Bhargava, J. - (1.) This writ petition and the appeal challenge the validity of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Act No. 13 of 1962 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") . The facts leading up to the passing of this enactment are that, in the year 1910, some eminent educationists assembled at Banaras and founded an Association for the development of Hindi and its propagation throughout the country. This Association was named as the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. On the 8th January, 1914, it was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act No. 21 of 1860, with Head Office at Allahabad, under the name of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. The rules and bye-laws of the Society laid down the objects of this Association and the manner of its working. It had three classes of members, viz, special members (Vishisht Sadasya) , permanent members (Sthayi Sadasya) and ordinary members (Sadharan Sadasya) . Under the bye-laws, apart from the original members constituting the Society, further members could be admitted under those three classifications on being elected by the working committee of the Society. Under the Rules and bye-laws of the Society, other bodies could be constituted far carrying on activities of the Society. These included a Governing Body, a Working Committee, a Hindi University Council, Literary Council (Sahitya Samiti) , Library Committee, Parchar Samiti and Rashtriya Bhasha Prachar Samiti. Through the agencies of these various Committees, the Society carried on the work of development and propagation of Hindi, of spreading the use of Devnagri script, of holding examinations, and of conferring Degrees for proficiency in Hindi. The Society owned landed properties and buildings at Allahabad as well as at some other places such as Wardha, and was holing considerable funds for carrying on its activities. The Society worked very successfully for a number of years. It appears that in the year 1950, some differences arose between the members of the Society and attempt was made to alter the constitution of the Society. While one section wanted the alterations another section was opposed to It. This resulted in litigation. Three different suits were instituted in the civil courts at Allahabad in this connection and injunctions were sought by one party against the other. Ultimately, the Court appointed a Receiver.
(2.) In view of these circumstances, the U. P. Legislature passed an Act known as the U. P. Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Act No. 36 of 1956, under which a statutory body was created under the name of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, and the word, " Sammelan" was defined as referring to the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan constituted under the Act. Under that Act, the management and properties of the original Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, which was a registered Society, were to be taken over by the new statutory Sammelan. That Act was, however, declared void by the Allahabad High Court on the ground that that Act had made the original Sammelan cease to exist and had provided for the constitution of a new Sammelan under its terms in which the members of the original Sammelan had no say, so that that Act infringed the right of the members of the original Sammelan of forming an association guaranteed by Art. 19 (l) (c) of the Constitution. It was further held that that Act was not saved under Art. 19 (4) of the Constitution. Thereafter, the present Act, now challenged in this writ petition and the appeal, was passed by Parliament under Entry 63 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The Act itself, in Section 2, contained the necessary declaration to give legislative competence to Parliament under that Entry.
(3.) The Act first contained in Section 2 a declaration in the following words: "Whereas the objects of the institution known as the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan which has its head office at Allahabad are such as to make the institution one of national importance. It is hereby declared that the institution known as the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan is an institution of national importance" Having declared this institution as an institution of national importance, the Act proceeded to define "Sammelan" as meaning the institution known as the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan incorporated under this Act, while the word "Society, " was defined to mean "the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan which has its head office at Allahabad and is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860." Under Section 4 (1) of the Act, the Sammelan was constituted which was to consist of the first members of the Sammelan and all persons who may hereafter become members thereof in accordance with the rules made in that behalf. This statutory Sammelan was constituted as a body corporate by the name of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, and under sub-section (2) of Section 4, it was to have perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of the Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and to sue and be sued by that name. The Head Office of the Sammelan was to be at Allahabad. Under sub-s (4) of Section 4, the first members of the Sammelan were to consist of persons who, immediately before the appointed day, - (a) were special members (Vishisht Sadasya) of the Society; (b) were life members (Sthayi Sadasya) of the Society; (c) had been Presidents of the Society; or (d) were awarded the Mangla Prasad Paritoshik by the Society. This sub-s. (4) of Section 4 was amended retrospectively with effect from the date that the Act came into force by the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (Amendment) Act No. I of 1963, and the first members of the Sammelan were, under this amendment, declared to be - (a) all persons who, immediately before the appointed day, were members of the Society, (b) all persons who, before that day, had been Presidents of the Society; and (c) all persons who, before that day, were awarded the Mangla Prasad Paritoshik by the Society It is not necessary, to give in detail the other provisions of the Act, except that it may be mentioned that the Act provided for vesting of all property, movable or immovable, of or belonging to the Society in the Sammelan, transferring all rights and liabilities of, the Society to the Sammelan, converting reference to the Society in any law to the Sammelan, and other similar necessary provisions. The Act itself did not make any provision for the future membership of the Sammelan but under Section 12 (l) (a) , the first Governing Body of the Sammelan was directed to make rules in respect of matters relating to membership, including qualifications and disqualifications for membership of the Sammelan. The first Governing Body was to be constituted under Section 8 and was to consist of a Chairman, a Secretary and 13 other members. This Governing Body was to be constituted by a notification in the Official Gazette by the Central Government. The thirteen members were to be chosen as follows: (i) one member to represent the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with education; (ii) one member to represent the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with finance; (iii) not more than three members from among the former Presidents of the Society; and (iv) the remaining number from among persons who are, in the opinion of the Central Government, eminent in the field of Hindi language or Hindi literature. It was this first Governing Body which was to make rules on all matters relating to membership of the Sammelan under Section 12 (l) (a) of the Act. These rules were not to have effect until they were approved by the Central Government and were published by the first Governing Body in such manner as the Central Government may. by order, direct. A copy of the rules was also to be laid before each House of Parliament. Counsel for respondent No. 1 placed before us a copy of the rules which, according to him. have been made by the first Governing Body with the approval of the Government and have been published as required. The Rules come into force on 1st of February, 1971. The petition under Art. 32, and the petition under Art. 226, out of which the civil appea1 arises, were both moved much earlier and long before these Rules were framed. These petitions challenged the validity of the Act, without taking into account the actual Rules framed, mainly on the ground that the Act had interfered with the right of the petitioners to form association under Art. 19 (1) (c) of the Constitution and was not protected by Art. 19 (4) . In the petition before the Allahabad High Court, that Court held that, since all the members of the Society had also become members of the Sammelan under the Act, there was no infringement of the right to form association, so that the Act could not be declared invalid on that ground. The writ petition in this Court has been filed by only one member of the Society, while the petition in the High Court and the appeal against the judgment of the High Court, which is before us, were filed by the original Hindi Sahitya Sammelan as one party and 72 members of that Sammelan joining as other petitioning parties. In the civil appeal thus the grievance that the Act has infringed the fundamental right has been put forward both by the Society itself as well as by 72 of its members, including members of the Working Committee and the Governing Body of the Society. They have all come up to this Court against the decision of the High Court in this appeal by special leave.;