Another View on Status of ILP System in Manipur

L Ibomcha Singh *

Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers (MRVT&MW) Bill 2015 which was passed by Manipur Legislative Assembly on March 16 2015

1. The administration of the State of Manipur was transferred to the Dominion of India with effect from 15-10-1949 by an agreement made between the Governor General of India and the Maharaja of Manipur on 21-09-1949. This agreement is commonly known as the Merger Agreement.

2. On merger with the Dominion of India, the Central Government issued the Manipur (Administration) Order, 1949 on 15-10-1949. By this Order of 1949, the Chief Commissioner appointed by the Central Government became the Head of the administration of the State. All laws in force before 15-10-1949 continued in force until repealed or amended accordingly, and all powers exercisable under the said laws by the Maharaja or the Government of the State were exercised by the Chief Commissioner. The Ministers in Manipur ceased to function and the Legislative stood dissolved.

3. And again, by virtue of section 3 of the Merged Stated (Laws) Act, 1949, the Acts, Ordinances and Regulations specified in the Schedule appended to the Act were extended to Manipur w.e.f. 01-1-1950. The section 5 of the Act repeated the laws in force immediately before the commencement of this Act on 01-01-1950. These legal provisions show that the "laws in force" on the day of on 15-10-1949 continued upto 31-12-1949.

4. It may be pertinent to make it clear that Manipur enjoyed and exercised a system known as "the Permit System", as approved by the Government of India, till its abolition on 18-11-1950 by the then Chief Commissioner, Manipur. On abolition of the said "Permit System", the entry into or exit from the State is without any restrictions. The extension of the permit system in Manipur State as proposed by the Chief Minister of Manipur, Imphal has been approved by the Governor of Assam vide letter No. 120/47/C-26-27 dated 17-01-1948. The Council Resolution No. 4 of 04-02-1948 concerning the extension of Permit System in Manipur has been approved by His Highness under M.No. 2578 P.1-1 dated 20-02-1948 and notified as Govt. of Manipur Order by His Highness Part II dated 26-02-1948.

5. It may have pontifical flavour to mention here is that such "Permit System in Manipur" as mentioned above is an instrument covered by the definition "INDIAN LAW" envisaged in Section 3(29) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 which is reproduced as below:-

6. Section 3(29): "INDIAN LAW" shall mean any Act, Ordinance, regulation, rule, order, bye-law or other instrument, which before the commencement of the Constitution, had the force of law in any province of India or part thereof or thereafter has the force of law in any Part A State of Part C State or part thereof, but does not include any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or any order in council, rule or other instrument made therunder such Act.

The instrument of the Permit System has the force of law in Manipur after the commencement of the Constitution as the same has been abolished by the Chief Commissioner of Manipur on 18-11-1950.

7. The instrument "Permit System in Manipur", being the existing law is saved by the provision of Article 366(10) which is reproduced as below:
Article 366(10) - "Existing law" means any law, ordinance, order, bye-law, rule or regulation passed or made before the commencement of this Constitution by any legislative, authority or person having power to make such a law, ordinance, order, bye-law, rule of regulation.

The Instrument, "Permit System in Manipur" is an existing law of Indian law and as such cannot be abolished by an executive order of the Chief Commissioner of Manipur on 188-11-1950 after the commencement of the Constitution Article 19(5) read with Article 372 of the Constitution expressly provides for continuance in force of existing laws, unless the said law is altered or repealed or amended by a competent legislature or other competent authority.

8. Power to make a law with respect to the topics committed to Parliament or State Legislature carries with it a power to repeal a law or those topics, subject to any constitutional restriction the general rule is that "the power of a legislative body to repeal a law is co-extensive with its power to enact such a law", and legislature which has no power to repeal the same. Hence, the order of the Chief Commissioner of Manipur dated 20-11-1950 is not only illegal but also ab initio and ipso jure void and non-est.

However, the non-availability of some relevant documents in this regard, and to settle the controversy, consultation with eminent Constitutional experts may be considered by the State Government.

9. It may be pertinent to point out that Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were not the states under Schedule I of the Constitution but the parts of the State of Assam. But Manipur became a merged State w.e.f. 15-10-1949. This may be reasons for continuation of the "Inner Line Permit" in Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh even after the commencement of the Constitution of India [by virtue of Article 19(5)].

10. It may also be recalled that on the first day of the meeting of All Political Parties held on 06-08-2014 on the issue of implementation of ILP at the CM's Secretariat, I apprised the Committee of the legislative competency of the State Legislature to enact a new law under the article 19(5) read with article 35 to impose the restriction on the entry into or exit from the State of Manipur in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interest of the Scheduled Tribes but without penal provisions.

(The write-up is the opinion of the writer on his individual capacity as a Member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly in connection with the legal issue on ILP in Manipur. The representation was submitted to the Deputy Chief Minister and Chairman of the Sub-Committee on ILP of the All Political Party's Committee on Inner Line Permit System on September 15, 2014. The writer's opinion was appended as a part of the Report of the All Political Party's Committee on Inner Line Permit System, which was submitted to the State Government. However, the opinion was not considered by the All Political Party's Committee on Inner Line Permit System and the State Government.)