Holding

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, holding that Karam Singh’s resignation was effective on 31 January 1990, so he was not holding an office of profit at the time of scrutiny, and the matter was not academic despite the Assembly’s dissolution.

Summary

In the 1990 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from Chachiot, Motiram was declared elected. The election was challenged on the ground that the nomination of another candidate, Karam Singh, had been improperly rejected because he was alleged to hold an office of profit as Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board. The High Court held that Karam Singh’s resignation, dated 31 January 1990, was effective immediately upon communication to the Government, making him not hold an office of profit at the time of scrutiny (5 February 1990); consequently Motiram’s election was set aside. Motiram appealed to the Supreme Court under Section 116‑A of the Representation of the People Act. While the appeal was pending, the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly was dissolved, raising the question of academic mootness. The Supreme Court held that the issue was not academic because the invalidation of Motiram’s election could entail liability to refund allowances. It further held that the resignation of the Chairman was unilateral and became effective on the date of communication, not upon acceptance or Gazette notification. Accordingly, the High Court’s decision was affirmed and the appeals dismissed.

Issues considered

The effect of the dissolution of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on the pendency of an election appeal under Section 116‑A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Whether Karam Singh’s resignation as Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board was effective on 31 January 1990 or only upon acceptance/notification on 12 February 1990.
Whether the office of Chairman of the Board constituted an office of profit after the cessation of remuneration on 8 January 1990.

Legislation cited

Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1966s. 4(2), s. 7
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971
Representation of the People Act, 1951s. 116-A, s. 36(1)(2)

Subjects

election petitionoffice of profitresignationRepresentation of the People Actlegislative assembly dissolutionqualification for electionrefund of allowances

Judgment

A MOTIRAM
v.
PARAM DEV AND ANR.

MARCH 5, 1993
B
[S. RATNAVEL PANDIAN AND S.C. AGRAWAL. JJ.]

Representation of tile Peoples Act, 1951 : Section 116- A-Election ''r-
petition challenging applicant's election to the State Legislature Assembly-Al-
e lowed-Dissolution of the Legislation of the Legislative Assembly pending
appeal to this court-Effect of.

Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951-Section 36( 1)(2)-Require-
-
ment of the candidate of being qualified for being chosen to fill the seat on
the date filed for scrutiny of nomination-Resignation from the office of
D Chairman in far take effect from the date of the date of the communication
for the Head of the Department in the Government.

For election to the Himacbal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 60-
Chachiot Assembly Constituency held during February, 1990, fifteen per-
sons, including the appellant and one Karam Singh, filed nomination
E papers. At the time of scrutiny, an objection was raised against the
nomination of Karam Singh on the ground that be was holding the office
of Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Khadi and village Industries Board,
which is an office of porfit within the meaning of Article 191(1)(a) of the
Constitution and was, therefore, disqualified for being chosen as a m~mber
F of the Legislative Assembly. The Returning Officer .upheld the objection
and rejected the nomination of Karam Singh. The appellant was declared
elected to the Legislative Assembly from the said Constituency. His elec-
tion was challenged by the Respondents by filing election petitions in the
High Court of Himachal Pradesh. The High Court found that the said ,......_
re1ection of nomination of Karam Singh was improper because on the date
G of scrutiny Karam Singh was not holding an office of profit and for that
reason, the election of the appellant was set aside.

The appellant herein filed the present appeals nuder section 116-A
of lhe Repn:sentation of the People Act, cliallenging the judgment of the
H f;lg!J Court oi" Himachal Pradesh.
250
•

MOT! RAM v. PARAM DEV 251

!luring the pendency of the appeals the Himachal Pradesh Legisla- A
tive Assembly was dissolved.

After considering the appeals on merits the Court, which dismissing
the appeals,

HELD : 1. lnspite of the dissolution of the 'mmachal Pradesh B
Legislative Assembly the question arising for consideration cannot be said
to have become academic because the invalidation of the election of the
appellant may give rise to the liability to refund the allowances received

-
by the Appellant. [253G, 255-B]

Loknath Padhan v. Birendra Kumar Sahu, [1974] 3 SCR 114, distin- c
gnished. [253G]

2.01. 'Resignation' means the spontaneous relinquishment of one's
own right and in relation to an office, it cannotes the act of giving up or
relinquishing the office. The act of relinquishment may be unilateral or D
bilateral depending on the return of the office and the conditions governing
it. [260F]

2.02. If the act of relinquishment is of unilateral character, it comes
into effect when such act indicating the intention to relinquish the office
is communicated to competent authority. The authority to whom the act E
of relinquishment is commu~icated is not required to take any action and
the relinquishment takes effect from the date of such communication
where the resignation is intended to operate in praesemi. [260G]

2.03. In cases where the act of relinquishment is of a bilateral
character, the communication of the intention to relinquish, by itself, F
would not be sufficient to result in relinquishment of the office and some
.A action is required to be taken on such communication of the intention to
relinquish, e.g., acceptance of the said request to relinquish the office, and
in such a case the relinquishment does not become effective or operative
till such action is taken. [260ff,.261A-B] G

~ .ot. From the provision of Section 7 of the H.P. Khadi and Village
Industries Board Act, 1966, (the 'Act') it would appear that the act of
.~· relinquishment of the office of Chairman of the H.P. Khadi and Village
Industries Board (the Board) is unilateral in character and the resignation
from the said office takes effect when it is communicated without any H
252 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A further action being required to be taken on the same. Sinre the Chairman
of the Board is nominated by the Government of Himachal Pradesh under
Section 4(2) of the Act, resignation has also to be communicated to the
Government of Himachal Pradesh i.e. the Head of the Department dealing
with the Board, and once it is so communicated it takes effect from the
date of such communication if the resignation ls i11 praesellfi or from the
B date indicated therein if it is prospective in nature to be operative from a ....,.
future date. [263G-H, 264A-B]

3.02. The resignation of Karam .Singh as Chairman of the Board was
not required to be accepted by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. It
C became effective on January 31, 1990 when the fotter of resignation was
received by the Financial Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Industries) to the
Government of Himachal Pradesh who was the Head of the Department
dealing with the Board and to whom it was addressed. [2650]

3.03. Since there is no requirement in the Act that the resignation of
D the Chairman of the Board should be notified in the Official Gazette as in
the case of a member of the Board, it cannot he said that the resignation
of Karam Singh did not take effect till it was notified in the OITicial Gazette
vide notification dated February 12, 1990. [265E]

E Ce11tral ill/a11d Water Transport Corporation Limited a11d Another v.
Brojo Nath Ganguly and A11r., [1986] 2 SCR 273; J.K Cotto11 Spinning and
Weaving Mills Compa11y Ltd. v. State of U.P. & Others, [1990] 3 SCR 523; Lala
Ram v. Gauri Shanker, 1981 All. Law 1982; Raj Kumar v. U11io11 of India,
(1968] SCR 857; Unio11 of /11dia v. Shri Gopal Chandra Misra & Ors., [1978] 3
SCR 12 at p. 21 and G/ossop v. G/ossop, 1907, 2 Ch. 370, Ha/sbury's Law of
F E11gland 4th Ed., Vol. 7, p. 316, para 536, relied on. [2600-G, 261G, 262G]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 2640-41
of 1991.

G From the Judgment and Order dated 3.6.1991 of the Himachal
Pradesh High Court in Election Petition Nos. 1 & 2 of 1990.

A.K. Ganguli, B.T. Kaul, Sarvesh Bisaria and S.K. Bisaria for the •.
Appellant.

H B. Dutta and R. Sasiprabhu for the Respondents.
I
_!"·

MOT! RAM v. PARAM DEV [AGRAWAL, J.] 253

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A

S.C. AGRAWAL, J. These appeals have been filed under section
116-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. They relate to
election to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 60- Chachiot
Assembly constituency held during February, 1990. The appellant was
declared elected to the Legislative Assembly from the said constituency.
B
His election was challenged by the respondents in these appeals by filing
election petitions in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh. By its judgment
dated June 3, 1991, the High Court has allowed the election petitions and
- has set aside the election of the appellant on the ground that the nomina-
tion of one of the candidates, Shri Karam Singh was improperly rejected C
by the returning officer.

The last date for filing the nomination papers was February 2, 1990
and the scrutiny of the nomination papers was fixed for February 5, 1990.
Fifteen persons, including the appellant and Shri Karam Singh had filed D
nomination papers. At the time of scrutiny, an objection was raised on
behalf of one of the candidates against the nomination of Shri Karam Singh
on the ground that he was holding the office of Chairman, Himachal
Pradesh Kbadi and Village Industries Board, which is an office of profit
within the meaning of Article 191(1)(a) of the Constitution and was,
therefore, disqualified for being chosen as a member of the Legislative E
Assembly. By order dated February 7, 1990, the Returning Officer upheld
the said objection and rejected the nomination of Shri Karam Singh. The
High Court has, however, found that the said rejection of nomination of
Shri Karam Singh was improper because on the date of scrutiny Shri
Karam Singh was nbt holding an office of profit and has, for that reason, F
set aside the election of the appellant.

Before we proceed lo deal with the appeals on merits, it may be
mentioned that during the pendeney of these appeals before this court, the
Himaehal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has been dissolved. This raises the
question whether the matters in issue in these appeals have ceased to be G
livin~ issues and have become wholly academic. The effect of dissolution
of the legislature on a pending election appeal has been considered by this
court in Loknath Pad/tan v. Birendra Kumar Sahu, [1974] 3 SCR 114. In
that case, the election of the returned candidate was challenged before the
High Court on the ground that there was a subsisting contract entered into H
254 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [19931 2 S.C.R.

A by the respondent in the course of his trade and business with the State
Government for the execution of works undertaken by the Government and ~
he was, therefore, disqualified under section 9A of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951. The election petition was, however, dismissed by the
High Court and while the appeal against the said decision was pending in
this Court, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved. A preliminary objection
B was raised on behalf of the respondent to the appeal that in view of the
dissolution of the assembly it was academic to decide whether or not the
respondent was disqualified under section 9A. Upholding the said prelimi-
nary objection, this court has held that the court should not undertake to

c
decide an issue unless it is a living issue between the parties and if an issue
is purely academic, in that its decision one way orthe other would have no
impact on the position of the parties, it would be waste of public time and
-
indeed not proper exercise of authority for ,the court to engage itself in
deciding it. In that case, this court drew a distinction between a case where
a
the challenge to the election is on ground confined to the validity of that
election only and having no consequences operating in future and a case
D
involving challenge to the election on a ground which would entail electoral
disqualification for the future, such as, charge of corrupt practice. It was
held that if the election is challenged on the ground of commission of a
corrupt practice the dissolution of the legislature would not have any effect
on the pendency of an election petition or an appeal arising therefrom and
E the said petition will have to be considered on its merits whereas a
·~
challenge to the election on any other ground which does not entail future
disqualification would raise academic issue only and in view of the dissolu-
tion of the legislature the election petition or the appeal arising therefrom
would not survive because it would be futile and meaningless for the court --->-
to decide an academic question the answer to which would not affect the
F
position of one party or the other.

~.
Although in the instant case the election is no\ challenged on the
ground of commission of any corrupt practice and a finding would not
result in electoral disqualification in future but the present case differs
G from the case of Loknath Padhan v. Birendra Kuniar Sahu (supra) in the
sense that in Loknath 's case the election petition was dismissed whereas in ....
the present case the election petitions against the election of the appellant
~

have been allowed and the election has been set aside. It has been sub- '
mitted by Shri A.K. Ganguli, the learned Senior counsel appearing on
H behalf of the appellant, that in view of the fact that the decision of the High

r
I
./'

MOTI RAM v. PARAM DEV [AGRAWAL, J.] 255

Court setting aside his election, the appellant may be required to refund A
the various allowances that he has received while he was functioning as a
member of the Legislative Assembly after his election till the decision of
the High Court. It would thus appear that invalidation of the election of
the appellant may give rise to the liability to refund the allowances received
by the appellant as a member of the Legislative Assembly. It cannot,
therefore, be said that the question arising for consideration in this appeal
B
are purely academic in nature. In these circumstances, it becomes neces-
sary to go into the merit_s of these appeals.

The relevant facts relating to the rejection of the nomination of Shri
Karam Singh are as under. C

The Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board
(hereinafter referred to as 'the Board') has been established by the Govern-
ment of Himachal Pradesh under Section 3 of H.P. Khadi and Village
Industries Board Act, 1%6 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). Section D
4 provides for the constitution of the Board and in sub-s. (1), it is laid down
that the Board shall consist of not less than three and not more than nine
members appointed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh after con-
sultation with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission froin amongst
non-officials who in the opinion of Government of Himachal Pradesh have
~- shown active interest in the protection and development of khadi and E
village industries and officials: In sub-s. (2) of Section 4 it is provided that
the Government of Himachal Pradesh shall after consultation with the
Khadi and Village Industries Commission, nominate one of the members
of the Board to be the Chairman thereof, Section 7 makes provision for
resignation of office by members. Section 11 provides that the term of F
office and terms and conditions of service of the Chairman, Vice-Chair-
man, Secretary and other members shall be such as may be prescribed. In
exercise of the powers conferred by Section 35 of the Act, the Government
of Himachal Pradesh has made the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village
Industries Board Rules, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules'). Rule G
3 of the Rules prescribes that a member of the Board shall hold office for
such period not exceeding three years as may be prescribed in the notifica-
tion of his appointment which shall be notified in the Official Gazette and
shall be eligible for re-appointment. Rule 7 provides for salary or
honorarium and allowance payable to members. Sub-rule (1) of Rule 7
provides that the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary and other H
256 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993J 2 S.C.R.

A members of the Board shall be paid such salary or honorarium and
allowances from the funds of the Board as the Government may from time
to time fix. In sub- rule (2) of Ruic 7, it is laid down that the Chairman,
the Vice-Chairman, the secretary and other members of the Board shall
also be entitled to draw travelling and daily allowances for journeys per-
formed fo~ attending the meetings of the Board or for the purpose of
B
discharging such duties as may be assigned to them by the Board in
accordance with the rules and orders issued by the Government from time
to time at the highest rate admissible to Government .servants of Grade I.

c
By notification dated September 2, 1982, issued in exercise of the
powers conferred by Rule 7 of the Rules, the Governor of the Himachal ·-
Pradesh, ordered that the Chairman of the Board shall be entitled to pay
and other allowances from the Funds of the Board at the following rates:-

(1) Pay/remuneration/hon<?rarium of Rs. 1500 p.m. (consolidated).

D (2) Free electricity and water charges upto Rs. 1500 per year.

(3) Use of a car or in lieu thereof a conveyance allowance of Rs. 300
per month.

(4) Telephone facilities in office and at residence.
E
(5) TA and medical expenses admissible to the officers of Highest
First Grade category.

By notification dated December 27, 1986, the Governor of Himachal
F Pradesh constituted the Board with immediate effect. Under the said
order, the Board consisted of nine members including Shri Karam Singh
Thakur. By the said order the Governor of Himachal Pradesh also
nominated Shri Karam Singh Thakur as Chairman of the said Board. By
notification dated December 20, 1989, the term of the Board was extended
upto December 26, 1990. On October 18, 1989, Shri Karam Singh Thakur
G wrote a letter to the Financial Commissioner-cum-Scctcrary (Industries) to
the Government of Himachal Pradesh wherein it was stated that conse-
quent upon amendment to Second Proviso to section (1) of section 6B of
the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of
members) Act, 1971, his pension had been re,ised to Rs. 2400 per month
H with effect from February 4, 1989 and that on the basis of the said orders,
MOTi RAM v. PARAM DEV [AGRAWAL, J.] 257

he was authorised by the Senior DAG(A&E), Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, A
by letter dated 6th July, 1989, to draw from Shimla Treasury the balance
pension of Rs. 900 p.m. after adjusting the remuneration of Rs. 1500 which
he bad been drawing as remuneration from the Board and the pension of
Rs. 900 p.m. plus relief due thereon from the Punjab National Bank
through Treasury Officer, Shimla. By aforesaid letter, Shri Karam Singh B
intimated that he now intended not to draw the monthly remuneration of
Rs. 1500 p.m. from the Board and that instead he would be drawing the
gross pension of Rs. 2400 p.m. from the Treasury/Bank and he requested
that no objection of the State Government to the said proposal may be
conveyed to him at an early date. The said proposal made by Karam Singh
was accepted by the Government of Himachal Pradesh and by notification C
dated January 8, 1990 issued under Rule 7(1) of the Rules, the Governor
of Himachal Pradesh ordered that the remuneration of Rs. 1500 p.rn.
(consolidated} which was payable to the Chairman of the Board shall cease
as per the request of the Chairman made vidc his letter dated October 18,
1989. On January 31, 1990, Shri Karam Singh addressed a Letter to the D
Financial Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Industries) to the Governor of
Himachal Pradesh in the following terms :-

"I hereby resign from the membership and Chairmanship
of the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries
Board. The resignation may kindly be accepted with effect E
from today i.e. 31st January, 1990".

On the basis of the letter of January 31, 1990, which was received on
the same day, the matter was processed in the office of Financial Commis-
sioner-cum-Secretary (Industries) and it was placed before the Chief Min- F
ister for his approval with the recommendation that the resignation of Shri
Karam Singh, Chairman, may be accepted. The Chief Minister gave his
approval on February 4, 1990. On February 12, 1990, a notification was
issued in the following terms :-

"In exercise of the powers vested in him under section 7 G
of the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries
Board Act, 1966, the Governor, Himachal Pradesh is
pleased to accept the resignation of Shri Karam Singh
Thakur, Chairman, H.P. Khadi and Village Industries
Board, Shimla with immediate effect". H
258 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A In the meanwhile, Shri Karam Singh filed his nomination papers for
election to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the 60-
Chachiot Assembly constituency. The scrutiny of the nomination papers
was held on February 5, 1990. An objection was raised against the nomina-
tion of Shri Karam Singh on behalf of one of the candidates, viz., Vir Singh,
on the ground that Shri Karam Singh was holding an office of profit and
B
was disqualified for being chosen as a member of the Legislative Assembly.
Shri Karam Singh was not present at the time of scrutiny but his proposer,
Shri Mani Ram, Advocate, was present and he was requested to ensure
the appearance of Shri Karam Singh before the Returning Officer on
February 6, 1990 at 11.00 a.m. for hearing him in connection with the
c objection. The Returning Officer also directed Tehsildar (Elections) to
enquire from the Secretary of the Board about the remuneration and other
allowances being drawn by Shri Karam Singh in his capacity as chairman
of the Board. The report of the Tehsildar was placed before the Returning
Officer. Shri Mani Ram, Advocate, as proposer of Shri Karam Singh also
D submitted a reply to the Returning Officer on February 6, 1990 wherein it
was stated that Karam Singh had resigned from the chairmanship on 29th
or 30th of January 1990 and that the acceptance of the resignation was not
knwon to Shri Karam Singh. By order dated February 7, 1990, the Return-
ing Officer rejected the nomination of Shri Karam Singh on the view that
were submission of the resignation unless it was accepted, could not be
E taken as deemed to have been accepted and that Shri Karam Singh was
holding an office of profit as his resignation had not been accepted upto
February 5, 1990 which was the date for scrutiny, and that he was not
eligible to seek election as a candiate for the Himachal Pradesh Legislative
Assembly.
F
Before the High Court, it was submitted on behalf of the petitioners
in the election petitions (respondents herein) that Shri Karam Singh had
resigned with effect from January 31, 1990 vide his resignation letter of the
said date and the said letter takes effect from January 31, 1990 itself. The
High Court accepted the said contention and held that the Act is silent
G and contains no pro\ision as to how and in \\-'hat manner the resignation
of the Chairman of the Board is to be accepted and therefore the holder
thereof could bring his appointment to an end by resigning with effect from
a particular date and he would then be deemed to have ceased to be
Chairman from the date itself notwithstanding its acceptance on a later
H date. The High Court was, therefore, of the view that Shri Karam Singh
MOTi RAM v. PARAM DEV iAGRAWAl, J.J, 259 '
held no office of profit whatsoever in the Board on the date of scrutiny, A
i.e., February 5, 1990 since he had tendereci his resignation on January 31,
1990. The High Court, further, ·round thi.t in view of the letter dated
October 18, 1989 sent by Shri Karam Singh conveying his request of giving
up the remuneration of Rs. 1500 per. ·month (consolidated) which request
was accepted by the State Government as per notification dated January B
8, 1990, pursuant to which Shri Karam Singh ceased to be entitled to draw
the abovementioned remuneration with effect from January 8, 1990, Sh6.
Karam Singh was not entitled to remuneration which could be classified as
'profit' for the office of Chairman of the Board held by him and after
January 8, 1990, it could not be said that Shri Karam Singh was holding an
office of profit and therefore the disqualification for membership of the C
Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh could not attach to him. For
the reasons aforesaid, the High Court held that the nomination of Shri
Karam Singh was wrongly rejected by the Returning Officer.

Shri Ganguli has assailed the findings recorded by the High Court
on both the questions whereas Shri B. Datta, the learned senior counsel D
appearing for the respondents has supported the said findings.

It is not disputed that in view of the amendment introduced in clause
(a) of sub-s. (2) of Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act,
1951 by Act 40 of 1961, the relevant date for determining whether a E
candidate was qualified or disqualified for being chosen to fill the seat
under the various provisions of Constitution mentioned therein, including .
Article 191, is the date fixed for scrutiny of P.ominations. In the instant case
the said date was February .5, 1990. It is, therefore, necessary to determine
whether S!!d Karam Singh was holding an office of profit on February 5,
1990. F

In view of the fir.ding> rec~rded by the High Court, .the following
que::.\~;-oris arise for cons!deralirJn -

(1) Did Shri Karam Singh ce&•e to hold the of!ice of Chairman of G
the Board on January 31. 19"0. the date on which he submitted his
resignation from the said office or en Fcbruuy 12..1990 when the notifica-
> tion about acceptance of his re;ignatinn with immediate effect wa< issued
by the Government of Himachal Prad"h?

(2) Did the office of Chairm"n of the Board held by Shri Karam H
260 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993) 2 S.C.R.

A Singh cease to be an office of profit with effect from January 8, 1990 in -.....;
view of the notification of the said date whereby the remuneration of Rs.
1500 p.m. (consolidated) payable to the Chairman of the Board ]jad ceased
to be payable to Shri Karam Singh?

Shri Ganguli has urged that the resignation of Shri Karam Singh from
B the office of Chairman of the Board could be effective only after it was
-Y·
accepted by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh who had nominated him
l.o the said office and till the acceptance of the said resignation, Shri Karam
Singh continued to hold the office of the Chairman of the Board. The
submission of Shri Ganguli is that acceptance of a resignation is necesary
before it can be effective and since in the present case the resignation was
accepted only by notification dated February 12, 1990, Shri Karam Singh
continued as Chairman of the Board till that date and he was holding that
office on the date of scrutiny, i.e., February, 5, 1990. In support of this '¥
submission Shri Ganguli has placed reliance on the decisions of this Court
in Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limitell and Another v. Brojo
D
Nath Ganguly and Anr., [1986) 2 SCR 278 and J.K. Cotton Spinning and
Weaving Mills Company Ltd. v. State of U.P. & Others., (1990) 3 SCR 523
as well as the decision of the Allahabad High Court in Lala Ram v. Gauri
Shanker, 1981 All. Law 1982. Having carefully considered the said conten-
tion of Shri Ganguli we find it difficult to accede to it.
E
~
As pointed out by this court, 'resignation' means the spontaneous
relinquishment of one's own right and in relation to an office, it connotes
the act of giving up or relinquishing the office. It has been held that in the
general juristic sense, in order to constitute a complete and operative
F resignation there must be the intention to give"up or relinquish the office
and the concomitant act of its relinquishment. It has also been observed
that the act of relinquishment may take different forms or assume a ,........
unilateral or bilateral character, depending on the nature of the office and
the conditions governing it. (See : Union of India v. Sliri Gopal Chandra
Misra & Ors., [1978! 3 SCR 12 at p. 21). If the act of relinquishment is of
G unilateral character, it comes into effect when such act indicating the
intention to relinquish the office is communicated to the competent
authority. The authority to whom the act of relinquishment is communi-
~
caled is not required to take any action and the relinquisbment takes effect
from the date of such communication where the resignation is intended to
H operate in prasenti. A resignation may also be prospective to be operative

t
MOTi RAM "· PARAM DEV (AGRAWAL,J.J 261

r from a future date and in that event it would take effect from the date A
indicated therein and not from the date of communication. In cases where
the act of relinquishment is of a bilateral character, the communication of
the intention to relinquish, by itself, would not be. sufficient to resuJ; in
relinquishment of the office and some action is required to b,e ta)<en on
such communication of the intention to relinquish, e.g,, acceptance of the
,~ said request to relinquish the office, and in such a case the relinquishment
B
does not become effective or operative till such action is taken. As to
whether the act of relinquishment of an>office is unilattral or bilateral in
character would depend upon the nature of the office and conditions
- governing it.
c
Under the Constitution of India there are various offices which can
be relinquished by unilateral act of the holder of the office and acceptance
'f ofresignation is not required, e.g., President (Article 56(a)J. Vice-President
(Article 67(a)], Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Article 90(b)J, Speaker
and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha [Article 94(b)J, Judge of the Supreme
Court (Article 124(2)(a)], Judge of a High Court [Article 217 (l)(a)). As D
regards member of either House of Parliament or a member of a House
of Legislature of a State; originally, the position was that he could resign
his office by unilateral act and the acceptanee of resignation was not
required. The requirement of acceptance of such resignation was intro-
~_duced in Articles !01(3)(b) and 190(3)(b) by the Constitution (Thirty- E
. Third Amendment) Act, 1974. Similarly in company law, a director of a
company is ~ntitled to relinquish his office at any time he \,leases by proper
notice to the company and acceptance of the resignation is not required.
[See : Glossop v. G/ossop, (1907) 2 Ch 370, Halsbury's Law of England, 4th
Ed., Vol. 7, p. 316, para 536].
F
~_ A contract of employment, however. stands on a different footing
wherein the act of relinquishment is of bilateral character and resignation
of an employee is effective only on acceptance of the same by the employer.
Insofar as Government employees are concerned, there are specific
provisions in the Service rules which require acceptance of the resignation G
before it becomes effective. In Raj Kumar v. Union of India, [1968] 3 SCR
· 857, it has been held :

"But when a public servant has invited by his letter of
resignation determination of his employment, his services H
262 ·.SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993) 2 S.C.R.

A· normally stand· ten~~ed from the date on which the
I . letter of resignation is· accepted by the appropriate
authority, and in the absence of any law or rule governing
· the cilnditions of his service to the contrary, it will not be
open ·to the public servant to withdraw his resignation
., ·after it is accepted by the appropriate authority. Till the
. resignation is· accepted by the appropriate ·authority in
consonance with the rules governing the acceptance, the
public servant concerned has locus paenitentiae but not
thereafter". (p.860)
•
C· Slliiilarly, in Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Ltd. and Anr.
v. BrojoNath Ganguly and Anr.. (supra) which related to an employee of a
_..,. Government company jointly and wholly owned by the Central Govern-
ment ·and two State Governments,. it was observed -

. "A resignation by an employee would, however, normally
D require
I .
to be
-
accepted by the employer .in order ·to be
effective.· It can be that in certain circumstances an
employer would be justified in refusing to aecept. the
employee's resignal:ion as; for ~iance, when an ~mployee
wants to leave in the middle ·or ii. work which. is urgent or ..
E important and for the completion of which his presence
and participation afe necessary. An. employer can also
refuse to acc.ept the resignation when there is a discipli-
nary 'inquiry pending against the employee. In·such a case,
to permit an employee to resign would be to allow.hiin to
. go away from the scT\iee Md escape the consequences of
F . an adverse finding against him in such an inquiry. There ·
can also be other groU!ld~ an •\·hieh an employer would
b~. justified in not accepting the resignation of an
. '·employee". (p386)
. .
.The. same view was reiterated in J.K Cotton Spinning and Weai•ing
G Mills Company Ltd. v. Seate of U.P. &'at;. (Supra) which also relates to a
· contract of employment. · .

-.____ · . The questi.on whether the resignation of Shri Karam Sin~ from the
.office of Chairman of the Board was required to be accepted before it
H . became effective. involves the question whether the act of relinquishment
..
MOTi RAM v. l'ARAM DEV [AGRAWAL, J.] 263

of th<:: office of Chairman is uniluteral or bilateral in character. In order to A
answer this question it is necessary lo consider the relevant provisions of
the Act. The Act does not contain any provision for resignation of ·the
· office of Chairman of the Board but in Section 7, the following provision
ha.s been made with regard to the resignation of office by members -

B
"7. Resignation of office by members - Any member may
resign, his office by giving notice in writing to the Govern-
ment of Himachal Pradesh and, on such resignation being
notified in the Official Gazette by the Government of

-
'
Himachal Pradesh, shall be deemed to have vacated his
office". c
In the aforesaid provision, there is no requirement that the resigna-
tion of a member should be accepted by any authority. What is required is
that a member who wishes to resign his office as member should give notice
in writing to the Government of Himachal Pradesh and such resignation D
takes effect when it is notified in the official gazette by the Government of
Himachal Pradesh. This indicates that the act of relinquishment of the
office of a member of the Board is bilateral in character in as much as the
resignation takes effect only when such resignation is notified in the Official
Gazette by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. There is no such re- E
~- quirement for relinquishing the office of Chairman of the Board. Section
4(2}, however, provides that the Chairman of the Board has to be
nominated from amongst the members of the Board. This means that the
Chairman of the Boanl holds office so long as he is a member of the Board
and if he ceases to be a member of the Board he also ceases !O be the
chairman of the Board. But the converse is not true. A Chairman of the F
Board may resign his office as Chairman but may continue as member of
the Board. If he resigns only from the office of Chairman of the Board,
there is no requirement that such resignation should be accepted by any
authority or that any other action is required to be taken for the said
resignation to be effective. lt would, therefore, appear that the act of G
relinquishment of the office of Chairman of the Board • is unilateral in
c.,aracter and the resignation from the said office takes effect when it is
communicated without any further action being required to be taken on
the same. Since the Chairman of the Board is nominated by the Govern-
ment of Himachal Pradesh under Section 4(2) of the Act, resignation has H
264 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A also to be communicated to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, i.e., the
Head of the Departrpent dealing with the Board, and once it is so com-
municated it takes effect from the date of such communication if the
resignation is in presenti or from the date indicated therein if it is prospec-
tive in nature to be operative from a future date. This means that the act
B of relinquishment of the office of Chairman of the Board differs from the
act of relinquishment from the of~ce of a Member of the Board in the -~
sense that while the act of relinquishment of office of a Member is bilateral
in character requiring certain action, namely, resignation being notified in
the Official Gazette by the Government of Himachal Pradesh before it
comes into effect, the act of relinquishment of the office of Chairman of
c the Board is unilateral in character. The decisions on which reliance has
been placed by Shri Ganguli relating to contracts of employment where the
act of relinquishment has been held to be bilateral in character requiring
acceptance of the resignation, can, therefore, have no application to the
present case where the act of relinquishment of the office of Chairman of
D the Board is unilateral in character.

Three possible situations involving resignation by a person holding
the office of Chairman of the Board can be envisaged :

(i) He may resign only from the office of the Chairman of the Board.
E In sucli a case if the resignation is i11 presenti it would take effect from the
date of communication of the resignation to the Head of the Department
in the Government of Himachal Pradesh it wouid take effect from the date
as indicated in the said resignation if the resignation is prospective to be
operative from a future date.
F
(ii) He may resign only from the office of the member of the Board.
This resignation would take effect from the date the resi~ation is notified
in the Official Gazette by the Government of Himachal Pradesh and with
effect from the said date the Chairman would cease to be a member of the
G Board. Since a person cannot continue as Chairman of the Boar'cl after he
has ceased to be a member of the Board, he would also cease to be the
Chairman of the Board from the date of his resignation as member.of the
Board is notified in the Official Gazette by the Government of Himachal
Pradesh.

H (iii) He may resign both from the office of Chairman of the Board
MOT! RAM v. PARAM DEV [AGRAWAL. J.] 265

as vlell as from the office of member of the Board. In such· a case, his A
resignation from the office of Chairman of the Board would take effect
from the date of communication to the Head of the Department in the
Government of Himachal pradesh if it is i11 praese11ti or from the date
indicated therein if it is prospective to be operative from a future date. He
would, however, continue to be a member of the Board till his resignation
B
from the office of member is notified in the Official Gazette by the
Government of Himachal Pradesh under Section 7 of the Act.

- The instant case falls in the third.category because Shri Karam Singh,
by his letter dated January 3'1, 1990, resigned from the office of member
as well as the office of Chairman of the Board and wanted the resignation C
to be accepted with effect from the same day, i.e., January 31, 1990. By
notification dated February 12, 1990, it was notified that the resignation of
Shri Karam Singh Thakur, as Chairman of the Board has been accepted
by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh with immediate· effect. In our
opinion, the said notification dated February 12, 1990, proceeds under a D
misconception of the correct legal position. The resignation of Shri Karam
Singh as Chairman of the Board was not required to be accepted by the
Government of Himachal Pradesh. It became effective on January 31, 1990
when the letter of resignation was received by the Financial Commissioner-
cum-Secretary (Industries) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh who
was the Head of the Department dealing with the Board and to whom it E
was addressed. Since there is no requirement in the Act that the resigna-
tion of the Chairman of the Bord should be notified in the Official Gazette
as in the case of a member of the Board, it cannot be said that the

-- resignation of Shri Karam Singh did not take effect till it was notified in
the official gazette vide notification dated February 12, 1990.
F
The High Court was, therefore, right in taking the view that Shri
Karam Singh had ceased to hold the office of the Chairman of the Board
having resigned from the said office on January 31, 1~0, and the said
resignation became effective from that date itself and that on the date of
scrutiny, i.e., February 5, 1990, he was not holding an office of profit. For G
that reason, it has been rightly held that the nomination of Shri Karam
Singh was improperly rejected by the Returning Officer.

Since we are in agreement with the view of the High Court that the
nomination of Shri Karam Singh had been improperly rejected for the H
266 SUPREME CpURT REPORTS (1993) 2 S.C.R.

A reason that he was not holding the office of the Chairman of the Board on -;
the date of scrutiny, we do not consider it necessary to go into the question
whether the office of Chairman of the Board held by Shri Karam Singh
had ceased to be an office of profit after January 8, 1990.

The appeals, therefore, fail and are, accordingly, dismissed: But in
the circumstances with no orders to costs.

B.V.B.D. Appeals dismissed.

•