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TMI Blog1980 (1) TMI 211X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ayer which he has made, he has urged that since the offences alleged to have been committed by him are non-cognizable, the police could not have filed the charge-sheet against him and that he could not have been arrested by the police without a warrant. It is in this context that at an earlier stage it was brought to the notice of this Court that under Sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932, notification had been issued by the local Government which made offence punishable under Section 506 of the I.P.C. cognizable and non-bailable. Thereupon the petition was amended by the petitioner with the leave of the Court, By the amended petition the petitioner challenges the vires of Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932, as well as the validity of the notification issued thereunder. 3. We are, therefore, required in this case to decide whether Sub-sections (11 and (2) of Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932, are intra vires Article 14 or ultra vires it and whether the notification or notifications issued thereunder are valid. 4. In order to examine the first contention which has been raised by Mr. Pandit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Article is that all litigants similarly situated are entitled to avail themselves of the same procedural rights for relief and for defence with like protection and without discrimination. 5. On behalf of the Central Government the Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs has filed an afidavit-in-reply. He has tried to justify the validity of Section 10. It has been stated in the affidavit-in-reply that the difference between a cognizable offence and a non-cognizable offence is that in case of a cognizable offence, a police officer may arrest an offender without warrant and that in case of a non-cognizable offence, a police officer has no authority to arrest an offender without warrant. According to him this is the only difference which is made by rendering a non-cognizable offences cognizable under the scheme of Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. He has next stated that in cities in which there are large and voluminous political and industrial activities, the prevention of certain serious offences acquires a different complexion and that it becomes very necessary to provide power to a police officer to arrest without warrant persons likely ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... British rule are gone, we are living in an era which is full of industrial activities. It also cannot be gainsaid that independent India is full of political activities of a conflicting nature. This unprecedented expansion of industrial and political activities which is generally confined to cities has very little effect in the villages in so far as the maintenance of social order is concerned. Therefore, in urban areas in which there is a very large expansion of industrial and political activities, a different procedure may be required to maintain social order and to prevent the commission of offences. It cannot be gainsaid that commission of offences in urban areas is much more frequent than in rural areas. Therefore, in order to meet peculiar situations emerging from different social conditions which come into existence from time to time, in urban areas, on account of unprecedented expansion of industrial and political activities, if a special law is made which confers power upon the State Government to do a certain thing which it cannot do in rural areas, we do not think the law which confers such a power on the State Government is ultra vires Article 14 or otherwise hit by it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has a rational nexus with the situation which it seeks to deal with, 8. In Ram Krishna Dalmia v. S.R. Tendolkar , the Supreme Court has laid down the scope of Article 14 and observed that a statute may not make any classification of the persons or things for the purpose of applying its provisions but may leave it to the discretion of the Government to select and classify persons or things to whom its provisions are to apply. In determining the question of the validity or otherwise of such a statute the Court will not strike down the law out of hand only because no classification appears on its face or because a discretion is given to the Government to make the selection or classification but will go on to examine and ascertain if the statute has laid down any principle or policy for the Guidance of the exercise of discretion by the Government in the matter of selection or classification. The Supreme Court has further observed that after such scrutiny the Court will strike down the statute if it does not lay down any principle or policy for guiding the exercise of discretion by the Government in the matter of selection or classification on the ground that the statute provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... able to imagine that different kinds of situations may exist in different urban areas. We are also able to imagine the existence of different kinds of situations in different rural areas. Therefore, in order to meet different situations which arise in different areas, if a law has been enacted to meet unusual situations which arise in a particular area, it cannot be struck down on the ground that it is discriminatory and violates Article 14. The expansion of industrial and political activities in the urban areas must not lead to frequent commission of offences - indeed non-cognizable. If an offence, otherwise non-cognizable, is committed in urban areas, without the police having the power to arrest an offender, it is likely to lead to unhealthy developments in the society, Therefore, the policy and philosophy which Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act,_ 1932 incorporates art) such as have rational nexus with the maintenance of law and order in urban areas where there is a large expansion of industrial and political activities. It is not a capricious law which has been made to curb or curtail the human rights nor is it a law which is intended to pounce upon the urban citizen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... efore, by virtue of its own force, the notification issued on 15th November, 1937 cannot render offence punishable under Section 506 of the I.P.C., if committed in Patrakar Colony which is now in the city of Ahmedabad, cognizable. In our opinion, therefore, the notification dated 15th November, 1937 has no application to the instant case. 13. Mr. Nanavati who appears on behalf of the State Government has produced before us another notification issued by the Government of Gujarat on 31st July, 1970 under Sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. It renders cognizable and non-bailable an offence punishable under Section 506 of the I.P.C. if committed inter alia in the villages under the jurisdiction of Navrangpura police station. One of the villages mentioned therein is Vadaj. Unfortunately, this notification which Mr. Nanavati has shown to us was not produced on the record of this case earlier by the State Government. They ought to have done so. There is no excuse for not producing it on record. If the State Government wants to rely upon a notification, it must produce it in Court and give a reasonable opportunity to the other side to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e after the commencement of this Act, repeals and re-enacts, with or without modification, any provision of a former enactment, then reference in any other enactment or in any instrument to the provision so repealed shall, unless a different intention appears, be construed as references to the provision so re-enacted, (2) Where before the fifteenth day of August, 1947, any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom repealed and re-enacted, with or without modification, any provision of a former enactment, then references in any Central Act or in any Regulation or instrument to the provision so repealed shall, unless a different intention appears, be construed as references to the provision so re-enanted. Therefore, applying the rule of construction laid down in Section 8 of the General Clauses Act, we must read in Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. Cr. P.C., 1973 in place of the expression of Cr. P.C., 1898 . When we so read it, it becomes clear that the notification issued under Section 10 with reference to Cr. P.C., 1898 should be read as having been issued with reference to the Cr. P.C., 1973. So far as the impugned notification is concerned, it also ref ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ge volume of industrial activities of varied character and nature. Ahmedabad is an important city of the State of Gujarat and it has been witnessing a very large volume of political activities as well. The industrial and political activities in the city of Ahmedabad are not comparable with any such activities in any other part of the State. Therefore, if the State Government has chosen the city of Ahmedabad with its peripheral areas for a special treatment in order to effectively control the law and order situation and the social life in the city, it cannot be said that the State Government has unduly discriminated against the residents of the city of Ahmedabad in this behalf. In our opinion, the combined effect of these two notifications is to draw a distinction between the city of Ahmedabad and the rest of the State of Gujarat in view of different problems which arise in the city and not to discriminate against the residents of the city. Therefore, we are unable to come to the conclusion that the impugned notifications suffer from any constitutional infirmity under Article 14. So far as the applicability of those notifications is concerned, we have already stated that the second ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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