(c) General.

80A. (1) The local legislature of any province has power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to make laws for the peace and good government of the territories for the time being constituting that province.

(2) The local legislature of any province may, subject to the provisions of the sub-section next following, repeal or alter as to that province any law made either before or after the commencement of this Act by any authority in British India other than that local legislature.

(3) The local legislature of any province may not, without the previous sanction of the Governor-General, make or take into consideration any law

(a) imposing or authorising the imposition of any new tax unless the tax is a tax scheduled as exempted from this provision by rules made under this Act; or

(b) affecting the public debt of India, or the customs duties, or any other tax or duty for the time being in force and imposed by the authority of the Governor-General in Council for the general purposes of the government of India, provided that the imposition or alteration of a tax scheduled as aforesaid shall not be deemed to affect any such tax or duty; or

(c) affecting the discipline or maintenance of any part of His Majesty's naval, military, or air forces; or

(d) affecting the relations of the government with foreign princes or states; or

(e) regulating any central subject; or

(f) regulating any provincial subject which has been declared by rules under this Act to be, either in whole or in part, subject to legislation by the Indian legislature, in respect of any matter to which such declaration applies; or

(g) affecting any power expressly reserved to the Governor-General in Council by any law for the time being in force; or

(h) altering or repealing the provisions of any law which, having been made before the commencement of the Government of India Act, 1919, by any authority in British India other than that local legislature, is declared by rules under this Act to be a law which cannot be repealed or altered by the local legislature without previous sanction; or

(i) altering or repealing any provision of an Act of the Indian legislature made after the commencement of the Government of India Act, 1919, which by the provisions of such first-mentioned Act may not be repealed or altered by the local legislature without previous sanction:

Provided that an Act or a provision of an Act made by a local legislature, and subsequently assented to by the Governor-General in pursuance of this Act, shall not be deemed invalid by reason only of its requiring the previous sanction of the Governor-General under this Act.

(4) The local legislature of any province has not power to make any law affecting any Act of Parliament.

80B. An official shall not be qualified for election as a member of a local legislative council, and if any non-official member of a local legislative council, whether elected or nominated, accepts any office in the service of the Crown in India, his seat on the council shall become vacant:

Provided that for the purposes of this provision a minister shall not be deemed to be an official and a person shall not be deemed to accept office on appointment as a minister.

SOC. It shall not be lawful for any member of any local legislative council to introduce, without the previous sanction of the governor, lieutenantgovernor or chief commissioner, any measure affecting the public revenues of a province, or imposing any charge on those revenues.

81 (1) When a Bill has been passed by a local legislative council,. the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner, may declare that he assents to or withholds his assent from the Bill.

(2) If the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner withholds his assent from any such Bill, the Bill shall not become an Act.

(3) If the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner assents to any such Bill, he shall forthwith send an authentic copy of the Act to the Governor-General, and the Act shall not have validity until the GovernorGeneral has assented thereto and that assent has been signified by the GovernorGeneral to, and published by the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner.

(4) Where the Governor-General withholds his assent from any such Act, he shall signify to the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner in writing his reason for so withholding his assent.

81A (1) Where a Bill has been passed by a local legislative council, the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner may, instead of declaring

that he assents to or withholds his assent from the Bill, return the Bill to the council for reconsideration, either in whole or in part, together with any amendments which he may recommend, or, in cases prescribed by rules under this Act, may, and if the rules so require, shall, reserve the Bill for the consideration of the Governor-General.

(2) Where a Bill is reserved for the consideration of the Governor-General, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) The governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner may, at any time within six months from the date of the reservation of the Bill, with the consent of the Governor-General, return the Bill for further consideration by the council with a recommendation that the council shall consider amendments thereto :

(b) After any Bill so returned has been further considered by the council, together with any recommendations made by the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner relating thereto, the Bill, if re-affirmed with or without amendment, may be again presented to the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner:

(c) Any Bill reserved for the consideration of the Governor-General shall, if assented to by the Governor-General within a period of six months from the date of such reservation, become law on due publication of such assent, in the same way as a Bill assented to by the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner, but if not assented to by the Governor-General within such period of six months, shall lapse and be of no effect unless before the expiration of that period either

(i) the Bill has been returned by the governor, lieutenantgovernor or chief commissioner for further consideration by the council; or

(ii) in the case of the council not being in session, a notification has been published of an intention so to return the Bill at the commencement of the next session.

(3) The Governor-General may (except where the Bill has been reserved for his consideration), instead of assenting to or withholding his assent from any Act passed by a local legislature, declare that he reserves the Act for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon, and in such case the Act shall not have validity until His Majesty in Council has signified his assent and his assent has been notified by the Governor-General.

82. (1) When an Act has been assented to by the Governor-General, he shall send to the Secretary of State an authentic copy thereof, and it shall be lawful for His Majesty in Council to signify his disallowance of the Act.

(2) Where the disallowance of an Act has been so signified, the governor, lieutenant-governor or chief commissioner shall forthwith notify the disallowance, and thereupon the Act, as from the date of the notification, shall become void accordingly.

83. [Rules for conduct of legislative business. -Omitted.

Validity of Indian Laws.

84. (1) A law made by any authority in British India shall not be deemed invalid solely on account of any one or more of the following reasons :-

(a) in the case of an Act of the Indian legislature or a local legislature, because it affects the prerogative of the Crown; or

(b) in the case of any law, because the requisite proportion of nonofficial members was not complete at the date of its introduction into the council or its enactment; or

(c) in the case of an Act of a local legislature, because it confers on magistrates, being justices of the peace, the same jurisdiction over European British subjects as that legislature, by Acts duly made, could lawfully confer on magistrates in the exercise of authority over other British subjects in the like cases.

A law made by any authority in British India and repugnant to any provision of this or any other Act of Parliament shall, to the extent of that repugnancy, but not otherwise, be void.

(2) Nothing in the Government of India Act, 1919, or this Act, or in any rule made thereunder, shall be construed as diminishing in any respect the powers of the Indian legislature as laid down in section sixty five of this Act, and the validity of any Act of the Indian legislature or any local legislature shall not be open to question in any legal proceedings on the ground that the Act affects a provincial subject, or a central subject, as the case may be, and the validity of any Act made by the governor of a province shall not be so open to question on the ground that it does not relate to a reserved subject.

PART VI A.

Statutory Commission.

84A (1) At the expiration of ten years after the passing of the Govern ment of India Act, 1919, the Secretary of State with the concurrence of both Houses of Parliament shall submit for the approval of His Majesty the names of persons to act as a commission for the purposes of this section.

(2) The persons whose names are so submitted, if approved by His Majesty, shall be a commission for the purpose of inquiring into the working of the system of government, the growth of education, and the development of representative institutions, in British India, and matters connected therewith, and the commission shall report as to whether and to what extent it is desirable to establish the principle of responsible government, or to extend, modify, or restrict the degree of responsible government, then existing therein, including the question whether the establishment of second chambers of the local legislatures is or is not desirable.

(3) The Commission shall also inquire into and report on any other matter affecting British India and the provinces, which may be referred to the commission by His Majesty.

COMMENTS.

Ss. 63-84 (both inclusive).

Below is given a general description and criticism of the constitution and powers of the Indian Legislatures, both Imperial and Provincial. Here we append some remarks on the extent of the law-making powers of the Indian Leislative Councils.

The law-making powers of the Indian legislatures, as laid down in s. 65 of the present Act, (and s. 79 for the local councils) are not exhaustive. Under various Acts of Parliament the Indian councils, like other British legislatures with limited powers, have power to make laws on specified subjects with