Under section 432, Criminal Procedure Code as amended by the Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure Amendment Act (Act XXIV of 1951), the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Madras, referred two questions of law to this Court:

(i) Whether the Fugitive Offenders Act, 1881, applies to India after 26th January, 1950, when India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic; and

(ii) Whether, even if it applied, it or any of its provisions, particularly Part II thereof, is repugnant to the Constitution of India and is therefore void and/or inoperative.

The events that led up to this reference were set out in full in the order of the learned Chief Presidency Magistrate, which was appended to his reference. Mr. C.G. Menon and his wife, Mrs. Vilasini Menon, are Indian nationals. Mr. Menon is a Barrister-at-law. He was practising as an advocate and solicitor in the colony of Singapore. Mrs. Menon, who was enrolled as an advocate of the Madras High Court, lived with her husband at Singapore, and until recently she was a member of the Legislative Council of Singapore. The Colonial Secretary of Singapore requested the assistance of the Government of India for the arrest and return to Singapore