LexSTATE OF RAJASTHAN versus THE MEWAR SUGAR MILLS LTD., BHOPALSAGAR
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A B c D E F G H STATE OF RAJAS'tHAN v. THE MEWAR SUGAR MILLS LTD., BHOPALSAGAR August 26, 1968 [J. C. SHAH, V. RAMASWAMl AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.] General Clauses Act, 1897, s. 22-Scope of-Rules under s. 26(5) of Rajasthan Sales Tax Act 29 of 1954 published before commencement of Act-Rule 1 providing rules would come into force on date of publ1- . clltion-1/ rules valid and effective from date of commencement of Act. The Rajasthan Sales Tax Act No. 29 of 1954 received the assent o~ the P=idcnt on December 22, 1954, but it came into effect on April 1, 1955 under a notification of the State Government under s. 1(3) of the Act. On March 28, 1955, before the Act came into force, certain rules called the 'Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules, 1955' were published in the .Gazette and it was provided therein that the Rules would come into force on the date of their publication in the Rajasthan Gazette. The respondent company did not file any quarterly returns of its sales for the assessment years 1955-56 and 1956-57 as required under the Act, :md the second appellant, the Sales Tax Officer, treated this as a default under s. 7(1) and (2); after giving notice to the Company, he imposed penalties on the respondent under s. 16(1) di the Act. The respondent clWlenged his orders by a writ petition under Article 226 of the Consti- tution· contending, inter alfu, that during the material period from April 1, 1955 to July 31; 1956, there were in existence no ·rules validly made under s. 26(5) of the Act. The High Court allowed the petition and quashed the imposition orders on the view that the Rules framed initially were not valid for the purpose of imposing penalties and the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rul<.; Validating Act No. 43 of 1959 could not be effective for the pur- JJOSC of imposing penalty under s. 16 of the Act since the Rules could not be given retrospective effect. In appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant that the Act and the Rules were legally operative with effect from April l, 1955 by reason of s. 22 of the General Clauses Act, read with s. 29 of the Rajasthan Act 29 of 1954 and that in any event, even if the rules were not initially valid, they were subsequently validated by the Validating Act of 1959 which was retrospective in character. HELD : Allowing the appeal : (1) Under s. 22 df the General Clauses Act power is expressly con, ferred on the rule-making authority to make rules even before the date dt. the commencement of the Act ·but the rules so made shall not take effect till the actual enforcement of the Act. In the present case, in view of the application of s. 22 of the General Clauses Act by s. W of the Raj""than Act, the rules published by the Rajasthan Government on March 23, 19.55 in tho Rajasthan Gazette must be held to be validly made in the exer<:i•e of the i-ule-1llaking power of the State Government,, and would come into force on the date of commencement of the Act i.e. 1st April, 1955. Although the Rules provided for their coming into force on the dale ·of their publication in the Rajasthan Gazette and they were actually fublished on March .28, 1955, in view .of the provisions of s. 22 of .the Geoeral Clauses Act foey would be deemed to be not in force for the • • 846 SUPREME COURT RP.PORTS [1969] ! S.C.R period between March 28, 1955 to March 31. 1955. A statute or statu- A tory rule has to be so read as 10 make it valid; it has to be ooostrucd ut res magis va/eat quam pareat. The 'tr.a.son ic; that no intention can be imputed to the legislativ~ authority that it would exc;eed its own jurisdic- tton. [850 D-851 CJ (2) There wa.s no force in the contention that as s. 22 of the General Oauses Act does not fall within the group of '°ction dealing with "Gene- ral Rules of Construction" it i\ not a section dealing with interpretation B or that it is not attracted by the language of s. 29 of Rajasthan ACl. Section 22 of the General Clau.,cs Act (corresponding to s. 37 of the English Act) is a section dealing not merely with construction but with in- terpretation and it follows that it" provisions arc applicable for the inter- pretation of the Rajasthan Act in view of the requirement of s. 29 thereof. i.852 E-FJ CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1068 of c 1966. Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated April 3, 1965 of the Rajasthan High Court in D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 401 of 1963
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