Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and Assam Laws Act, 1912 [Repealed]
6[Repealed by Act 4 of 2018, S. 3 and Sch. II]
Whereas a Governor and an Executive Council have been appointed for the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal;
And Whereas, by Proclamation2 published under Notification No. 290, dated the twenty-second day of March, 1912, the Governor-General in Council, with the sanction of His Majesty, has been pleased to declare and appoint that, on and from the first day of April, 1912, the territory mentioned in Schedule A shall be and continue subject to the said Presidency of Fort William in Bengal;
And Whereas, by Proclamation3 published under Notification No. 289, dated the twenty-second day of March, 1912, the Governor-General, with the sanction of His Majesty, has been pleased to constitute the territory mentioned in Schedule B to be, for the purposes of the Indian Councils Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict., c. 67),4 a Province to which the provisions of that Act touching the making of Laws and Regulations for the peace and good government of the Presidencies of Fort St. George and Bombay shall be applicable, and to direct that the said Province shall be called the Province of Bihar and Orissa, and further to appoint a Lieutenant-Governor of that Province;
And Whereas, by Proclamation5 published under Notification. No. 291, dated the twenty-second day of March, 1912, the Governor-General in Council, with the sanction and approbation of the Secretary of State for India, has been pleased to take under his immediate authority and management the territory mentioned in Schedule C, which was formerly included within the Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, and to form the same into a Chief Commissionership, to be called the Chief Commissionership of Assam, and further to appoint a Chief Commissioner therefor;
And Whereas it is expedient to make certain provisions regarding the application of the law in force in the territories affected by the said Proclamations;
It is hereby enacted as follows:
Section 1. Short title and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and Assam Laws Act, 1912; and
(2) It shall come into force on the first day of April, 1912.
Section 2. Saving of territorial application of enactments
The Proclamations referred to in the preamble shall not be deemed to have effected any change in the territorial application of any enactment, notwithstanding that such enactment may be expressed to apply or extend to the territories for the time being under a particular administration.
Section 3. Construction of certain references in enactments in force in territory mentioned in Schedules A, B and C
All enactments made by any authority in 7[India], and all notifications, orders, schemes, rules, forms and by-laws issued, made or prescribed under such enactments, which, immediately before the commencement of this Act, were in force in, or prescribed for, any of the territory mentioned in Schedule A, Schedule B or Schedule C, shall, in their application to that territory, be construed as if references therein to the authorities, territory or Gazettes mentioned in column 1 of Schedule D were references to the authorities, territory or Gazettes respectively mentioned or referred to opposite thereto in column 2 of that Schedule.
8[[* * *]]
Section 4. Constitution of Board of Revenue in Bihar and Orissa
[Repealed by the Bihar and Orissa Board of Revenue Act, 1913 (B. and O. Act 1 of 1913), Section 7 and Schedule I.]
Section 5. Powers of Courts and State Governments for facilitating application of enactments
For the purpose of facilitating the application to the territory, or any part thereof, mentioned in Schedule A, Schedule B or Schedule C of any enactment passed before the commencement of this Act, or of any notification, order, scheme, rule, form or by-law made under any such enactment,
(a) any Court may, subject to the other provisions of this Act, construe the enactment, notification, order, scheme, rule, form or by-law with such alterations, not affecting the substance, as may be necessary or proper to adapt it to the matter before the Court; and
(b) the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct by what officer any authority or power shall be exercisable; and any such notification shall have effect as if enacted in this Act.
Section 6. Pending proceedings
Nothing in this Act shall affect any proceeding which, at the commencement thereof, is pending in or in respect of any of the territory mentioned in Schedule A, Schedule B or Schedule C; and every such proceeding shall be continued as if this Act had not been passed.
Section 7. Amendment of Acts
[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Schedule.]
Section 8. Repeal
[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Schedule.]
Section 9. Application to adaptations and modification made under Article 372 of the Constitution
9[References in this Act, by whatever form of words, to Indian laws in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, after the commencement of 10[the Constitution], be construed as references to those laws as adapted and modified under 11[Article 372 12[or 372-A] of the Constitution].]
Schedule A
(See Sections 3, 5 and 6)
The Presidency of Fort William in Bengal
The Chittagong Division, comprising the districts of Chittagong, the Chittagong Hill-tracts, Noakhali and Tippera;
the Dacca Division, comprising the districts of Bakarganj, Dacca, Faridpur and Mymensingh;
the Rajshahi Division, comprising the districts of Bogra, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Pabna, Rajshahi and Rangpur.
The Burdwan Division, comprising the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, Burdwan, Hooghly, Howrah and Midnapur;
the Presidency Division, comprising the town of Calcutta and the districts of Jessore, Khulna, Murshidabad, Nadia and the 24-Parganas; and
the district of Darjeeling.
Schedule B
The State of Bihar and Orissa
The districts of Bhagalpur, Monghyr, Purnea and the Sonthal Parganas, in the Bhagalpur Division;
the Patna Division, comprising the districts of Gaya, Patna and Shahabad;
the Tirhut Division, comprising the districts of Champaran, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Saran;
the Chota Nagpur Division, comprising the districts of Hazaribagh, Manbhum, Palamau, Ranchi and Singbhum; and
the Orissa Division, comprising the districts of Angul, Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Sambalpur.13
Schedule C
The State of Assam
The Assam Valley Districts Division, comprising the districts of Darrang, Garo Hills, Goalpara, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Nowgong and Sibsagar; and
the Surma Valley and Hill Districts Division, comprising the districts of Cachar, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Lushai Hills, Naga Hills and Sylhet.
Schedule D
(See Section 3)
Part I. Construction of enactments, etc., in force in the territory mentioned in Schedule A (the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal)
| References |
Constructions |
|||
| 1 |
2 |
|||
| 1. |
The 14[Local or State Government] of Bengal. |
The 15[State Government] of |
||
| 2. |
The 16[Local or State Government] of Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
17[[* * *]] Bengal. |
||
| 3. |
The Board of Revenue for Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
The Board of Revenue for Bengal. |
||
| 18[[* * *]] |
||||
| 6. |
All officers and official bodies not mentioned in the foregoing clauses 2 to 5 (except the Treasurer of Charitable Endowments) whose authority extended, immediately before the commencement |
(a) |
The respective officers and official bodies who immediately before the commencement of this Act exercised similar functions in the State of Bengal; or |
|
| of this Act, over the Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam generally, inclusive of the territory mentioned in Part I of Schedule A. |
(b) |
such other officers or official bodies, respectively, as the 19[State Government] of 20[[* * *]] Bengal may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct. |
||
| 7. |
The local Official Gazette (English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
The Official Gazette (English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Government of Bengal. |
||
Part II. Construction of enactments, etc., in the territory mentioned in Schedule B (the State of Bihar and Orissa.)
| References |
Constructions |
||
| 1 |
2 |
||
| 8. |
The 21[Local or State Government] of Bengal. |
||
| 9. |
The 22[Local or State Government] of the Central Provinces. |
The State Government of Bihar and Orissa. |
|
| 10. |
The Board of Revenue for Bengal. |
||
| 23[[* * *]] |
The Board of Revenue for Bihar and Orissa. |
||
| 13. |
The Court of Wards of the Central Provinces. |
||
| 14. |
The Superintendent of Government Wards in the Central Provinces. |
||
| 15. |
The Judicial Commissioner of the Central Provinces. |
The High Court of Judicature 24[in Calcutta]. |
|
| 16. |
All officers and official bodies not mentioned in the foregoing clauses 8 to 15 (except the Treasurer of Charitable Endowments) whose authority extended, immediately before the commencement of this Act, over the Province of Bengal generally, inclusive of the territory mentioned in Schedule B. |
Such officers or official bodies, respectively, as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct. |
|
| 17. |
The local Official Gazette (English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Government of Bengal or the Chief Commissionership of the Central Provinces. |
The Official Gazette English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Government of Bihar and Orissa. |
|
Part III. Construction of enactments, etc., in force in the territory mentioned in Schedule C (the State of Assam)
| References |
Constructions |
||
| 1 |
2 |
||
| 18. |
The 25[Local or State Government] of Bengal. |
||
| 19. |
The 26[Local or State Government] of Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
||
| 20. |
The Board of Revenue for Bengal. |
The 27[State Government] of Assam. |
|
| 21. |
The Board of Revenue for Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
||
| 28[[* * *]] |
|||
| 24. |
All officers and official bodies not mentioned in the foregoing clauses 18 to 23 (except the Treasurer of Charitable Endowments) whose authority extended, immediately before the commencement of this Act, over the Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam generally, inclusive of the territory mentioned in Schedule C. |
Such officers or official bodies, respectively as the 29[State Government] of Assam may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct. |
|
| 25. |
The Chief Commissionership of Assam. |
The territory mentioned in Schedule C. |
|
| 26. |
The local Official Gazette (English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Government of Bengal or the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam. |
The Official Gazette (English or Vernacular, as the case may be) of the Chief Commissionership of Assam. |
|
Schedule E
[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Schedule.]
1. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the territories specified in the Schedule to the Malkharoda and Gaontia Villages Laws Act, 1923 (22 of 1923), shall not be deemed to be included within the Province of Bihar and Orissa, see Section 2 of the latter Act.
2. See the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, of 22-3-1912.
3. See the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, of 22-3-1912.
4. Repealed and re-enacted by the Government of India Act, 1915.
5. See the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, of 22-3-1912.
6. Repealed by Act 4 of 2018, S. 3 and Sch. II, dated 8-1-2018.
7. Substituted by the A.O. 1950 for the States .
8. The proviso to Section 3 repealed by Act 38 of 1920, Section 2 and Schedule I.
9. Inserted by the A.O. 1937.
10. Substituted by the A.O. 1950 for Part III of the Government of India Act, 1935 .
11. Substituted by the A.O. 1950, for Section 293 of that Act .
12. Inserted by 2 A.L.O. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956).
13. As regards the district of Sambalpur, see the Malkharoda and Gaontia Villages Laws Act, 1923 (22 of 1923).
14. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for L.G. .
15. Substituted by the A.O. 1937, for G. in C. .
16. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for L.G. .
17. The words Fort William in repealed by the A.O. 1937.
18. Items 4, 5, 11 and 12 relating to the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority and Chief Revenue-authority, repealed by the A.O. 1937. See now definition in the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), Section 3(10).
19. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for G. in C. .
20. The words Fort William in repealed by the A.O. 1937.
21. Substituted by the A.O. 1937, for L.G. .
22. Substituted by the A.O. 1937, for L.G. .
23. Items 4, 5, 11 and 12 relating to the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority and Chief Revenue-authority, repealed by the A.O. 1937. See now definition in the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), Section 3(10).
24. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for at Fort William in Bengal .
25. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for L.G. .
26. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for L.G. .
27. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for Chief Commissioner .
28. Items 22 and 23 relating to the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority and Chief Revenue-authority repealed by the A.O. 1937. See now definition in the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), Section 3(10).
29. Substituted by the A.O. 1937 for Chief Commissioner .