Delhi High Court Dismisses PIL To Replace Term 'Central Government' With 'Union Government' In Laws, Notifications

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation for using the expression "Union Government" instead of "Central Government" in all legislations, orders, notifications, Rules, executive actions and circulars.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna said that the two terms can be used interchangeably and it was not a case of PIL.

“What is there in this PIL? I don't understand….whether it is central government or Union government. It does not matter how you address them...We have far more important matters. Dismissed,” the court orally said.

The Court rejected the PIL filed by 84 years old Atmaram Saraogi, which also challenged the vires of Section 3(8)(b) of the General Clauses Act, 1897.

“Under our Constitution, India is a "UNION OF STATES", and there cannot be any conceptualization of a "Central Government" as existed under the British Raj. However, this archaic phraseology continues to be employed wholly contrary to our system of governance," the PIL read.

The PIL was moved through Advocate Hemant Raj Phalpher.

The plea averred that while there is not a single reference of the term "Central Government" or "Centre" in the Constitution of India, the first references crept in only in amendments made from 2012 onwards.

"Article 1 of the Constitution of India used the words 'The Union and its Territory' and states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States". Interestingly, the terms 'Centre' or 'Central Government' have consciously not been used in any of the 395 articles divided in 22 parts and/or in eight schedules of the Constitution of India," it added.

The plea also argued that the term 'Union Government' has a "unifying effect on the relationship of the Union and all the States" and would go a long way in "defying the false impression" that there is centralization of power in the Union Government.

"In other words, the word 'Centre' indicates a point in the middle of the circle giving a sense of a Federal Government, whereas 'Union' refers to the Whole Circle and denotes a sense of Unitary Government," the plea stated.

Case Title: ATMARAM SARAOGI v. UNION OF INDIA

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1311