- (1.) On September 6, 1970, the President of India passed a laconic order in respect of each of the Rulers of former Indian States. The order was served by a Secretary to Government of India. A sample order issued to the Ruler of Gwalior State may be read here : No. 21/14/70-Poll.III Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs New Delhi the 6th September 1970 ORDER In exercise of the power vested in him under Article 366(22) of the Constitution, the President hereby directs that with effect from the date of this Order His Highness Maharajdhiraja Madhav Rao Jiwaji Rao Scindia Bahadur do cease to be recognised as the Ruler of Gwalior. By order and in the name of the President. Sd./- L. P. SINGH Secretary to the Government of India All these orders were notified together in the Gazette of India of September 19, 1970, Part II. They resulted in the forthwith stoppage of the Privy Purses received by the Rulers and the discontinuance of their personal privileges. These writ petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution were filed by some of the Rulers as test cases to question the orders. They ask for a writ, direction or order, declaring the Presidential Order to be unconstitutional, mala fide, ultra vires and void, and for quashing it, a writ, direction or order declaring that the several petitioners continue to be Rulers and thus to be entitled to their respective Privy Purses and personal rights and privileges and a further writ, direction or order directing the Union of India to continue to 'pay the Privy Purses as before and to recognise the personal rights to privileges and to observe the, provisions of the Covenants and Merger Agreements.
(2.) This judgment and order will govern all these petitions. Since the issues involved in all the petitions are common and there are only minor differences in the steps before the States merged with the Indian Union, it is sufficient if an illustrative petition is dealt with. In this judgment I shall refer to the petition filed by the Ruler of Gwalior which is first on my list and embraces almost all the varying aspects of the question. The other petitions are identical except for some details which are special to a particular Ruler but are not material for the discussion of the issues involved.
(3.) The Ruler of the Gwalior State succeeded to the gaddi of the State on July 16, 1961 on the demise of his father. On August 15, 1947 the father had signed an Instrument of Accession of his state to the Dominion of India, as then established, and it was accepted by the Governor-General of India on the following day. This Instrument of Accession was similar to those which the other Rulers signed on diverse dates. It is to be found at p. 165 of the White Paper on Indian States and is exhibited with the Petition as Ex. A. On April 22, 1948 the father, as Ruler, signed a Covenant with other Rulers of this area and the United States of Madhya Bharat was formed on June 15, 1948. On the coming into force of the Constitution of India, the State of Madhya Bharat became a Part B State. On the passing of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act 1956, Madhya Bharat State ceased to be a Part B State and was integrated with the State of Madhya Pradesh as provided under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. I shall now say something in more detail about these several steps.;