Summarize the following court judgment. iminal Appeal No. 33 of 1955. Appeal under Articles 132 (1) and 134 (1) (c) of the Constitution of India from the Judgment and Order dated June 30	 1954	 of the Court of Judicial Commissioner	 Kutch in Criminal Revision Application No. 13 of 1952. Porus A. Mehta and B. H. Dhebar	 for the appellant. H. J. Umrigar	 for the respondent. March 7. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KAPUR J. Two important questions arise for decision in this case of a small magnitude and the State has filed this appeal not for the purpose of obtaining a conviction but because of the importance of the questions raised and implications of the judgment 747 of the Judicial Commissioner. The respondent was convicted of an offence under section 12(a) of the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act (Act IV of 1887 hereinafter termed the Bombay Act) as applied to Kutch and was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 50 or in default simple imprisonment for 15 days and for feiture of the amounts recovered from the respondent at the time of the commission of the offence. He took a ' revision to the Judicial Commissioner of Kutch	 who hold that the Act under which the respondent had been convicted had not been validly extended to and was not. in force in the State of Kutch. It is the correctness of this decision which has been canvassed before us. There was sufficient evidence against the respondent which was accepted by the trying magistrate; and if the Act was validly extended to and was in operation in the State of Kutch	 his conviction by the learned magistrate was correct and his acquittal by the learned Judicial Commissioner erroneous. On June 7	 1951	 the respondent	 it was alleged committed the offence he was charged with He was convicted by the magistrate on July 26	 1951	 and his revision to the Sessions Judge was dismissed. He then took a revision to the Judicial Commissioner of Kutch who allowed his petition on June. 30	 1954	 and granted a certificate under articles 132(1) and 134(1) of the Constitution. Kutch before 1948 was what was called an Indian State. The Maharao of Kutch handed over the gover. nance of the State to the Dominion of India on June 1	 1948 and thus the whole administration of the State passed to the Dominion and it became a Centrally administered area. On July 31	 1949	 the then Central Government issued under section 4 of the Extra Provincial Jurisdiction Act (Act XLVII of 1947)	 an order called the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949. Under cl. 3 of this order certain enactments were applied to Kutch with effect from the date of the commencement of the order. One of these enactments was the Bombay Act. Clauses 4 and 6 of this order are important and may be quoted; 748 4. "Except as otherwise specifically provided in the first schedule to this order the enactments applied by this order shall be construed as if references therein to the authorities and territories mentioned in the first column of the table hereunder printed were references to the authorities and territories	 respectively	 mentioned opposite thereto in the second column of the said table. TABLE. Provincial Government	 Governor The Chief Commissioner of Kutch. or Chief Controlling Revenue Authority. Government The Central Government or the Chief Commissioner	 as the con text may require. High Court Court of the judicial Commissioner	 Kutch. Provinces of India	 any Province Kutch or any part thereof of India or any part thereof. The Province or Presidency of Kutch or any part thereof. Bombay or any part thereof. " Any Court may construe the provisions of any enactment	 rule	 regulation	 general order or byelaw applied to Kutch or any part thereof by this order	 with such modifications not affecting the substance as may be necessary or proper in the circumstances. " On August 1	 1949	 Kutch became a Chief Commissioner 's province under the States Merger (Chief Commissioners Provinces) Order	 1949. Clause 2(1)(c) of this order is as follows: " As from the appointed day	 the parts of States specified in the Second Schedule to this order shall be administered in all respects as if they were a Chief Commissioner 's Province	 and shall be known as Chief Commissioner 's Province of Kutch. " The Second Schedule gives the parts of the pre 1947 Indian States which were to comprise the Chief Commissioner 's Province of Kutch. Under el. 4 of this Order all laws which were in force including orders made under section 4 of the Extra Provincial Jurisdiction Act of 1947	 were to continue in force until replaced. On January 1	 1950	 Merged States ' Laws Act (Act LIX of 1949)	 came into force. By this Act certain Central Acts were extended to the province of Kutch 749 including the General Clauses Act (Act X of 1897). On January 26	 1950	 the Constitution of India came into force and Adaptation of Laws Order	 1950	 was promulgated the same day. Clause 4(1) of this order provides: "Whenever an expression mentioned in column 1 of the table hereunder printed occurs (otherwise than in a title or preamble or in a citation or description of an enactment) in an (existing Central or Provincial Laws) whether an Act	 Ordinance or Regulation mentioned in the Schedule to this Order or not	 then	 unless that expression is by this Order expressly directed to be otherwise adapted or modified	 or to stand unmodified	 or to be omitted	 there shall be substituted therefor the expression set opposite to it in column 2 of the said Table	 and there shall also be made in any sentence in which the expression occurs such consequential amendments as the rules of grammar may require." The necessary portions of the table are: Province (except where it occurs in any expression mentioned above) State Provincial. . . State Provinces (except where it occurs in any expression mentioned above). States Clauses 15 and 16 in (Part III) Supplementary	 are as follows: 15. " Save as is otherwise provided by this Order	 all powers which under any law in force in India or any part thereof were	 immediately before the appointed day	 vested in or exercisable by any person or authority shall continue to be so vested or exercisable until other provision is made by some legislature or authority empowered to regulate the matter in question." 16. " Subject to the provisions of this Order any reference	 by whatever form of words in any existing law to any authority competent at the date of the passing of that law to exercise any powers or authorities	 or to discharge any functions	 in any part of India shall	 where a corresponding new authority has been constituted by or under the Constitution	 have 750 effect until duly repealed or amended as if it were a reference to that new authority. " On November 28	 1950 the Chief Commissioner of Kutch issued the following notification: In exercise of the powers vested in him under section I of the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act	 '1887 (IV of 1887) as applied to Kutch by the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949 the Chief Commissioner has been pleased to order that all the provisions of the said Act shall come into force throughout the whole of Kutch with immediate effect. " On a consideration of all the Acts and Orders as well as the above mentioned Adaptation of Laws Order	 of 1950	 the learned Judicial Commisioner was of the opinion that 	 all such powers vested in or exercisable by any other person or authority before 26 1 1950 ceased to be so vested or exercisable by that person or authority "	 and	 therefore	 only the President	 whether exercising the powers himself or through the Chief Commissioner	 could exercise the powers of a State Government and the Chief Commissioner himself could not. His finding therefore was that the Chief Commissioner could not issue the above notification of November 28	 1950. In its appeal against the Order of acquittal by the learned Judicial Commissioner	 the State has raised two questions: (1)that the Bombay Act had been validly extended to and was in force in the whole of Kutch because of the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949 and thus any contravention of that Act became punishable under the Act	 and (2)That even if the Bombay Act was not thus extended to Kutch	 the Act became applicable to the State of Kutch by the issuing of the notification of November28	 1950	 and therefore	 the respondent was rightly convicted and the conviction was wrongly set aside by the learned Judicial Commissioner. In: order to decide the first contention we have to see what is the effect of the various provisions of the Acts and Orders above referred to. In cl. 4 of the 751 Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949	 the words; used are shall be construed as if reference therein. . In our opinion all that these words mean is I shall be read as ' and if that is how these words are understood then wherever in the Bombay Act the words 'Provincial Government ' are used they have to be read as the Chief Commissioner of Kutch; the word Government has to be read as the " Chief Commissioner of Kutch"; and the Province or the " Presidency of Bombay " as " Kutch or any part thereof ". If the Bombay Act is so read	 then at the time when the Constitution came into force the words Provincial Government or Government or Province or Presidency of Bombay were no longer in the Act which had become applicable to the State of Kutch. On the other hand	 the words there must be taken to be Chief Commissioner of Kutch	 and Kutch or any part thereof	 respectively. The fallacy in the learned Judicial Commissioner 's judgment lies in this that due effect was not given to these words which had become substituted	 but emphasis was laid on the words 'shall be construed as ' as if these words had been used for the purposes of interpretation of the different words in the Bombay. Act rather than implying substitution of the corresponding words. In this view of the matter cl. 2 (1) (c) of the States Merger (Chief Commissioners ' Provinces) Order	 1949 which provided for the administration of the State of Kutch as if it was a Chief Commissioner 's Province	 would not affect the position nor would the extension of the General Clauses Act under the Merged States ' Laws Act. Clause 4 of the Adaptation of Laws Order	 1950 only substituted in place of the words Province	 Provincial and Provinces the words State or States	 wherever they occurred in any existing law	 and the effect of cls. 15 and 16 of that order was the continuance of the powers vested in the authorities in whom they had previously been vested. The position which therefore emerges on a combined reading of these various clauses is that in Bombay Act	 as applied to Kutch	 the words I Presidency of Bombay ' were to be replaced by the. words 'Kutch or any part thereof ' and the I Provincial 752 Government ' by the I Chief Commissioner of Kutch ' and the powers which had been given to the different authorities under the different Acts were to continue to remain in the person or persons in whom they were already vested. As the powers had been vested in the Chief Commissioner under the provisions of these various Acts and Orders	 they continued to remain so vested and the General Clauses Act did not have any operational effect on these various words which were used in the Bombay Act as modified and applied to Kutch. 	SO understood	 section 1 of the Bombay Act would read as follows: " This Act may be cited as the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act	 1887. All or any of its provisions may be extended from time to time by the Chief Commissioner of Kutch by an order published in the " Official Gazette " to any local area in Kutch or any part thereof." The Chief Commissioner of Kutch may	 from time to time	 by an order published as aforesaid	 cancel or vary any order made by it under this section. " The portion of this section	 viz.	 "It extends to the city of Bombay	 to the Island of Salsette	 to all Railways and railway Station houses without the said city and island and to all places not more than three miles distant from any part of such station houses respectively " would not continue in the Act as applied to Kutch because these parts are not in the State of " Kutch or any part thereof " and cl. 6 of the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949 would come into operation for the purpose. It was then contended that by the mere application of the Bombay Act to Kutch it became operative and came into force in the whole of Kutch. This argument suffers from the infirmity that in its application to Kutch section 1 of the Bombay Act would have to be excluded which would be an incorrect way of looking at the question. The true position is that the whole of the Act including amended section 1 as given above	 became applicable to Kutch and therefore a notification 753 	was necessary before it could be brought into force in any part of Kutch. It was applied to Kutch	 but its provisions were not in operation before the notification; and in our opinion	 the judgment of Baxi J. C. in Agaria Osman Alarakhya vs The Kutch State (1) which has been followed in the case now before us	 to the extent that it dealt with the necessity of a notification under section 1 of the Bombay Act	 was correctly decided; and therefore	 the first contention raised by counsel for the appellant is unsustainable and we hold that without a notification	 the Bombay Act	 could not be held to have been validly applied to the State of Kutch. This brings us to the second question	 i.e.	 the validity of the notification issued on November 28	 1950. The learned Judicial Commissioner held: " The Chief Commissioner of a Part C State can act to such extent as he is authorised by the President to do. These being the provisions of the Constitution	 the Bombay Act must be construed with the adaptation that the rule of construction mentioned in the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949 is deleted. Hence	 even if substitution of expression as mentioned in para 4 of the Adaptation of Laws Order	 1950 is not made	 the rule of construction mentioned in the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949 for construing the expression I Provincial Government ' as the I Chief Commissioner	 Kutch ' does not survive. " Article 239 of the Constitution relates to administration of Part C States and provides: " Subject to the other provisions of this Part	 a State specified in Part C of the First Schedule shall be administered by the President acting	 to such extent as he thinks fit	 through a Chief Commissioner or a Lieutenant Governor to be appointed by him. . . This Article has been relied upon for urging that in a Part C State	 the administration had to be carried on by the President acting through a Chief Commissioner. But this does not take away the powers of the Chief Commissioner given to him under any other Statute or (1) A.I.R. (1951) Kutch 9. 97 754 Order. The Chief Commissioner of Kutch under section I of the Bombay Act	 had the power to issue notifications making that Act operative in Kutch or any part of Kutch and those powers were not affected by article 239 of the Constitution particularly because of el. 15 of the Adaptation of Laws Order	 1950	 which preserved these powers of the Chief Commissioner. Therefore	 the notification issued by the Chief Commissioner on November 28	 1950 was valid and issued under legal authority; and the Act came into force in the parts to which the notification made it so applicable. We have therefore	 come to the conclusion that the learned Judge was in error in holding that the notification was not a valid one and in so far as that was the basis of the acquittal of the accused	 the judgment under appeal must be set aside. In the result the appeal of the State is allowed	 the judgment of the learned Judicial Commissioner acquitting the respondent is set aside and that of the learned Magistrate sentencing him to a fine of Rs. 50 and sentence in default and of forfeiture restored. Appeal allowed.

By cl. 3 of the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949	 the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act (Bom. IV of 1887) was made applicable to Kutch. Clause 4 of the Order provided that the Acts applied to Kutch by the Order " shall be construed " as if (1) vs Chester	 Mayor	 etc.) 96 746 references therein to the authorities and territories were references to the authorities and territories of Kutch as set out in that clause. The words "shall be construed as " mean "shall be read as" and: consequently wherever in the Bombay Act the words " Provincial Government " or " Government " are used	 they have to be read as " Chief Commissioner of Kutch and the words 	Province or the Presidency of Bombay " as Kutch or any part thereof ". So understood	 section 1 of the Bombay Act as applied to Kutch provided that all or any of the provisions of that Act may be extended from time to time by the Chief Commissioner of Kutch by an order published in the Official Gazette to any	 local area in Kutch or any part thereof. The contention that the Bombay Act had been validly extended to and was in force in the whole of Kutch because of the Kutch (Application of Laws) Order	 1949	 is not sound. The true position is that the whole of the Act including amended section 1 became applicable to Kutch and	 therefore	 a notification was necessary before it could be brought into force in any part of Kutch. The Chief Commissioner issued a notification on November 28	 195o	 bringing all the provisions of the Bombay Act into force throughout the whole of Kutch with immediate effect. The Chief Commissioner of Kutch under section 1 of the Bombay Act	 had powers to issue the notification making that Act operative in Kutch or in any part of Kutch and those powers were not affected by article 239 Of the Constitution. The notification was valid and the Act came into force in the parts of the State to which the notification made it applicable.