TMI Blog1954 (4) TMI 72X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2 of the Non-Ferrous Metals Control Order, 1942, during the years 1943-1945 and thus committed an offence punishable under the above provisions of the law. No prosecution however was commenced against them till the 16th January 1950 in spite of the fact that a complaint against them had been made to the police in August 1948. There is no satisfactory explanation for this long delay in putting the chalan in Court and for the leisurely conduct of the investigation which concerned the provisions of an Act which it was known to all concerned had an uncertain life. It is a matter of regret that offences of a serious character should go unpunished simply because of the dilatory methods of the investigation agency. 3. On the 19th April 1950 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ions of law written by a magistrate. I do not think it would serve any useful purpose to record elaborately my reasons for upholding the magistrate's view, as it would be no more than reiteration of what the magistrate has already stated in his judgment. The magistrate's judgment should speak not only for the magistrate but for me also and I adopt his arguments and reasonings. The High Court very aptly remarked that the Sessions Judge refused to do anything himself in the matter and only contended himself by pouring encomia on the trial Court. The use made of superlatives by the Sessions Judge in praise of the judgment of the magistrate discloses that either he never understood what the magistrate had held or he failed to gra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... force during the continuance of the war and for a period of six months thereafter. The war came to an end on 1st April 1946 and the Act expired on the 30th of September 1946 together with all rules and orders made thereunder. 7. When a Statute is repealed or comes to an automatic end by efflux of time, no prosecution for acts done during the continuance of the repealed or expired Act can be commenced after the date of its repeal or expiry because that would amount to the enforcement of a repealed or a dead Act. In cases of repeal of statutes this rule stands modified by Section 6 of the General Clauses Act. An expiring Act however is not governed by the rule enunciated in that section. On the 30th March 1946, before the expiry of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Acts also mentioned though unnecessarily the Defence of India Act which had already died a natural death in September 1946 and required no repeal. Section 3 of this Act contains a saving clause to the effect that the repeal of an enactment by it was not to affect any other enactment in which such enactment has been applied, incorporated or referred to and that the Act was not to affect the effect or consequences of any thing already done or suffered or any obligation or liability acquired or incurred or any remedy or proceeding in respect thereof or the proof of any past act or thing, or revive or restore any right, restriction, exemption or other matter or thing that had ceased to have effect under the repealed enactment. If the Defe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... continuation of the prosecution was something done, or a liability incurred, under the Ordinance and could be carried on under the saving clause of Act II of 1948, but that as no prosecution was commenced at all before 5-1-1948 and there was nothing done, there was no liability incurred which could possibly be affected by the repeal of the Ordinance. In the result it was concluded that after 5-1-1948 no fresh prosecution could be commenced for offences committed under the Defence of India Act on subjects included in the Provincial List of the Seventh Schedule of the Government of India Act. 10. The High Court also took the view that under Section 102(4) of the Government of India Act, 1935 the prosecution of the respondents for the of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for offences committed by them could have been justified and continued, was also repealed by the Constitution on the 26th of January 1950 a few days after this prosecution was commenced. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act has no application to the repeal of a statute made by Parliament in England and the repeal of which has been brought about by the Constitution of India. It was for this reason that in Article 372 of the Constitution it was provided that Notwithstanding the repeal by this Constitution of the enactments referred to in Article 395...... the law in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution shall continue in force therein until altered or repealed or amended by a compe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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