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TMI Blog1970 (3) TMI 168X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... disposed of on October 18, 1968 by the High Court ordering its dismissal. The present appeal is by certificate granted by the High Court. 2. Before the High Court many questions were mooted. Shortly stated the argument is that the Delhi Special Police Establishment is not Constitutional and that it has no jurisdiction to investigate the cases in other States. This argument has many facets which will presently appear. Before we consider them it is necessary to say something about the original Constitution of this Special Police Establishment. 3. We are concerned today with the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946 (XXV of 1946). This Act succeeded two Ordinances which had been earlier passed by the Governor General and it had been amended from time to time by way of adaptation and modification. It was passed when the Government of India Act 1935 was in force. Entry No. 3 of the Provincial Legislative List in the 7th Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935 read police including railway and village police . Entry 39 of the Federal Legislative List was as follows : 39. Extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any part ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... India the power and jurisdiction exercisable in a province by the members of the police force of that province possessing all their powers, duties, privileges and liabilities. under Section 4 the superintendence of the Special Police Establishment (War Department) was vested in the Central Government. It was, however, provided by Section 3 as follows : Offences to be investigated by Special Police Establishment :- The Central Government may by general or special order specify the offences or classes of offences committed in connection with Departments of the Central Government which are to be investigated by the Special Police Establishment (War Department), or may direct any particular offence committed in connection with a Department of the Central Government. 8. This ordinance would have lapsed on September 30, 1946. Before that on September 25, 1946 another ordinance of the same name (No. XXII of 1946) was promulgated. This constituted a special police force for the Chief Commissioner's province of Delhi for investigation of certain offences committed in connection with matters concerning departments of the Central Government. The scheme of this ordinance was sligh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ncerning Departments of the Central Government etc. 11. After the amendment the words read : An Act to make provision for the Constitution of a special police force in Delhi for the investigation of certain offences in Part C States. 12. Similar changes were also made in the preamble and in Section 3 the reference to Departments of Government was also deleted. The change from 'for the State of Delhi' to 'in Delhi' was the subject of comment in the High Court. To that we shall refer later. 13. In 1956 the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 was enacted. Previously the Constitution specified the States as Parts A, B and C States and some territories were specified in Part D in the First Schedule. By the amendment the distinction between Parts A and B was abolished. All States (previously Part A and B States) were shown in the First Schedule under the heading 'The States' and Part C States and Part D territories were all described as Union Territories. Thereupon an Adaptation of Laws Order, 1956 was passed and in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 all references to 'Part C States' were replaced by the expression 'unio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r powers, jurisdiction etc. equal to those of the regular police. Those provisions are not in dispute. 14. After the passing of the 1946 Act a numbed of notifications succeeded which notified the offences which the Special Police Establishment could investigate. On November 6, 1956 (Notn. No. 7/5/55-AVD) was issued under Section 3 of the Act of 1946. It enabled the Special Police Establishment to investigate inter alia offences under Sections 409 and 477-A of the Indian Penal Code. A memorandum (No. DPE/1260/6554-V) dated July 2, 1960 shows that the Government of Maharashtra consented to the Delhi Special Police Establishment exercising powers and jurisdiction in the State of Maharashtra in respect of offences mentioned in notifications of the Government of India dated November 6, 1956, February 12, 1957, June 21, 1957 and August 27, 1957. The first notification has been referred to already. The remaining three notifications were not brought to our notice. 15. A doubt raised in the High Court and before us that the Government of Maharashtra had not considered the matter or that the consent was not properly given, is sufficiently answered by the affidavit of the Under Secretar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ea outside that State without the consent of the Government of the State in which such area is situated; extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any State to railway areas outside that State. 18. This entry speaks of a 'police force belonging to any State' and not of a police force belonging to the Union Territory. The adaptation of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 3) Order, 1956 by substituting 'Union territories' in place of 'Part C States', it is said, cut the Act adrift from the entry under which the power could alone be exercised. This power is limited in extent, it is argued, and cannot be used except as specifically conferred and it applies to a police force belonging to a State and not Union territory. In reply the provisions of the General Clauses Act, as adapted by Adaptation Order (No. 1) were brought to our notice. Section 3(58) of the General Clauses Act was adapted to read : State (a) as respects any period before the commencement of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, shall mean a Part A State, a Part B State or a Part C State; and (b) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vision of a fresh power of adaptation conferred on the President of India by Article 372-A which was introduced by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act 1956. That article reads : 372A. Power of the President to adapt laws. (1) For the purposes of bringing the provisions of any law in force in India or in any part thereof, immediately before the commencement of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, into accord with the provisions of this Constitution as amended by that Act, the President may by order made before the 1st day of November, 1957, make such adaptations and modifications of the law, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient, and provide that the law shall, as from such date as may be specified in the order have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made, and any such adaptation or modification shall not be questioned in any court of law. (2) Nothing in Clause (1) shall be deemed to prevent a competent legislature or other competent authority from repealing or amending any law adapted or modified by the President under the said clause. 23. This conferred a power on the President of India to adapt any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 3(58). Indeed the Part C States were expressly mentioned in Entry No. 39 of the Federal List of the Government of India Act, 1935 (after its amendment in 1947) and thus before the Seventh Amendment the definition of State (subject to the subject or context) included Part C States. Therefore, the definition of 'State' in Section 3(58) in the General Clauses Act after the adaptation in 1956 applies and includes Union Territories in Entry 80 of the Union List. 25. The last argument is that the Entry 80 of the Union List speaks of a police force 'belonging to any State' and this phrase was also used in the Government of India Act, 1935 to Entry 39 of the Federal Legislative List both before and after its amendment in 1947. It is argued that in Ordinance XXII of 1946 the phrase was 'for the Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi' and it was repeated in Act XXV of 1946 till the phrase was changed to 'for Part C States'. Thus the word 'for' took the place of the words 'belonging to' in the Entry. Then came the change to the present phrase 'a special police force in Delhi.' 26. It is pointed out that the Special Police Estab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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