UTTAM BALA RAVANKAR versus ASSTT. COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS & CENTRAL EXCISE, GOA & ANR.

Citation: [1971] 1 S.C.R. 714 · Decided: 03-08-1970 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S.M. SIKRI · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

'7,14 
UTTAM BALA RA VANKAR 
v. 
ASS'IT. COLLECTOR OF CUSTuMS & CENTRAL 
EXCISE, GOA &: ANR. 
August 3, 1970 
[S. M. SlX1u AND I. D. DUA, JJ.) 
Goa, Daman and Diu (Laws) Regulation, 1962, 
•mffVllng of. 
S, 
8-'Di/Jicu/ty' 
Power-Wrong authority for its 
exercise invoked-Va/idJty of •X-
erc/se of power. 
Gentral Clauses Act (IB . of 1897)-'Central Government' includes 
Lt. Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu. 
Under s. 3(2) of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Laws) Rcgulati'>n, 1962. 
November I, 1963, was the date fixed for coming into force of the Indian 
Penal Code and the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure in Goa Daman 
and D~u. , Under s. 8 of the J.legulation if any difficulty arises in giving 
effect m Goa, Daman and Diu, to any Act extended to that territory 
the Central Government may make provision for the 
removal of the 
difficulty, 
As some difficulties were experienced regarding the law re-
lating to criminal procedure the Lt. Governor, on November 6. 1963, 
passed an Order, not under s. 8 of the Regulation, but in purported exer-
cise of the powers conferred by the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administra-
tion) Removal of .Difficulties Order, 1962, to the effect that all criminal 
proceedings in relation to offences committed prior to the date of coming 
into force of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code shall be carried on 
under the Jaw in force in the territory before that date. 
On Jun~ 25, 1963, some bars of gold were seized from the residence 
of the appellant and a complaint was filed against him,' in 1966. 
On the question of the procedure to be followed, the Judicial Com-
miMioner, in revision, held that the Order of November 6, 1963 was 
ultra vi res the Goa, 
Daman and Diu 
(Administration) 
Removal of 
Difficulties Order, 1962, and held that the procedure laid down in the 
Indian Criminal Procedure Code shoould be followed. 
In appeal this Court, 
HELD:(!) The Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Removal of 
Difficulties Order 1962 does not enable the Lt. Governor to pass 
the 
Order dated Nov~mber 6, 1963. But s. 8 of the 1962-Regulation authoris-
ed him to pass the Order. If the power suboists, and the Lt. Governor 
could justify the order uader any law, the partie• are not debarred from 
relying OD, it. [717 B-DJ 
(2)_ Section 8 of the Regulation authorises the Governm~nt to mW 
·provision for removal of difficulties, 
The word 'difficulty' is not to be 
construed in the narrow sense of a difficulty with respect to a concrete 
case. [717 F] 
Majority opinion in 
Ja/an Trading Co, (P) 
Ltd. v. Mill Mazdoor 
Union, [196711 S,C.R 15, 59, followed. 
(3) Under the definition of 'Central Government' ;n the General 
Oauses Act, the Lt. Governor, as the Administrator of Goa, Daman and 
Diu is entitled to exercise the powers of the Central Government, [l 78 
·B-CJ 
A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
-.. 
) 
' 
I 
1 
UTTAM BALA V. ASSTT. COLLECTOR (Sikri, J.) 
715 
A 
( 4) Therefore, the procedure to be followed in the present case is the 
one laid down by the Portuguese Criminal Procedure Code and not by the 
Indian Code of Criminal Procedure. [718 Cl 
B 
D 
E 
JI 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 
30 of 1970. 
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and mder dated 
June 19, 1969 of the Judicial Commissioner's Court, Goa, Daman 
and Diu in Criminal Revision Application 23 of 1968. 
M. C. Chagla, E. C. Agarwala and S. R. Agarwal, for the 
appellant. 
V. A. Seyid Muhammad and S. P. Nayar, for the respondents. 
The Judgment cl the Court was delivered by 
Sikrl, J. 
This appeal by special leave is from the judgment 
and order of the Judicial Commissioner, Goa, Daman & Diu, 
allowing the revision application under s. 435 of the Indian Code 
of Criminal Procedure filed by the State. The only point involv-
ed in this appeal is whether the order passed by the Lt. Governor 
dated November 6, 1963, was invalid. 
This order reads as 
under: 
"ORDER-GADl74l63l25007-In exercise of the 
powers conferred by the Goa, Daman and Diu (Admi-
nistration) Removal of Difficulties Order, 1962 and 
notwithstanding anything to the contrary· cont~ed in 
any law for the time being in force in this Territory, 
the Lieutenant Governor makes the following order : 
All criminal proceedings in relatiqn. to offences com-
n:itted p1~or to the date of coming into force of the 
Criminal Procedure Code shall be carried on under the 
law in force in the Territory before that date. 
By order and in the name ol the Lieutenant Gover-
nor of Goa, Daman a
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