N MASTHAN SAHIB AND S REDDIAR N MASTHAN SAHIB AND S S REDDIAR Vs. CHIEF COMMISSIONER PONDICHERRY:CHIEF COMMISSIONER PONDICHERRY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In compliance with our directions the two questions were forwarded to the Union Government and they submitted their answers to them in the following terms :

(2.) The appeals and the writ petitions were thereafter posted for further hearing before us on October 9, 1961.

(3.) Mr. N. C. Chatterji-learned Counsel for Shri Masthan Sahib, appellant in Civil Appeal No. 42 of 1961 and petitioner in Writ petition No. 297 of 1960, urged before us two contentions. The first was that the answer to the second question clearly established that the French establishments including Pondicherry were part of the territory of India, having been acquired by the Union Government within the meaning of Art. 1(3) (c) and that in view of this position it was not necessary to consider nor proper for us to accept the views expressed by the Union Government in their answer to the first question wherein they had expressly stated that they did not consider the French "estiablishmeats" covered by the agreement between the Union Government and the Government of France dated October 21, 1954, as being within the territory of India within Art. 1(3) of the Constitution of India. Secondly, a point which was necessarily involved in the first one just set out that this Court was not bound by the statement of the Government of India in its answer to Question No. 1 and that it should disregard such an answer and investigate for itself on the materials placed before it as to whether Pondicherry was part of the territory of India or not.