Appendix -I

Relevant provisions of the GENERAL

CLAUSES ACT, 1897 [Act No. 10 of 18971
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
3. Definitions
In this Act, and in allCentral Acts and Regulations made after the commencement of this Act
unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,
(3) "affidavit" shall include affirmation and declaration in the case of persons Define Affidavit as
per
by law allowed to affirm or declare instead of swearing: General
Clauses Act, 1897.
(4) "barrister" shall mean a barrister of England or Ireland, or amember of M.U. Jan. 2024
the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland;
(7) "Central Act" shall means an Act of Parliament, and shall include
(a) an Act of the Dominion Legislature or of the Indian Legislature passed before the
Commencement of the Constitution, and
(b) an Act made before such commencement by the Governor General in Council or the
Governor General, acting in a legislative capacity;
(13) "commencement" used with reference to an Act or Regulation, shallmean the day on which
the Act or Regulation comes into force:
(18) "document" shall include any matter written,expressed or described upon any substance by
means of letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those means which is intended to
be used, or which may be used, for the purpose of recording that matter;
(19) "enactment" shall include aRegulation (as hereinafter defined) and any Regulation of the
Bengal, Madras or Bombay Code, and shall also include any provision contained in any Act
or in any such Regulation as aforesaid;
(20) "father", in the case of any one whose personal law permits adoption, shallinclude an adoptve
father;
(21) "financial year" shallmean the year commencing on the first day of April;
(22) a thing shall be deemed to be done in "good faith" where it is in fact done honestiy, whetner
it is done negligently or not;
(23) "Government' or "the Government' shall include both the Central Government and any State
Government;
Court of
(25) "High Court", used with reference to civil proceedings, shall mean the highest Civil
appeal (not including the Supreme Court) in the part of India in which the Act or Regulato
containing the expression operates;
(26) "immovable property" shall include land, benefits to arise out of land, and things attaoo
the earth,or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
Indian Penal
(27) "imprisonment" shall meanimprisonment of either description as definedin the
Code (45 of 1860);
 APPENDIX -I
231

hdia"shall mean,
(a)as
respects any period before the establishment of the Dominion of India, British India
together with all territories of Indian Rulers then under the suzerainty of His Majesty, all
territories under the suzerainty of such an Indian Ruler, and the tribal areas:
enects any period after the establishment of the Dominion of India and before the
commencement of the Constitution, all territories for the
time being included in that
Dominion; and
srespects any period after the Commencement of the Constitution ,all territories for the
time being comprised in the territory of India;
Bsdien law shallmean any Act, Ordinance, Regulation, rule, order, bye-law or
) hich
before the commencement of the Constitution, had the force of law in other
any
instrument
India or part thereof, or thereafter has the force of law in any Part A State or PartProvince of
C State or
Part thereof, but does not include any Act of Paliament of the United
inCouncil, rule or other instrument made under such Act: Kingdom or any Order
ndian State" shall mean any territory which the Central
State before the commencement of the Constitution, Government recognised as such a
whether described as a State, an Estate.
aJagir or otherwise;
Mocal authority" shallmean a municipal committee, district board,
body of port
or other authority legally entitled to, or
entrusted by the Government with,Commissioners
the control or
management of a municipal or localfund;
"Magistrate" shall include every person exercising all or any of the
under the Code of Criminal Procedure for the powers of a Magistrate
time being in force;
5)'master", used with reference to a ship, shall mean,
harbourmaster) having for the time being control or charge any of
person (except a plot or
the ship;
Pmonth" shall mean a month
reckoned according to the British calendar;
movable property" shallmean property of every
) 0ath" shall include description, except immovable property:
affirmation
affirm or declare instead of and declaration in the case of persons by
law allowed to
lence shall mean any actswearing:
or omission made
force; punishable by any law for the time being in
oficial
State: Gazette" "Gazette"
or shall mean the Gazette of India or the Official
Gazette of a
Part shall mean a part of
the Act or Regulation in which the word occurs;
'person"
or not; shall include any Company or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated
"Presidency-tofothe
wn HighshallCourtmeanofthe local limits for the time being of the ordinary original civil
be,urisdiction Judicature at Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, as the case may
publ ic
1860), nuisance" shall mean public nuisance defined the Indian Penal Code
a as in (45 of
232 LEGAL LANGUAGE

(49) "registered", used with reference to a document, shall mean registered in India under the law
for the time being in force for the registration of documents;
(50) "Regulation" shall mean aRegulation made by the President under article 240 of the
Constitution and shall include a Regulation made by the President under article 243 thereof
and a Regulation made by the Central Government under the Government of India Act,
1870, or the Government of India Act, 1915, or the Government of India Act, 1935:
(51) "rule" shall mean a rule made in exercise of a power conferred by any enactment, and shall
include a Regulation made as arule under any enactment;
(52) "schedule" shallmean a schedule to the Act or Regulation in which the word occurs;
(53) "Scheduled District" shall mean a "Scheduled District" as definedin the Scheduled Districts
Act, 1874;
(54) "section" shallmean asection of the Act or Regulation in which the word occurs:
(55) "ship" shall include every description of vessel used in navigation not exclusively propelled
by oars;
(56) "sign", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall, with reference to a
person whois unable to write his name, include "mark", with itsgrammatical variations and
cognate expressions;
(57) "son", inthe case of any one whose personal law permits adoption, shall include an adopted
Son;
(58) "State"
(a) as respects any period before the commencement of the Constitution (Seventh
Amendment) Act, 1956, shall mean a Part A State, a PartBState or a Part C State; and
(b) as respects any period after such commencement, shall mean aState specified in the
First Schedule tothe Constitution and shall include a Union territory:
(59) "State Act" shall mean an Act passed by the Legislature of aState established or continued
by the Constitution;
(60) "State Government"
(a) as respects anything done before the commencement of the Constitution, shall mean, in
a Part A State, the Provincial Government of the corresponding Province, in a Part B
State, the authority or person authorised at the relevant date to exercise executive
government in the corresponding Acceding State, and in aPart CState, the Central
Government;
the
(6) as respects anything done after the commencement of the Constitution and before
commencement of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956,shall mean, ina
Part A State, the Governor, in a Part B State, the Rajpramukh, and in a Part C State, ne
Central Government;
(C) as respects anything done or to be done after the commencement of the ConstitUTo
(Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, shall mean, in a State, the Governor, and in a Unio
territory, the Central Government;
 APPENDIX |
233

relation to functions
entrusted under article 258A of the Constitution to the
Andshall,
in
GovemmentoffIndia,includethe Central Government acting within the scope of the authority
pien it,
toit
underthat article;
"shall mean a sub-section of the section in which the word occurs;
grammatical|variations and cognate expressions, shallinclude
with
declaring its affirming and
swear inthecase of persons bylaw allowed to affirm or declare instead of swearing:

territory" shall mean any Union territory specified in the First Schedule to the
Union dshallinclude any other territory comprised within the teritory of India but not
RAConstitutionand.
Schedule:
soecifedin that
include any ship or boat or any other description of vessel used in navigation:
codicilland every writing making a voluntary posthumous disposition of
will'shallinclude a
M
poperty:
"writing" shall be construed as including references to printing.
8expressIons referringto
lthography, photography and other modes of representing orreproducing wordsinavisible
form;
shall mean a year
reckoned according to the British calendar.

GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION

enactments
Coming into operation of
come into operation on a particular day, then it
MWhere any Central Act is not expressed to the assent,
which it receives
shall come into operation on the day on of the
(e) in the case of a Central Act made
before the commencement of the Constitution,
Governor-General,and
b) in the case of an Act of Parliament,of the
President.

coming
Contrary is expressed, aCentral Act or Regulation shallbe construed as
OS Une preceding its commencement.
operation immediately on the expiration of the day
Eiect of repeal commencement of this Act,
Where this Act, or any Central Act or Regulation made after the intention
Klsars,any enactment hitherto made or hereafter to be made, then, unless a different
the repeal shall not-
B) revive time at which the repeal takes effect; or
anything notin force or existing at the done or
repealed or anything duly
bjaf ect the previous operation ofany enactment so
)
suffered thereunder; or or incurred under any
accrued
affecd any right, privilege, Obligation or liability acquired,
enactment So repealed; or committed
afecd any penalty, forfeiture or punishmentincurredinrespect of any offence
against any enactment so repealed; or
 LEGAL LANGUAGE
234
remedy in respect of any such right, privileoe
or
legal proceedingpunishment as aforesaid;
(e) affect any investigation, forfeiture or
obligation, liability, penalty, or remedy may be instituted, continued or
proceeding
and any such investigation,
legal
forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if the repealing
enforced, and any such penalty, passed.
been
Act or Regulation had not
making textual amendment in Act or Regulation
6A. Repeal of Act made after the commencement of this Act repeals any
Where anyCentral Act or RegulationAct or Regulation was amended by the express omission
enactment by which the text of any Central unless a different intention appears, the repeal shall
then,
insertion or substitution of any matter, amendment made by the enactment so repealed and in
such
not affect the continuance of any
operation at the time of such repeal.
enactments
7. Revival of repealed the commencement of this Act, it shall be
Regulation made after
(1) In any Central Act or either wholly or partially, any enactment wholly
or
necessary, for the purpose of reviving,
purpose.
partially repealed, expressly to state that and to
applies also to all Central Acts made after the third day of January, 1868,
(2) This section fourteenth day of January, 1887.
allRegulations made on or after the
8. Constructionof referencesto repealed enactments
Act, or any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act,
(1) Where this
modification, any provision of a former enactment,
repeals and re-enacts, with or without repealed
references in any other enactment or in any instrument to the provision sO
then
unless adifferent interntion appears, be construed as referernces to the provision so re
shall,
enacted.
1947,any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
(2) Where before the fifteenth day of August,modification, any provision of aformer enactment,
repealed and re-enacted, with or without or instrument to the provision so
then reference in any Central Act or in any Regulation
as references to the provision
repealed shall, unless adifferent intentionappears, be construed
SO re-enacted.

9. Commencement and termination of time

this Act, it shall be sufficient,
(1) Inany Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of period of time, to use the
for the purpose of excluding the first in a series of days or any other period
word "from", and, for the purpose of including the last in a series of days or any other
of time, to use the word "to".
(2) This section applies also to all Central Acts made after the third day of January, 1868, and to
all Regulations madeon or after the fourteenth day of January. 1887.
10. Computation of time
(1) Where, by any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act, any at
or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken in any Court or office on a certain
 APPENDIX -I
236
dayorvwithin a prescribed period, then, if the Court or office is closed on that day or thelast
dayofthe prescribed period, the act or proceeding shall be considered as done or taken in
taken on the next day
duetimeifit isdone or afterwards on which the Court or office is open:
Providedthat nothing in this section shall apply toany at or proceedingto which the
Limitation Act, 1877 (15 of 1877), applies. lndian
Thissection applies alsoto all Central Acts and Regulations made on or after the fourteenth
January,1887.
day of
Measurement of distances
. measurement of any distance, for the purposes of any Central Act or Regulation made
the
In commencement ofthis Act, that distance shall, unless a different intention appears, be
sterthe
mABSUredina straight
line on horizontal plane.
a

Dutyto be taken pro rata in enactments

12 enactment now in force or hereafter to be in force, any duty of customs or
Where, by any
exC0se,orinthe
nature thereof, is leviable on any given quantity, by weight, measure or value of
goods or merchandise, then alike duty issleviable according tothe same rate on any greater
ay
orlessquantity.

13. Gender and number

repugnant in the subject or
In allCentral Acts and Regulations, unless there is anything
Tontext, taken to include females; and
(1) words importing the masculine gender shallbe
(2) words in the singular shallinclude the plural, andvice versa.
S¡