Statutory notice by publication requires proof of the chosen mode; Gazette publication alone cannot sustain presumed knowledge.

Where a statutory deeming of notice depended on publication in a manner chosen by the issuing authority, the prosecution had to prove that the authority selected that mode and that publication was made accordingly. Publication only in the Bombay Government Gazette, without evidence of the authority's decision on the manner of publication, was insufficient. Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 did not justify presuming that this essential act had been done. The burden remained on the prosecution, and the conviction based on presumed knowledge of the notification could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether, for a prosecution based on a notification issued under the Defence of India Rules, the prosecution had to prove the manner of publication chosen by the issuing authority before the accused could be deemed to have been duly informed, and whether conviction could rest on a presumption of notice from publication in the Gazette alone.

Analysis: Rule 119(2) required the issuing authority, in the case of an order of a general nature, to publish notice in such manner as, in its opinion, was best adapted for informing the persons concerned, and only then did the deeming consequence of due information arise. The record showed merely publication in the Bombay Government Gazette, without any evidence of the authority's decision as to the manner of publication. The Court held that Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 did not permit a presumption that an essential act, namely the choice of the mode of publication, had been done when there was no evidence of it. The burden remained on the prosecution to prove compliance with the rule, and it was not discharged.

Conclusion: The presumption of notice was not available, and the conviction based on supposed knowledge of the notification could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory deeming of notice depends on publication in a manner chosen by the issuing authority, the prosecution must prove that the authority that mode and that publication was made accordingly; absent such proof, no presumption of due information can arise.

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