The central legal point established is that the Chit Funds Act, 1982 does not apply to the Union Territory of Delhi, and therefore, the civil court had jurisdiction in the matter.

SANJIV KHANNA, J, J.

( 1 ) THE present revision petition under Section 115 of the Code of Civil procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as the Code, for short) is directed against order dated 16th August, 2005 dismissing application for review under section 114 and Order 47 Rule 1 of the aforesaid Code.

( 2 ) THE respondent herein had filed a suit under Order XXXVII of the Code for recovery of Rs. 2,16,000/- along with interest, costs etc. In the suit it was stated that the petitioner had issued four cheques for Rs. 40,000/-, rs. 45,000/-, Rs. 35,000/- and Rs. 30,000/- drawn on Bank of Baroda, Shakarpur, delhi and the said cheques were dishonoured on presentation. It was also stated that the petitioner was a member of different units/groups organised by the respondent and had received chit amount of Rs. 1,62,500/ -.

( 3 ) LEARNED Trial Court vide order dated 13th March, 2001 decreed the suit for rs. 1,50,000/- being the sum total of the four cheques along with the pendente lite and future interest @ 15% per annum with the costs. As per the decree sheet, the petitioner was liable to pay Rs. 2,16,000/- plus costs and future interest.

( 4 ) THEREAFTER, the petitioner filed an application under Order XXVII Rule 4 read with Section 141 of the Code for setting aside of the decree dated 13th march, 2001. The said application was dismissed by the learned Trial Court vide order dated 25th July, 2001.

( 5 ) SUBSEQUENTLY, as already stated above, the petitioner filed a review application which stands dismissed by the impugned order dated 16th August, 2005. It is against this review order dated 16th August, 2005 that the present revision petition has been filed. It was also contended that the civil court did not have jurisdiction and, therefore, the judgment and decree dated 13th march, 2001 (wrongly mentioned as judgment and decree dated 25th July, 2001 in the petition) was a nullity and was without jurisdiction.

( 6 ) LEARNED counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that chit funds were earlier governed by Madras Chit Funds Act, 1961 and thereafter Chit Funds Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the Act, for short) was passed by the parliament and notified by publication in the Gazette of India (extraordinary part-II Section 1 pages 1-34) on 20th August, 1982. It was further submitted that the Act on being gazetted/notified had/has become applicable to Delhi eclipsing the earlier enactment viz. Madras Chit Funds Act, 1961. It was submitted that after the gazette notification dated 20th Aug. , 1982, the Madras chit Funds Act, 1961 had/has ceased to applicable. Reliance was placed upon section 64 (1) and 3 of the Act and it was submitted that jurisdiction of the civil court was barred and, therefore, the judgment and decree dated 13th March, 2001 was a nullity. It was argued that the Union Territory of Delhi did not have any legislation of its own in 1982 and, therefore, Union Parliament alone was competent to legislate the Act and once the said Act was duly published in the official gazette, it automatically stood extended to the Union Territory of delhi and no separate notification extending the Act to Delhi was required.

( 7 ) SECTION 5 of the General Clauses Act, 1987 states that any Central enactment not expressed to come into operation on any particular date, shall come into operation on the date it receives assent of the President. Therefore, a central enactment comes into force or operation on the date it receives presidential assent. This general rule is, however, subject to a specific provision in the enactment to the contrary. The legislature can postpone commencement of an Act to a future date. It can delegate and empower the appropriate government to decide and fix a date on which the entire enactment or parts thereof shall come into force. The central government can also be permitted to fix different dates on which an enactment shall come into force in different parts of the country.

( 8 ) SECTION 1 (3) of the Act sta

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