Mangalamma And Ors. vs Express Newspapers Ltd. And Anr. on 2 July, 1981
10. The learned counsel for the claimants appellants would however, contend that a liberal interpretation has to be given for the expression public place, occurring in S. 95 (1) (b) and that since the concern of Express Newspaper which is a public media is housed within the compound. the entire premises must be taken to be one to which public can have access. The learned counsel refers to a decision of a Division Bench of this court in Crown Prosecutor v. Govindarajulu, (1916) ILR 39 Mad 886: (AIR 1916 Mad 474), wherein the Harbour premises was held to be a place of public resort. In that case, a person was prosecuted for disorderly behaviour in the Madras Harbour premises, under S. 75 of the Madras City Police Act. He was acquitted by the Presidency Magistrate on the ground that the Harbour premises do not constitute a place of public resort. On appeal the High Court held that the bylaws framed under the port Trust Act prohibiting trespassers or persons who enter on the harbour premises without having business there or with the ships lying in the harbour cannot be construed as preventing entry of respectable people and that so long as respectable members of the public have been freely allowed to enter the harbour premises, as well as the very large number of people who have business in the harbour premises or with the shipping, the harbour premises has to be taken to be a place of public resort. We do not see how the entire express estate premises can be construed to be a public place merely because a newspaper is printed and published from that place. Merely because newspaper is a public media the place where the newspaper is printed and published cannot be taken to be a public place if that were to be so, every place where books are printed and published will become a public place. The test for finding out whether a place is public or private is to see whether any member of the public would have access as of right to that place. in this case the evidence is clear that the Indian Express estate is surrounded by a compound and there is a gate through which the entry is regulated by permission.