Wanchoo, C.J.-The Maharaja Kishangarh Mills Ltd., Kishangarh, made application under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India. The application came up for hearing before a Division Bench of this Court, and, on the 5th of November, 1951, the following two points were referred to a larger Bench for decision: —

(1) Whether by virtue of Arts. 278, 279 and 295 of the Constitution of India and the agreement entered into between the President of India and the Raj Pramukh of Rajasthan on the 25th of February, 1950, the Union of India is entitled to levy and recover arrears of excise duty on cloth held in stock or manufactured before the 1st of April, 1950, in case, excise duty thereon was payable to the State of Rajasthan under the provisions of the Rajasthan Excise Duties Ordinance No. 25 of 1949.

(2) Whether the publication of the Government notification by which the Jaipur Excise Rules were adopted under the provisions of the Rajasthan Excise Ordinance was sufficient publication in the meaning of sec. 28 of the Rajasthan Excise Duties Ordinance No. 25 of 1949 and whether the publication of the aforesaid notification should be deemed to have been properly authenticated by authentication of the publication of the Ordinance. If not, whether want of authentication would have the effect of invalidating the said Excise Rules?

2. Certain facts may be narrated in order to decide the two points which have been referred to this Bench. The Maharaja Kishangarh Mills Ltd., Kishangarh, is manufacturing cotton cloth at Kishangarh in the State of Rajasthan. The Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, was extended to the State of Rajasthan by sec. 11 of the Finance Act No. XXV of 1950, from 1st April, 1950, and the necessary rules under that Act also came into force from the said date. The Superintendent of Central Excise, Jaipur Circle, Jaipur, served a notice of demand on the applicant for payment of excise duty on the 16th February, 1951, on cloth manufactured or in stock before the 1st April, 1950. The contention of the applicant was that the Union of India was not entitled to levy excise duty on cloth manufactured or in stock before 1st April, 1950. Therefore, the notice, that was given to the applicant to pay duty on such cloth, was illegal and unauthorised by any provision of law. The applicant therefore prayed for a proper direction, order, or writ under Art. 226 of the Constitution to be issued to the Union of India, and its officers prohibiting them from levying or collecting any duty or tax by way of excise duty on cloth manufactured by the applicant the Maharaja Kishangarh Mills Ltd., Kishangarh, before the 1st April, 1950.

3. The application was opposed by the opposite parties, and reliance was placed on Arts. 278 and 295 of the Constitution of India, and on the agreement entered into between the President of India and the Raj Pramukh of Rajasthan on the 25th of February, 1950, as authorising the Union of India to demand excise duty on cloth manufactured before the 1st of April, 1950. The two points which have been referred to the Bench for an answer have arisen in view of the reply of the opposite parties to the case put forward on behalf of the applicant.

4. We shall take the second point first. It appears that certain rules were published in the Hindi Rajasthan Gazette of the 12th November, 1949, under sec. 28 of the Rajasthan Excise Duties Ordinance No. XXV of 1949. By these rules the Jaipur Excise Rules with certain modifications were to be the rules under the Rajasthan Ordinance. The Hindi Gazette, however, in which these rules were published, does not contain any authentication of these rules, and does not show by whose authority they were published. We cannot accept the contention on behalf of the opposite parties that the authentication which appears before the Hindi version of the Act in the Gazette of the 12th of November, 1949, covers these rules also. That authentication is dated 15th September, 1949, and appears under the signature of

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