P.B.Mukharji, J. - (1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution by the District Licensed Deed Writers' Association challenging Rule 11(1) and (2) made by the Inspector-General of Registration, West Bengal, in exercise of the power conferred by Section 80S of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 as amended by the Bengal louts Act, 1942 with the approval of the State Government as required by Sub-section (2) of Section 80-G of the said Act. This Rule is by way of amendment" by addition to Rule 10.
(2.) It will be convenient to set out both the Rules 10 and 11 which are the subject of challenge in this petition. Rule 10 reads as follows: "Any unlicensed deed-writer who is found to be within the precincts of the Registration office or who is found at or nearabout the precincts of the Sub-Registry office to pursuada the public to have their documents written by him or any unlicensed deed-writer, or who is found to be doing any act which is likely to defeat the provision of any rule made under Section 80-G of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 shall be deemed to be a tout within the meaning of the clause (ii) of Section 2 of the said Act and his name shall be liable to be included in the list of the touts framed and published under Sub-section (1) of Section 80A." Rule 11 reads as follows; "(1) Any clerk of a pleader or a muktear, who has obtained a licence under the rules regarding pleaders' and muktears' licensed clerks, published with the Government of Bengal, Judicial and Legislative Department's notification No. 3437-J dated the 18th September, 1943, may, without any licence for deed-writers under these rules, perform the functions of a deed-writer only for the pleader or mukhtear by whom he is employed and not otherwise. (2) If any such clerk engages himself in any work in contravention ef the provision of Sub-rule (1), he shall be deemed to be guilty of misconduct for the purposes of Rule 11 of the said rules regarding pleaders' and mukhtears' licensed clerks." Having set out the Rules complained against in this petition this will be the proper stage to state the relevant facts under the Rules as published by the Government Notification No. 3439 J dated 18th September, 1943 under Section 80-G of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 as amended by the Bengal Touts Act, 1942. Various provisions were made for controlling and regulating the conditions of work of deed-writers. The Bengal Touts Act, 1942 was passed with a view to suppress the touts in Courts and certain offices in Bengal. Its preamble suggests that it was an attempt to make better provision for regulating the employment of clerks of Legal Practitioners and suppression of touts in Courts and certain offices in Bengal and to that end to amend the Legal Practitioners Act, 18/9, the Indian Registration Act, 1908, and the Workmen's compensation Act, 1923 and also to amend the Bengal Village Self Government Act, 1919, the Bengal Wakf Act, 1934 and the Bengal Agricultural Debtors Act, 1934. In defining the word 'tout' it extended its meaning by Section 3 which provides that after clause (b) in the definition or tout in Section 3 of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 there should be an added clause saying- "who is declared to be deemed to be a tout for the purposes of this Act by rules made by the High Court or the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, as the case may be, under Section 31A." The main purpose of these Rules is to make provisions for granting license on certain conditions. They are made in this way. Section 9 of the Bengal Touts Act, 1942 says that after Part XIII of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, the following Parts shall be inserted, namely etc.: Then follows Part XIIIA relating to touts and covering Sections 80A to 80F. That Part is followed by Part XIIIB relating to Deed-writers and it is in this Part that Section 80G of the Indian Registration Act occurs. Section 80G of the Indian Registration Act under which these Rules are made provides as follows: "(a) . . . prescribing the manner in which and the terms subject to which persons who write documents, outside the precincts of registration office, or who fre- quent the precincts of registration offices, for the purpose of writing documents, may be granted licences; (b) prescribing the fees (if any) to be paid for such licences; and (c) declaring the conditions under which persons who write documents outside the precincts of registration offices without licences shall be deemed to be touts for the purposes of this Act. (2) The rule so made shall be submitted to the state Government for approval, and, after they have been approved they shall be published in the Official Gazette ana on publication shall have effect as if enacted in this Act."
(3.) Under these sections different Rules made by Notification No. 3439J providing for how to make an application for licence, the conditions of that licence, the qualification required to reach the standard and fees that are to be charged by such deed-writers. The privileges realty of such licensed deed-writers appear to be confined within a small area. They are, under Rule 5, allowed to sit in the office precincts and to enter the Registration Office to transact business authorised by the licence under the control and supervision of the Registering Officer.;