P L D 1970 Dacca 338 (PLP)

(a) Notification‑Original notification duly signed by officer of Government but notification as published in official Gazette not b Baring name of any official of Government Held mere irregularity not affecting validity of notification.. (b) Municipal Administration Ordinance (X of 1960), S. 7 read with East Pakistan Declaration of Municipalities Rules, 1960, r. 4(4) and Basic Democracies Order (18 of 1959), Art. 3(1), cl. (55)‑Area declared "urban" under Basic Democracies Order‑Can serve purpose of "urban area" for conversion into a Municipality contemplated under S. 7 of Ordi nance X of 1960. Where the contention was that the creation of an urban area out of rural area under the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, would be only for the purposes of the Order and an area which is declared to be an urban area under the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, cannot be converted into a Municipality or cannot be included within the limits of a Municipality Held : the provision of clause (55) of sub‑Article (1) of Article 3 of the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, gives complete authority to the Government to convert a rural area into an urban area if the area to be so converted has qualified to be an area. By the introduction of the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, [he Country as a whole minus ccrt4in areas in the west wing of the country has been divided into units known as Union Councils, Union Committees and Town Committees, Union Councils are composed of the units under the Basic Democracies Order which are situate in the rural areas. Those of the units which are in the urban areas constitute Union Committees and those of the units which are situate in a town or within the limits of the Municipality constitute Town Committees. These Sub -Divisions of the country into different heads under the Basic Democracies Order relative to their status (Rural, Urban, Town) do not in any way come in conflict with the provisions of the Municipal Administration Ordinance under which Municipa lities can be created or their limits extended or curtailed. It is not that the Municipalities are created in some areas which are outside the limits of the units created by the Basic Democracies Order. The Municipalities must exist in some area which may be covered by any of the units created by the Basic Democracies Order. All that is necessary and essential for the purpose of declaration of a Municipality is that it must be so done in an area which is not a rural area or, in other words, which is an urban area. How any urban area created under the Basic Demo cracies Order can be blessed with the status of a Municipality. There is no restriction in the powers of the Government as contemplated by section 7 of the Ordinance to either create a Municipality in an urban area or to curtail the limits or extend the limits of an existing Municipality. The only limitation is that no Municipality can be established in an area which is not an urban area. Since the Government has been vested with the powers under Article 3(1)(55) of the Basic Democracies Order to declare an area to be an urban area, it is evident that, if an area has been declared to be an urban area under the said Article of the order, the Government may then establish a Municipality under the Ordinance in that Urban area. (c) Municipal Administration Ordinance (X of 1950), S. 7 and East Pakistan Declaration of Municipalities Rules, 1960, r. 4(4)‑Words "from a date to be specified" in S. 7 of Ordinance and r. 4(4) of Rules, have reference to exclusion part of section and rule‑Specifying date necessary only when urban area or part thereof is excluded from limits of municipality. The phrase "from a date to be specified", occurring in section 7 of the Municipal Administration Ordinance, 1960, governs that part of the section beginning from "declare that any urban area shall, cease to be a municipality". Similarly, the phrase occurring in sub‑rule (4) of rule 4 of the East Pakistan Declaration of Municipalities Rules, 1960, also governs that portion of the rule which begins after the word "or" with the words "excluding any area therefrom". The phrase "from a date to be specified" occurring in section 7 of the Ordinance relates to the cessation clause of the section and not to the declaration, extension, curtailment or alteration part of it because of the disjunctive nature of the proposition occurring in the said section. There is no question of specification of a data when an urban area other than 4 cantonment is declared to be a Municipality and the limits of a Municipality are extended, curtailed or otherwise altered but it is incumbent to specify the date only when an urban area or a part thereof is excluded from the limits of a Municipality. Similarly in rule 4(4) the phrase "from date to be specified in the notification" must govern the exclusion part of the rule and not the extension, curtailment or alteration part of it. Upon a reading of section 7 of the Ordinance and sub‑rule (4) of rule 4 of the rules it is therefore clear that the phrase "from a date to be specified" occurring in both the places refers to exclusion part of the section and the rule. Commissioner of Income‑tax, Bengal v. Messrs Mahaliram Ramjidas A I R 1940 P C 124 ref.