DESAI, C.J.:-

(On Behalf of himself Shelat and Mody, JJ.):

This Special Full Bench has been constituted in order to consider the question relating to the binding nature of the judicial precedents of the Bombay High Court prior to 1st May, 1960, on this High Court. This very matter was considered by a Full Bench of three Judges of this Court including the then Chief Justice in the case of Anand Municipality v. Union of India, reported in (1960) 1 Guj LR 82 : (AIR 1960 Gujarat 40) (FB). Later on, a Division Bench of this Court consisting of Mr. Justice Raju and Mr. Justice Bakshi found it difficult to accept the view expressed by the Full Bench in the aforesaid case and made a request for referring the question to another Full Bench for a re-consideration of the matter. It was held by the Full Bench of this Court in the aforesaid case of (1960) 1 Guj LR 82 : (AIR 1960 Gujarat 40) (FB) that the judicial precedents of the Bombay High Court prior to the 1st of May, 1960, i.e., the day on which the State of Gujarat came into being, fell within the ambit of the words "the law in force immediately before the appointed day" in Sec.87 of the Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960, and were binding on this High Court. Section 87 of the aforesaid Act runs as follows:

"Territorial extent of laws. - The provisions of Part II shall not be deemed to have effected any change in the territories to which any law in force immediately before the appointed day extends or applies and territorial references in any such law to the State of Bombay shall, until otherwise provided by a competent Legislature or other competent authority, be construed as meaning the territories within that State immediately before the appointed day."

By the provisions of Part II of the aforesaid Act, the State of Gujarat was formed. Part II is made up of three sections. By section 3, it is provided that as from the appointed day, i.e., 1st of May, 1960, there would be formed a new State to be known as the State of Gujarat comprising some of the territories of the State of Bombay therein set out. It is provided that the said territories would cease to form part of the State of Bombay, and the residuary State of Bombay would be known as the State of Maharashtra. By sub-clause (2) of section 3, certain villages in the Umbergaon Taluka have been constituted into a separate taluka of the same name and included in the Surat District. By the said sub-clause (2) certain villages have been included in the talukas therein mentioned. By section 4, the First Schedule to the Constitution has been amended for the purpose of showing under the heading "The States" the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. By section 5, the power of the State Government to alter, after the appointed day, the name, extent or boundaries of any district, taluka or village in the State, has been preserved. Section 87 of the aforesaid Act therefore in effect provides that the formation of the separate State of Gujarat out of the territories forming part of the State of Bombay and the change in the territories of certain talukas and districts would not be deemed to have effected any change in the territories to which any law in force immediately before the appeared day extended or applied, and that the territorial reference in any such law to the State of Bombay would, until otherwise provided by a competent legislature or other competent authority, be construed as meaning the territories within the State of Bombay immediately before the appointed day. The drift of this section is indicated by the marginal note; it is to provide for the territorial extent of laws. This section has been enacted with a view to provide for the continued extension and application of the laws in force immediately before the appointed day in the territories to which they applied prior to the appointed day, so that they may continue to extend to and apply in the territories forming part of the new State of Gujarat and the State of Mahara