Case: Kanshi Ram Jagan Nath And Others Vs. The State

2. The appeal arises out of a suit filed by the present appellants in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Faridkot, for declaration and injunction. The suit was dismissed by the trial Judge, but on appeal to the District Court, the decision was reversed. On Further appeal to the High Court, the decision of the Additional District Judge was set aside, and that of the trial Judge restored.

Reasoning: 7. Section 3 (1) ofthe Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 lays down the charge of excise duty, andshall be levied and collected in such manner as may be prescribed duties of excise on all excisable goods other than salt which are produced or manufactured in Indian . . . . . . at the rates, set forth in the First Schedule."Excisable goods" is defined by S. 2 (d), and means "goods specified in the First Schedule as being subject to a duty of excise and includes salt".These two provision read together limit the operation of the excise law to enumerated commodities and salt, and the ambit of the law is thus confined. The words "to consolidate and amend the law" have reference really to the Acts, which were repealed by S. 39. Prior to the enactment of this consolidating Act, there were no less than 17 Acts dealing with different commodities, and in 1944, all those laws were repealed, and a consolidated Act was passed to cover al those Acts and to include certain new commodities. The effect of consolidation was not to codify the law in such a way as to repeal other Acts, which were not specifically mentioned in the Schedule dealing with repeals. No negative provision to save other commodities from the operation of any existing local law was either expressly included or even contemplated in the Act. The result, therefore, is quite clear that the Robkar under which the royalty was imposed, cannot be said to be a law corresponding tothe Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and is, therefore, not within the repeal created by S. 13 (2) of the Indian Finance Act, 1950.