TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2002 (1) TMI 32
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....and in the present application, the challenge to the applicability of the Act is on the following counts: (1) In order to apply the provisions of any Central Act to the State of Mizoram, there must be a notification to that effect by the President of India and in the absence of such notification, the said Central Act is not applicable to the local inhabitants of Mizoram. (2) In view of the provisions of the Income-tax Act exempting the people belonging to scheduled tribe category and living in the scheduled tribe area from payment of income-tax under the Income-tax Act, the provisions of the Wealth-tax Act cannot be made applicable to the petitioner who belongs to a scheduled tribe and residing in Mizoram. (3) The Act was enacted i....
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....xcluded area, unless the Governor by public notification so directs. Lushai Hills became a District council area under the Sixth Schedule and there is no dispute that the said Lushai Hills subsequently became a Union Territory and ultimately a full-fledged State under the Union of India. The question that arises for consideration is whether after the enactment of the Indian Constitution what is the requirement under the law for making a Central law applicable to the State of Mizoram. The submission of the writ petitioner may be summed up as follows: "It has been held in a catena of decisions that the District Council (Sixth Schedule areas) is a State within a State. If we refer to the Constituent Assembly's Sub-Committee's Report (....
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.... Sixth Schedule. Combined reading of the aforesaid provisions with article 371G of the Constitution will make the position very clear." At this stage we may refer to clause 12B of the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, which reads as follows: "12B. Application of Acts of Parliament and other Acts to autonomous districts and autonomous regions in the Union Territory of Mizoram.--Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, the President may with respect to any Act of Parliament and the Administrator may with respect to any other Act, by notification, direct that it shall not apply to an autonomous district or an autonomous region in the Union Territory of Mizoram or shall apply to such district or region or any part ther....
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.... it to be exercised.' And Lord Blackburn said: 'The enabling words are construed as compulsory where the object of the power is to effectuate a legal right." In the above referred decision, the apex court had the occasion to consider the meaning of the word "may" in the context of the requirement of consultation of one authority with another authority. In the present context, the President of India has been given the power to make notification directing that a particular provision of the Act shall not apply to a particular region or it will be applied subject to certain exceptions or modification. Hence, this is an enabling provision under the Act only and I find that no duty was cast for issuance of notification to apply the provisions ....
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....tate of Mizoram, any specific notification in the matter is required to be issued by the President of India unless the matter is covered under article 371G of the Constitution. Section 1(2) of the Act clearly states that it extends to the whole of India. As regards the applicability of the doctrine of Desuetude the apex court in the case of Municipal Corporation for City of Pune v. Bharat Forge Co. Ltd. [1995] 3 SCC 434, held that the above doctrine is applicable in India. The respondents, however, have challenged the submission of the petitioner that the provisions of the Wealth-tax Act were not applied or acted upon in the State of Mizoram. It is submitted that the said Act is in application in the said State. As regards the last su....