Sankar Prasad Mitra, C.J. - (1.) This matter has been referred to the Special Division Bench under Rule 1 (ii) of Chapter II of the Appellate Side Rules of this Court by Sabyasachi Mukharji and M. M. Dutt, JJ. The principal contention before the Division Bench centred round the applicability of Section 58 read with Section 38 of the Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 to pending appeals. The Act received the assent of the President on December 18. 1976.
(2.) By reason of the provisions of Section 1 (2) of the Act, Sections 38 and 58 came into force on February 1, 1977. Section 58 contains special provisions as to pending petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution. It provides as follows: "58 (i) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, every petition under Article 226 of the Constitution before the appointed day and pending before any High Court immediately before that day (such petition being referred to in this section as a pending petition) and any interim order (whether by way of any injunction or stay or any other manner) made on, or in any proceedings relating to, such petition before that day shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Article 226 of the Constitution as substituted by Section 38. Sub-section (2): In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of Sub-section (1), every pending petition before a High Court which would not have been admitted by the High Court under the provisions of Article 226 as substituted by Section 38, if such petition had been made after the appointed day, shall abate and any interim order (whether by way of injunction or stay or in any other manner) made on, or in any proceedings relating to such petition shall stand vacated........" 2-A. The dispute before the Division Bench was whether the above provisions applied to appeals pending in this Court on the appointed day in respect of Article 226 of the Constitution.
(3.) Mr. Noni Coomar Chakraborty, learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the Union of India states that his instruc--tions are to submit to this Court that Section 58 has no application to appeals pending in the Court on the appointed day, We need not therefore decide the dispute that arose before the Division Bench, And we proceed on the basis of the above concession that appeals pending in this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution are not affected by the provisions of Section 58 read with Section 38 of the Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.;