PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 71
question. That is one precedent. Of course, it must not be extended to a field which it did not cover. As I said, it extended only to questions and not to other matters.
Now, I come to the Government of India Act, 1935. Probably, some Members of the House will remember that as soon as the Government of India Act, 1935, was passed, certain members of the House of Commons were considerably agitated as to their rights to ask questions to the Secretary of State in Parliament with regard to the administration of India and a question was put to the then Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, in the year 1937. Mr. Chamberlain gave the reply to the effect that since the administration of the country was transferred to agencies in India and to that extent the Secretary of State ceased to possess to have any kind of responsibility for the actual administration, it would not be possible or permissible for Members of Parliament to put any questions to the Secretary of State on those matters. That matter was taken up in the Assembly here immediately after the interpellations had taken place in the House of Commons and a question was put by our old friend Mr. Pande, who was a well-known Member of this Assembly, to the then Law Member, Sir Nripendra Sarcar. I propose to read the answer which Sir Nripendra Sarcar gave, because it is a very illuminating reply and, in my judgment, supports the conclusion to which I have come and to which I have given expression just now
The answer of Sir Nripendra Sarcar was this :
“(a) The general position is that where the executive and legislative authority are vested under the Act in the provinces, it would not be appropriate for the Central Legislature to discuss those matters. There are likely, however, to be matters in which the Central Legislature may be properly interested, (e.g., a direction under sub-section (1) and (2) of section 126 of the Government of India Act) and thus the prevention of any encroachment on the provincial sphere may well be left to be regulated by the powers vested in the Hon. the President under Rule 7 of the Indian Legislative Rules in regard to questions and in the Governor-General under Rule 22 in regard to the Resolutions.”
My submission is this : that the provisions contained in Article 371 are more or less analogous. I do not say they