758 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
while all other documents which do not come under the Negotiable Instruments Act are dealt with by Notaries who are appointed from England. Our constitution, namely, the India (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1949 and Article 372(1) of the Constitution permitted that any officer who was appointed before the Constitution may continue to exercise that authority, so that notwithstanding the fact that India became independent and notwithstanding the fact that the President got the authority to make appointments of Notaries, by virtue of these two provisions I have quoted, these people still continue to function as Notaries although they were appointed by an authority not subject to the Indian Constitution. It is felt very desirable that this anomaly should be ended and that the right of appointment which is now enjoyed by the Court of Faculty should be discontinued. That is the main purpose of this Bill and I do not think that any Member of Parliament can have any objection to it. On the other hand, I believe that many Members of Parliament might well ask as to why these officers were allowed to function even after the Constitution had come into existence. All I can say is that it is better to be late than never. That is the only justification.
The main clauses of the Bill are these : Clause 3 empowers the Central Government to appoint Notaries with authority to practice as such any where in India. Each State also is empowered to appoint Notaries within its own territory to function within its jurisdiction.
Clauses 4 and 5 say that the Notary will not be entitled to practice unless he gets his name registered and obtains a certificate of practice. He is required to pay a certain fee under the rules. These are prescribed under the authority of Clause 14(2).
Clause 6 deals with the annual publication of the lists of Notaries. The Central Government as well as the State Governments are required to maintain a register of Notaries who have got their names registered.
Clause 7 deals with the seal of the Notary.