or by implication	 any person or class of persons not to pay or to defer payment of any liability	 and whoever does any act	 with intent or knowing it to be likely that any words	 signs or visible representations con. taining such instigation shall thereby be communicated directly or indirectly to any person or class of persons	 in any manner whatsoever	 shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months	 or with fine	 extending to Rs. 250	 or with both. " Section 4 says that any person to whom an arrear of liability is due may apply to the Collector to realize it and the Collector is authorized to realize the same 827 as an arrear of land revenue. The impugned section may be dissected into the following components (i) whoever by word	 either spoken or written	 or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise	 (ii) instigates	 (iii) expressly or by implication	(iv) any person or class of persons	 (v) not to pay any liability	 (vi) to defer payment of any liability	 (vii) does an act with intent that any words etc. shall be communicated to any person or class of persons	 (viii) with the knowledge that it is likely that such words etc. shall be communicated to any person or class of persons	 (ix) such communication may be made directly	 or indirectly and (x) shall be punished with imprisonment or with fine or with both. Under this section a wide net has been cast to catch in a variety of acts of instigation ranging from friendly advice to a systematic propaganda not to pay or to defer payment of liability to Government	 any authority or to any person to whom rent is payable in respect of agricultural land. The meaning of this section	 read along with sections 2 and 4	 can be ascertained more clearly by illustration than by definition. (1) A instigates B not to pay any liability to Government	 any authority or to any land owner; (2) A instigates B to defer payment of any liability to Government	 any authority or landlord; (3) A instigates a class of persons to do the same; (4) A may do any one of the foregoing things not only by word	 but also by signs	 visible representations or otherwise; (5) A may do any one of the things bona fide either to get the claim decided in a Court of law or to gain time to get the law changed; (6) A may instigate B not to pay any amount due to Government or to any authority	 but the said amount can be recovered by the authority concerned as arrears of land revenue; (7) A may tell C with intention or with knowledge that the said instigation may be communicated to B so that he may not pay; (8) any statement by A to C may imply such instigation. In its wide amplitude the section takes in the innocent and the guilty persons	 bona fide and mala fide advice	 individuals and class	 abstention from payment and deferment of payment	 828 expressed or implied instigation	 indirect or direct instigation	 liability due not only to Government but to any authority or landholder. In short	 no person	 whether legal adviser or a friend or a well wisher of a person instigated can escape the tentacles of this section	 though in fact the rent due has been collected through coercive process or otherwise. We shall now proceed to consider the constitutional validity of this section. The material portions of the relevant provisions of the Constitution may now be read: Article 19: " (1) All citizens shall have the right (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (2) Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law	 or prevent the State from making any law	 in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the security of the State	 friendly relations with foreign States	 public order	 decenc or morality or in relation to contempt of court	defamation or incitement to an offence. " Clause (2) of article 19 was amended by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act	 1951. By this amendment several new grounds of restrictions upon the freedom of speech have been introduced	 such as friendly relations with foreign States	 public order and incitement to an offence. It is self evident and common place that freedom of speech is one of the bulwarks of a democratic form of Government. It is equally obvious that freedom of speech can only thrive in an orderly society. Clause (2) of article 19	 therefore	 does not affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right of freedom of speech in the interest of public order	 among others. To sustain the existing law or a new law made by the State under cl. (2) of article 19	 so far as it is relevant to the present enquiry	 two conditions should be 829 complied with	 viz.	 (i) the restrictions imposed must be reasonable; and (ii) they should be in the interests of public order. Before we consider the scope of tile word	 	 of limitation	 " reasonable restrictions" and " in the interests of "	 it is necessary to ascertain the true meaning of the expression public order " in the said clause. The expression public order" has a very wide connotation. Order is the basic need in any organised society. It implies the orderly state of society or community in which citizens can peacefully pursue their normal activities of life. In the words of an eminent Judge of the Supreme Court of America " the essential rights are subject to the	 elementary need for order without which the guarantee of those rights would be a mockery ". The expression has not been define(] in the Constitution	 but it occurs in List II of its Seventh Schedule and is also inserted by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act	 1951 in el. (2) of article 19. The sense in which it is used in article 19 can only be appreciates by ascertaining how the Article was construed before it was inserted therein and what was the defect to remedy which the Parliament inserted the same by the said amendment. The impact of el. (2) of article 19 on article 19(1)(a) before the said amendment was subject to judicial scrutiny by this Court in Romesh Thappar vs The State of Madras(l). There the Government of Madras	 in exercise of their powers under section 9(1 A) of the Madras Maintenance of Public Order Act	 1949	 purported to issue an order whereby they imposed a ban upon the entry and circulation of the journal called " Cross .Roads " in that State. The petitioner therein contended that the said order contravened his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. At the time when that order was issued the (expression " public order " was not in article 19(2) of the Constitution; but the words " the security of the State " were there. In considering whether the impugned Act was made in the interests of security of the State	 Patanjali Sastri	 J.	 as he then was	 after citing the observation of Stephen in his Criminal Law of England	 states: (1) [1950) S.C.R. 594	 600	 601	 602	 830 "Though all these offences thus involve disturbances of public tranquillity and are in theory offences against public order	 the difference between them being only a difference of degree	 yet for the purpose of gurading the punishment to be inflicted in respect of them they may be classified into different minor categories as has been done by the Indian Penal Code. Similarly	 the Constitution	 in formulating the varying criteria for permissible legislation imposing restrictions on the fundamental rights enumerated in article 19 (1)	 has placed in a distinct category those offences against public order which aim at undermining the security of the State or overthrowing it	 and made their prevention the sole justification for legislative abridgement of freedom of speech and expression	 that is to say	 nothing less than endangering the foundations of the State or threatening its overthrow could. justify curtailment of the rights to freedom of speech and expres sion. . " The learned Judge continued to state: " The Constitution thus requires a line to be drawn in the field of public order or tranquillity marking off	 may be	 roughly	 the boundary between those serious and aggravated forms of public disorder which are calculated to endanger the security of the State and the relatively minor breaches of the peace of a purely local significance	 treating for this purpose differences in degree as if they were differences in kind. " The learned Judge proceeded further to state: " We	 are therefore of opinion that unless a law restricting freedom of speech and expression is directed solely against the undermining of the security of the State or the overthrow of it	 such law cannot fall within the reservation under clause (2) of article 19	 although the restrictions which it seeks to impose may have been conceived generally in the interests of public order. " This decision establishes two propositions	 viz.	 (i) maintenance of public order is equated with maintenance of public tranquillity; and (ii) the offences against 831 public order are divided into two categories	 viz.	 (a) major offences affecting the security of the State	 and (b) minor offences involving breach of purely local significance. This Court in Brij Bhushan vs The state of Delhi (1) followed the earlier decision in the context of section 7 (1) (c) of the East Punjab Public Safety Act	 1949. Fazl Ali	 J.	 in his dissenting judgment gave the expression " public order " a wider meaning than that given by the majority view. The learned Judge observed at p. 612 thus: " When we approach the matter in this way	 we find that while ' public disorder ' is wide enough to cover a small riot or an affray and other cases where peace is disturbed by	 or affects	 a small group or persons	 'public unsafety (or insecurity of the State)	 will usually be connected with serious internal disorders and such disturbances of public tranquillity as jeopardize the security of the State. " This observation also indicates that " public order " is equated with public peace and safety. Presumably in an attempt to get over the effect of these two decisions	 the expression " public order " was inserted in article 19 (2) of the Constitution by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act	 1951	 with a view to bring in offences involving breach of purely local significance within the scope of permissible restrictions under cl. (2) of article 19. After the said amendment	 this Court explained the scope of Romesh Thappar 's Case (1) in The state of Bihar vs shailabala Devi (). That case was concerned with the constitutional validity of section 4 (1) (a) of the Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act	 1931. It deals with the words or signs or visible representations which incite to or encourage	 or tend to incite to or encourage the commission of any offence of murder or any cognizable offence involving violence. Mahajan	 J.	 as he then was	 observed at p. 660: " The deduction that a person would be free to incite to murder or other cognizable offence through the press with impunity drawn from our decision in (1) ; (2) ; 106 832 Romesh Thappar 's case could easily have been avoided as it was avoided by Shearer J.	 who in very emphatic terms said as follows: "I have read and re read the judgments of the Supreme Court	 and I can find nothing in them myself which bear directly on the point at issue	and leads me to think that	 in their opinion	 a restriction of this kind is no longer permissible. " The validity of that section came up for consideration after the Constitution (First Amendment) Act	 1951	 which was expressly made retrospective	 and therefore the said section clearly fell within the ambit of the words " in the interest of public order ". That apart the observations of Mahajan	 J.	 as he then was	 indicate that even without the amendment that section would have been good inasmuch as it aimed to prevent incitement to murder. The words " public order " were also understood in America and England as offences against public safety or public peace. The Supreme Court of America observed in Cantewell vs Connecticut (1) thus: "The offence known as breach of the peace embraces a great variety of conduct destroying or menacing public order and tranquillity. It includes not only violent acts and words likely to produce violence in others. No one would have the hardihood to suggest that the principle of freedom of speech sanctions incitement to riot When clear and present danger of riot	 disorder	 interference with traffic upon the public streets	 or other immediate threat to public safety	 peace	 or order appears	 the power of the State to prevent or punish is obvious. " The American decisions sanctioned a variety of restrictions on the freedom of speech in the interests of public order. They cover the entire gamut of restrictions that can be imposed under different heads in article 19(2) of our Constitution. The following summary of some of the cases of the Supreme Court of America given in a well known book on Constitutional Law illustrates the range of categories of cases covering (1) ; 	 308	 833 that expression. " In the interests of public order	 the State may prohibit and punish the causing of 'loud and raucousnoise ' in streets and public places by means of sound amplifying instruments	 regulate the hours and place of public discussion	 and the use of the public streets for the purpose of exercising freedom of speech; provide for the expulsion of hecklers from meetings and assemblies	 punish utterances tending to incite an immediate breach of the peace or riot as distinguished from utterances causing mere 'public inconvenience	 annoyance or unrest '. " In England also Acts like Public Order Act	 1936	 Theatres Act	 1843 were passed: the former making it an offence to use threatening	 abusive or insulting words or behaviour in any public place or at any public meeting with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be caused	 and the latter was enacted to authorise the Lord Chamberlain to prohibit any stage play whenever he thought its public performance would militate against good manners	 decorum and the preservation of the public peace. The reason underlying all the decisions is that if the freedom of speech was not restricted in the manner the relevant Acts did	 public safety and tranquillity in the State would be affected. But in India under article 19(2) this wide concept of" public order " is split up under different heads. It enables the imposition of reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression in the interests of the security of the State	 friendly relations with foreign States	 public order	 decency or morality	 or in relation to contempt of court	 defamation or incitement to an offence. All the grounds mentioned therein can be brought under the general head " public order " in its most comprehensive sense. But the juxtaposition of the different grounds indicates that	 though sometimes they tend to overlap	 they must be ordinarily intended to exclude each other. " Public order " is therefore something which is demarcated from the others. In that limited sense	 particularly in view of	 the history of the amendment	 it can be pustulated that "public order " 834 is synonymous with public peace	 safety and tranquillity. The next question is what do the words " interest of public order " mean ? The learned Advocate General contends that the phrase "in the interest of public order" is of a wider connotation than the words "for the maintenance of public order" and	therefore	 any breach of law which may have the tendency	 however remote	 to disturb the public order would be covered by the said phrase. Support is Sought to be drawn for this wide proposition from the judgment of this Court in Ramji Lal Modi vs The State of U.P. (1). It is not necessary to state the facts of that case	 as reliance is placed only on the observations of Das	 C.J.	 at p. 865	 which read: "It will be noticed that the language employed in the amended clause is "in the interests of" and not "for the maintenance of". As one of us pointed out in Debi Saron vs The State of Bihar (2)	 the expression "in the interests of" makes the ambit of protection very wide. A law may not have been designed to directly maintain public order and yet it may have been enacted in the interests of public order. " The learned Chief Justice again in Virendra vs The State of Punjab (3) observed	 at p. 317	 much to the same effect: "As has been explained by this Court in Ramji Lal Modi vs The State of U.P. (1)	 the words "in the interests of" are words of great amplitude and are much wider than the words "for the maintenance of. " The expression "in the interests of" makes the ambit of the protection very wide	 for a law may not have been designed to directly maintain the public order or to directly protect the general public against any particular evil and yet it may have been enacted "in the interests of" the public order or the general public as the case may be. " We do not understand the observations of the Chief Justice to mean that any remote or fanciful connection between the impugned Act and the public order (1) ; (2) A.I R. (1954) Pat 254 (3) ; 835 would be sufficient to sustain its validity. The learned Chief Justice was only making a distinction between an Act which expressly and directly purported to maintain public order and one which did not expressly state the said purpose but left it to be implied therefrom ; and between an Act that directly maintained public order and that indirectly brought about the same result. The distinction does not ignore the necessity for intimate connection between the Act and the public order sought to be maintained by the Act. Apart from the said phrase	 another limitation in the clause	 namely	 that the restrictions shall be reasonable	 brings about the same result. The word "reasonable" has been defined by this Court in more than one decision. It has been held that in order to be reasonable	 "restrictions must have reasonable relation to the object which the legislation seeks to achieve and must not go in excess of that object". The restriction made "in the interests of public order" must also have reasonable relation to the object to be achieved	 i.e.	 the public order. If the restriction has no proximate relationship to the achievement of public order	 it cannot be said that the restriction is a reasonable restriction within the meaning of the said clause. A full bench decision of the Federal Court in Rex vs Basudeva (1) contains some observations which give considerable assistance to construe the words. In that case	 the appellant was detained in pursuance of the order made by the Government of U.P. under the U.P. Prevention of Black Marketing (Temporary Powers) Act	 1947. The question was whether the preventive detention provided for in section 3(1) (i) of the said Act was preventive detention for reasons connected with the maintenance of public order. The argument in that case ran on the same lines as in the present case. The learned Advocate General there urged that habitual black marketing in essential commodities was bound sooner or later to cause a dislocation of the machinery of controlled distribution which	 in turn	 might lead to breaches of the peace and that	 therefore	 detention with a view to prevent such black marketing was covered by the (1) A.I.R. (1950) F.C. 67 836 entry. Answering that argument	 Patanjali Sastri	 J.	as he then was	 pointed out	 at p. 69: "Activities such as these are so remote in the chain of relation to the maintenance of public order that preventive detention on account of them cannot	 in our opinion	 fall within the purview of Entry I of List II. . .The connection contemplated must	 in our view	 be real and proximate. 	 not far fetched or problematical. " The decision	 in our view	 lays down the correct test. The limitation imposed in the interests of public order to be a reasonable restriction	 should be one which has a proximate connection or nexus with public order	 but not one far fetched	 hypothetical or problematical or too remote in the chain of its relation with the public order. We shall now test the impugned section	 having regard to the aforesaid principles. Have the acts prohibited under section 3 any proximate connection with public safety or tranquility ? We have already analysed the provisions of section 3 of the Act. In an attempt to indicate its wide sweep	 we pointed out that any instigation by word or visible representation not to pay or defer payment of any exaction or even contractual dues to Government	 authority or a landowner is made an offence. Even innocuous speeches are prohibited by threat of punishment. There is no proximate or even forseeable connection between such instigation and the public order sought to be protected under this section. We cannot accept the argument of the learned Advocate General that instigation of a single individual not to pay tax or dues is a spark which may in the long run ignite a revolutionary movement destroying public order. We can only say that fundamental rights cannot be controlled on such hypothetical and imaginary considerations. It is said that in a democratic set up there is no scope for agitational approach and that if a law is bad the only course is to get it modified by democratic process and that any instigation to break the law is in itself a disturbance of	 the public order. If this argument without obvious limitations be accepted	 it would 837 destroy the right to freedom of speech which is the very foundation of democratic way of life. Unless there is a proximate connection between the instigation and the public order	 the restriction	 in our view	 is neither reasonable nor is it in the interest of public order. In this view	 we must strike down section 3 of the Act as infringing the fundamental right guaranteed under article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The learned Advocate General then contended that the section is severable and that if so severed	 the section may be made to function within the limited field that stands the test of article 19(2) of the Constitution. He asks us to read the section as follows : "Whoever	 by word	 either spoken or written	 or by signs or by visible representations	 or otherwise	 instigates	 expressly or by implication	 any class of persons not to pay or to defer payment of any liability	 and whoever does any act	 with intent or knowing it to be likely that any words	 signs or visible representations containing such instigation shall thereby be communicated directly or indirectly to any class of persons	 in any manner whatsoever	 shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months	 or with fine	 extending to Rs. 250	 or with both." By so doing he argues that instigation of a class of persons only is made liable and thereby the section is rid of the vice of unconstitutionality. The doctrine of severability vis a vis the fundamental rights is sought to be supported on the basis of the wording of article 13(1) of the Constitution. Under that Article laws	 in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of Part III	 ire void only to the extent of such inconsistency. But this implies that consistent and inconsistent parts of a law are severable. This doctrine in its relation to fundamental rights was considered by this Court in three decisions. In Romesh Thapper 's case (1) such an. argument has been repelled by this Court. Patanjali Sastri	 J.	 as he then was	 stat@d the legal position thus at p. 603: (1) [1950) S.C.R. 594	 600	 601 602. 838 Where a law purports to authorise the imposition of restrictions on a fundamental right in language wide enough to cover restrictions both within and without the limits of constitutionally permissible legislative action affecting such right	it is not possible to uphold it even so far as it may be applied within the constitutional limits	 as it is not severable. So long as the possibility of its being applied for purposes not sanctioned by the Constitution cannot be ruled out	 it must be held to be wholly unconstitutional and void." In Chintaman Rao vs The State of Madhya Pradesh the same principle is again restated. Mahajan	 J.	 as he then was observed at p. 765: The law even to the extent that it could be said to authorize the imposition of restrictions in regard to agricultural labour cannot be held valid because the language employed is wide enough to cover restrictions both within and without the limits of constitutionally permissible legislative action affecting the right. So long as the possibility of ' its being applied for purposes not sanctioned by the Constitution cannot be ruled out	 it must be held to be wholly void. " The wide reach of this principle appears to have been circumscribed to some extent in a later decision of this Court in R. M. D. Chamarbaugwalla vs The Union of India (2). In that case the constitutionality of sections 4 and 5 of the Prize Competitions Act (42 of 1955) was challenged on the ground that prize competition ' as defined in section 2(d) of the Act included not merely competitions that were of a gambling nature but also those in which success depended to a substantial degree on skill. This Court	 having regard to the history of the legislation	 the declared object thereof and the wording of the statute	 came to the conclusion that the competitions which were Sought to be controlled and regulated by the Act were only those competitions in which success did not depend to any substantial degree on skill. That conclusion was sufficient to reject the contention raised in that case; but even on the assumption that (1) ; (2) [1957) S.C.R. 930. 839 prize competition as defined in section 2(d) of the Act included those in which success depended to substantial degree on skill as well as those in which it did not so depend	 this Court elaborately considered the doctrine of severability and laid down as many as seven rules of construction. On the application of the said rules it was held that the impugned provisions were severable in their application to competitions in which success did not depend to any substantial degree on skill. The foregoing discussion yields the following results: (1) " Public order " is synonymous with public safety and tranquillity : it is the absence of disorder involving breaches of local significance in contradistinction to national upheavals	 such as revolution	 civil strife	 war	 affecting the security of the State; (2) there must be proximate and reasonable nexus between the speech and the public order; (3) section 3	 as it now stands	 does not establish in most of the cases comprehended by it any such nexus; (4) there is a conflict of decision on the question of severability in the context of an offending provision the language whereof is wide enough to cover restrictions both within and without the limits of constitutionally permissible legislation; one view is that it cannot be split up if there is possibility of its being applied for purposes not sanctioned by the Constitution and the other view is that such a provision is valid if it is severable in its application to an object which is clearly demarcated from other object or objects falling outside the limits of constitutionally permissible legislation; and (5) the provisions of the section are so inextricably mixed up that it is not possible to apply the doctrine of severability so as to enable us to affirm the validity of a part of it and reject the rest. It is not necessary in this case to express our preference for one or other of the foregoing decisions. Assuming that the summary of the rules of construction given in the last of the cases cited supra are correct and exhaustive	 we are not satisfied that in the instant case the impugned section with the 107 840 omissions suggested by the learned Advocate General could	 wholly or to any extent	 be salvaged. The words of the section with the suggested omissions continue to suffer from the same vice they are subjected to without the said omissions. The Suggested omissions from the section only exclude individuals from the operation of the section and confine it to a class of persons and in other respects it is not freed from the defects already pointed out by us. In R. M. D. Chamarbaugwalla 's Case (1) the difference between two classes of competitions	 namely	 those that are of gambling nature and those in which success depends on skill	 is clear cut and has long been recognized in legislative practice. But in the present case it is not even possible to predicate with some kind of precision the different categories of instigation falling within or without the field of constitutional prohibitions. The constitutional validity of a section cannot be made to depend upon such an uncertain factor. Whether the principle of the first two decisions is applied or that of the third is invoked	 the constitutional validity of the section cannot be sustained. We	 therefore	 hold that section 3 of the Act is void as infringing article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The	 entire section therefore must be struck down as invalid. If so	 the prosecution of the respondent under that section is void. The learned Advocate General made an impassioned appeal to persuade us to express our view that though the present section is void on the ground that it is an unreasonable restriction on the fundamental right	 in the interests of public order the State could legitimately re draft it in a way that it would conform to the provisions of article 19(2) of the Constitution. It is not this Court 's province to express or give advice or make general observations on situations that are not presented to it in a particular case. It is always open to the State to make such reasonable restrictions which are permissible under article 19(2) of the Constitution. In the result	 the appeal is dismissed. Appeal dismissed.

Summary:
Section 3 of the U.P. Special Powers Act	 1932 (XIV Of 1932)	 provided as follows: "Whoever	 by word	 either spoken or written	 or by signs or by visible representations	 or otherwise	 instigates	 expressly or by implication	 any person or class of persons not to pay or to defer payment of any liability	 and whoever does any act	 with intent or knowing it to be likely that any words	 signs or visible representations containing such instigation shall thereby be communicated directly or indirectly to any person or class of persons	 in any manner whatsoever	 shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months	 or with fine	 extending to Rs. 250	 or with both. " The appellant	 who was prosecuted under the section for delivering speeches instigating cultivators not to pay enhanced irrigation rates to the Government	 applied to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus on the ground	 amongst others	 that the said section was inconsistent with article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and as such void. The High Court decided in favour of the appellant and he was released. The State appealed to this Court and the question for determination was whether the impugned section embodied reasonable restrictions in the interests of public order and was thus protected by article 19(2) of the Constitution. Held	 that even though in a comprehensive sense all the grounds specified in article 19(2) of the Constitution on which any reasonable restrictions on the right to freedom of speech must be based can be brought under the general head "public order"	 that expression	 inserted into the Article by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act	 1951	 must be demarcated from the other grounds and ordinarily read in an exclusive sense to mean public peace	 safety and tranquility in contradistinction to national upheavals	 such as revolution	 civil strife and war	 affecting the security of the State. Romesh Thappar vs The State of Madras ; 	 Brij Bhushan vs The State of Delhi. ; 	 The State of Bihar vs Shailabala Devi. ; and Cantewell vs Connecticut. ; 	 discussed. 822 It is well settled by decisions of this Court that in a restriction in order to be reasonable must have a reasonable relation to the object the Legislation has in view and must not go beyond it. Restrictions	 therefore	 meant to be in the interest of public order which have no proximate relationship or nexus with it but can be only remotely or hypothetically connected with it	 cannot be reasonable within the meaning of article 19(2) of the Constitution. Rex vs Basudeva	 A.I.R.(1950) F.C. 67	 applied. Ramji Lal Modi vs The State of U.P. and Virendra vs The State of Punjab	 ; 	 explained. So judged	 it cannot be said that the acts prohibited under the wide and sweeping provisions of section 3 of the Act can have any proximate or even foreseeable connection with public order sought to be protected by it	 and	 consequently	 that section	 being violative of the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution	 must be struck down as unconstitutional. It would be incorrect to argue that since instigation by a single individual not to pay taxes might ultimately lead to a revolution resulting in distruction of public order	 that instigation must have a proximate connection with public order. No fundamental rights can be restricted on such hypothetical and imaginary consideration. Nor is it possible to accept the argument that in a demo cratic set up there can be no scope for agitational approach or that any instigation to break a bad law must by itself constitute a breach of public order	 for to do so without obvious limitations would be to destroy the right to freedom of speech on which democracy is founded. It is not possible to apply the doctrine of severability relating to fundamental rights as enunciated by this Court to the provisions of the impugned section	 since it is not possible to precisely determine whether the various categories of instigation mentioned therein fall within or without the constitutionally permissible limits of legislation and separate the valid parts from the invalid. R.M.D. Chamarbaugwalla vs The Union of India (1957) S.C.R. 93o	 explained and distinguished. Romesh Thappar vs The State of Madras ; and Chintaman Rao vs The State o Madhya Pradesh. (1950) S.C.R. 759	 referred to.