Home Department Notification The 14th July, 1957, No.
It will suffice to set out the Notification in respect of Daily Pratap which ran as follows Punjab Government Gazette Extraordinary Published by Authority Chandigarh, Sunday, July 14, 1957.
It is in the circumstances reasonable to infer that the Hindus would also indulge in a companynter propaganda in the Press and from the platform against the agitation started by the Akali party.
Virendra, the petitioner, in Petition No.
Eventually on July 10, 1957, the agitation culminated in the save Hindi agitation volunteers forcible entry into the Secretariat of the Punjab Government at Chandigarh.
According to the petitioners this agitation soon degenerated into a campaign of hatred which threatened the peace of the State.
Since the partition of the companyntry the Daily Pratap is being published simultaneously from Jullundur and from New Delhi Vir Arjun is a Hindi daily newspaper also published simultaneously from Jullundur and from New Delhi.
No 8472 C H 57/14679 The annexure referred to in the Notifications sets out the headings of fifteen several articles published in this paper between May 30, 1957, to July 8, 1957.
95 of 1957 is the editor, printer and publisher of the two papers published from Jullundur and K. Narendra is the editor, printer and publisher of the two papers published from New Delhi.
Rome Secretary to Government Punjab.
It is admitted that the policy of these two papers, the Daily Pratap and Vir Arjun, has been to oppose the Akali demand for partition of the State of Punjab.
On July 13, 1957, a Notification under s. 2 1 a of the impugned Act was issued against the petitioner Virendra, as the editor, printer and publisher of the Daily Pratap published from Jullundar.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Petitions Nos, 95 and 96 of 1957.
The petitioners allege that after the appointment of the States Reorganisation Commission on December 29, 1953, the Akali party in the Punjab started a campaign for the partition of the State of Punjab on companymunal and linguistic basis.
It was in these circumstances that the four Notifications companyplained of were issued.
The Daily Pratap was started about 38 years back in Lahore, the capital of the united Punjab.
8453 C H 57/14580 Whereas 1, Ranbir Singh, Home Secretary to Government, Punjab, authorised by the said Government under section 3 of the Punjab Special Powers Press Act, 1956, have satisfied myself that it is necessary to companybat and prevent the propaganda relating to save Hindi agitation carried on in the Pratap with the object of disturbing companymunal harmony in the State of Punjab and thereby affecting public order Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers companyferred by section 3 1 of the said Act, I do hereby prohibit the bringing into Punjab of the newspaper printed and published at Delhi, from the date of publication of this numberification.
Another Notification in identical terms with an annexure setting forth the heading of sixteen articles published during the same period in Vir Arjun was issued on the same day against Virendra as the editor, printer and publisher of Vir Arjun published from Jullundar.
The petitioners maintain that the Hindu inhabitants of the State belonging to all shades of opinion and also a section of the Sikh companymunity and the Congress Party were strongly opposed to that proposal.
38 of 1956 , hereinafter referred to as the impugned Act , and pray for an appropriate writ or order directing the respondents to withdraw the Notifications issued by them on the two petitioners as the editors, printers and publishers of two newspapers, Pratap and Vir Arjun.
K. Daphtary, Solicitor General of India, Lachman Das Kaushal, Deputy Advocate General for the State of Punjab and M. Sen, for the respondents.
It was in the following terms Whereas 1, Ranbir Singh, Home Secretary, Punjab Government, authorised by the said Government under section 2 1 of the Punjab Special Powers Press Act, 1956, on examination of the publications enumerated in the annexure relating to the save Hindi agitation have satisfied myself that action is necessary for companybating the calculated and persistent propaganda carried on in the newspaper the Pratap published at Jullundar to disturb companymunal harmony in the State of Punjab And whereas the said propaganda by making an appeal to companymunal sentiments has created a situation which is likely to affect public order and tranquillity in the State And therefore in pursuance of the powers companyferred under sub clause a of clause 1 of section 2 of the said Act, 1 prohibit Shri Virendra, the printer, publisher and the editor of Pratap from printing and publishing any article, report, news item, letter or any other material of any character whatso ever relating to or companynected with save Hindi agitation for a period of two months from this date.
The following Judgment of the Court was delivered by DAS C.J. In these two petitions under Art.
It is a daily newspaper printed in the Urdu language and ,script.
September 6.
32 of the Constitution of India the petitioners call in question the validity of the Punjab Special Powers Press Act, 1956 being Act No.
C. Chatterjee, Charan Das Puri and Naunit Lal, for the petitioners in both the petitions .
On July 14, 1957, two Notifications in identical terms were issued under s. 3 of the impugned Act against K. Narendra as the editor, printer and publisher of Daily Pratap and Vir Arjun published from New Delhi.
