184 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
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*ADMINISTRATION OF EVACUEE PROPERTY (AMENDMENT) BILL
The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar) : At the outset I would like to say that the point which has been raised, namely, whether the Parliament can by law repeal a State law in the concurrent field, seems to me to have been raised at a very late stage. This Parliament has passed, I am sure, very many laws which contain a provision whereby Parliament has specifically repealed a State law in the concurrent field. My friend Mr. Jain referred to one of them, which is the last one which Parliament has passed, namely, the Merged States Act (Act LIX of 1949). If my friends interested in this subject were to refer to the provisions of this particular law, they will find that there are very many laws which fall into the concurrent field and which were enacted by the states which have been repealed by this particular Act. Therefore, so far as practice is concerned, I do not think there is anything novel in the proposal introduced in this Bill. Of course, it might be contended that this practice is not in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution and that it has no warrant in the Constitution. I think that this practice is perfectly in consonance with the Constitution.
My hon. Friend Mr. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar has very rightly referred to the proviso to sub-clause (2). The importance of this proviso, in my judgment, lies in this, namely, that it is possible and open to Parliament to make a law not only amending, varying, or adding to any law made by the State in the concurrent field, but it has also the power to repeal that law. I think this is quite clear from the proviso. So far as this proviso is concerned, the power is specific that Parliament can repeal a law made by the State in the concurrent field. But my hon. Friend Mr. Ananthasayanam
*P.D., Vol. 5, Part II, 21st November 1950, pp. 339-41.