Retrospective validating legislation cannot nullify prior civil decrees without changing the legal basis behind them.

The Court held that retrospective or validating legislation is permissible only if it changes the underlying legal basis of an earlier decision; it cannot merely declare prior civil court decrees ineffective while leaving the law unchanged. The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Haryana Amendment Act, 1981 was unconstitutional to the extent it sought to require revenue authorities to disregard earlier decrees and orders recognising that the disputed land was not shamlat deh. That provision amounted to an impermissible exercise of judicial power by legislative fiat, and the amendment was invalid in that respect.

---

---

Issues: Whether the provisions of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Haryana Amendment Act, 1981 could retrospectively nullify or ignore prior civil court decrees and orders determining that the disputed lands were not shamlat deh and therefore were unconstitutional.

Analysis: The principal Act governed village common lands and the later amendment sought to bar civil court jurisdiction, confer adjudicatory power on revenue authorities, and validate past actions with retrospective effect. A Legislature may enact retrospective or validating legislation and may remove the basis of an earlier judicial decision by changing the underlying law. It may not, however, simply declare existing judicial decrees or adjudications ineffective or non-binding while leaving the legal basis unchanged, because that would amount to an exercise of judicial power. The impugned amendment, insofar as it merely directed revenue to disregard prior civil court decrees and orders recognizing private rights, did not alter the foundation of those decisions but attempted to override them by legislative fiat.

Conclusion: The retrospective operation of the amendment, to the extent it sought to nullify or disregard earlier civil court adjudications, was unconstitutional and invalid. The appeals were dismissed.

---