TMI Blog2018 (5) TMI 2048X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... official gazette, which is deemed to be an authoritative text in the English language. Thus, the authoritative text prepared in terms of sub-clause (3) of Article 348 is not an authoritative text discussed and resolved by the State Legislature, but is an action performed by the Executive in exercise of the administrative powers of the State. The English version is not discussed by the State Legislature. Therefore, the Act has been passed in Hindi which is a Legislative action whereas the authoritative text in English is an Executive action. Therefore, in case of conflict between the two, the Legislative enactment will prevail rather than an Executive action of translation though published under the authority of the Hon'ble Governor. Such is the view taken by the Himachal Pradesh High Court as well. The language of the State being Hindi and the Act having been passed in Hindi, the English version of such text in Hindi is an act of the Executive, which will not prevail over the legislation enacted by the State Legislature in Hindi. Therefore, in case of conflict between Hindi version and the English version, the Legislative version would prevail rather than the authorized vers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d places is undertaken by the Council. (e) a general fire tax, for the conduct and management of the fire service and for the protection of life and property in the case of fire. (f) a local body tax on the entry of such goods as may be declared by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette into the municipal area for consumption, use or sale therein at a rate not exceeding four percent of the value of goods: Provided that no local body tax shall be levied on the goods-- (i) brought by a person into the municipal area for his personal use or consumption; or (ii) brought by a registered dealer within the municipal area and transmitted within 15 days thereof- (a) to a registered dealer in any other local body; or (b) in the course of export out of the territory of India; or (c) in the course of interstate trade outside the State. (iii) specified in the Schedule to the Madhya Pradesh Sthaniya Kshetron Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 (No. 52 of 1976). *** *** *** 129. Imposition of Taxes and Fees.- (1) The Council may, by a resolution, at the time to final adoption of the budget estimates for the ne ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ten times penalty i.e. ₹ 1000/- would be payable which comes to ₹ 1,100/-. Both the versions are extracted as under: 3. The argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that in terms of Article 348 of the Constitution, authoritative translation in English will prevail over the text in Hindi. 4. Since the question is legal, therefore, we have heard learned counsel for the parties on the question that in the event of conflict between Hindi text of the Rules with that of English version, as to which version will prevail. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has referred to a Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of M/s. Govindram Ramprasad v. Assessing Authority (Sales Tax) and another (AIR 1958 M.P. 16); as well as Full Bench decision of Allahabad High Court in the case of Jaswant Sugar Mills Limited Vs. The Presiding Officer, Industrial Tribunal (III) UP, Allahabad and others (AIR 1962 Allahabad 240); and Five Judges Full Bench decision of Allahabad High Court in the case of Smt. Ram Rati and others v. Gram Samaj, Jehwa and others [AIR 1974 Allahabad 106]. 6. Learned counsel also referred to the judgment of Rajasthan High Court in B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ature of a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State: Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of this Constitution. *** *** *** 348. Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills, etc - (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides (a) all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court, (b) the authoritative texts- (i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State, (ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State and of all Ordinances promulgated by the President or the Governor of a State, and (iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye laws issued under this Constitution or under any law ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o be used in all Bills, Acts and Ordinances and all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws mentioned in sub-section (1) shall be the international form of Indian numerals. 12. In terms of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Language Act, the State Government has issued a Notification on 28.2.1963 appointing 1st June, 1963 as the date on and from which the language to be used in all the items specified in the Schedule. The relevant extract reads as under: [Notification No. 1281-216-XX-CC dated 28.2.63, published in MP Gazette, Extraordinary, dt. 2.3.63, p. 99] - In exercise of powers conferred by section 4 of the Madhya Pradesh Official Language Act, 1957 (No. 5 of 1958), the State Government hereby appoints 1st June, 1963, as the date on and from which the language to be used in all the items specified in the Schedule shall,- (i) Subject to the provisions of clause (3) of Article 348 of the Constitution of India; and, (ii) save in respect of- (a) Bills which have been published in the Gazette under Rule 60 of the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Rules prior to the said date and Acts passed thereof. (b) Amendments to Acts passed by the State Legislature prior ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der the authority of the Governor of the State in the Official Gazette of that State is to be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in the English language under Article 348 of the Constitution. The English version of the Act, on the basis of which arguments were advanced before us, in this State has merely the status of an authoritative text in the English language of the original Act. The original Act is in Hindi and wherever there be any doubt and, in fact, principally for purposes of properly interpreting any provision of such an enactment, the proper course is to look at the original Act as published in Hindi. In these circumstances, we looked up the Hindi version of this Act..... 15. The said judgment in Haji Lal Mohammad Biri Works (supra), was approved by the Constitution Bench in a judgment rendered in M/s. JK Jute Mills Company Limited v. The State of U.P. and other (AIR 1961 SC 1534) wherein the Supreme Court held as under: It should further be noted that the Validation Act was published both in Hindi and in English, and both of them were authorised versions. The words in the Hindi version make it clear beyond all doubt that the words, in the form i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Act' qualify the word 'sections' and not the word 'notifications.' That is the view expressed by a Bench of the Allahabad High Court in AIR 1959 All 208 on a comparison of the two versions, and we are in agreement with it. 9. In view of these weighty pronouncements it can no longer be a matter of dispute that both the Hindi and the English versions are authorised and both of them can be looked into and put to official use. For these reasons, with the greatest respect to the learned Judges who decided the case, I am unable to agree with the decision in the case of 1961 All LJ 506. A Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of Govindram Ramprasad v. Assessing Authority, AIR 1958 Madh Pra 16, took the view that though the English version was the authoritative one within the meaning of Article 348(1) Sub-clause (b) paras (ii) and (iii), the Hindi version could also be resorted to when the English version was ambiguous. I have already said above that both the English version and the original Act, ordinance, bye-law etc., passed in Hindi are full fledged laws and it is only in a case of divergence in the two versions that the English version m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed into and put to official use. There is no competition between the two. It is only in case of conflict or divergence between the two versions that the English version may reign supreme and supersede the Hindi one. Following this Full Bench decision a learned Single Judge in Municipal Corporation Agra v. Gulzari, [AIR 1965 All 170], has held that although Hindi was the official language of the State of U.P., in case of divergence between the Hindi and the English versions, of the official gazette the English version reigned supreme and superseded the Hindi version. The same view has been taken by the Rajasthan High Court in Bhikam Chand v. State, [AIR 1966 Raj 142], and the Madhya Pradesh High Court in M/s. Govindram Ram Prasad v. Assessing Authority (Sales Tax), [AIR 1958 Madh Pra 16]. 11. This being the position we are clearly of the opinion that in the present case it is the English text which shall prevail over the Hindi version and according to the English text the expression any holding occurring in Clause (ii) of section 5(1)(c) of the Act does not include the Whole holding so that it is not necessary to obtain the permission of the Settlement Officer (Consolidatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nguage prescribed by law for the U.P. Legislature. When there is an apparent conflict or diversion between the text as translated in English language and the Hindi text because of the words in English used by the Translator a question will always arise whether Hindi text truly manifests the intention of the Legislature or the English translation thereof. Article 348 of the Constitution does not lay down any rule of preference of the English version over the Hindi text. Its effect is to give the status of a Statute to the English translation of the Hindi Act. Both would be the authorised text of the law. The translation in English will have the same effect as a Statute duly enacted by the legislature. The Hindi language in which the law was actually enacted by the Legislature does not loose its force and efficacy. Article 348 of the Constitution does not wipe the Hindi text out of existence in the event of the translation thereof in English language is published in the Government Gazette under the authority of the Governor. While administering the law the Court cannot be asked to give a blind eye to the Hindi text and be permitted only to see the English translation thereof. This be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ers [1974 RD 163], is erroneous and does not lay down the correct law. The correct rule is laid down by this Court in the Division Bench decision in Haji Lal Mohammad Birl Works, Meerganj, All and others v. The Sales-tax officer, Allahabad, [AIR 1959, Allahabad 208], as approved by the Supreme Court in M/s. J.K. Jute Mills Co. Ltd. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another, [AIR 1961, SC 1534]. The order of the Court is as under: 16. We are of the opinion that where there is some doubts or ambiguity in any provision in the authoritative English text, it is permissible to look into the Hindi text to remove the doubt or ambiguity. We accordingly answer the question referred to this Bench in the affirmative. 19. The said judgment was again examined by another Three Judges Full Bench of the Allahabad High Court in a judgment rendered in Mata Badal Pandey-II (supra). The Court quoted from the Seven Judge Full Bench when it held as under: 29. Then an argument was made on behalf of respondent Zamindar to interpret section 9 in the manner that the phrase 'attachment and sale' occurring in the section be read as 'attachment or sale'. This Court repelled the argum ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an authoritative one. The relevant extract reads as under: 9. ...An explanation of the definition of 'turnover' in the light of the definition contained in section 2 clearly shows that the word 'sold' is not qualified by the words for the payment received in respect of a contract though it is qualified by the words by a dealer . Shri Sanghi said that at best there is a doubt and we should, therefore, go to the Hindi version. The Hindi version which is not the authoritative version undoubtedly reverses the order in which the words are used. On a reading of Hindi version it is plain that the words supplied for the payment received in respect of a contract or their equivalent are meant to cover not only sold but also supplied . Mr. Sanghi referred to an observation in Crawford's 'Statutory Construction' at page 350 (section 202) where it is said that if there be two versions of a statute in two different languages one version can be used to interpret the other. The cases on which this observation is based have, unfortunately, not been brought to our notice. It is, however, common knowledge that in Canada statutes are passed both in English and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent of the Constitution. It was held that the M.B. Official Language Act did not purport to be and was not a law prohibiting the continuance of the English language for those official purposes in the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of the Constitution. The decision in AIR 1957 M.P. (supra) is, therefore, clearly distinguishable on facts. 7. In our opinion, in view of the facts that in the erstwhile State of Madhya Bharat, Hindi was prescribed as the language for use in Acts passed by the State Legislature, and that the Legislative intent was accordingly expressed in the Hindi version of Act No. 18 of 1952 amending section 36 of the Act, the contention urged on behalf of the petitioners that it was not permissible to refer to the Hindi version of the Act cannot be upheld. xxx xxx xxx 9. For all these reasons, our answer to the question referred to the Full Bench is that the restrictions placed on the powers of the second appellate Courts under section 36 of the M.B. Land Revenue and Tenancy Act apply not only to second appeals preferred before the Board of Revenue but also to second appeals preferred before the Commissioner and Se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 12. After having heard the learned counsel for the parties and after having gone through the legal position as well as Article 348(3) of the Constitution of India, we feel that it is only the language in which the bill was introduced in the Legislature and was passed, that version needs to be followed. In the event of there being any conflict between the two versions, it is the former that will prevail and not other way round as was urged by Shri Sharma. Xxx xxx xxx 14. For the purpose of present writ petition, sub-clause (3) of this Article is relevant. With the passing of the HP Official Language Act, 1975 and issuance of notification under section 5 thereof in 1979, Hindi was the language used in the Amending Bill in which the bill was introduced and the Act was also passed in the same language. 15. Authoritative English text in no case can be at a higher position than the original Act itself which is published under the authority of law and in no case such Authoritative English Text can be put to either defeat the object sought to be achieved by the proposed amendment or to negate the provisions as it existed in the language in which the bill was introduced and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... published in Hindi. The bills are introduced in Hindi, passed in Hindi and assented to by the Hon'ble Governor. The language of the bill is in Hindi. In terms of Article 348, the translation is required to be published in English language under the authority of the Hon'ble Governor in the official gazette, which is deemed to be an authoritative text in the English language. Thus, the authoritative text prepared in terms of sub-clause (3) of Article 348 is not an authoritative text discussed and resolved by the State Legislature, but is an action performed by the Executive in exercise of the administrative powers of the State. The English version is not discussed by the State Legislature. Therefore, the Act has been passed in Hindi which is a Legislative action whereas the authoritative text in English is an Executive action. Therefore, in case of conflict between the two, the Legislative enactment will prevail rather than an Executive action of translation though published under the authority of the Hon'ble Governor. Such is the view taken by the Himachal Pradesh High Court as well. 27. The argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that Article 348 was no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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