Dipak Misra, C.J.

1. Before we proceed to state the facts, we may profitably refer to a paragraph from the decision rendered in the case of R.S. Joshi, Sales Tax Officer, Gujarat and Ors. v. Ajit Mills Ltd. and Anr. (1977) 4 SCC 98, wherein Krishna Iyer, J., in his inimitable style expressed thus:

2. A prefactory caveat.- When examining a legislation from the angle of its vires, the Court has to be resilient, not rigid, forward-looking, not static, liberal, not verbal in interpreting the organic law of the nation. We must also remember the constitutional proposition enunciated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Munn v. Illinois viz, "that Courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies". Moreover, while trespasses will not be forgiven, a presumption of constitutionality must colour judicial construction. These factors, recognized our Court, are essential to the modus vivendi between the judicial and legislative branches of the State, both working beneath the canopy of the Constitution.

2. That apart, in the case of Charanjit Lal Chowdhary v. Union of India AIR 1951 SC 41, it has been held thus:

It is the accepted doctrine of American