TMI Blog1954 (10) TMI 38X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gated by the Governor of East Punjab, under section 88 of the Government of India Act, 1935, making provisions for the registration of land claims of the East Punjab refugees. On the 17th March, 1948, the respondent, Mohar Singh, who purports to be a refugee from West Pakistan, filed a claim in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, stating therein, that he had lands measuring 104 kanals situated within the district of Mianwali in West Punjab. On the 1 st of April, 1948, this Ordinance was repealed and Act XII of 1948 (hereinafter called the Act ) was passed by the East Punjab Legislature re-enacting all the provisions of the repealed Ordinance. The claim filed by the respondent was investigated in due course and it was found, after enquiry, that the statement made by him was absolutely false and that as a matter of fact there was no land belonging to him in West Pakistan. Upon this, a prosecution was started against him on the 13th of May, 1950, under section 7 of the Act, which makes it an offence for any person to submit, with regard to his claim under the Act, any information which is false. The accused was tried by S. Jaspal Singh, Magistrate, First Class, Julland ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... jab General Clauses Act. Section 6 of- the General Clauses Act lays down the effect of the repeal of an enactment. The section runs thus "6. Where this Act or any Central Act or regulation made after the commencement of this Act, repeals any enactment hitherto made or hereafter to be made, then, unless a different intention appears, the repeal shall not- (c)affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under any enactment so repealed ; or (d)affect any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against any enactment so repealed; or (e)affect any investigation, legal proceeding -or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid. " On the strength of this provision in the General Clauses Act it was contended on behalf of the State that the repeal of the Ordinance could not in any way affect the liability already incurred by the respondent, in respect of an offence, committed against the provisions of the Ordinance and any penalty or punishment consequent thereon. The learned Judges of the High Court negatived this contention by ho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ater on, to dispense with the necessity of having to insert a saving clause on each occasion, section 38(2) was inserted in the Interpretation Act of 1889 which provides that a repeal, unless the contrary intention appears, does not affect the previous operation of the repealed enactment or anything duly done or suffered under it and any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced in respect of any right, liability and penalty under the repealed Act as if the Repealing Act had not been passed. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, as is well known, is on the same lines as section 38(2) of the Interpretation Act of England. Under section 30 of the General Clauses Act, which corresponds to section 27 of the Punjab Act, the provisions of the Act are applicable to Ordinances as well. Of course, the consequences laid down in section 6 of the Act will apply only when a statute or regulation having the force of a statute is actually repealed. It has no application when a statute, which is of a temporary nature, automatically expires by efflux of time. The Ordinance in the present case was undoubtedly a temporary statute but it is admitted that the pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eal and the Legislature has either not given its thought to the matter of prosecuting old offenders, or a provision dealing with that question has been inadvertently omitted, section 6 of the General Clauses Act will undoubtedly be attracted. But no such inadvertence can be presumed where there has been a fresh legislation on the subject and if the new Act does not deal with the matter, it may be presumed that the Legislature did not deem it fit to keep alive the liability incurred under the old Act. In our opinion the approach of the High Court to the question is not quite correct. Whenever there is a repeal of an enactment, the consequences laid down in section 6 of the General Clauses Act will follow unless, as the section itself says, a different intention appears. In the case of a simple repeal there is scarcely any room for expression of a contrary opinion. But when the repeal is followed by fresh legislation on the same subject we would undoubtedly have to look to the provisions of the new Act, but only for the purpose of determining whether they indicate a different intention. The line of enquiry would be, not whether the new Act expressly keeps alive old rights and liabili ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... first subsection lays down how the claim is to be filed. The proviso attached to it then says that "a refugee who has previously submitted a claim under Ordinance VII of 1948 to any other authority competent to register such claim shall not submit another claim in respect of the same land to the Registering Officer. " Such claim would be reckoned and registered as a claim under the Act and once it is so treated the incidents and corollaries attached to the filing of a claim, as laid down in the Act, must necessarily follow. The truth or falsity of the claim has to be investigated in the usual way and if it is found that the, information given by the claimant is false, he can certainly be punished in the manner laid down in sections 7 and 8 of the Act. If we are to hold that the penal provisions contained in the Act cannot be attracted in case of a claim filed under the Ordinance, the results will be anomalous and even if on the strength of a false claim a refugee has succeeded in getting an allotment in his favour, such allotment could not be cancelled under section 8 of the Act. We think that the provisions of sections 4,7 and 8 make it apparent that it was not the intention of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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