PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 311
qualified to deal with problems involving intra vires or ultra vires of a law. Secondly, the Bar which appears generally before the subordinate courts cannot also be said to be competent to help the courts to come to a correct decision on such points. It is therefore felt that in the interest of uniformity of decision on questions of constitutional importance it is right that the power to declare any law ultra vires should be withdrawn from the subordinate judiciary. The Bill follows the procedure which exists in some of the States in the U.S.A., where also by law the subordinate judiciary is prevented from giving judgments on questions of constitutional importance.
Besides this there is nothing very special in this Bill. We propose to amend by this Bill section 113 of the Civil Procedure Code by the addition of a proviso whereby the subordinate judge is required, in case he is of opinion that any particular law is ultra vires, to refer the matter to the High Court and to await the decision of the High Court. It is also proposed to amend section 432 of the Criminal Procedure Code requiring a magistrate also to refer the case to the High Court if the magistrate thinks that the Act is ultra vires.
This is all there in this Bill, which I commend to the House.
Mr. Chairman : Motion moved :
“ That the Bill further to amend the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, be taken into consideration..”
- Dr. Tek Chand : ………….I submit that this Bill is based on very sound principles and that it should be passed without further discussion.
I have to say a word with regard to the observations made by my hon. friend Shri Shiv Charan Lal. He thinks that after the words “Act, Ordinance and regulation,” which are already in the Bill, should be added the words “rules or orders”, that is to say, when a question relating to the validity of a particular rule or particular order passed under an Act, Ordinance or regulation arises and this should also be referred to the High Court in the same manner as the Bill provides
- P. D., Vol. 10, Part II, 20th April 1951, pp. 7172-76.