9911796707
TMI Blog1988 (3) TMI 242X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Act 61 of 1985) (the Act for brevity). The car KLH 124 was seized. Franco, the purchaser of the car, was questioned by the Central Excise authorities and he falsely implicated the petitioner in the offence. Thereupon the petitioner moved for anticipatory bail; but was not successful. He now apprehends arrest, and further proceedings, under the Act. 2. According the to petitioner, the Act has not come into force, on that any proceedings in enforcement thereof are misconceived and Illegal. He was therefore filed this Original Petition seeking directions by way of writ of mandamus to the respondents, not to proceed with the investigation against him, under the Act. 3. The petitioner s contention is that the Act is not in force. That is des ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed November 14, 1985 Issued by the Central Government is therefore without the authority of law. 5. This is what the petitioner says in paragraph 4 of the Original Petition. The petitioner most respectfully submits that sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act has not been so far enforced so that the Central Government cannot exercise so called powers conferred by the sub-section (3) of Section 1 to bring into force the provisions of the Act by notification. Notification No. S.O. 821(E), dated 14-11-1986 by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) is seen to have been issued purporting to exercise powers under sub-section (3) of Sectton 1 even though the said sub-section had not been brought into force at the time of issuance of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ral Clauses Act, 1897, which reads:- Where any Central Act is not expressed to come into operation on a particular day, then it shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the assent, in the case of an Act of Parliament, of the President . What applies to an Act, must equally apply to a provision in the Act. In the absence of any specification of the date on which sub-section (3) of Section 1 is to come into operation, Section 5(1) of the General Clauses Act makes it operative from the date on which the Act received the assent of the President, namely September 16, 1985. Therefore and going by the arguments advanced by counsel for the petitioner himself sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act has come into operation on Se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... petitioner s contentions are to be accepted, numerous enactments which have been enforced, and understood as having been in force, for decades past, will be rendered ineffective. Even many of the laws, relating to taxation which provide the mainstay of the Central and State revenues, will be left inoperative. There will be practical no law in this country except perhaps stray enactments. Section 1 (3) has therefore to be read in a pragmatic sensible way, not hypotechnically, but reasonably, consistent with the allround legislative practice to avoid unintended, startling and absurd-results. Parliament cannot be assumed to have legislated for the sake of legislation, or to make pointless legislation, or indulge in futile exercises (See Utkal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y competent authority. Existing law of Travancore was defined to mean any law in force in the State immediately prior to 1-7-1949. It was thereafter; and only on July 26, 1949 that a notification was issued under Section 1 (3) of Travancore Act 14 of 1124 bringing it into force retrospectively from July 22, 1949. 10. The argument before the Supreme Court was that since Act 14 of 1124 M.E. had not been brought into force prior to July 1, 1949, it was not an existing law to be continued by Ordinance No. 1 of 1124, and therefore the subsequent notification issued only on July 26, 1949 bringing that Act into force was wholly ineffective. In that connection, the Supreme Court had to deal with the question as to whether the Act was an existing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion, by reason of the last sentence of Section 22 quoted above, will not take effect till the commencement of the Act. It will bring about a stalemate. It is, therefore, clear that a notification bringing an Act into force is not contemplated by Section 22 General Clauses Act. Seeing, therefore, that it is Section 1(3) which operates to prevent the commencement of the Act until a notification is issued there under by the Government and that it is Section 1 (3) which operates to authorise the Government to issue a notification there under, it must be conceded that that Section 1 (3) came into force immediately on the passing of the Act". 11. It was therefore, held that this provision in the Act come into force at once. Otherwise the res ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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