Rajendra Nath Mittal, J. - (1.) THIS Letters Patent Appeal has been filed against the judgment of a learned Single Judge, dated October 8, 1971, by which writ petition of the Petitioner was dismissed.
(2.) THE facts of the present appeal are that the Appellant, who was a practising Advocate at Jullundur, was appointed as a whole time Chairman of the Improvement Trust, Jullundur, for a period of three years with effect from the date he assumed charge of the office, by a notification dated June 4, 1971. He took charge of the office of the Chairman on June 7, 1971. He was given a fixed salary of Rs. 1,000 per mensem plus dearness pay/allowances at Government rates by another notification, dated June 14, 1971. There was a condition that he would give up his practice as a lawyer. He, on August 22, 1971, came to know from a news published in a daily newspaper that orders for his removal from the office of Chairman of the Trust had been passed. He at once filed a writ petition in this Court challenging the order of his removal from the office of Chairman of the Trust on various grounds. The writ petition was contested by the Respondents. The learned Single Judge dismissed the petition. The first contention of the learned Counsel for the Appellant is that Section 5 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') under which the order of removal was passed, was ultra vires Article 14 of the Constitution of India. He urges that the Chairman is one of the trustees of the Trust and that for removal of trustees which includes a Chairman, provision has been made in Section 10 of the Act. A separate provision has also been made in Section 5 for his removal. Both the provisions cover the same field though one is more drastic than the other. The second ground of attack is that Section 5 does not contain any guidance as to in what circumstances a Chairman can be removed. It gives arbitrary and unbridled powers to the Government. He argues that in the circumstances, it is hit by Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In order to appreciate the first argument, it will be necessary to notice some sections of the Act. Section 4 relates to the constitution of the Trust, Section 5 to term of office of Chairman, Section 6 to terms of office of other trustees, Section 7 to resignation of trustees, Section 8 to filling up of casual vacancies, Section 9 to remuneration of Chairman and trustees and Section 10 to removal of trustees. The first question that will arise for consideration is as to whether a Chairman is a trustee and liable to removal under Section 10 of the Act. It is a settled principle of law that the word which occurs at various places in the same Act should be given the same meaning unless the context shows that the Legislature used the word to express different meaning at a particular place. In this view, I am fortified by Bhogilal Chunilal Pandya v. State of Bombay : A.I.R. 1959 S.C. 356, wherein it has been observed that the words are generally used in the same sense throughout in a statute unless there is something repugnant in the context. The learned Counsel for the Appellant also referred to Harkishandas Bhagvandas and Ors. v. Bai Dhanu : A.I.R. 1926 Bom 497 (F.B.), Shri Nath v. Puran Mal and Anr., A.I.R. 1942 All. 19 (F.B.), Punit Lall Saha v. The State of Bihar : A.I.R. 1957 Pat 357 (F.B.), and Gulraj Singh and Anr. v. Mota Singh and Ors. : A.I.R. 1965 S.C. 608, in support of the aforesaid proposition. The learned Counsel for the Respondents has not seriously contested the aforesaid contention of the learned Counsel for the Appellant. He, however, urges that Section 10 is restricted to the removal of trustees whereas Section 5 is applicable in the case of removal of a Chairman. The relevant sections which will be helpful in interpreting as to whether Section 10 will be applicable to a Chairman or not are as follows: 4(1) The trust shall consist of seven trustees, namely, - (a) a Chairman, (b) three members of the municipal committee, and (c) three other persons. 2. The Chairman and three persons referred to in Clause (c) of Sub -section (1) shall be appointed by the State Government by notification. 3. The members of the municipal committee referred to in Clause (b) of Sub -section (1) shall be elected by the municipal committee. 4. If the municipal committee does not by such date as may be fixed by the State Government elect a person to be trustee, the State Government shall, by notification, appoint a member of the municipal committee to be a trustee, and any person so appointed shall be deemed to be a trustee as if he had been duly elected by the municipal committee. OF the persons referred to in Clause (c) of Sub -section (1) not more than one shall be a servant of the Government. 5. The term of office of the Chairman shall be such period not exceeding three years, as the State Government may fix in this behalf, but when the trust ceases to exist the said term of office shall be deemed to expire on the date of the dissolution of the trust. He shall be eligible for reappointment, and he may be removed from office by the State Government at any time. The term of office of every trustee elected under Clause (b) of Sub -section (1) of Section 4 shall be three years or until he ceases to be a member of the Municipal Committee, whichever period is less, and the term of office of every trustee appointed under Clause (c) of the said Sub -section shall be three years, but when the trust ceases to exist the said term of office shall be deemed to expire on the date of the dissolution of the trust. 6(1) Any trustee may at any time resign his office, provided that his resignation shall not take effect until accepted by the trust. (2) The term of office of appointed and elected trustees shall commence on such date as shall be notified in this behalf by the State Government. (3) A person ceasing to be a trustee by reason of the expiry of his term of office shall, if otherwise qualified, be eligible for re -election or reappointment. THE Chairman shall receive such salary and each other trustee shall receive such salary or remuneration as may be sanctioned by the State Government.
(3.) A reading of Section 4 shows that a Trust consists of seven trustees which includes a Chairman. The term of office of a Chairman has been provided in Section 5 whereas that of other trustees mentioned in Clauses (b) and (c) of Section 4, has been given in Section 6 of the Act. A trustee can resign his office under Sub -section (1) of Section 7. There is no specific clause for resignation by the Chairman. Sub -section (2) of Section 7 says that the term of office of appointed and elected trustees shall commence on such date as shall be notified in this behalf by the State Government. There is also no separate clause regarding the commencement and termination of the office of a Chairman. Sub -section (3) of Section 7 makes a trustee, who ceases to be so by reason of expiry of his term of office, eligible for re -election or reappointment. The learned Counsel for the Respondents has vehemently urged that Sub -section (3) of Section 7 of the Act is not applicable in the case of a Chairman as a separate provision has been made for his reappointment under Section 5 of the Act. According to Section 5, the Chairman is eligible for reappointment when he ceases to be so on account of the fact that the Trust has ceased to exist. The two sections cover different fields. It cannot be the intention of the Legislature that a trustee can be reappointed in case his term of office expires whereas the Chairman after expiry of his term cannot be so appointed. On reading Section 7, the irresistible conclusion is that it applies to Chairman as well as other trustees. Section 9 says that Chairman shall receive such salary and each other trustee shall receive such salary or remuneration as may be sanctioned by the State Government. In Section 9, the Legislature clearly distinguishes a Chairman from a trustee. Section 9 supports the contention of the learned Counsel for the Appellant that wherever the Legislature wanted that Chairman should not be included in the trustees, it used a different phraseology. Section 10 enumerates various reasons for which the trustees can be removed. It cannot be said that the trustees appointed under Clauses (b) and (c) of Sub -section (1) of Section 4 can only be removed under Section 10 of the Act and not the Chairman. Under Sub -section (a) of Section 10, a trustee can be removed if he refuses to act, or becomes, in the opinion of the State Government, incapable of acting or has been declared an insolvent, or has been convicted of any such offence or subjected by a Criminal Court to any such order as implies in the opinion of the State Government, a defect of character which unfits him to be a trustee. In other Sub -sections, certain other disqualifications on account of which a trustee can be removed, have been given. It cannot be imagined that a trustee can be removed for becoming an insolvent or having been convicted by a Criminal Court but not a Chairman. There may be some clause in the section which from the context shows that it is not applicable in the case of a Chairman who is a whole -time office -holder of the Trust, yet an reading Section 10, the only conclusion is that it applies in the case of Chairman as well as other trustees. Section 11 speaks of disabilities of trustees removed under Section 10 and when they can be reappointed. According to sub -section (1) of Section 11, a trustee removed under Clause (a) of Section 10 shall not be eligible for re -election or reappointment for a period of three years from the date of his removal. Under Sub -section (2), a trustee removed under any other provision of Section 10 shall not be eligible for re -election or reappointment until he is declared by the State Government to be so eligible. On reading the aforesaid section, it is clear that the section applies in the case of a Chairman also along with the trustees. Section 12 deals with the meetings of the trust. In the section wherever a Chairman has been distinguished from a trustee, it has been specifically stated so. Committees are constituted in the Trust under Section 14. A provision has been made for the meetings of the committees under Section 15. Sub -section (1) of Section 14 which deals with the constitution and functions of committee, reads as follows: 14. (1) The trust may from time to time appoint committees of the trust consisting of such persons of any of the following classes as it may deem fit, namely: (i) trustees; (ii) persons associated with the trust under Section 13; (iii) other persons whose services, assistance or advice the trust may desire as members of such committees.;