Report No. 29

81. Special character of the enactments.-The features enumerated above1 amply show, that the enactments in question are of a special character, and stand apart from the general criminal law of the country embodied in the Indian Penal Code.

1. Paras. 48 to 80, supra.

82. Possibility of new offences in future.-While taking a decision about transferring the provisions of special enactments to the Indian Penal Code, we should bear in mind a practical aspect, namely, that with the passage of time, new and fresh offences under the head "anti-social offences" will come into existence, and those new offences may, in the light of practical needs, necessitate their own special rules of evidence and procedure, as well as special provisions as to maximum and minimum punishment. The manifestations of human ingenuity cannot be predicted, and special provisions may become necessary to tackle them. On the other hand, it may be that several of the offences dealt with in the special enactments now in force may, in course of time, become obsolete or lose their importance. In view of these considerations, it would be more practicable to keep provisions relating to such offences in special enactments, as they are at present.

In this connection, we may also point out, that besides the offences listed by the Santhanam Committee1, there are several other offences which could be regarded of an anti-social character, and that these are all dealt with in special laws2.

1. Para. 2, supra.

2. See Appendix 10.

83. Likelihood of new devices coming into existence.-We would also point out, that with the passage of time, new and fresh devices to evade the existing taxation or economic laws might come into being, and the more convenient course would, therefore, be to deal with them in the relevant special enactments rather than in the Indian Penal Code.

84. As has been stated1, "The race between the evaders of the law and the authorities who enforce the law may, in some fields (like techniques and methods), be one continuous process, in which each tries to get the better of the other. In such circumstances, the Legislature and the Government may try to equip the enforcers of the law at any time with powers required at that time, considering the prevailing circumstances, the nature and extent of activities of "evaders and extent of power requisite for the officers enforcing the law, includingrules and notifications to deal with the evaders."

1. Shreeram Durgaprasad (Private) Ltd. v. D.C. Customs Department, AIR 1965 AP 294 (302), para. 33 (per Anantanarayana Ayyar J.) (August).