Repeal, Substitute and Omission - Indian Laws - General

Meaning of words Repeal Substitute and Omission The words Repeal Substitute and Omission have different tenor in a literal sense but tend to denote a similar meaning when used in the context of any amendment of law. While the words themselves may not cause a conflict, it is the consequences of the amendment on the rights and liabilities of the parties that have led to the courts differentiating between these terms. It is to humbly submit that the Supreme Court has dealt with these three terms used by the legislature while amending any law in the afore-mentioned backdrop,. The Legal Thesaurus (Deluxe Edition) by William C Burton, 1979 Edition. The expression delete is defined by the Thesaurus as follows: Delete: - Blot out, cancel, censor, cross off, cross out, cut, cut out, dele, discard, do away with, drop, edit out, efface, elide, eliminate, eradicate, erase, excise, expel, expunge, extirpate, get rid of, leave out, modify by excisions, obliterate, omit, remove, rub out, rule out, scratch out, strike off, take out, weed wipe out. Likewise the expression omit is also defined by this Thesaurus as follows:- Omit: - Abstain from inserting, bypass, cast aside, count out, cut out, delete, discard, dodge, drop exclude, exclude, fail to do, fail to include, fail to insert, fail to mention, leave out, leave undone, let go, let pass, let slip, miss, neglect, omittere, pass over, praetermittere, skip, slight, transire. And the expression repeal is defined as follows:- Repeal: - Abolish, abrogare, abrogate, annul, avoid, cancel, countermand, declare null and void, delete, eliminate, formally withdraw, invalidate, make void, negate, nullify, obliterate, officially withdraw, override, overrule, quash, recall, render invalid, rescind, rescindere, retract, reverse, revoke, set aside, vacate, void, withdraw. In Halsbury s Laws of England Fourth Edition, in the Fibre Board s judgment in Para 32 - [ 2015 (8) TMI 482 - SUPREME COURT ],it is stated that: So far as express repeal is concerned , it is not necessary that any particular form of words should be used. All that is required is that an intention to abrogate the enactment or portion in question should be clearly shown. (Thus, whilst the formula is hereby repealed is frequently used, it is equally common for it to be provided that an enactment shall cease to have effect (or, If not yet in operation, shall not have effect ) or that a particular portion of an enactment shall be omitted). On a conjoint reading of the three expressions delete , omit , and repeal , it becomes clear that delete and omit are used interchangeably, so that when the expression repeal refers to delete it would necessarily take within its ken an omission as well. This being the case, we do not find any substance in the argument that a repeal amounts to an obliteration from the very beginning, whereas an omission is only in futuro. If the expression delete would amount to a repeal , which the appellant s counsel does not deny, it is clear that a conjoint reading of Halsbury s Laws of England and the Legal Thesaurus cited hereinabove both lead to the same result, namely that an omission being tantamount to a deletion is a form of repeal. [ M/s. Shree Bhagwati Steel Rolling Mills Versus Commissioner of Central Excise Another ]