UNIT 6: GENERAL AND SPECIAL STATUTES,

CLASSIFICATION
( CHECK THE OTHER DOC)

REPEAL OF STATUTES

Introduction

 Repeal means to revoke, abrogate or cancel, particularly a statute.

 Repeal maybe expressed or implied by enacting a matter contrary to and inconsistent with
the prior legislation.
 General Clauses Act – Section 6, Repeal is defined as; “abrogation/obliteration of one
statute by another.”
 The end effect of Repeal is as though the first statute had never been passed.
 Modification is NOT Repeal.
 Repeal may be Expressed or Implied.
 Kolhapur Cane Sugar Works Ltd V. UOI
o It was held by the court that proceedings shall be discontinued upon Repeal of a
statute unless:
 Covered under Sec 6 of General Clauses Act
 Savings provision

Kinds of Statutes

 Perpetual
o No time period is fixed for its duration.
o Remains in force until Repealed.
o Called perpetual as it is not abrogated by time or by non use of it.
 Temporary
o They come to an end on the expiry of a specified time.
o Cannot be amended post expiry.
o Can be revived only through re-enactment.
o Effect of repeal
 Section 6, general clauses act:
  Revive anything not in force or existing at the time at which the
Repeal takes effect.
 Affect the previous operation of any enactment so Repealed or
anything duly done or suffered thereunder.
 Affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or
incurred under any enactment so Repealed.
 Affect any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of
any offence committed against any enactment so repealed.
 Affect any investigation, legal proceedings or remedy in respect of
any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or
punishment as aforesaid; and any such investigation, legal
proceeding or remedy maybe instituted, or continued or enforced and
any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if the
Repealing act or regulation had not been passed.
 Repeal by a Temporary Statute
o State of Orissa V. Bhupendra Kumar - Whether the previous statute which has
been Repealed will revive is subject to the construction of the temporary statute.
 Repealed provisions are treated as if they never existed – They apply only to past
transaction.

Effect on Offences

 After expiration no person can be prosecuted under the act.

 If prosecution has not ended before expiry, the proceedings end.
 If offenses are punishable under ordinary laws, but were being tried by special courts –
where such courts were such statutes – trial will continue in ordinary courts.

Types of Repeal

 Express:
o By express provision
o No special form of words are necessary
 Implied:
o By necessary implication
o Not preferred by courts
o May be inferred by
 Where there is a direct conflict between two provisions
  When the legislature intended to lay down an exhaustive code in respect of
the subject matter replacing the earlier law
 When the two laws occupy the same field, but in absence of conflict between
general law and special law Repeal cannot be implied
 Doctrine of Implied Repeal
o It is presumed that the legislature knows the existing state of law and that it did not
intend to create any confusion by retaining any conflicting provisions
o The courts in applying this doctrine are merely supposed to give effect to legislative
intent by examining the object and scope of the two enactments
o Ratanlal Adukia v UoI
 in the above case, it was held that where subsequent special legislation on
the same subject is a self contained compete code in itself, legislative intent
is deemed to be, to exclude the earlier general laws on the subject.

Implied Repeal Cases Laws:

 Dr. Tariq Mehmood Mian V. Govt of Punjab

o Courts do not favour Implied Repeal
o The presumption is always against the intention of the legislature to Repeal by
Implication
o The presumption arises due to the presence, generally, of an express statement to
repeal
o An express statement exists, which shows not only legislative intent, but the
knowledge of the legislature on laws that already exist pertaining to the same
subject matter
 Abdul Samad v Ahmed Khan Lodhi
o Only where two Acts are inconsistent with each other, the latter Act will be said to
impliedly Repeal the former
o Court must be satisfied that both Acts cannot be harmoniously constructed
o Implied Repeal is possible only if the statute’s provisions are plainly repugnant to a
subsequent statute
 Jamshed Ali v State
o In this case, the court laid down that where inconsistency exists, the latter special
Law Repeals, by implication, the former general law

Presumption against Repeal

 Courts can lean against implied Repeal.

  If by any fair interpretation both statutes can stand together, there shall be no implied
Repeal if possible, implied Repeal shall be avoided.
 The scope for application of this Doctrine arises only when the latter Statute provides for a
different punishment or procedure for an offense in comparison to the previous Statute.

Expiry and Repeal of Statutes

 A law is repealed when it is revoked, abrogated, or repealed. Any law may repeal
any Act, in whole or in part, by enacting matter that is contrary to and inconsistent
with the prior legislation, either explicitly or implicitly. As a result, it is common for
a statute to state that certain previous statutory provisions are repealed as a result.
Only if the earlier and later legislative provisions are explicitly incompatible can the
courts treat the matter as repealed by implication. When a repealing clause is
abolished, it would not bring back any provisions that were previously repealed by
it, unless the repealing provision was itself repealed.
 While there is a clear intention to revive, it is possible that common law rules will
once again apply. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act of 1897 "The term "repeal"
refers to the full abrogation or obliteration of one statute by another from the statute
book, as if it had never been enacted. "When an Act is repealed, it must be treated as
though it never existed (except in the case of past and closed transactions)."
 No law will guarantee that it will not be repealed. There is nothing that prevents a
Parliament from enacting a law that cannot be changed or repealed in certain
circumstances. Any Parliament has the right to repeal any Act passed by its
predecessors, but it does not have the power to prohibit the repeal of its own Acts or
to bind its successors.
 A legislation may be permanent or temporary. It is permanent because no time limit
is set for its lifetime, and such a law remains in effect until it is repealed, whether
explicitly or implicitly. A permanent law is not in the sense that it cannot be
repealed; rather, it is perpetual in the sense that it is not abrogated by the passage of
time or non-use. A legislation is temporary if its term is limited to a set period of
time, and it expires at the end of that period unless it is repealed earlier. Simply
because the intent of a statute is temporary, as stated in its preamble, the statute
cannot be considered temporary if no defined date for its length is indicated. A
temporary statute's term may be prolonged by enacting a new statute or exercising a
power granted by the original statute. When it comes to
 A temporary Act's existence is only extended; it cannot be claimed that a new statute
has been enacted; but, if the extension is not followed by any significant changes, it
will not be a success.
 It's a case of simple extension. It seems that a temporary law cannot be renewed
until it has expired. By simply changing the same, you can make it more powerful.
The only logical way to resurrect the long-since-expired law is to by re-enacting a
statute in similar terms or enacting a statute specifically stating that the act, which
had previously expired, is now resurrected.
 General Clauses Act of 1897, Section 6 Repealing Effect - Any right, privilege,
duty, or liability gained or accrued under any repealed enactment is protected under
this provision. This provision saves any tax, forfeiture, or sentence imposed in
connection with any crime committed against any enactment so repealed, pending
prosecution and legal proceedings.
 Section 6A deals with Repeal of an Act that modifies the text of an Act or a
Regulation If any Central Act or Regulation enacted after the commencement of this
Act repeals any legislation by which the text of any Central Act or Regulation was
modified, the repeal shall not impact the life of the repealed enactment until a
different purpose occurs.
 Section 7: revival of repealed enactments. - If any act or regulation is required after
the commencement of this Act for the purpose of reviving any enactment, that
purpose must be stated explicitly.
 The Repealing and Amending Act, 2016, is an Act of the Indian Parliament that
repealed 295 Acts and made minor changes to the Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, and the Governors
(Emoluments, Allowances, and Privileges) Amendment Act, 2014. The Act's aim
was to repeal outdated legislation. Any jurisdiction, office, tradition, responsibility,
right, title, privilege, or restriction shall not be revived or restored by this Act.
