1078 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
conferred. It has been so arranged by consultation that in all probability, on the date on which this Constitution comes into existence the Privy Council would have disposed of all the cases which had been left to them for disposal under that particular enactment. But it might be that either a case remains part-heard, or a case has been disposed of in the sense that the hearing has been closed, but the decree has not been drawn, and in that sense it is pending before them. It was felt that rather than to provide for a transfer of undisposed of part-heard cases to the Supreme Court which would cause a great deal of hardship to litigants, it was desirable, to make an exception to our general rule, that the jurisdiction of the Privy Council will end on the date on which the Constitution comes into existence. That is the main purpose of amendment No. 6.
With regard to amendment No. 7, it is well-known that in some of the Indian States there are Privy Councils which supervise the judgements of their High Courts, for the reason that they did not recognise the jurisdiction of the Privy Council or rather, the Privy Council of His Majesty in England. They, therefore, had their own Privy Council. Now it is felt that in view of the provision in the Constitution that there should be direct relationship between the Supreme Court and the High Court, in the different States, both in Part III and in Part I, this intermediary institution of a Privy Council of an Indian State in Part III should be statutorily put an end to, so that on the 26th January, all appeals in any State from a High Court in a State in Part III will automatically come up to be disposed of by the Supreme Court.
I am told that these Privy Councils are called by different names in the different States. If that is so, the Drafting Committee proposes to get over that difficulty by having definition of Privy Council in our article 306 so as to cover the the different nomenclatures and variations of these institutions.
*Mr. President : Dr. Ambedkar, would you like to say anyting ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, I do not think that anything that has been urged in favour of the amendments that have been moved raises any matter of substance. It is more a matter of sentiment, and I think from the point of view of convenience it is much better that we should have this clause and not feel in any way humiliated in doing it, because even if the Privy Council were to continue to exercise jurisdiction, within the limited terms mentioned in clause (3), it should not be forgotten, and I think my friends who have moved the amendments
*CAD, Vol. X, 10th October 1949, p. 76.