Report No. 60

1.30. Effect of section 8 on Article 367.-

Will section 8 of the General Clauses Act, which provides that when an enactment is repealed and re-enacted, references to the old enactment will be construed as references to the, re-enacted one, make any difference? We do not think so. It should be noted that the words "unless the context otherwise requires" (in Article 367)1 mean that the General Clauses Act, section 8, is to be excluded. Even by its terms, section 8 of the General Clauses Act will not apply to the Constitution, because expression "enactment" (which occurs in section 8) would not take in the Constitution, which is not an "enactment". The Constitution is supreme and is, in fact, the foundation of all enactments.

1. Para. 1.27, supra.