MRy 20 LACHMANDAS KEW ALRAM AHUJA AND ANOTHER fl. [1952] THE STATE OF BOMBAY. [PATANJALI SAsTRI C.J., MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN, MuKHERJEA, DAs and CHANDRASEKHARA AIYAR, JJ.] Constt.tution of India,
.tlrts. 13, 14-Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947, s. 12-Provision empowering Government to refer 'cases' for trial by Special Judge-Validity-Discriminatior> -Proceedings commenced before 26th January, 195(), before Special fudge-Procedure
discriminatory-Continuation of trial under special procedure-Validity of trial-Applicability of Constitution to pe"nding trials. field, pe1· :MAHAJAN, MuKHERJEA, DAs and CHANDRASEKHAR/.
ArYAll, JJ. (PATANJAL! SASTR! C. J. dissenting).-Section 12 of the Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947; in so far, at any rate~ as it authorises the Govern1nent to direct particular "cases" to
be tried by a Special Judge appointed under the Act does not purport to proceed on any classification and therefore contra- venes Art. 14 of the Constitution and is void under Art. 13 on the pr!aciples laid down in the cases of State of Bengal
v., Anwa1 Ali Sarkar ([1952] S.C.R. 284) and Kathi Raning Raf{)at v. Th, State of Saurashtra ([1952) S.C.R. 435). 'fhe appellants who were accused of having con11nitted xnurder and other serious
offences were directed by the Govern- n1ent of Bombay by an order made on the 6th August, 1949, to be tried under the Bombay Public Safety Measures Act by a Special JuJgc appointed under
the Act, charges were fra1ned against then1 on the 13th January, 1950, and they \Vere convicted in March, 1950. On appeal it was contended before the High Court that the trial and conviction \Vere illegal as the Bombay Public Safety
Measures Act was void under Art. 13 read \Vith r\rt. 14 of the Constitution which came into force on the 26th ]:Jnuary, 1950, but the 1-Iigh Court held that as the procee<lings: a.gain~t the accused had commenced before the Constitution, the provisions of Arts. 13 and 14 did not apply and the conviction \Vas not illegal.
Held, by a ma1or1ty, that although substantive rights and liabilities acquired or accrued before the date of the Constitution remain enforceable, it caqnot be held that after that date, thosc- rights or liabilities must be enforced
under the particular pro- 1-' ~ cedure that \vas in force before that date, although it has since that date been repealed or come into conflict with the funda- mental • right to equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the S.C.R.
Constitution, as there is no vested right in procedure. The fact of reference of "cases" to the Special Judge before the Con- 1titution came into force has no reasonable relation to the
objects sought to be achieved by the Act, the discrimination therefore continued after the Constitution came into force and ~uth continuation of the application of the discriminatory pro- cedure to the cases of the appellants after the date of the Con- stitution constituted a b.-each of the fundamental right guaran- teed by Art. 14, and the appellants were therefore entitled to be tried
under the ordinary procedure after the date of the Constitution. PATANJALI SASTRI C. ]. (contra).-Granting that s. of the Bombay Act must, in view of the decision in Anwar Ali Sarkar' s case, be held to be discriminatory and void in so far as it empowers the State Government to refer individual cases to :i Special Judge for ·trial, the trial of
the appellants which had validly started before the Special Judge who had be~n empower· ed to try the case cannot be vitiated by the Constitution subse- quently coming into force.
The provisions of the Constitution relating to fundamental rights have no retrospective operation and do not affect a criminal prosecution commenced before the Constitution came into force.
The jurisdiction of the Special Judges validly created and exercised before tl1e Constitution and their competence to try the cases referred to them cannot be affected by the special pro-. ccdure
becoming discriminatory. The correct view is that Art. 14 does lnot affect pencJling trials even in matters of procedure. Moreover the appellants against whom proceedings had been commenced before the Special Judge, were not in the same situation as others and there was nothing discriminatory in a law which permits them to be tried under the special procedure which was applicable to them when the proceedings were started against them.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE Jumsn1cT10N: Cases Nos. 20 and 21 of 1950. Appeals under Art. 132 (1) of the Constitution of India from the judgment and order dated the 19th May, 1950, of the High Court of Judicature of Bom-
bay (Dixit and Shah, JJ.) in Confirmation Case No. 4 of 1950 and Criminal Appeals Nos. 190 and 199 of 1950, arising out of judgment dated the 13th March, 1950, of the Court of the Special Judge at Ahmedabad
in Special Cases Nos. 2 and 3 of 1949. N. C. Chatterjee and Ram Lal Anand (Hardyal Hardy and S. L. Chibber, with them) for the appellants. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja and Another v.
The State of Bombay. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja and Anl!ther v. The State of Bombay. Patanjali Sastri C. /. M. C. Setalvad, Attorney-General for India Joshi, with him) for the respondent.
[1952] (G. N. A. A. Peerbhoy and J. B. Dadachanji for the Intervener. 1952. May 20. The judgment of Mehr Chand Mahajan, Mukherjea, Das and Chandrasekhara Aiyar, JJ. was delivered by Das J. Patanjali Sastri
C.J. delivered a separate dissenting judgment. PATANJALI SASTRI C.J.-I regret I am unable to agree with the reasoning and conclusion of my learned brother Das whose judgment I have had the
advantage of reading. The appellants were convicted and sentenced to death and varying terms of imprisonment by the Special Judge, Ahmedabad, on charges of murder and other offences under the Indian Penal Code,. the Arms
Act and the Bombay Police Act. The Special Judge was appointed by a notification ..issued under the Bombay Security Measures Act, 1947, (hereinafter referred to as the impugned Act) and on August 6,
1949, the State Government, in exercise of the powers ' conferred by section 12 of the impugned Act, directed the Special Judge to try the case of the appellants who were implicated in what was known as the Central
Bank Robbery Case. Charges were framed on January 13, 1950, without any preliminary enquiry and com- mittal by a Magistrate which had been dispensed with by the impugned Act, and seventeen witnesses for the
prosecution were examined before January 26, 1950, when the Constitution came into force. The proceed- ings continued, and after the examination of sixty witnesses in all, ended in the conviction of the appel-
lants on March 13, 1950. Separate appeals were preferred by the present appellants to the High Court which, however, con- firmed the conviction and sentence in each case. An objection that the trial was illegal as the
im~ug;ied Act was void under article 13 ( 1) of the Const1tut10n; read with article 14, was overruled on the ground that ' … S.C.R. those provisions had no retrospective operation and
did not affect proceedings already started "in the Court of the Special Judge. The learned Judges followed the decision of a Special Bench of their own Court in In re Keshav Madhav Menon(1), which has since been
affirmed by this Court in (1951] S.C.R. 228. It is urged on behalf of the appellants that the decision relied on by the High Court is distinguishable and that the present case is governed by
the decision of this Court in The State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar(2) to the effect that section 5 of the Bengal Act (which is in identical terms with section 12 of the impugned Act) is discriminatory and void in so far, at
any rate, as it empowers the State Government to direct "cases" to be tried by a Special Court under a special procedure. Acoorldingly, 1t was claimed that the Special Judge had no jurisdidion to try the appellants
applying the special procedure prescribed by the impugned Act. Granting, however, that ·section 12 of the impugned Act must, in view of the decisio.n in Anwar Ali Sarkar's case(2), be held to be disi;riminatory and void in so
far as it empowers the State Government to refer indi- vidual cases to a Special Judge for trial, it does not seem to me to follow that the trial of the appellants, which had validly started before the Special Judge
who had been duly empowered to try the case, is vitiated by reason of the Constitution subsequently coming into force. It is to be noted that the West Bengal case(2 ) was argued on the basis that article 14
of the Constitution was applicable to the proceedings from their inception, although the notification direct- ing the trial of some of the persons accused in that case was issued on the day before the commencement
of the Constitution. The position here is different. The appellant's case was sent to the Special Judge for trial by notiiication dated 6th August, 1949, and the Judge took cognisance of it, framed the charges and
proceeded with the trial to a considerable extent before the commencement of the Constitution on 26th (1) [1950] 52 Born. L.R. 540. ( 2) {1952] S.C.R. 284. 3-8 S.C.India/71 Lachmandas
Ki:walram Ahuja tmd A notlli:r v. T ht: State of Bombay. Patanjali Sastri C. f. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The State of Bombay. Pataniali Sas1ri C. J, . [1952] January, 1950.
There could be no question, therefore, of the appellants' fundamental right under article 14 being infringed up to that point, as it has been held by this court in Keshavan Madhava Menon's case(') that
the provisions of the Constitution relating to funda- mental rights have no retrospective operation and do not affect a criminal prosecution commenced before the Constitution came into force.
On and after 26th January, 1950, the appellants, no doubt, had the right to the equal protection of the law; but, as has been repeatedly pointed out, that right only meant that the State, including the executive and
the legislature, should apply the same law, substan- tive and procedural, to all persons alike in the same situation without discrimination. It is said that after the commencement of the Constitution persons who
commit the same offences with which the appellants stood charged would, according to Anwar Ali Sark_ar's case(") not be liable to be tried by the Special Judge under the special procedure and, if so, the trial of the
appellants, too, could not be continued by the Special Judge under ~uch procedure after 26th January, 1950, because such of the departures from the normal pro- cedure of trial under the Criminal Procedure Code as
were applied to the appellants during· the rest of their trial; being disadvantageous to them in some respects, involved discrimination against them. It is, therefore, daimed that the continued application of such discri-
minatory procedure after the Constitution came into force rendered the trial and the resulting conviction illegal. I am unable to agree. In the first place, as already pointed out, equal protection of
the laws postulates persons in the same situation and in the same circumstances claiming that the same law should be applied to them. – Can it be said that the appellants, whose trial by the Special
Judge had been lawfully commenced and was pending at the commencement of the Constitution, were in the same situation with persons who commit- ted the same offences after the Constitution came into
{') [1951] S.C.R. 228. ( 2 ) [1952] S.C.R. 284. S.C.R. force ? It seems to me that the situation and circum- stances are different in the two cases and no compla'int of discriminatory treatment by reason only
of the trial having been continued under the special procedure can be sustained, even assuming that the ordinary procedure under the Criminal Procedure Code became applicable to the appellants on and after
26th January, 1950. Such assumption, however, seems to be open to ques- tion. Section 1, sub-section (2), of the Criminal Proce- dure Code enacts that "Nothing herein contained shall
affect …….. any special jurisdiction or power confer- red or any special form of procedure prescribed by any other law for the time being in force …… " The jurisdiction conferred on the Special Judge
by the impugned Act, which, as pointed out already, was perfectly valid and fully operative down to the 26th January, 1950, thus remained unaffected and applica- tion to the appellants of the ordinary procedure pres-
cribed by the Code was excluded. It cannot, there- fore, be said that on the 26th January, 1950, the appel- lants were in a position to claim that they were entitled to be tried under
the ordinary procedure like those who committed the same offences after that date or who, having committed them before such date, had not been directed to be tried by the Special Judge. It
was said that section 1 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code pre-supposes a valid law conferring a special juris- diction or prescribing a special form of procedure and, inasmuch as such parts of the special procedure as
could still be applied to trials continued after the com- mencement of the Constitution are void under article 13 (1) read with article 14, section 1 (2) of the Code could not stand in the way of the appellants being tried under
the ordinary procedure. This argument seems to me to beg the question. It assumes that the special proce- dure is discriminatory and void to the extent to which it could have been applied to the trial of the appel-
lants after 26th January, 1950. But the assumption would not be valid unless the appellants could be tried Lachmandu Kewalram Ahuja and Another. v. The Stat11 of Bombay. Patanjali
Sastri C. /. h7. 1952 Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The State of Bombay. Patanjali .Sastri C. /. [1952] under the normal procedure after 26th January, 1950, in which case alone they would say "Why not try us
lUlder the Code; why discriminate ?" But, having regard to section 1(2) of the Code, the normal procedure would become applicable only if the special procedure is excluded as being discriminatory and void.
The argument thus proceeds in a circle. Again, it is diflicult to see on what principle the jurisdiction of the Special Judge, validly created and exercised over the appellants' case; could cease
to continue on and after 26th January, 1950. According to the appellants' contention, the special procedure prescribed by the impugned Act became discrimina- tory and void after 26th January, 1950, and, therefore,
inapplicable to what remained of their trial. But, could this circumstance affect the competence of the Special Judge to try their case of which he had validly taken cognisance? In Keshoram Poddar v. Nundo Lal
Mullick(') the Judicial Committee of the Privy Coun- cil held that the cessation of the jurisdiction of a Rent Control Tribunal after 31st March, 1924, over proper- ties beyond a certain rental value did not affect its
power to deal with a case after such cessation if the case was within its jurisdictioo when it was filed and related to a period prior to such cessation. Their Lord- ships observed : ''The application of the Act is when
the ·parties begin to move under it This was done in the present case before March 1924. The rest is merely the working out of the application". The position here seems to me to be closely analogous. The Special
Judge was competent to try the appellants' case when the trial commenced before 26th January, 1950, and the impugned Act was validly applied to the case. The rest was merely working out the application of
the impugned Act. I find it difficult to see why the competency of the Special Judge to try the case should cease after 26th January, 1950, any more than that of the Rent Contrd!. Tribunal to deal with a pending
matter after 31st March, 1924, when its jurisdiction was restricted. · (') [1927] 54 I.A. 152. S.C.R. If, then, the jurisdiction of the Special Judge to continue the trial of the appellants remained unaffect-
ed by the advent of the Constitution, it would be impracticable for the Judge to switch the pending trials to a different procedure from 26th January, 1950, so as to give effect to the equal protection claims of
under-trial prisoners. The impugned Act, for instance, enacts that "NotwithstancJjng anything contained in the Code the trial of offences before a Special Judge shall not be by jury or with the aid of assessors"
(s. 20). The trials having been held so far without a jury or assessors as the case may be, it would obvious- ly be impossible in such cases to continue them after 26th January, 1950, with a jury or with the aid of
assessors, where such trials are required to be so con- ducted under the ordinary procedure. Again, the impugned Act provides that no case shall be trans- ferred from any Special Judge, a necessary consequence
of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Special Judge and the special mode of proceeding prescribed for him. If a right of transfer under section 526 of the Code were to be recognised as accruing after 26th January, 1950, to
persons undergoing trial before the Special Judge, the scheme of trial by Special Courts may well break down. The alternative courses open to the Court would, therefore, seem to he either to hold that article 13 (1),
read with article 14, does not affett pending trials even in respect of procedural matters as it has been held not to affect such trials in respect of substantive rights and liabilities accrued before the date of the Constitution
in Keshavan Madhava Menon's case(1), or to go back on that decision and give those provisions of the Constitution retrospective effect. I am clearly of opinion that the principle of the above-said decision
must rule the present case. That principle has been stated thus: "Article 13 (1) cannot be read as oblitera- ting the entire operation of the inconsist~nt laws, or to wipe them out altogether from the statute-book, for,
to do so will be to give them retrospective effect which, we have said, they do not possess. Such laws exist for all past transactions and for enforcing a/.l . (1) (1951 J S.C.R. 228.
~. , Lachmand11s Kewalram Ahuja and Another v. The State of Bombay. Patanjali Sastri C. /. Lachmamlas Kewal ram Ahuia uzd Another v. The State of Bombay. Patanjali Sastri C. /. [1952]
rights and liabilities accrued before the date of the Constitution". (Italics mine). Indeed, the last few words are apt to cover the present case, though, as a party. to that decision, I am sensible that we did not
have in· mind a case precisely like the one now before us. But, it is well to remember that over-fine distinc- tions sometimes lead to unsuspected traps. In the foregoing discussion I have assumed that such
departures from the normal procedure as were still applicable to what remained of the appellants' trial after the 26th January, 1950, were so materially pre- judicial to them as to amount to a denial of the equal
protection of the laws within the meaning of article 14 of the Constitution. I am, however, by no means satisfied that that is the position. One of these devia- tions relates to the recording of evidence. The Special
Judge is empowered to record only a memorandum of the substance of the evidence of each witness exa- mined, whereas the Criminal Procedure Code requires the evidence to be recorded in full. Another relates
to the summoning of witnesses for the defence, the Special Judge being given a discretion to refuse to sum- mon a witness "if satisfied after examination of the accused that the evidence of such witness wijl not be
material" (s. 13), while under section ?57 (1) of the Code the Magistrate has the discretion to refuse to summon witnesses if he considers that the application for the issue of process for compelling the attendance of any
witness is made "for the purpose of vexation or delay or for defeating the ends of justice". And lastly, the impugned Act provides that no court shall have juris- diction to transfer any case from any Special Judge (sec-
tion 18 (3) ), whereas transfers under section 526 of the Code are allowed on certain specified grounds. The more important departures from the procedure under the Code such as dispensation of preliminary enquiry and
committal and the elimination of jury and assessors had already been applied, and validly applied, to the trial of the appellants before the Constitution came into force, and there can be no question of such depar-
tures vitiating the trial. I am unable to regard the j, S.C.R. procedural ·variations in the recording of evidence and the summoning of witnesses as so serious as to amount to a denial of the equal protection of the laws within
the meaning of article 14. Even if the appellants were to be tried under the normal procedure · of the Code after 26th January, 1950, the omission to record the evidence in full and the refusal to summon a witness in
the circumstances mentioned in section 13 may well be regarded as mere irregularities curable under section 537 of the Criminal Procedure Code. As regards transfer, it does not, as already pointed out, fit in with the
scheme of trial before a Special Judge, and, unless any system of trials by Special Courts is to be condemned as violative of article 14–the decision of this Court in Kathi Raning Rawat v.
The State of Saurashtra(1) shows that it can be validly instituted in appropriate circumstances-a prohibition of transfer cannot be regarded as falling with'in the inhibition of article 14.
I have emphasised elsewhere, and I do so again, that in applying the dangerously wide and vague language of the equality clause to the concrete facts of life, a doctrinaire approach should be avoided.
In all the circumstances of this case, I do not feel impelled · to set aside the trial and conviction of the appellants and I accordingly dismiss the appeals. DAs J.-These two appeals are from the judgment of
a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court (Dixit and Shah JJ.) dated May 19, 1950, dismissing the appeals preferred by the appellants against the order made by Shri M. S. Patil on March 13, 1950, as the
Special Judge appointed under the Bombay Public Security Measures Act, 1947, whereby he convicted and sentenced them to death and to different terms of imprisonment under the different charges.
The prosecution case is shortly as follows : On the morning of May 26, 1949, between the hours of 10-30 a.m. and 11 a.m. in the city of Ahmedabad the two appellants with another companion, after injur-
ing, by gunshot, the driver and a peon of the Central (1) [1952] S.C.R. 435. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja 11nd Another v. The State of Bombay. Patanjali Sastri C, /. r" 19'2 Lachmandas
Kewalram Ahuja and Another v. The State of Bombay. Dai /. [1952] Bank of India Ltd., forcibly removed moto~ van No. BY 4388 belonging to the bank in which 11 large sum of money was being carried from its head office at
Gandhi Road to its branch office at Maskati. After abandoning the motor van at a distance of three- fourths of a mile, the three gunmen forcibly took pos- session of the bicycles of some persons who were riding
the same and continued their escape. In course of their flight, they fired and injured several people. Eventually, however, the two appellants were arrested by the Police but their companion made
good his escape. . The driver and the peon of the bank who had been injured succumbed to their injuries, one dying on the spot and the other in the hospital on the next day. After investigation, the Ahmedabad Police, on July
19, 1949, submitted to the City Magistrate, Ahmeda- bad, two charge sheets Nos. 183 and 183-A against the two appellants and the then unknown absconder in respect of several offences cmnmi_tted in course of
the transaction that took place on May 26, 1949. The charge sheet No. 183 was in respect of offences under sections 394, 397, 302, 307 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, section 19 ( e) of the Arms Act, and
sect;on 68 (1) of the Bombay District Police Act. The charge sheet No. 183-A was in respect of offences punishable under sections 307, _392 read with sec- tion 34 of the Indian Penal Code, section 19( e) of the
Arms Act and section 68(1) of the Bombay District Police Act. In each of these charge sheets there was appended a note to the effect that the District Superintendent of Police, Ahrnedabad
City, had requested the District Magistrate, Ahmedabad, to move the Government of Bombay for the constitution of a Special Court to hear the cases and that the said charge sheets might be transferred to the Special
Court as and when one was so constituted. In view of this note the City Magistrate did not hold any enquiry but only remanded the appellants. By a Notification dated August 6, 1949, the Govern-
ment of Bombay exercising its powers under section 10 of the Bombay Public Security Measures Act, 1947, . .J S.C.R. constituted a Special Court of criniinal jurisdiction for the Ahmedabad District and under section 11 of
that Act appointed Shri M. S. Patil, District and Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad, as a Special Judge to preside over the Special Court. By another Notifica- tion made on the same date, the
Government of Bombay in exercise of powers conferred by section 12 of the Act directed the Special Judge to try two particular cases, namely, the Postal Van dacoity case in which there were 9 accused and the Central
Bank robbery with murder case in wliich the two :appellants before us were the accused under the two charge sheets. In view of the above Notification the ·City Magistrate, Ahmedabad,
transferred the two cases against the appellants to the Court of the Special Judge and they came to be numbered as cases Nos. 2 and 3 respectively of ~949. On December 31, 1949, the Government of Bombay directed that the trial of ·
the appellants should be held by the Special Judge in the Ahmedabad Central Prison. There was no order of committal by any Committing Magistrate nor was there any preliminary enquiry by the Special Judge .
On January 13, 1950, the Special Judge consolidated the two cases against the appellants with a view to holding a joint trial. On the same day he framed five several charges, namely, four under different
sections of the India Penal Code and one under section 19 ( e) of the Indian Arms Act and section 68 (1) of the Bombay District Police Act. On January 19, 1950, the first prosecution witness was examined and up to
January 25, 1950, seventeen · prosecution witnesses were examined. The Constitution came into opera- tion on January 26, 1950. Tlie hearing proceeded thereafter and the deposition of the last witness was
recorded on February 9, 1950. ·Altogether sixty-two witnesses were examined. The two appellants were examined under section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on February 10, 1950. One handwriting
expert was examined as a Court witness on February 13, 1950, and argume~ts for the prosecution commenced on the following day. After the conclusion of the Lzchmandas Kewalram Ahuia
and Another v. The State of Bombay. DllS /. Lflchmandas Kewal ram Ahuia 11nd Another v. The State of Bombay. Das/. [1952} arguments for the defence on February 23, 1950, the Special Judge delivered his judgment on March 13,
1950. According to his findings both the appellants had committed eleven different offences punishable under several penal provisions of law as specified by him and he convicted both the appellants of the said
eleven offences and sentenced both of them to death under section 302/34, Indian Penal Code, and to transportation for life under section 307 /34, Indian Penal Code, and to various terms of imprisonment
under various other sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and Bombay District Police Act. The capital sentences were, of course, subject to the confir- mation by the High Court.
Both the appellants appealed to the Bombay High Court. The appeals along with the reference for the confirmation of the sentences of death were heard together by Dixit and Shah JJ. who by
their judgments dated May 19, 1950, dismissed the appeals and confirmed the sentences of death. The appellants applied to the High Court for certificates under articles 132 (1) and 134 (1) (c) of the Constitu-
tion to enable them to appeal to this Court. The High Court (Bhagwati and Dixit JJ.), however, granted the appellants a certificate only under article 132 (1) but declined to issue any under article 134 (1) (c). The
appellants thereupon filed the present appeals pur- suant to the certificate under article 132 (1). A petition was filed before us under article 132 (3) for leave to urge, as an additional ground, that the trial was
vitiated by reason of misjoinder of charges. No such ground was actually advanced before the High Court and as this Court did not think fit to permit the appellants to raise a new point at this stage it dis-
allowed that petition. Accordingly these appeals must be limited to attacking the judgment of the High Court on the ground that a substantial question. of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution has
been wrongly decided. The only substantial question of law as to the inter- pretation of the Constitution urged before us is that S.C.R. the Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947, or, at
any rate, that part of section 12 of that Act which authorises the State government to direct specific "cases" to be tried by a Special Judge appointed under that Act, offends against the equal protection of law
guaranteed by article 14 of the Constitution and is as such void under article 13 on the principle laid down J by this Court in the cases of The State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar(1) and Kathi Raning Rawat v. The
State of Saurashtra(2 ). In order to appreciate the po~nt in issue, it is necessary to consider in some detail the provisions of the impugned Act. The Act came into force on March 23, 1947. It was
then intituled as "An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to public safety, maintenance of public -Jrder and the preservation of peace and tran- quillity in the Province of Bombay".
The preamble recited the expediency of consolidating and amending the law relating to those several matters. By section 2 (3) the Act was to remain in force for a period of three years. The Act was amended by Bombay Act I
of 1950 and amongst other things, the words "security of the State, maintenance of public order and main- tenance of supplies and services essential to the com- munity in the State of Bombay" were substituted for
the words "public safety, maintenance of public order and the preservation of peace and tranquillity in the Province of Bombay" occurring in the long title and preamble of the Act.
The word "six" was substituted for the word "three" in section 2 (3). The remaining sections of the Act are grouped under seve- ral heads. Thus sections 3 (Al) to 5B are grouped under the heading "Restrictions of movements etc.".
A contravention of an order made under some of these sections is made an offence punishable as mentioned therein. The subject of "collective fines" is dealt with under that heading in section 6.
"Con- trol of camps etc. and uniforms" are covered by sections 7 and 8, each of which makes a contravention (1) [1952] S.C.R. 284. (2) [1952] S.C.R. 435. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja
and Another v. · The State of Bombay. Das/. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja and Another v. The State of Bombay. Das f. [1952] of any order made under it an offence. Section 9 pres- cribes whipping as a punishment for certain offences
under certain Acts in addition to any other punish- ment to which the offender may be liable under those Acts. Section 9 A is set down under the heading "Control of Publications etc." and section 9B under the
heading "Control of Commodities etc.". Each of those sections makes a contravention of any order made thereunder an offence punishable as provi.ded therein. Sections 10 to 20 which are collected under the head-
ing "Special Courts" are material for the purposes of the point in issue before us and will have to be care- fully noted. The rest of the sections are set out under the headings "Miscellaneous" and "Amendments to
Acts". Turning to the group of sections under the heading "Special Courts", it will be noticed that section 10, like section 3 of the West Bengal (Special Courts) Act, 1950, and section
of the Saurashtra State Public Safety Measures Ordinance, 1948, authorises the government by notification in the Official Gazette to constitute Special Courts of criminal jurisdiction
for such area as may be specified in the notification. Section 11 which corresponds to section 4 of the West Bengal Act and section 10 of the Saurashtra Ordinance empowers the government to appoint as a Special
Judge to preside over a Special Coun any person possessing the requisite qualifications mentioned therein. Section 12 is expressed in precisely the same terms in which section 5 ( 1) of the West Bengal Act
and section of the Saurashtra Ordinance are expressed, namely : "A Sp.ecial Judge shall try such offences or class of offences or such cases or class of cases as the Pro- vincial Government may, by general or special order
in writing direct." It will be noticed that the offences mentioned in the above section are not limited to offences created by . this Act only but also· cover offences under any other
law, e.g., the Indian Penal Code, Section runs thus: S.C.R. "13. (1) A Special Judge may take cognizance of offences without the accused being committed to his Court for trial. (2) A Special Judge shall ordinarily
record a memorandum only of the substance of the evidence of each witness examined, may refuse to summon any witness if satisfied after examination of the accused that the evidence of such witness will not be
material and shall not be bound to adjourn any trial for any purpose unless such adjournment is," in his opinion, necessary in the interests of justice. ( 3) In matters not coming within the scope of
sub.sections (1) and (2), the provisions of the Code, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provi- s'ions of sections. 10 to 20, shall apply to the proceed- ings of a Special Judge; and for the purposes of the
said provisions, the Court of the Special Judge shall be deemed to be a Court of Session." Under section 14 of the Special Judge may in his dis- cretion direct the evidence of a person who is not in a
position to attend the Court to be recorded on com- mission. Enhanced punishments are provided for cer- tain offences by section 15 as follows : "Notwithstanding anything contained
in the Indian Penal Code, whoever commits an offence of attempt to murder may, in lieu of any punishment to which he is liable under the said Indian Penal Code, be punishable with death; and whoever commits an
offence of voluntarily causing hurt by stabbing may, in lieu of any punishment to which he is liable under > the said Indian Penal Code, be punishable with death or transportation for life."
Section 16 authorises the Special Judge to pass any sentence authorised by law and section prescribes a special rule of procedure for recovery of fines. Section 18 gives a right of appeal to a
person convicted on a trial held by a Special '~ Judge within a period of fifteen days from the date of sentence and also empowers the High Court tD call for the records of the proceedings of any
Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The St11te of Bombay. Das f. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia .and Another v. The State of Bombay. Das/. [1952] case tried by a Special Judge and in respect of such
case exercise any of the powers conferred on a Court of appeal by sections 423, 426 and 428 of the Code. Sub-section (3) of section 18 runs thus : "No Court shall have jurisdiction to transfer any
case from any Special Judge or to make any order under section 491 af the Code in respect of any person triable by a Special Judge or, save as herein otherwise provided, have jurisdiction of any kind in respect of
proceedings of any Special Judge." Thus the right to apply for transfer of the case and the right to apply for revision are denied to an accused who is tried by a Special Judge. Ordinary law is, by
section 19 made applicable in so far as it is not incon- sistent with the provisions of sections 10 to 20. Section 20 provides as follows :- "Notwithstanding anything contained in
the Code, the trial of offences before a Special Judge shall not be by jury or with the aid of assessors." Thus, besides providing for enhanced punishment and whipping the Act eliminates the committal pro-
ceedings [section 13 (1) ], permits the Special Judge to record only a memorandum of the evidence, confers on him a larger power to refuse to summon a defence wit- ness, than what is conferred on a Court by section
257 ( 1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and also deprives the accused of his right to apply for a trans- fer or for revision. That these departures from the ordinary law cause prejudice to person subjected to
the procedure prescribed by the Act cannot for a moment be denied. This Court has, by its decisions in the State of West Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar (supra) and in Kathi Raning Rawal v. The State of
Saurashtra (supra), recognised that article 14 con- demns discrimination not only by a substantive Ia:w but also by a law of procedure and that the procedure prescribed by the corresponding provisioI)s in the West
Bengal Special Courts Act and the Saurashtra Ordi- nance which introduced similar departures from the ordinary law of procedure constituted a discrimination ,_ …… S.C.R. against persons tried by the Special Judge according
to procedure prescribed by those pieces of legislation and finally that, in any event, section 5 (1) of the West Bengal Act and section 11 of the Saurashtra Ordinance, both of which corresponded to section 12 of
the Bombay Public Security Measures Act, in so far as they authorised the government to direct specific and particular "cases" to be tried by the Special fuoge, was unconstitutional and void. In view of the depar-
tures from the ordinary law brought about by the Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947, which are noted above it, cannot but be held, on a parity of rea- soning, that at any rate section 12 of the Act, in so
far as it authorises the Government to direct parti- cular "cases" to be tried by a Special Judge, is also unconstitutional. Learned Attorney-General appearing for the State of Bombay does not controvert the legal position as d'is-
cussed above but he points out that the offences were committed in May, 1949, that the Special CoUrt was constituted and the Special Judge was appointed in August, 1949, and these "cases" were directed to be
tried by the Special Judge in August, 1949, that the Special Judge actually framed charges against the appellants on January 13, 1950, and that the depositions of seventeen witnesses
had been taken before the Constitution came into force and when the Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947, was valid 'in its entirety. He contends, on the autho- rity of the decision
of this Court in Keshavan Madhava Menon v. The State of Bombay(1), that the Constitution has no retroactive operation and that it does not affect the rights acquired or the liabilities
incurred under laws which, before the adv~nt of the Constitution, were valid, and, quoting from the judg- ment of the majority of the Bench in that case, that "such laws exist for all 'past transactions and for
enforcing all rights and liabilities accrued before the date of the Constitution", he urges that the legal pro- ceedings commenced before the Constitution came into ( 1) [ 1951 J S.C.R. 221.
1 ; ; ~v, Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Anoth~ v. The State of Bombay. Das/. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The State of Bombay. Das f. [1952} operation are in no way affected by it and may well
be proceeded with. In Keshavan Madhava Menon's case, the appellant was the Secretary of People's Publishing House, Ltd., of Bombay. In September, 1949, he was alleged to have published a pamphlet which, according to the
Bombay Government authorities, was a "news sheet" within the meaning of section 2 ( 6) of the Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931. On December 9, 1949, he was arrested and a prosecution was started against
him in the Court of the Chief Presidency Magistrate at Bombay for having published the pamphlet without the authority required by section 15 (1) of the Act and for having thereby committed an offence punishable
under section 18 of that Act. During the pendency of the proceedings the Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. On March 3, 1950, the petitioner filed a written statement submitting,
inter alia that the definition of "news sheet" as given in section 2 ( 6) of that Act, and sections 15 and 18 there- of were inconsistent with article 19 (1) (a) and, as such, void under article 13 of the Constitution.
This was followed up by a petition -filed in the High Court on March 7, 1950, under article 228 of the Constitution. The Bombay High Court considered it unnecessary to deal with the question whether sections 15 and 18
were inconsistent with article 19 ( 1) (a) but held that, assuming that they were inconsistent, the proceedings commenced under section 18 before the commence- ment of the Constitution could nevertheless
be pro- ceeded with. The High Court took the view that the word "void" was used in artide 13(1) in the sense of "repealed" and that consequently it attracted section 6 of the General Clauses Act which by article '367 was
made applicable for the interpretation of the Constitu- tion. The High Court. having dismissed the applica- tion the appellant came up on appeal before this Court after having obtained a certificate granted by the
High Court under article 132 (1) of the Constitution. The majority of this Court held that the Constitution bad no retrospective effoct but was wholly prospective .. ~ ,_, S.C.R. in its operation and as the existing laws, in so far as
they were inconsistent with the fundamental rights, were rendered void only to the extent of their incon- sistency, they were not void for all purposes but were void only to the extent they came into conflict with
the fundamental rights. In other words, the majority of this Court held that while on and after the com- mencement of the Constitution no existing law could, by reason of article 13 (1), be permitted to stand in
the way of the exercise of any of the fundamental rights, that article could not be read as wiping out the incensistent law altogether from the statute book and as obliterating its entire operation on past transac-
tions, for to do so would be to give it retrospective effect which it did not possess. Such law, it was held, existed for all past transactiom and for enforcement of rights and liabilities accrued before the date of the
Constitution. To the same effect were the observations of Mahajan J. who delivered a separate but concurrent judgment, namely that a provision that with effect from a particular date an existing law would be void
to the extent of the repugnancy had no retrospective operation and could not affect pending prosecurions or actions taken under such law, and there was in such a situation no necessity for introducing a saving clause
and that it did not need the said of a legislative provi– sioa of the nature contained in the Interpretation Act or the General Clauses Act. According to him, not bc.ing retrospective in its operation, the Constitution
could not, therefore, in any way affect prosecutions started for punishing offences that were complete under the law in force at the time they were committed. It will be noticed that in that case the prosecution was ·
started according to the ordinary law of procedure. The only question there was whether a criminal pro- ceeding instituted for a contravention of the provisions of the Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act which
amounted to a completed offence before the date of the Constitution could be continued after the Constitution came into force where no change in procedure was involved. The result of that decision is that although
+-S s,c. India/71 LllchmandM Kewalram Ahuja .,,, Anotlur v. Tlie Stale of Bomb•y. DM /. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuja •nd Another v. The State of Bombay. Das/. [ 1952! the acts which before the Constitution constituted an
offence under that Act would not, if done after the date of the Constitution, amount to an offence, nevertheless as the Constitution had no retrospective operation it did not obliterate the offence completed before the
date of the Constitution and the offender could, there- fore, be proceeded against after the Constitution came into force. It was in this sense that it was stated in Keshavan Madhava Menon's case that the law existed
for the past transactions and for enforcing all rights acquired or liabilities incurred before the date of the Constitution. If the law did not exist, the offence created by it would ipso facto
disappear and no ques- tion of punishing the non-existing offence could arise. The observations made in that case related to thi: substantive rights acquired or liabilities incurred
under the Act before the Constitution came into force. Under what procedure the rights and liabilities would be enforced did not come up for consideration in that case, as the procedure adopted throughout was
the same, namely, the procedure prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The law of procedure regulates legal proceedings generally from its inception up to its termination and
usually connotes a continuous process. The Bombay Public Safety Measures Act, 1947, by sections 10 to 20 under the heading "Special Courts" prescribes special procedure for the trial by the Special Judge of
"such ofl:ences or class of offences or cases or class of cases as the government may by general or special order in writing direct". The offences or cases so directed to be tried by the Special Judge need not be,
or relate to, the special offences created by the Act itself but may be or relate to, any offence under any law, e.g., Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and the Bombay District Police Act. It has been
seen that the. special procedure prescribed by the impugned Act constitutes a departure from the ordin- ary law of procedure and is, in some important res- pects, detrimental to the interest of the persons
subjected to it and as such is discriminatory. The S.C.R. discrimination does not end with the taking of cogni- zance of the case by the Special Judge without the case being committed to him but continues even
in subsequent stages of the proceedings in that the person subjected to it cannot, even at those subsequent stages, have the benefit of having the evidence for or against him recorded in extenso, may not get sum-
mons for all witnesses he wishes to examine in defence only on the ground that the Special Judge does not consider that such evidence will be material and cannot exercise his right to apply to a superior Court
for transfer of the case even though the Special Judge has exhibited gross bias against him or to apply for revision of any order made by the Special Judge. As the Act was valid in its entirety before the date of the
Constitution, that part of the proceeding before the Special Judge, which, upto that date, had been regu- lated by this special procedure cannot be questioned, however discriminatory it may have been, but if the
discriminatory procedure is continued after the date of the Constitution, surely the accused person may legitimately ask : "Why am I today being treated differently from other persons
accused of similar offences in respect of procedure? It is stated in Max- well's Interpretation of Statutes, 9th Edn., p. 232 :- "No person has a vested right in any course of procedure.
He has only the right of prosecution or defence in the manner prescribed for the time being by, or for the Court in which he sues, and, if an Act of Parliament alters that mode of procedure, he has no
other right than to proceed according to the altered mode." If in the absence of any special provision to the contrary, no person has a vested right in procedure it must follow as a corollary that nobody has a vested
liability in matters of procedure in the absence of any special provision to the contrary. If this is the posi- l-) tion when the law of procedure is altered by statute, why £hould the position be different when the Act
prescribing the discriminatory procedure becomes Lachmantlu Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The State of Bombay. Das /. Lttchmandas Kew air am Ahuja •nd Another v. The State of Bomlxzy.
Das f. [1952I ".oid by reason of its repugnancy to the equal protec- t10n clause of tbe Constitution. Although the subs- tantive rights and liabilities acquired or accrued before tbe date of tbe Constitution remain
enforceable, as held in Keslzava11 Madhava Menon's case, nobody can claim, after that date, that those rights or liabili- ties must be enforced under that particular procedure although it bas, since that date, come 'into conflict with tbe fundamental right of equal protection of laws
guaranteed by article 14. It is said, in reply, that in this case there 1s, rn law, no discrimination which can be said to be within the m'ischief sought to be prevented by artide 14. TI1e
appellants are persons whose "cases" had been proper- ly sent for trial to the Special Court before the Consti- tution came into force and, therefore, they cannot complain if the procedure prescribed by the Act is
continued to be applied to their "cases" although such procedure cannot be applied to "cases" which had not been referred to the Special Court up to that date, for the appellants cannot claim to be
similarly situated with persons whose "cases" had not been directed to be tried by the Special Court before the date of the Constitution or who committed similar offences after that
date. In the circumstances, the continued application of the procedure laid down in the impug· ned Act to the "cases" of the appellants cannot, it is contended, amount to discrimination in the eye
of the law and is, therefore, not within the inhibition of the equal protlection clause of the Constitutibn. Article 14 being thus out of the way, the procedure laid down in the impugned Act continues to be valid
in law as regards tbe persons whose "cases" had been subjected to it before the advent of the Constitution and so far as those persons are concerned there has been no change in the procedure and, therefore, their
"cases" must continue to be regulated by that proce- dure. We are unable to accept this argument · as sound. It is now well established that while article 14 forbids claS< legislation it does not forbid reason-
able classification for the purposes of legislation. In S.C.R. order, however, to pass the test of permissible classifi- cation, two conditions must be fulfilled, namely, (i) that the classification must be founded on an intelli- gible differentia which distingu'ishes persons or things
that are grouped together from others who are left out of the group and (ii) that that differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the Act. What is necessary is that there must be
a nexus between the basis of classification and the -object of the Act. To take an example : Under sec- tion 11 of the Contract Act persons who have not attained majority cannot enter into
a contract. The two categories are adults and minors. The basis of classification is the age. That basis obviously has a relation to the capacity to enter into a contract. Therefore, the section satisfies both the requirements
<lf a permissible classification. In the present case, although the first part of section 12 of the Bombay Act, like section 5 ( 1) of the West Bengal Act or section 11 of the Saurashtra Ordinance, may indicate
and imply a process of classification, the section, in so far as it authorises the government to direct parti- cular "cases" to be tried by the Special Court, does not purport to proceed upon the basis of any classifi-
cati()n at all. Further, the supposed basis of the alleged classification, namely the fact of reference to the Special Court before the Constitution came into effect, has no reasonable relation . to the objects sought to be achieved by the Act. The avowed objects of the
Act recited in the preamble are the expediency of consolidating an<l amending the law relating to the -security of the State, maintenance of public order and maintenance of supplies and services essential to the
community in the State of Bombay. If the considera- tion of the security of the State or the maintenance of public order requires the application of the special pro- cedure there is no obvious reason why it should be
applied to "cases" already referred and not to cases not yet referred at the date of the Constitution. The same consideration applies equally to both categories of cases. It is, therefore, clear that there is
no nexus L«chmandtU Kewalram Ahujll and A11ot!zer The State of Bombay. Das/. Lachmandas · Kcwalram Ahuja •nd Another v. The State of Bombay. Das/. [19521 which connects the basis on which the supposed classi-
fication is founded with the objects of the Act, for the object of the Act is wide enough to cover both cate- gories of "cases". 1:herefore, it is not a permissible cl~ssification. Indeed, it is
an instance of fanciful classification which has no rational basis at all. We sec no particular reason why the special procedure should be applied to the appellants' "cases" any more than it should be applied to "cases"
not refer- red to the Special Court up to the 26th Januory, 1950. No special or peculiar circumstances have been shown to exist which may make the appellants' "cases" specially suited
to this special procedure. In the absence of a rational basis of classification, as ex- plained above, there can be no justification, after the advent of the Constitution, for depriving the appel-
lants of the right to move the Court for transfer or for revision or to obtain process for the attendance of defence witnesses or of having the evidence of the witnesses recorded as in an ordinary trial which is
available to other persons accused of similar offences and prosecuted ·according to the ordinary procedure laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Lt is, therefore, clear that in
this case the discrimination continuetl after the Constitution came into force and such contmuation of the application of the discri- minatory procedure to their cases i1ftcr the date of the
Constitution constituted a breach of their fundamental right guaranteed by article 14 and being inconsistent with the provisions of that article the special pro- cedure became void under article 13 and as there is
no vested right or liability in matters of procedure the appellants are entitled to be tried according to the ordinary procedure after the date of the Constituion. Their complaint
is not for something that had happened before 26th January, 1950, but is for uncon- stitutional discrimination shown against them since that date. Their grievance, their cause of action as it
were, 1s post-constitution and.. therefore, must be scrutinised and examined in the light of their constitu- tional rights. So viewed, there can be no doubt or S.C.R. question that they have been discriminated
against after the date of the Constitution in the matter of pro- cedure. It has already been held in the West Bengal and the Saurashtra cases that discrimination can lie in procedure just
as much as in a substantive law. Therefore, the continuation of the trial after that date according to the discriminatory procedure resulting in their conviction and sentence cannot be supported.
Indeed in a sense the Special Judge's jurisdiction came to an end, for he was enjoined to proceed only accord- ing to the special procedure and that procedure having become void as stated above, he could. not proceed at
all as a Judge of a Special Court constituted under the impugned Act. The learned Attorney-General relied on the deci- sion of the Privy Council in Keshoram Poddar v. Nundo Lal Mallick(1)°.
The Calclltta Rent Act, 1920, enabled the landlord or tenant of premises in Calcutta to obtain from the Controller of Rents a certification of the standard reµt of the premises and also gave a
right to apply to the President of the Calcutta Improvement Tribunal for revision of the order of the Controller. The Act was originally to be in force for a pericxl of three years which was subsequently extend-
ed until the end of March, 1924, and finally tl1e figure 1927 was substituted for 1924 with a proviso "that after 31st March, 1924, tl1is Act shall cease to apply to any premises the rent of which exceeded Rs. 250 a
month". The appellant was let into possession on 1st June, 1920, but the rent payable was not then fixed .. He remained in possession until March, 1923, and the question raised by the case was what rent ought to be
paid for that period of occupation. Disputes having arisen, the appellant applied to the Controller and on 23rd October, 1922, the Controller fixed the rent at Rs. 4,500 per month.
On 25th November, 1922, the appellant appealed to the President of the Improve- ment Tribunal to revise that decision. The revision application could not be taken up by the President until
long after 31st March, 1924, and when it was eventually (1) I.LR. 54 Cal. 508; 54 I.A. 152. Lachmandas Kewalram Ahuia and Another v. The State of Bombay. Das/ . ·~·-..-~=——–.
SUPREME COURT- REPORTS (1952). _19sz posted before him on 3rd August, 1924, he held that he Lachmarnld. had no jurisdktiori to determine the_- 1!1atter, ·for the Ktwalram Act, ha_d · ceased to_ apply to _the_ premises. _. It_ will be Ahuja
observed· that· the. application to· the President was and'Anoth~ made' long· before· 31st· l\Iarch~ 1924, .and ·that the v. -'j:ieriod for·\vhich the rent had to be: determined was
z::::;:.~j between June;, 1920; and _l\farch;' 192J.· ·The: Privy Council ·held that _ the 'application _ of the :.Act – · Da•J. Was \vhen the parties began to move tinder it and.
·that wa.S done before March; 1924; and that the' Presi- dent accordingly had judsdictiim fo decide it. 'That ;decision apiiears to_· u~ to have rio applicatfon-to the . facts of the: present. case, for the problem before us
does not relate to a period anterior to the Constitution · when. the Act'. was· good and the Special Judge had – authority to apply the special procedure, -_·-The point for: decision now is whether the .continuation of tlie
procedure prescribed by the Act after-the Constitu- tion· came _into ·force operates to·the prejudfre· c;if the appellants •and, as' such; offends against their newly acquired fundamental right of equal protection of law
'guaranteed by article_ 14. ~-The· Constitution has no retrospective operation to invalidate that ~part of the proceedings that has already-. been gone -through but the Constitution does not permit the special procedure
to stand· in- the way of the exercise or enjoyment of pos_t-constitutional rights and must, therefore.-'strike do'wn the discriminatory procedure if it is sought to be adopted after the_ Constitution came into operation;
To' that' situation, the! decision of the Privy Council '.referred to above can have no application.–.·!.<.'.·'. .. ·· .. . , '.For.' reasons' stated. above; .the· conviction 'of the appellants on trial held bf the Specfal Judge after the
'date of' the Constitution according to the special pro. ;ce_dure prescribed by the impugned Act -and __ the sen- tences passed on them cannot be supported and these ·appeals must, therefore, be -allowed -and the convic-
' tions and" sentences' must be 'set aside. The appel- ' fants. are' entitled; after -tlie Constitution! not to be . discriminated against in matters of procedure' and are. – ~ntitled to be tried according to law. \Ve, therefore, –
S.C.R. direct that they be tried for the offences alleged to have been committed by them according to law and in the meantime they be retained in custody as undertrial prisoners. Appeals allowed.
Agent for the appellants : Naunit Lal. Agent for the respondent: P. A. Mehta. Agent for the intervener : Rajindcr Narain . GURBACHAN SINGH ti. THE STATE OF BOMBAY AND ANOTHER [PATANJALI SASTRI C.J., MEHER CHAND MAHAJAN,
MuKHERJEA, DAs and CHANDRASEKHARA A1YAR JI.] City of Bombay Police Act, 1902, s. 27 (!)-Constitution of India, Arts. 19 (1) (d), 19 (5)-Provisions relating to externment whether infringe fundamental right to freedom of movement-Valid- ity-Externment 01·der fixing place outside State of Bombay for residence-Legality.
Section 27 (I) of the City of Bombay Police Act: 1902, docs not contravene the provisions of Art. 19 of the Constitution inasmuch as it was enacted in the interest of the general public and, having regard to the class of cases to which this sub-section .applies and the menace which an extemment order passed under it is intended to avert, the restrictions that it imposes on the fundamental right of free movement of a citizen which is guaran- teed by Art. 19 (!) (d) of the Constitution arc reasonable and come within the purview of Art. 19 (5).
The determination of the question whether the restrictions imposed by a legislative enactment upon the fundamental rights of a citizen enumerated in Art. 19 (1) ( d) of the Constitution are reasonable or not within the meaning of clause (5) of the article :depends as much on the procedural part of the law as upon its substantial part, and the Court has got to look in each case to the circumstances under which and the manner in which the
J'Cstrictions have been imposed. There are two kinds of externment orders contemplated by '&Uh-section (I) of s. 27 of the City of Bombay Police Act, 1902; one, where the externmant is directed from
Greater :Bombay, and the other where the extcrncc is to remove him.self M11y 7.