1988 PLP 1415 (MLD)

Through this constitutional petition, Zila Council Bahawalpur through its Chairman, the petitioner wants this Court to declare the action and proceedings taken by Cantonment Board Bahawalpur, respondent, to extend its present limits, to be without lawful authority and of no legal consequence.

2. The facts leading to this petition briefly are:‑ that on 29‑9‑1987, Cantonment Board Bahawalpur, in its special meeting passed a resolution to extend its limits. 'Thereafter following notice was published :n the newspaper: are of great significance and indicate the intention‑ of the Cantonment Board to include local area within its limits. It may be noted here that it has nowhere been stated in the notice that publication was being made under the directions of the Central Government or under the orders of some other authority of competent jurisdiction. It is also obvious from the notice reproduced above that the Cantonment Board had not only proposed the extension of its boundaries but had also invited objections from the inhabitants of the local area and had fixed time within which the objections could be tiled.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied on section 4 of Cantonment Act 1924 to contend that Central Government alone could declare its intention to extend the limits of Cantonment Board and the Board had no authority to pass resolutions or to publish notice inviting objections from the inhabitants of the local area. Learned counsel for the Cantonment Board had no reply to the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner. He simply stated that the Cantonment Board had published the intended extension of its limits for eliciting public response as desired by the Director, Military Land and Cantonments, Ministry of Defence, Rawalpindi. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties with care. I feel persuaded to agree with the learned counsel for the petitioner. Relevant provisions of law may be produced advantageously:‑ Section 4 of Cantonments Act 1924: "The Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette declare its intention to include within a Cantonment any local area situated in the vicinity thereof or to exclude from a cantonment any local area comprised therein. (2) Any inhabitant of a cantonment or local area in respect of which a notification has been published under subsection (1) may, within six weeks from the date of the notification, submit in writing to the Central Government through the competent Authority an objection to the notification, and the Central Government shall take such objection into consideration. (3) On the expiry of six weeks from the date of the notification, the Central Government may, after considering the objections, if any, which have been submitted under subsection (2), by notification in the official Gazette include the local area in respect of which the notification was published under subsection (1), or any part thereof, in the Cantonment or, as the case may be, exclude such area or any part thereof from the Cantonment."

6. From‑ the examination of the aforesaid provision of Law, it is crystal clear that Cantonment Board had no authority to notify its proposal or intention to include any local area in the Cantonment Board or to invite objections from the inhabitants of the local area or fix time, for the receipt of the objections and that Central Government alone could notify the intention to include within the Cantonment any area and invite objections from the inhabitants of the local area within specified time.

7. In pursuance of the aforesaid, discussion, the action taken and proceedings initiated by the Cantonment Board Bahawalpur with regard to the inclusion of the local area within its limits are declared to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect. Needless to add that this order is without prejudice to the action or proceedings which the Central Government may desire to lake in accordance with law The parties will bear their own costs. M.Y.H./Z‑60/L Petition accepted.