Subject in the case of a Federated State to the provisions of the Instrument of Accession of that State, nothing in this Act affects the rights and obligations of the Crown in relation to any Indian State.
(1)If His Majesty's Representative for the exercise of the functions of the Crown in its relations with Indian States requests the assistance of armed forces for the due discharge of those functions, it shall be the duty of the Governor-General in the exercise of the executive authority of the Federation to cause the necessary forces to be employed accordingly, but the net additional expense, if any, incurred in connection with those forces hy reason of that employment shall be deemed to be expenses of His Majesty incurred, in discharging the said functions of the Crown.
(2)In discharging his functions under this section the Governor-General shall act in his discretion.
Arrangements may be made between His Majesty's Representative for the exercise of the functions of the Crown in its relations with Indian States and the Governor of any Province for the discharge by the Governor and officers serving in connection with the affairs of the Province of powers and duties in connection with the exercise of the said functions of the Crown.
(1)On such date as His Majesty may by Order in Council appoint (in this section referred to as " the appointed day ") the then existing Chief Commissioner's Province of Aden (in this section referred to as " Aden ") shall cease to be a part of British India.
(2)At any time after the passing of this Act it shall be lawful for His Majesty in Council to make such provision as he deems proper for the government of Aden after the appointed day, and any such Order in Council may delegate to any person or persons within Aden power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Aden, without prejudice to the power of His Majesty in Council, notwithstanding such delegation, from time to time to make laws for any of the purposes aforesaid.
(3)An Order made by His Majesty in Council by virtue of the preceding subsection may, without prejudice to the generality of the words of that subsection, contain provisions with respect to—
(a)the continuing validity of all Acts, orders, ordinances and regulations in force in Aden immediately before the appointed day;
(b)the continuing validity of lawful acts done by any authority in Aden before the appointed day;
(c)the validity and continuance of proceedings commenced before the appointed day in any Court of Justice in, or having jurisdiction in, Aden; and
(d)the enforcement by or against the Government of Aden of claims which, if this Act had not been passed, might have been enforced by or against the Secretary of State in Council in connection with the administration of Aden.
(4)If any such Order is made, it shall confer appellate jurisdiction from courts in Aden upon such court in India as may be specified in the Order, and it shall be the duty of any court in India upon which jurisdiction is so conferred to exercise that jurisdiction, and such contribution, if any, as His Majesty in Council may determine shall be paid out of the revenues of Aden towards the expenses of that court.
The Order shall also make provision specifying the cases in which an appeal from that court in India may be brought to His Majesty in Council.
(5)Any property which immediately before the separation of Aden from India was vested in His Majesty for the purposes of the Government of India and either was then situate in Aden, or, by virtue of any delegation from the Secretary of State in Council or otherwise, was then in the possession, or under the control of, or held on account of, the Local Government of Aden, shall, as from the said separation, vest in His Majesty for the purposes of the Government of Aden, and any contract made or liability incurred by or on behalf of the Secretary of State in Council before the said separation solely for a purpose which will after the separation be a purpose of the Government of Aden shall, as from the separation, have effect as if it had been made or incurred by or on behalf of the Government of Aden.
(1)As from such date as His Majesty may by Order in Council appoint—
(a)Sind shall be separated from the Presidency of Bombay and shall form a Governor's Province to be known as the Province of Sind;
(b)Orissa and such other areas in the Province of Bihar and Orissa as may be specified in the Order of His Majesty shall be separated from that Province, and such areas as may be specified in the said Order shall be separated from the Presidency of Madras and the Central Provinces respectively, and Orissa and the other areas so separated shall together form a Governor's Province to be known as the Province of Orissa; and
(c)the Province formerly known as Bihar and Orissa shall be known as the Province of Bihar.
(2)An Order in Council made under this section shall define the boundaries of the Provinces of Sind and Orissa and may contain—
(a)such provisions for their government and administration during the period before Part III of this Act comes into operation;
(b)such provisions for varying during the said period the composition of the Local Legislature of any Presidency or Province the boundaries of which are altered under this section;
(c)such provisions with respect to the laws which, subject to amendment or repeal by the Provincial or, as the case may be, the Federal Legislature, are to be in force in, or in any part of, Sind or Orissa respectively ;
(d)in the case of Orissa, such provisions with respect to the jurisdiction therein of any court theretofore exercising the jurisdiction of a High Court, either generally or for any particular purpose, in any area to be included in the Province;
(e)such provisions with respect to apportionments and adjustments of and in respect of assets and liabilities; and
(f)such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions,
as His Majesty may deem necessary or proper.
(3)Subject to the provisions of any such Order as aforesaid, the Governor-General in Council may, until the date on which Part III of this Act comes into operation, exercise in relation to the Provinces of Sind and Orissa and any Presidency or Province the boundaries of which are altered under this section any powers which he might have exercised if the said new Provinces had been constituted, or those boundaries had been altered, under the provisions in that behalf contained in the Government of India Act.
(4)In this Act the expression " the Legislative Council of the Province " when used in relation to a date before the commencement of Part III of this Act shall in the case of Sind and Orissa be deemed to refer to the Legislative Councils of Bombay and of Bihar or Bihar and Orissa respectively.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, His Majesty may by Order in Council—
(a)create a new Province;
(b)increase the area of any Province;
(c)diminish the area of any Province;
(d)alter the boundaries of any Province :
Provided that, before the draft of any such Order is laid before Parliament, the Secretary of State shall take such steps as His Majesty may direct for ascertaining the views of the Federal Government and the Chambers of the Federal Legislature and the views of the Government and the Chamber or Chambers of the Legislature of any Province which will be affected by the Order, both with respect to the proposal to make the Order and with respect to the provisions to be inserted therein.
(2)An Order made under this section may contain such provisions for varying the representation in the Federal Legislature of any Governor's Province the boundaries of which are altered by the Order and for varying the composition of the Legislature of any such Province, such provisions with respect to apportionments and adjustments of and in respect of assets and liabilities, and such other supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions as His Majesty may deem necessary or proper;
Provided that no such Order shall vary the total membership of either Chamber of the Federal Legislature.
(3)In this section the expression " Province " means either a Governor's Province or a Chief Commissioner's Province.
In so far as provision with respect to the matters hereinafter mentioned is not made by this Act, His Majesty in Council may from time to time make provision with respect to those matters or any of them, that is to say—
(a)the delimitation of territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections under this Act;
(b)the qualifications entitling persons to vote in territorial or other constituencies at such elections, and the preparation of electoral rolls;
(c)the qualifications for being elected at such elections as a member of a legislative body;
(d)the filling of casual vacancies in any such body;
(e)the conduct of elections under this Act and the methods of voting thereat;
(f)the expenses of candidates at such elections;
(g)corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections;
(h)the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of, or in connection with, such elections;
(i)matters ancillary to any such matter as aforesaid.
Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of the Government of India Act, but subject to the other provisions of this Act, all the law in force in British India immediately before the commencement of Part III of this Act shall continue in force in British India until altered or repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.
His Majesty may by Order in Council to be made at any time after the passing of this Act provide that, as from such date as may be specified in the Order, any law in force in British India or in any part of British India shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority, have effect subject to such adaptations and modifications as appear to His Majesty to be necessary or expedient for bringing the provisions of that law into accord with the provisions of this Act and, in particular, into accord with the provisions thereof which reconstitute under different names governments and authorities in India and prescribe the distribution of legislative and executive powers between the Federation and the Provinces:
Provided that no such law as aforesaid shall be made applicable to any Federated State by an Order in Council made under this section.
In this section the expression " law " does not include an Act of Parliament, but includes any ordinance, order, byelaw, rule or regulation having in British India the force of law.
(1)Neither the executive authority of the Federation nor the legislative power of the Federal Legislature shall extend to any area in a Federated State which His Majesty in signifying his acceptance of the Instrument of Accession of that State may declare to be an area theretofore administered by or on behalf of His Majesty to which it is expedient that the provisions of this subsection should apply, and references in this Act to a Federated State shall not be construed as including references to any such area :
Provided that—
(a)a declaration shall not be made under this subsection with respect to any area unless, before the execution by the Ruler of the Instrument of Accession, notice has been given to him of His Majesty's intention to make that declaration;
(b)if His Majesty with the assent of the Ruler of the State relinquishes his powers and jurisdiction in relation to any such area or any part of any such area, the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall cease to apply to that area or part, and the executive authority of the Federation and the legislative power of the Federal Legislature shall extend thereto in respect of such matters and subject to such limitations as may be specified in a supplementary Instrument of Accession for the State.
Nothing in this subsection applies to any area if it appears to His Majesty that jurisdiction to administer the area was granted to him solely in connection with a railway.
(2)Subject as aforesaid and to the following provisions of this section, if, after the accession of a State becomes effective, power or jurisdiction therein with respect to any matter is, by virtue of the Instrument of Accession of the State, exercisable, either generally or subject to limits, by the Federation, the Federal Legislature, the Federal Court, the Federal Railway Authority, or a Court or an authority exercising the power or jurisdiction by virtue of an Act of the Federal Legislature, or is, by virtue of an agreement made under Part VI of this Act in relation to the administration of a law of the Federal Legislature, exercisable, either generally or subject to limits, by the Ruler or his officers, then any power or jurisdiction formerly exercisable on His Majesty's behalf in that State, whether by virtue of the [53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.] Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise, shall not be exercisable in that State with respect to that matter or, as the case may be, with respect to that matter within those limits.
(3)So much of any law as by virtue of any power exercised by or on behalf of His Majesty to make laws in a State is in force in a Federated State immediately before the accession of the State becomes effective and might by virtue of the Instrument of Accession of the State be re-enacted for that State by the Federal Legislature, shall continue in force and be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a Federal law so re-enacted:
Provided that any such law may be repealed or amended by Act of the Federal Legislature and unless continued in force by such an Act shall cease to have effect on the expiration of five years from the date when the accession of the State becomes effective.
(4)Subject as aforesaid, the powers and jurisdiction exercisable by or on behalf of His Majesty before the commencement of Part III of this Act in Indian States shall continue to be exercisable, and any Order in Council with respect to the said powers or jurisdiction made under the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise, and all delegations, rules and orders made under any such Order, shall continue to be of full force and effect until the Order is amended or revoked by a subsequent Order:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting His Majesty from relinquishing any power or jurisdiction in any Indian State.
(5)An Order in Council made by virtue and in exercise of the powers by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise in His Majesty vested, empowering any person to make rules and orders in respect of courts or administrative authorities acting for any territory shall not be invalid by reason only that it confers, or delegates powers to confer, on courts or administrative authorities power to sit or act outside the territory in respect of which they have jurisdiction or functions, or that it confers, or delegates power to confer, appellate jurisdiction or functions on courts or administrative authorities sitting or acting outside the territory.
(6)In the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, the expression " a British court in a foreign country " shall, in relation to any part of India outside British India, include any person duly exercising on behalf of His Majesty any jurisdiction, civil or criminal, original or appellate, whether by virtue of an Order in Council or not, and for the purposes of section nine of that Act the Federal Court shall, as respects appellate jurisdiction in cases tried by a British Court in a Federated State, be deemed to be a Court held in a British Possession or under the authority of His Majesty.
(7)Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting any right of His Majesty to determine by what courts British subjects and subjects of foreign countries shall be tried in respect of offences committed in Indian States.
(8)Nothing in this section affects the provisions of this Act with respect to Berar.
(1)Where any person has been sentenced to death in a Province, the Governor-General in his discretion shall have all such powers of suspension, remission or commutation of sentence as were vested in the Governor-General in Council immediately before the commencement of Part III of this Act, but save as aforesaid no authority in India outside a Province shall have any power to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted in the Province:
Provided that nothing in this subsection affects any power of any officer of His Majesty's forces to suspend, remit or commute a, sentence passed by a court martial.
(2)Nothing in this Act shall derogate from the right of His Majesty, or of the Governor-General, if any such right is delegated to him by His Majesty, to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment.
(1)No member of the Federal or a Provincial Legislature shall be a member of any tribunal in British India having jurisdiction to entertain appeals or revise decisions in revenue cases.
(2)If in any Province any such jurisdiction as aforesaid was, immediately before the commencement of Part III of this Act, vested in the Local Government, the Governor shall constitute a tribunal, consisting of such person or persons as he, exercising his individual judgment, may think fit, to exercise the same jurisdiction until other provision in that behalf is made by Act of the Provincial Legislature.
(3)There shall be paid to the members of any tribunal constituted under the last preceding subsection, such salaries and allowances as the Governor exercising his individual judgment may determine, and those salaries and allowances shall be charged on the revenues of the Province.
(1)No Provincial Legislature or Government shall—
(a)by virtue of the entry in the Provincial Legislative List relating to trade and commerce within the Province, or the entry in that list relating to the production, supply, and distribution of commodities, have power to pass any law or take any executive action prohibiting or restricting the entry into, or export from, the Province of goods of any class or description; or
(b)by virtue of anything in this Act have power to impose any tax, cess, toll, or due which, as between goods manufactured or produced in the Province and similar goods not so manufactured or produced, discriminates in favour of the former, or which, in the case of goods manufactured or produced outside the Province, discriminates between goods manufactured or produced in one locality and similar goods manufactured or produced in another locality.
(2)Any law passed in contravention of this section shall, to the extent of the contravention, be invalid.
(1)No subject of His Majesty domiciled in India shall on grounds only of religion, place of birth, descent, colour or any of them be ineligible for office under the Crown in India, or be prohibited on any such grounds from acquiring, holding or disposing of property or carrying on any occupation, trade, business or profession in British India.
(2)Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any law which—
(a)prohibits, either absolutely or subject to exceptions, the sale or mortgage of agricultural land situate in any particular area, and owned by a person belonging to some class recognised by the law as being a class of persons engaged in or connected with agriculture in that area, to any person not belonging to any such class; or
(b)recognises the existence of some right, privilege or disability attaching to members of a community by virtue of some personal law or custom having the force of law.
(3)Nothing in this section shall be construed as derogating from the special responsibility of the Governor-General or of a Governor for the safeguarding of the legitimate interests of minorities.
(1)No person shall be deprived of his property in British India save by authority of law.
(2)Neither the Federal nor a Provincial Legislature shall have power to make any law authorising the compulsory acquisition for public purposes of any land, or any commercial or industrial undertaking, or any interest in, or in any company owning, any commercial or industrial undertaking, unless the law provides for the payment of compensation for the property acquired and either fixes the amount of the compensation, or specifies the principles on which, and the manner in which, it is to be determined.
(3)No Bill or amendment making provision for the transference to public ownership of any land or for the extinguishment or modification of rights therein, including rights or privileges in respect of land revenue, shall be introduced or moved in either Chamber of the Federal Legislature without the previous sanction of the Governor-General in his discretion, or in a Chamber of a Provincial Legislature without the previous sanction of the Governor in his discretion.
(4)Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of any law in force at the date of the passing of this Act.
(5)In this section " land " includes immovable property of every kind and any rights in or over such property, and " undertaking " includes part of an undertaking.
(1)The executive authority of the Federation or of a Province shall not be exercised, save on an order of the Governor-General or Governor, as the case may be, in the exercise of his individual judgment, so as to derogate from any grant or confirmation of title of or to land, or of or to any right or privilege in respect of land or land revenue, being a grant or confirmation made before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, or made on or after that date for services rendered.
(2)No pension granted or customarily payable before the commencement of Part III of this Act by the Governor-General in Council or any Local Government on political considerations or compassionate grounds shall be discontinued or reduced, otherwise than in accordance with any grant or order regulating the payment thereof, save on an order of the Governor-General in the exercise of his individual judgment or, as the case may be, of the Governor in the exercise of his individual judgment, and any sum required for the payment of any such pension shall be charged on the revenues of the Federation or, as the case may be, the Province.
(3)Nothing in this section affects any remedy for a breach of any condition on which a grant was made.
Section eighteen of the East India Company Act, 1780, and section twelve of the East India Act, 1797 (being obsolete enactments containing savings for native law and custom) are hereby repealed.
(1)There shall be a High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom who shall be appointed, and whose salary and conditions of service shall be prescribed, by the Governor-General, exercising his individual judgment.
(2)The High Commissioner shall perform on behalf of the Federation such functions in connection with the business of the Federation, and, in particular, in relation to the making of contracts as the Governor-General may from time to time direct.
(3)The High Commissioner may, with the approval of the Governor-General and on such terms as may be agreed, undertake to perform on behalf of a Province or Federated State, or on behalf of Burma, functions similar to those which he performs on behalf of the Federation.
(1)The Sheriff of Calcutta shall be appointed annually by the Governor of Bengal from a panel of three persons to be nominated on the occasion of each vacancy by the High Court in Calcutta.
(2)The Sheriff shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor and shall be entitled to such remuneration as the Governor may determine and no other remuneration.
(3)In exercising his powers with respect to the appointment and dismissal of the Sheriff, and with respect to the determination of his remuneration, the Governor shall exercise his individual judgment.
Any person appointed by His Majesty to act as Governor-General or as the Governor of a Province during the absence of the Governor-General or the Governor from India, or during any period during which the Governor-General or the Governor is for any reason unable to perform the duties of his office, shall during, and in respect of, the period while he is so acting have all the powers and immunities, and be subject to all the duties of, the Governor-General or Governor, as the case may be, and, if he holds any other office, shall not act therein or be entitled to the salary and allowances appertaining thereto while he is acting as Governor-General or Governor.
(1)The Governor-General and every Governor shall have his own secretarial staff to be appointed by him in his discretion.
(2)The salaries and allowances of persons so appointed and the office accommodation and other facilities to be provided for them shall be such as the Governor-General or, as the case may be, the Governor may in his discretion determine, and the said salaries and allowances and the expenses incurred in providing the said accommodation and facilities shall be charged on the revenues of the Federation or, as the case may be, the Province.
(1)No proceedings whatsoever shall lie in, and no process whatsoever shall issue from, any court in India against the Governor-General, against the Governor of a Province, or against the Secretary of State, whether in a personal capacity or otherwise, and, except with the sanction of His Majesty in Council, no proceedings whatsoever shall lie in any court in India against any person who has been the Governor-General, the Governor of a Province, or the Secretary of State in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any of them during his term of office in performance or purported performance of the duties thereof:
Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting the right of any person to bring against the Federation, a Province, or the Secretary of State such proceedings as are mentioned in chapter in of Part VII of this Act.
(2)The provisions of the preceding subsection shall apply in relation to His Majesty's Representative for the exercise of the functions of the Crown in its relations with Indian States as they apply in relation to the Governor-General.
For the purposes of the first elections of persons to serve as members of the Federal Legislature and of Provincial Legislatures, no person shall be subject to any disqualification by reason only of the fact that he holds—
(a)an office of profit as a non-official member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General or a Governor, or as a minister in a Province;
(b)an office which is not a whole time office remunerated either by salary or by fees.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, if the Federal Legislature or any Provincial Legislature, on motions proposed in each Chamber by a minister on behalf of the council of ministers, pass a resolution recommending any such amendment of this Act or of an Order in Council made thereunder as is hereinafter mentioned, and on motions proposed in like manner, present to the Governor-General or, as the case may be, to the Governor an address for submission to Has Majesty praying that His Majesty may be pleased to communicate the resolution to Parliament, the Secretary of State shall, within six months after the resolution is so communicated, cause to be laid before both Houses of Parliament a statement of any action which it may be proposed to take thereon.
The Governor-General or the Governor, as the case may be, when forwarding any such resolution and address to the Secretary of State shall transmit therewith a statement of his opinion as to the proposed amendment and, in particular, as to the effect which it would have on the interests of any minority, together with a report as to the views of any minority likely to be affected by the proposed amendment and as to whether a majority of the representatives of that minority in the Federal or, as the case may be, the Provincial Legislature support the proposal, and the Secretary of State shall cause such statement and report to be laid before Parliament.
In performing his duties under this subsection the Governor-General or the Governor, as the case may be, shall act in his discretion.
(2)The amendments referred to in the preceding subsection are—
(a)any amendment of the provisions relating to the size or composition of the Chambers of the Federal Legislature, or to the method of choosing or the qualifications of members of that Legislature, not being an amendment which would vary the proportion between the number of seats in the Council of State and the number of seats in the Federal Assembly, or would vary, either as regards the Council of State or the Federal Assembly, the proportion between the number of seats allotted to British India and the number of seats allotted to Indian States;
(b)any amendment of the provisions relating to the number of Chambers in a Provincial Legislature or the size or composition of the Chamber, or of either Chamber, of a Provincial Legislature, or to the method of choosing or the qualifications of members of a Provincial Legislature;
(c)any amendment providing that, in the case of women, literacy shall be substituted for any higher educational standard for the time being required as a qualification for the franchise, or providing that women, if duly qualified, shall be entered on electoral rolls without any application being made for the purpose by them or on their behalf; and
(d)any other amendment of the provisions relating to the qualifications entitling persons to be registered as voters for the purposes of elections.
(3)So far as regards any such amendment as is mentioned in paragraph (c) of the last preceding subsection, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall apply to a resolution of a Provincial Legislature whenever passed, but, save as aforesaid, those provisions shall not apply to any resolution passed before the expiration of ten years, in the case of a resolution of the Federal Legislature, from the establishment of the Federation, and, in the case of a resolution of a Provincial Legislature, from the commencement of Part III of this Act.
(4)His Majesty in Council may at any time before or after the commencement of Part III of this Act, whether the ten years referred to in the last preceding subsection have elapsed or not, and whether any such address as is mentioned in this section has been submitted to His Majesty or not, make in the provisions of this Act any such amendment as is referred to in subsection (2) of this section :
Provided that—
(i)if no such address has been submitted to His Majesty, then, before the draft of any Order which it is proposed to submit to His Majesty is laid before Parliament, the Secretary of State shall, unless it appears to him that the proposed amendment is of a minor or drafting nature, take such steps as His Majesty may direct for ascertaining the views of the Governments and Legislatures in India who would be affected by the proposed amendment and the views of any minority likely to be so affected, and whether a majority of the representatives of that minority in the Federal or, as the case may be, the Provincial Legislature support the proposal;
(ii)the provisions of Part II of the First Schedule to this Act shall not be amended without the consent of the Ruler of any State which will be affected by the amendment.
(1)Any power conferred by this Act on His Majesty in Council shall be exercisable only by Order in Council, and subject as hereinafter provided, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament the draft of any Order which it is proposed to recommend His Majesty to make in Council under any provision of this Act, and no further proceedings shall be taken in relation thereto except in pursuance of an address presented to His Majesty by both Houses of Parliament praying that the Order may be made either in the form of the draft, or with such amendments as may have been agreed to by resolutions of both Houses :
Provided that, if at any time when Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, or when both Houses of Parliament are adjourned for more than fourteen days, the Secretary of State is of opinion that on account of urgency an Order in Council should be made under this Act forthwith, it shall not be necessary for a draft of the Order to be laid before Parliament, but the Order shall cease to have effect at the expiration of twenty-eight days from the date on which the Commons House first sits after the making of the Order unless within that period resolutions approving the making of the Order are passed by both Houses of Parliament.
(2)Subject to any express provision of this Act, His Majesty in Council may by a subsequent Order, made in accordance with the provisions of the preceding subsection, revoke or vary any Order previously made by him in Council under this Act.
(3)Nothing in this section applies to any Order of His Majesty in Council made in connection with any appeal to His Majesty in Council, or to any Order of His Majesty in Council sanctioning the taking of proceedings against a person who has been the Governor-General, His Majesty's Representative for the exercise of the functions of the Crown in its relations with Indian States, the Governor of a Province or the Secretary of State.
(1)Whereas difficulties may arise in relation to the transition from the provisions of the Government of India Act to the provisions of this Act, and in relation to the transition from the provisions of Part XIII of this Act to the provisions of Part II of this Act:
And whereas the nature of those difficulties, and of the provision which should be made for meeting them, cannot at the date of the passing of this Act be fully foreseen:
Now therefore, for the purpose of facilitating each of the said transitions His Majesty may by Order in Council—
(a)direct that this Act and any provisions of the Government of India Act still in force shall, during such limited period as may be specified in the Order, have effect subject to such adaptations and modifications as may be so specified;
(b)make, with respect to a limited period so specified such temporary provision as he thinks fit for ensuring that, while the transition is being effected and during the period immediately following it, there are available to all governments in India and Burma sufficient revenues to enable the business of those governments to be carried on; and
(c)make such other temporary provisions for the purpose of removing any such difficulties as aforesaid as may be specified in the Order.
(2)No Order in Council in relation to the transition from the provisions of Part XIII of this Act to the provisions of Part II of this Act shall be made under this section after the expiration of six months from the establishment of the Federation, and no other Order in Council shall be made under this section after the expiration of six months from the commencement of Part III of this Act.
(1)In this Act and, unless the context otherwise requires, in any other Act the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say :—
" British India " means all territories for the time being comprised within the Governors' Provinces and the Chief Commissioners' Provinces;
" India " means British India together with all territories of any Indian Ruler under the suzerainty of His Majesty, all territories under the suzerainty of such an Indian Ruler, the tribal areas, and any other territories which His Majesty in Council may, from time to time, after ascertaining the views of the Federal Government and the Federal Legislature, declare to be part of India;
" Burma " includes (subject to the exercise by His Majesty of any powers vested in him with respect to the alteration of the boundaries thereof) all territories which were immediately before the commencement of Part III of this Act comprised in India, being territories lying to the east of Bengal, the State of Manipur, Assam, and any tribal areas connected with Assam;
" British Burma " means so much of Burma as belongs to His Majesty;
" Tribal areas " means the areas along the frontiers of India or in Baluchistan which are not part of British India or of Burma or of any Indian State or of any foreign State;
" Indian State " includes any territory, whether described as a State, an Estate, a Jagir or otherwise, belonging to or under the suzerainty of a Ruler who is under the suzerainty of Has Majesty and not being part of British India;
" Ruler " in relation to a State means the Prince, Chief or other person recognised by His Majesty as the Ruler of the State.
(2)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—
" agricultural income " means agricultural income as defined for the purposes of the enactments relating to Indian income tax;
" borrow " includes the raising of money by the grant of annuities and " loan" shall be construed accordingly;
" chief justice " includes in relation to a High Court a chief judge or judicial commissioner, and " judge" includes an additional judicial commissioner;
" corporation tax " means any tax on so much of the income of companies as does not represent agricultural income, being a tax to which the enactments requiring or authorising companies to make deductions in respect of income tax from payments of interest or dividends, or from other payments representing a distribution of profits, have no application;
" corresponding Province " means in case of doubt such Province as may be determined by Has Majesty in Council to be the corresponding Province for the particular purpose in question;
" debt " includes any liability in respect of any obligation to repay capital sums by way of annuities and any liability under any guarantee, and " debt charges " shall be construed accordingly;
" existing Indian law " means any law, ordinance, order, byelaw, rule or regulation passed or made before the commencement of Part III of this Act by any legislature, authority or person in any territories for the time being comprised in British India, being a legislature, authority or person having power to make such a law, ordinance, order, byelaw, rule or regulation;
" goods " includes all materials, commodities, and articles;
" guarantee " includes any obligation undertaken before the commencement of Part III of this Act to make payments in the event of the profits of an undertaking falling short of a specified amount;
" High Court " does not, except where it is expressly so provided, include a High Court in a Federated State;
" Local Government " means any such Governor in Council, Governor acting with ministers, Lieutenant-Governor in Council, Lieutenant-Governor or Chief Commissioner as was at the relevant time a Local Government for the purposes of the Government of India Act or any Act repealed by that Act, but does not, save where the context otherwise requires, include any Local Government in Burma or Aden;
" pension " in relation to persons in or formerly in the service of the Crown in India, Burma or Aden, means a pension, whether contributory or not, of any kind whatsoever payable to or in respect of any such person, and includes retired pay so payable, a gratuity so payable and any sum or sums so payable by way of the return, with or without interest thereon or any other addition thereto, of subscriptions to a provident fund;
" pleader " includes advocate;
" Provincial Act " and " Provincial law " mean, subject to the provisions of this section, an Act passed or law made by a Provincial Legislature established under this Act;
" public notification " means a notification in the Gazette of India or, as the case may be, the official Gazette of a Province;
" securities " includes stock;
" taxation " includes the imposition of any tax or impost whether general or local or special, and " tax " shall be construed accordingly;
" railway " includes a tramway not wholly within a municipal area; " federal railway " does not include an Indian State railway but, save as aforesaid, includes any railway not being a minor railway;
" Indian State railway " means a railway owned by a State and either operated by the State, or operated on behalf of the State otherwise than in accordance with a contract made with the State by or on behalf of the Secretary of State in Council, the Federal Government, the Federal Railway Authority, or any company operating a federal railway;
" minor railway " means a railway which is wholly situate in one unit and does not form a continuous line, of communication with a federal railway, whether of the same gauge or not; and
" unit " means a Governor's Province, a Chief Commissioner's Province or a Federated State.
(3)No Indian State shall, for the purpose of any reference in this Act to Federated States, be deemed to have become a Federated State until the establishment of the Federation.
(4)In paragraph (3) of section eighteen of the [52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.] Interpretation Act, 1889 (which paragraph defines the expression "colony") for the words "exclusive of the British Islands and of British India" there shall be substituted the words " exclusive of the British Islands and of British India and of British Burma. "
(5)Any Act of Parliament containing references to India or any part thereof, to countries other than or situate outside India or other than or situate outside British India, to His Majesty's dominions, to a British possession, to the Secretary of State in Council, to the Governor-General in Council, to a Governor in Council or to Legislatures, courts, or authorities in, or to matters relating to the government or administration of, India or British India shall have effect subject to such adaptations and modifications as His Majesty in Council may direct, being adaptations and modifications which appear to His Majesty in Council to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the provisions of this Act or the Government of Burma Act, 1935.
Any power of any legislature under this Act to repeal or amend any Act adapted or modified by an Order in Council under this subsection shall extend to the repeal or amendment of that Order, and any reference in this Act to an Act of Parliament shall be construed as including a reference to any such Order.
(6)Any reference in this Act to Federal Acts or laws or Provincial Acts or laws, or to Acts or laws of the Federal or a Provincial Legislature, shall be construed as including a reference to an ordinance made by the Governor-General or a Governor-General's Act or, as the case may be, to an ordinance made by a Governor or a Governor's Act.
(7)References in this Act to the taking of an oath include references to the making of an affirmation.