Omission of a penal rule without a saving clause ends pending prosecution; repeal-saving provisions do not extend to omission.

Unconditional omission of Rule 56A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, without a saving clause, extinguished the legal basis for pending prosecutions founded on that rule. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 did not preserve the proceedings because it applies to repeal of an enactment, not omission of a rule. Section 38A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 also afforded no protection, as it covers amendment, repeal, supersession or rescission, but not omission. The pending prosecution therefore lacked a surviving foundation and could not continue after the rule was removed from the statute book.

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Issues: Whether the prosecution and pending complaint could continue after omission of Rule 56A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 without any saving clause, and whether Section 38A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 preserved the pending proceedings.

Analysis: Rule 56A conferred a special credit mechanism on manufacturers and operated in a field distinct from the charging provision under Section 3 of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The omission of Rule 56A by notification did not include any saving clause preserving pending prosecutions or liabilities. The legal effect of an unconditional omission, in the absence of a contrary intention, is to obliterate the provision from the statute book so that pending proceedings cannot continue on the strength of the omitted rule. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies to repeal of an enactment and does not save an omitted rule. Section 38A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 also did not assist the prosecution because it speaks of amendment, repeal, supersession or rescission, not omission. The prosecution therefore lacked a surviving legal foundation after the omission of Rule 56A.

Conclusion: The pending prosecution could not survive the omission of Rule 56A, and the discharge ought to have been granted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a rule creating the basis of prosecution is unconditionally omitted without a saving clause, pending proceedings under that rule lapse and cannot be continued by invoking a charging section or a saving provision that does not extend to omission.

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