Case: The Edward Mills Co. Ltd., Beawar, And Others Vs. The State Of Ajmer And Another

in the Act. The Legislature could be said therefore to have applied its mine to the question of the application of the law to particular places and it was left to the executive only to determine when the law would be made operative in those places. According to the High Court of Australia the same principle would apply even when the executive is given power to determine to what other persons or goods the law shall be extended besides those specifically mentioned therein.24. Whether a provision like this strictly comes within the description of what is called "conditional legislation" is not very material. The question is, whether it exceeds the limits of permissible delegation. As was said by OConnor J. himself in the above case, when a Legislature is given plenary power to legislate on a particular subject there must also be an implied power to make laws incidental to the exercise of such power. It is a fundamental principle of constitutional law that everything necessary to the exercise of a power is included in the grant of the power. A Legislature cannot certainly strip itself of its essential functions and vest the same on an extraneous authority. The primary duty of law making has to be discharged by the Legislature itself but delegation may be resorted to as a subsidiary or on ancillary measure.25. Mr. Chatterjee contends that the essential legislative function is to lay down a policy and to make it a binding rule of conduct. This legislative policy, he says, is not discernible anywhere in the provisions of this Act and consequently there is no standard or criterion to guide the administrative authority in the exercise of the subsidiary legislative powers. We do not think that this is the correct view to take. The legislative policy is apparent on the face of the present enactment. What it aims at is the statutory fixation of minimum wages with a view to obviate the chance of exploitation of labour.26. The Legislature undoubtedly intended to apply this Act not to all industries but to those industries only where by reason of unorganized labour or want of proper arrangements for effective regulation of wages or for other causes the wages of labourers in a particular industry were very low. It is with an eye to these facts that the list of trades has been drawn up in the schedule attached to the Act but the list is not an exhaustive one and it is the policy of the Legislature not to lay down at once and for all time to which industries the Act should be applied. Conditions of labour vary under different circumstances and from State to State and the expediency of including a particular trade or industry within the schedule depends upon a variety of facts which are by no means uniform and which can best be ascertained by the person who is placed in charge of the administration of a particular State.It is to carry out effectively the purpose of this enactment that power has been given to the "appropriate Government" to decide, with reference to local conditions, whether it is desirable that minimum wages should be fixed in regard to a particular trade or industry which is not already included in the list. We do not think that in enacting section 27 the Legislature has in any way stripped itself of its essential powers or assigned to the administrative authority anything but an accessory or subordinate power which was deemed necessary to carry out the purpose and the policy of the Act. The second contention of Mr. Chatterjee cannot therefore succeed.27. The third and the last point raised by Mr. Chatterjee is directed against the notification of the Chief Commissioner by which he extended the term of the Advisory Committee till the 20th of September, 1952. It is argued that the term of the committee, as originally fixed, expired on the 16th of July, 1952, and on and from the 17th of July all the members of the committee became functus officio. The Commissioner therefore was not competent to give a fresh lease of life to the committee which was already dead. We do not think that there is much substance in this contention.28. Rule 3 of the rules framed under section 30 of the Act expressly lays down that the State Government may fix the term of the committee when it is constituted and may from time to time extend it as circumstances require. The State Government had therefore a right to extend the term of the committee in such way as it liked. The only question is whether it could do so after the period originally fixed had come to an end. Mr. Chatterjee relied, in this connection, upon certain cases which held that the Court could not grant extension of time in an arbitration proceeding after the award was filed and an award made after the prescribed period is a nullity. In our opinion this analogy is not at all helpful to the appellants in the present case. It is not disputed that the committee did not function at all and did no work after the 16th of July, 1952, and before the 21st of August next when its term was extended.29. No report was submitted during this period and there was no extension of time granted after the submission of the report. Assuming that the order of the 21st of August, 1952, could not revive a committee which was already dead, it could certainly be held that a new committee was constituted on that date and even then the report submitted by it would be a perfectly good report. Quite apart from this, it is to be noted that a committee appointed under section 5 of the Act is only an advisory body and that the Government is not bound to accept any of its recommendations. Consequently, procedural irregularities of this character could not vitiate the final report which fixed the minimum wages.

Court's decision (1 = petition accepted / positive for appellant, 0 = rejected / negative): 1

Reasoning from the judgment:
1[ds]16. The contention does not appear to us to be sound. A complete reply to this argument is furnished, in our opinion, by the provisions of clauses (1) and (2) of article 372 of theclause (1) of the article provides for continuance, in force, of the existing laws notwithstanding the repeal by the Constitution of the enactments mentioned in article 395 and clause (2) provides for their adaptation with a view to bring them into accord with the provisions of the Constitution. The Government of India Act, 1935, undoubtedly stands repealed by article 395 of the Constitution, but laws made thereunder which were in existence immediately before the commencement of the Constitution would continue under article 372(1) and could be adapted under the second clause of that article.The first point does not impress us much and we do not think that there is any material difference between "an existing law" and "a law in force". Quite apart from article 366(10) of the Constitution, the expression "Indian law" has itself been defined in section 3(29) of the General Clauses Act as meaning any Act, ordinance, regulation, rule, order, orwhich before the commencement of the Constitution had the force of law in any province of India or part thereof. In our opinion, the words "law in force" as used in article 372 are wide enough to include not merely a legislative enactment but also any regulation or order which has the force of law. We agree with Mr. Chatterjee that an order must be a legislative and not an executive order before it can come within the definition of law. We do not agree with him however that the order made by thein the present case under section 94(3) of the Government of India Act is a mere executive order.19. Part IV of the Government of India Act, 1935, which begins with section 94, deals with Chief Commissioners Provinces and(3) lays down how a Chief Commissioners Province shall be administered. It provides that it shall be administered by theacting through a Chief Commissioner to such extent as he thinks fit. An order made by theunder section 94(3) investing the Chief Commissioner with the authority to administer a province is really in the nature of a legislative provision which defines the rights and powers of the Chief Commissioner in respect to that province. In our opinion such an order comes within the purview of article 372 of the Constitution and being "a law in force" immediately before the commencement of the Constitution would continue to be in force under clause (1) of the article.20. Agreeably to this view it must also be held that such order is capable of adaptation to bring it in accord with the Constitutional provisions under clause (2) of article 372 and this is precisely what has been done by the Adaptation of Laws Order,26 of the Order runs as follows :"Where any rule, order or other instrument was in force under any provision of the Government of India Act, 1935, or under any Act amending or supplementing that Act, immediately before the appointed day, and such provisions iswith or without modifications in the Constitution, the said rule, order or instrument shall, so far as applicable, remain in force with the necessary modifications as from the appointed day as if it were a rule, order or instrument of the appropriate kind duly made by the appropriate authority under the said provision of the Constitution, and may be varied or revoked accordingly."Thus the order made under section 94(3) of the Government of India Act should be reckoned now as an order made under article 239 of the Constitution and we are unable to agree with Mr. Chatterjee that it was beyond the competence of the President under clause (2) of article 372 to make the adaptation order mentioned above. The first contention of Mr. Chatterjee therefore fails.There is undoubtedly an element of delegation implied in the provision of section 27 of the Act, for the Legislature, in a sense, authorises another body, specified by it, to do something which it might do itself. But such delegation, if it can be so called at all, does not in the circumstances of the present case appear to us to be unwarranted andwas said by OConnor J. himself in the above case, when a Legislature is given plenary power to legislate on a particular subject there must also be an implied power to make laws incidental to the exercise of such power. It is a fundamental principle of constitutional law that everything necessary to the exercise of a power is included in the grant of the power. A Legislature cannot certainly strip itself of its essential functions and vest the same on an extraneous authority. The primary duty of law making has to be discharged by the Legislature itself but delegation may be resorted to as a subsidiary or on ancillary measure.25.Mr. Chatterjee contends that the essential legislative function is to lay down a policy and to make it a binding rule of conduct. This legislative policy, he says, is not discernible anywhere in the provisions of this Act and consequently there is no standard or criterion to guide the administrative authority in the exercise of the subsidiary legislative powers.We do not think that this is the correct view to take. The legislative policy is apparent on the face of the present enactment. What it aims at is the statutory fixation of minimum wages with a view to obviate the chance of exploitation of labour.26. The Legislature undoubtedly intended to apply this Act not to all industries but to those industries only where by reason of unorganized labour or want of proper arrangements for effective regulation of wages or for other causes the wages of labourers in a particular industry were very low. It is with an eye to these facts that the list of trades has been drawn up in the schedule attached to the Act but the list is not an exhaustive one and it is the policy of the Legislature not to lay down at once and for all time to which industries the Act should be applied. Conditions of labour vary under different circumstances and from State to State and the expediency of including a particular trade or industry within the schedule depends upon a variety of facts which are by no means uniform and which can best be ascertained by the person who is placed in charge of the administration of a particular State.It is to carry out effectively the purpose of this enactment that power has been given to the "appropriate Government" to decide, with reference to local conditions, whether it is desirable that minimum wages should be fixed in regard to a particular trade or industry which is not already included in the list. We do not think that in enacting section 27 the Legislature has in any way stripped itself of its essential powers or assigned to the administrative authority anything but an accessory or subordinate power which was deemed necessary to carry out the purpose and the policy of the Act. The second contention of Mr. Chatterjee cannot therefore succeed.27.The third and the last point raised by Mr. Chatterjee is directed against the notification of the Chief Commissioner by which he extended the term of the Advisory Committee till the 20th of September, 1952. It is argued that the term of the committee, as originally fixed, expired on the 16th of July, 1952, and on and from the 17th of July all the members of the committee became functus officio. The Commissioner therefore was not competent to give a fresh lease of life to the committee which was already dead.We do not think that there is much substance in this contention.28. Rule 3 of the rules framed under section 30 of the Act expressly lays down that the State Government may fix the term of the committee when it is constituted and may from time to time extend it as circumstances require. The State Government had therefore a right to extend the term of the committee in such way as it liked. Theonly question is whether it could do so after the period originally fixed had come to an end. Mr. Chatterjee relied, in this connection, upon certain cases which held that the Court could not grant extension of time in an arbitration proceeding after the award was filed and an award made after the prescribed period is a nullity.In our opinion this analogy is not at all helpful to the appellants in the present case. It is not disputed that the committee did not function at all and did no work after the 16th of July, 1952, and before the 21st of August next when its term was extended.29. No report was submitted during this period and there was no extension of time granted after the submission of the report. Assuming that the order of the 21st of August, 1952, could not revive a committee which was already dead, it could certainly be held that a new committee was constituted on that date and even then the report submitted by it would be a perfectly good report. Quite apart from this, it is to be noted that a committee appointed under section 5 of the Act is only an advisory body and that the Government is not bound to accept any of its recommendations. Consequently, procedural irregularities of this character could not vitiate the final report which fixed the minimum wages.