The Supreme Court today issued notice in the plea filed by the Centre in a case relating to the retrospective applicability of the Black Money Act, 2016..The Vacation Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and MR Shah has sought a reply within six weeks from lawyer Gautam Khaitan, who is accused in a case under the Act. The Court has also stayed the Delhi High Court’s order staying the proceedings against Khaitan under the Act..The main issue in the matter pertains to the retrospective applicability of the Black Money Act..Khaitan had assailed several sections of the Act before the High Court and had also claimed that the government’s notification that declared the date of enforcement of the Black Money Act as July 1, 2015 was ultra vires the Act itself..The Division Bench of the High Court had, on May 16, stayed the proceedings against Khaitan under the Act, stating that he had made out a good prima facie case for grant of interim stay..Khaitan had submitted in the High Court that the amendment to Section 1(3) stating that the Act would come into force from July 1, 2015, instead of April 1, 2016, was done in exercise of power under Section 86 of the Act. Since Section 86 was yet to be in operation, the Centre could not have exercised power under it, he argued..Agreeing with the contention, the High Court had observed,.“Parliament in its wisdom enacted the said Act and expressly provided therein that save as otherwise provided in the said Act, it shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 2016. There is, therefore, no gainsaying the legal position that, the power to make Rules or remove difficulties under the provisions of Sections 85 and 86 of the said Act, could only be exercised by the Central Government, once the said Act came into force on the 1st April, 2016, the date expressly stipulated by Parliament in this behalf, and not prior thereto.”.It had thus held that the Centre could not, prior to the Act coming into force, alter the date on which the enactment came into force by exercising the powers under the Act. The Centre challenged this order before the Supreme Court..On January 26, Khaitan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate pursuant to an investigation under the Black Money Act. As per the prosecution, Khaitan had deposited nearly Rs. 6,000 crore in offshore accounts..Read the Order:.Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.
The Supreme Court today issued notice in the plea filed by the Centre in a case relating to the retrospective applicability of the Black Money Act, 2016..The Vacation Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and MR Shah has sought a reply within six weeks from lawyer Gautam Khaitan, who is accused in a case under the Act. The Court has also stayed the Delhi High Court’s order staying the proceedings against Khaitan under the Act..The main issue in the matter pertains to the retrospective applicability of the Black Money Act..Khaitan had assailed several sections of the Act before the High Court and had also claimed that the government’s notification that declared the date of enforcement of the Black Money Act as July 1, 2015 was ultra vires the Act itself..The Division Bench of the High Court had, on May 16, stayed the proceedings against Khaitan under the Act, stating that he had made out a good prima facie case for grant of interim stay..Khaitan had submitted in the High Court that the amendment to Section 1(3) stating that the Act would come into force from July 1, 2015, instead of April 1, 2016, was done in exercise of power under Section 86 of the Act. Since Section 86 was yet to be in operation, the Centre could not have exercised power under it, he argued..Agreeing with the contention, the High Court had observed,.“Parliament in its wisdom enacted the said Act and expressly provided therein that save as otherwise provided in the said Act, it shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 2016. There is, therefore, no gainsaying the legal position that, the power to make Rules or remove difficulties under the provisions of Sections 85 and 86 of the said Act, could only be exercised by the Central Government, once the said Act came into force on the 1st April, 2016, the date expressly stipulated by Parliament in this behalf, and not prior thereto.”.It had thus held that the Centre could not, prior to the Act coming into force, alter the date on which the enactment came into force by exercising the powers under the Act. The Centre challenged this order before the Supreme Court..On January 26, Khaitan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate pursuant to an investigation under the Black Money Act. As per the prosecution, Khaitan had deposited nearly Rs. 6,000 crore in offshore accounts..Read the Order:.Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.
