TMI Blog1952 (12) TMI 46X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e customs barrier near Wagha, on the morning of the 26th ,May, 1948. Wagha is., about 18 miles from Amritsar, and at a distance of nearly half a mile from this place lies the actual Indo-Pakistan border. Between the customs barrier and the border there is a small Police Post and almost opposite the Police Post is the customs office which is located in a tent. The prosecution case' is that at about 7 a. m. on the 26th of May, 1948, a truck, loaded with a large quantity of millmade cloth owned by the accused Ram Singh, arrived at the customs barrier near Wagha. Rajendra Singh, another accused, who was on duty at that time as the Customs Supervisor, allowed the truck to pass through and the truck stopped near the customs office on the side of the Police Post. As soon as the truck stopped, Darshan Singh, who was the Deputy Superintendent in charge of the customs barrier, and Attar Singh, who was a Customs Preventive Officer at Amritsar and was then under order of transfer to some other place, went to the Police Station and asked Kulraj, the SubInspector in charge of the same, to allow the lorry to pass through upto the border. Kulraj did not accede to this request and thereupon bot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate that these two appeals have come before us, one being filed by Darshan Singh and the other by Attar Singh. No appeal has been preferred by the accused Ram Singh. The constitutional point involved in these appeals has been presented before us very lucidly by Mr. Achhru Ram who appeared on behalf of Darslian Singh, the appellant in Case No. II, and his contention, in substance, is that the East Punjab Cotton Cloth and Yarn Order, 1947, which was promulgated by the Governor of East Punjab by notification dated 15th November, 1647, and under the provisions of which the prosecution was launched against the accused, was ultra vires the authority of the Governor, in so far as it purported to legislate on matters of export and import across the customs frontier, and consequently the accused could not be held guilty of any offence for having violated such provisions. For a proper appreciation of raised by the learned counsel, it would be necessary to refer to certain provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, as well as to those of a number of later enactments. Under entries 27 and 29 of List II of the Government of India Act, 1935, trade and commerce within th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orary Powers) Act of 1946, sections 3 and 4 of which are in these terms:- 3. The Central Government so far as it appears to it necessary or expedient for maintaining or increasing supplies of any essential commodity or for securing their equitable distribution and availability at fair prices may, by notified order provide for regulating and prohibiting the production, supply and distribution thereof and trade and commerce therein. * * * * 4.The Central Government may by notified order direct that the power to make orders under section 3 shall in relation to such matters and subject to such conditions,, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be exercisable also by (a) * * * * (b)such Provincial Government or such officer or authority subordinate to a Provincial Government as may be specified in the direction. By a notification dated 20th of December, 1946, issued under section 4 mentioned above, the Central Government delegated to the Governor of Punjab the powers under section 3 of the Act. On the 15th of November, 1947, the Governor of East Punjab, in exercise of the powers delegated by the said notification, passed t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4 could only delegate to the Governor such powers as the Central Government could itself 'exercise under section 3. Section 3 of the Essential Supplies Act, it is true, authorised the Central Government to make provisions for regulating-and prohibiting the production, supply and distribution of the essential commodities -specified in the Act and also trade and commerce therein; but it is argued by the learned counsel that the expression, trade and commerce , as used in the section, must be taken to mean trade and commerce within a province or at the most between provinces inter se, but it cannot include any transaction by way of exporting goods outside India. This interpretation, somewhat restricted as it appears to us, is sought to be supported by a two-fold argument. In the first Place, it, is said, that the Essential Supplies Act, as its, Preamble shows, was passed by the Central Legislature in exercise of the authority conferred upon it by the India (Central Government and Legislature) Act, 1946, (9 and, 10 Geo. 6, c. 39) and that statute conferred, only for a short period of time, a, power in the Central Indian.Legislature to legislate on certain provincial matters, wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nstrued in the light of the purpose and object of the Act itself. The object of the Essential Supplies Act, as set out in the preamble, was to provide for the continuance, during a limited period of time, of the power to control the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce in, foodstuffs, cotton and woollen textiles, petroleum, iron and other essential commodities, a list of which appeared in the Act itself. Section 3, which is the most material part of the Act,, authorised the Central Government, whenever it considered expedient or necessary, for maintaining or increasing supplies of any essential commodity or for securing their equitable distribution and availability at fair prices, to provide by notified order, for regulating or prohibiting, the production, supply and distribution thereof or trade and commerce therein. Keeping this object in view and reading the words trade and commerce in the light of the context, there appears to be no reason why these words should not be taken in their ordinary or natural sense and why restriction on the export of goods to any place outside a province, including a neighbouring foreign State should be deemed t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pplies Act. The object of the imports and Exports Act was not to regulate production and distribution of commodities considered essential to the community and it was not as a means to secure that object that it purported to prohibit or restrict exporting of goods. Thus the scope and purpose of the two sets of legislation were totally different and there was nothing wrong if they existed side by the side and were in operation at one and the same time, We are not told that there was any overlapping of the provisions of these two statutes; and as the competency of the legislature to enact both these sets of provisions is not disputed, we do not think that any occasional overlapping, even if it is assumed to exist, would be at all material. In our opinion, therefore, the contentions raised in regard to the constitutional point involved in these appeals are unsupportable and could not be accepted. As the appeals have come up before us on the strength of a certificate granted under article. 132(1) of the Constitution, the appellants are not entitled to challenge the propriety of the decision appealed against on a ground other than that on which the certificate was given except w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion he gave was this. His office is at Amritsar but be had received orders of transfer to Gurdaspur. His wife was ill and, therefore, he could not move immediately. So he applied for a few days leave, and on the morning of the 26th of May he went to the barrier to say goodbye to his colleagues in the Customs Department and while he was there this incident took place without his knowledge......... Attar Singh's explanation of his presence at the spot does not convince me at all. It appears that in course of the examination of the accused Attar Singh under section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code before the trial Magistrate a specific question was put to him as to whether he could explain his presence on the scene of occurrence on the 26th May, 1948, although it was alleged that he was on leave. To this question he replied categorically that he was not present as alleged. In this state of the records, we asked the learned Advocate-General, who appeared for the State of East Punjab, as to when and how was the admission referred to above made by Attar Singh. The Advocate-General, answered that the admission might be in the written statement which Attar Singh said he wo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... closely interconnected, but so far as Darshan Singh is concerned the prosecution sought to establish his complicity. in the affair primarily by adducing evidence to show that he was in the company of Attar Singh when both of them approached Kulraj, the officer-in-charge of the police station, and requested him to allow the truck to pass through. The Additional Sessions Judge observed in his judgment that the only motive of Darshan Singh was to help his colleague, namely Attar Singh, who was about to leave the district. It is necessary, therefore, that the case of Darshan Singh should also be reheard and the whole evidence against him reconsidered with a view to find out whether he is guilty or innocent. The result, therefore, is that both the appeals are allowed. The judgment of the High Court as well as that of the Additional Sessions Judge are set aside and the cases remitted to the Sessions Court in order that they may be heard afresh on the evidence on record in the light of the observations made above after excluding from consideration the supposed admission of Attar Singh., Pending the decision of the Session a Court, the accused would remain on bail 7 on the same t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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