Barm Ghosh, J. - (1.) On 19th April, 1999 the Government of West Bengal, Department of Municipal Affairs, Writers' Buildings, Calcutta, published a notification in the Extraordinary Official Gazette in exercise of the power conferred by Section 600 read with Section 404 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") whereby certain amendments were effected to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Building Rules, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as "the Original Rules"). In the present writ petition the validity of the said amendments has been challenged. The State as well as the Calcutta Municipal Corporation constituted by and under the Act have filed affidavits. The notice of the petition was served upon the learned Advocate General of the State. I have heard the learned Advocate General, the learned counsel for the petitioners, the learned counsel for the added respondent, the learned counsel for the State and also the learned counsel for the Corporation. I have also considered the pleadings.
(2.) Before I advert to the respective submissions of the parties, it would be fair on my part to refer to the relevant provisions of the Act. Section 404 of the Act empowers the State Government to make rules, amongst others, for the regulation or restriction of the use of sites for building and for regulation or restriction of building. Section 600 of the Act is as follows: "600. Power to make rules.--(1) The State Government may, after previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the matters, which under any provision of this Act are required to be prescribed or to be provided for by rules. (3) All rules made under this Act shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before the State Legislature as soon as possible after they are made and the session in which they are so laid. Any modification of the said rules made by the State Legislature shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall, unless some later date is appointed by the State Government, come into force on the date of such publication."
(3.) In terms of the provisions contained in Section 600 of the Act, the State Government made a previous publication. That was done by publication of a notification on 27th March, 1996 in the Extraordinary Official Gazette. By that notification an intention was expressed to effect certain alterations in Clause (8) of Rule 2 of the Original Rules. Similarly an intention was expressed to insert Clause (24A) after Clause (24) of Rule 2 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to effect certain changes in Clause (34) of Rule 2 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to insert Clause (47A) after Clause (47) in Rule 2 of the Original Rules, There was an intention to provide a proviso in Clause (e) of Sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to effect certain changes in Sub-rules (10) and (14) of Rule 4 of the Original Rules. It was intended to insert Sub-rules (14A) and (14B) after Sub-rule (14) in Rule 4 of the Original Rules. There was a desire to alter Sub-rules (16) and (17) of Rule 4 of the Original Rules. There was a desire to alter to some extent Sub-rule (2) of Rule 7 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to substitute Table 1 in Sub-rule (1) of Rule 8 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to effect some changes in Sub-rule (3) of Rule 15 of the Original Rules. There was intention to change Sub-rule (3) of Rule 26 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to omit Sub-rule (4) of Rule 27 of the Original Rules and to alter Sub-rule (7) of Rule 27 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to insert Rule 27A after Rule 27 of the Original Rules. There was also intention to effect certain changes in Rule 29 of the Original Rules. Similarly there was also an intention to effect certain changes in Sub-rules (1) and (2) of Rule 35 of the Original Rules and to add a proviso to Sub-rule (2) thereof. There was an intention to insert certain words to the heading of Chapter VII of the Original Rules. There was an intention to effect certain changes in Rule 43 of the Original Rules. It was also intended that Rule 44 of the Original Rules should be substituted. It was also intended that Rule 45 of the Original Rules should be omitted. It was also intended that Rule 46 of the Original Rules shall be substituted. There was an intention to substitute Sub-rule (8) of Rule 47 and also to change to some extent Sub-rule (10) of Rule 47 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to add Sub-rule (10A) to Rule 47 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to add Rules 47A, 47B and 47C after Rule 47 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to change to some extent Clause (a) of Rule 49 of the Original Rules and to substitute the first proviso thereto and also to insert a new proviso after the second proviso. There was an intention to change to some extent the proviso to Sub-rule (1) of Rule 51 of the Original Rules and also to change Clause (b) thereof to some extent. There was also an intention to change Sub-rule (la) of Rule 51 of the Original Rules and also to add two provisos thereto. Similar intention to change to some extent Sub-rule (2) of Rule 51 of the Original Rules was also expressed. Similarly there was an intention to change to some extent Rules 54 and 57 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to substitute Rule 58 of the Original Rules. There was intention to change to some extent Sub-rule (1) of Rule 59 and also Rule 60 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to insert a proviso to Rule 60 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to substitute Table 3 in Rule 61 of the Original Rules. There was intention to change to some extent Sub-rule (2) of Rule 61 of the Original Rules and to add a proviso thereto. There was intention to insert Rule 61A after Rule 61 of the Original Rules. There was also intention to insert Sub-rule (2A) in Rule 62 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to substitute Table 5 in Sub-rule (1) of Rule 64 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to insert Sub-rule (3) in Rule 64 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to change item No.2 in Table 6 of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 68 of the Original Rules and to omit proviso to Sub-rule (3) thereof. There was also an intention to change to some extent Sub-rule (2) of Rule 71A and to add a proviso to Sub-rule (4) of Rule 71A of the Original Rules. It was intended to omit Rules 71B and 71C of the Original Rules. It was intended that certain changes shall be effected to Sub-rules (2) and (3) of Rule 72 and to the proviso to Sub-rule (4) of Rule 72 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to insert Rule 88A after Rule 88 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to change to some extent Clause (d) of Sub-rule (2) of Rule 91 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to add a proviso to Sub-rule (4) of Rule 94 of the Original Rules. There was intention also to insert Clause (aa) after Clause (a) in Sub-rule (6) of Rule 95 of the Original Rules and to add a proviso to Clause (d) of Sub-rule (6) of Rule 95 of the Original Rules and to omit proviso to Clause (f) of Sub-rule (6) of Rule 95 of the Original Rules. It was intended to change to some extent Sub-rule (2) of Rule 98 of the Original Rules and to substitute Table 7 in Sub-rule (4) of Rule 98 of the Original Rules. It was also intended to add a proviso after Table 7. It was also intended to substitute Clause (b) of Rule 99 of the Original Rules. It was intended to change to some extent Rule 100 of the Original Rules. It was intended that two provisos should be added after the proviso to Clause (iv) of Rule 104 of the Original Rules. There was also an intention to change to some extent Rules 106 and 107 of the Original Rules. There was an intention to add Schedule XIA after Schedule XI. There was an intention to change to some extent item No. 2 of Schedule XII and to insert items No.3 and 4 to the said Schedule and also to renumber items No. 3,4, 5, 6 and 7 as items No.5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. There was an intention to change the form of the Structural Stability Certificate to some extent and also to insert certain things therein. There was also an intention to change to some extent the form of Occupancy Certificate in Schedule XIII.;