380 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
further time is necessary. And that is the reason why this amendment has been moved.
With regard to the point made by my friend Ch. Ranbir Singh relating to the declaration that the Punjab Land Alienation Act is invalid and inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, I should like to say this. The point that he raised was that it was wrong on the part of the Government of India to have abrogated the whole of that legislation that has been operating there. Well, this matter also was considered in the Law Ministry, whether it was possible to modify some of the provisions of that Act and leave the rest intact. But I should like to tell the House that with all the goodwill in the world, so far as that Act was concerned, both the AttorneyGeneral here and, if I remember correctly, the law officers of the Punjab Government agreed that every one of the provisions of that Act was inconsistent with the Constitution. Therefore we had no remedy left except to declare the whole Act invalid.
Now, I have given the justifications to the House why this amendment is necessary and I hope the House will be satisfied with the explanation that I have given.
Shri Kamath: What about the suggestion to have a Committee of this House to help the Law Ministry ?
Dr. Ambedkar: Yes. With regard to that, there again, as I said a Committee of the House might help at a much later stage. But unless I am in a position to place before any Committee of this House material which has already been examined by somebody, the Commiittee, in my judgment, could not come to any conclusion. Preliminaries will be necessary and I myself have got an idea in my mind that it may be desirable to appoint a small Committee of some retired High Court judges to examine the matter and report to us as to what are the laws which require consideration from the point of view of article 372.
Shri Kamath: Members of the House ?
Dr. Ambedkar: I thought my friend said lawyer Members. Yes, they may be co-opted. After the report is received, they may be taken into confidence and the matter may be decided.