CENTRAL PROVINCES LAWS ACT, 1875
This Act may be called the Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875:
Local extent.--
It extends to the territories now under the administration of the state Government of the Central Provinces;
Commencement.--
And it shall come into force on the passing thereof.
On and from the date on which this Act comes into force the following shall be repealed, that is to say-
(a) all Bengal Regulations except the Regulations or parts of Regulations hereinafter declared to be in force;
(b) all [Substituted by the A O.1950 for " Acts of the Central Legislature ".] [Central Acts] (except the Acts mentioned in the schedule hereto annexed) which do not expressly or by necessary implication extend to the said territories or any part thereof, and have not been extended thereto in exercise of a power conferred by a [Substituted, by the A O.1950 for " Act of the Central Legislature ".] [Central Act];
(c) all rules, regulations and enactments not being Statutes, Bengal Regulations, [Substituted by the A.O.1950 for "Acts of the Central Legislature".] [Central Acts], or rul
On and from the said date the enactments specified in the schedule hereto annexed shall be deemed to be in force throughout the said territories to the extent mentioned in the third column of the, said schedule.
But the powers and duties incident to the operation of the same enactments, so far as such powers and duties are referred to in the fourth column of the said schedule, shall be exercised and performed by the authorities mentioned in that column
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the operation of any enactment not mentioned in the said schedule.
Every [Substituted by the A.O.1950 for "Act of the Central Legislature"] [Central Act] which extends, or can by notification be extended, to the territories which were under the administration of the state Government at the time of the passing thereof.shall extend, or may by notification be extended, as the case may be to all the territories now under the administration of the said State Government.
[The provisions of this section have been repealed in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat ) Application Act 1937 (26 of 1937); see Section 6 of that Act.]
Legal Comments
Introduction - Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875 Section 6 and related provisions have historically guided application of English/other laws by justice, equity and good conscience where no local custom or statute expressly governs. [00100001189], [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ], [02700026801]
Section 4 (Deemed applicability) - Section 4 of the CP Laws Act contemplates that Central Acts extendable by notification to the CP territories become in force there; acts not mentioned remain unaffected.
Essential ingredients - (a) Absence of local custom/law governing inheritance or property matters; (b) Court duty to apply justice, equity and good conscience; (c) potential applicability of English law or other external law where no local rule exists. [02700026801], [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ], [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ]
Scope of Section 6 - Section 6 authorizes courts to apply principles of justice, equity and good conscience in absence of express rule; in practice, English law rules may be invoked if fitting to Indian context. See discussions in CP Laws Act interpretations. [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ], [Shanker Krishna Nirkhe VS Taxing Officer, District Treasury, Indore], [02700026801]
Punishment for Section - Not a penal provision; Section 6 governs substantive adjudication standards, not criminal punishment. No separate punishment specified. [02700026801]
Tribes/Scheduled Tribes context- Several decisions hold that Central Provinces/Hindu Succession Act interplay with Scheduled Tribes excluded from HAS Section 2(2) applicability; tribal/customary rules may govern succession unless proven Hinduised or abandoned custom. These authorities illustrate use of Section 6 to apply justice/good conscience. [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)], [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Ram Charan VS Sukhram]
Scope of Section 6 vis-à-vis inheritance - When tribal/customary law lacks clear rule, Section 6 empowers the court to decide by justice and equity, potentially awarding equal shares where discrimination or absence of custom is evident. See Part A references. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)]
Application to Scheduled Tribes cases - In Sawara/Scheduled Tribe contexts, the legislature’s protective constructs (Section 2(2) HAS) override HAS applicability to tribes; Section 6 can still inform partition where HAS not applicable. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Tirith Kumar VS Daduram]
Adverse possession and soil under CP Laws Act 1875 - English law approaches to fishery and soil ownership were applied under Section 6 where no local custom exists; adverse possession principles recognized to merge fishery rights with soil ownership. [NARAYAN S/O SHANKERRAO VS LAXMIBAI W/O DIWAKERPANT], [RADHAKISAN, LAXMINARAYAN VS STATE]
Adverse possession and partition - Courts have used Section 6 to align partition outcomes with justice when tribal/customary claims are not established; half-share allocations for daughters in partition were recognized where customary law did not support exclusion. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)]
Inter-provincial conflicts and Section 6 - When multiple provincial laws or external laws apply, Section 6 offers a basis to decide by equity, especially where direct applicable law is absent or inconsistent. See conflict-of-law discourses. [Bogisetti Akka Nagamma VS Panganama Krishna Rao], [R. Thiagarajan VS Superintendent of Police, Trichy District]
Retrospective/Adaptation context - Adaptation orders and retrospective application can affect how Section 6 is applied; courts examine whether laws extend to CP territory and whether such extension is intended to apply to pending disputes. [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ], [Shah Ramchand Govindji and Co. Amravati VS G. G. Nerkar, Sales tax Officer, Amravati], [GOKULDAS PAGARIA VS PARMANAND CHAURASIA]
Slant toward equity in partition suits - In tribal partition disputes, where custom is unproven, Section 6 supports equitable division (e.g., daughters’ entitlement) despite traditional male-preference norms in some customs. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)]
Precedents on “custom having force of law” - Courts have recognized that customs having force of law can guide inheritance, but where such customs are not proved, Section 6 provides fallback toward justice and equal treatment. [], [In Re: Murch VS . ]
Interaction with Hindu Succession Act - When Section 2(2) HAS excludes Scheduled Tribes, Section 6 can be used to decide on equality in partition where tribe status or Hindu law applicability is contested. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)]
Partitions involving tribal women - Courts have allowed equal shares to tribal women where customary law does not preclude female inheritance and where HAS is not applicable due to tribal status. Section 6 anchors the result to principle of equality and justice. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)]
Role of justice, equity and good conscience in CP context - The jurisprudence repeatedly emphasizes Section 6 as a vehicle to apply English-law-like principles where no local rule fits, reinforcing the mutual goal of fair outcomes across diverse communities. [02700026801], [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ], [02100023515]
Legislative saving provisions - Repeals and adaptation acts preserve Section 6’s relevance by allowing continuance of historical principles of justice while accommodating new statutory orders. [Ram Charan VS Sukhram], [FAQIR CHAND VS C. P. W. D. WORK CHARGED STAFF CONSUMERSCO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY]
Conclusion - Section 6 of Central Provinces Laws Act 1875 serves as a vital interpretive tool enabling courts to resolve disputes in a framework of justice, equity and good conscience when the local inheritance/customary law is unclear or absent, often shaping outcomes in partition, succession, and property disputes involving Scheduled Tribes and tribal/customary communities. [Daduram VS Bhuri Bai (Died & Deleted)], [NARAYAN S/O SHANKERRAO VS LAXMIBAI W/O DIWAKERPANT], [PHOOLCHAND DHARAMCHAND VS STATE. ]
In questions regarding inheritance, special property of females, betrothal, marriage, dower, adoption guardianship, minority, bastardy, family relations wills ,legacies, gifts, partitions or any religious usage or institution, the rule of decision shall be the Muhammadan law in cases where the parties are Muhammadans, and the in Hindu law in cases where the parties are Hindus, except in so far a such law has been by legislative enactment altered or abolished, or is opposed to the provisions of this Act:
Provided that when among any class or body of persons or among the members of any family any custom prevails which is inconsistent the law applicable between such persons under this section, and which, if not inconsistent with such law, would have been given effect to as legally binding, such custom shall, notwithstanding anything herein contained, be given effect to.
In cases not provided for by section 5, or by any other law for the time being in force, the Courts shall act according to justice equity and good conscience.
Implements of husbandry and cattle for agricuItural purposes and implements of trade are exam executed from attachment and sale in execution of decrees of the Civil Courts.
The said State Government may from time to time make rules consistent with this Act as to the following matters--
(a) the maintenance of watch and ward and the establishment of proper system of conservancy and sanitation at fairs and other large public assemblies;
(b) the imposition of taxes for the purposes mentioned in clause (a) of this section on persons holding or joining any of the assemblies therein referred to;
(c) the custody of judicial records, civil and criminal; {The words "and the destruction from time to time of such of the said records as it may be deemed unnecessary to keep" rep.by Act 3 of 1879.}
Clause (d) relating to the appointment, duties, punishment, suspension and dismissal of all ministerial officers was rep. by the A.O.19
The State Government may, in making any rule under this Act attach to the breach of it, in addition to any other consequences that would ensue from such breach a punishment, on conviction before a Magistrate, not exceeding one month's imprisonment, or two hundred rupees fine, or both.
1 (1) Publication of rules.Force of rules.-
All rules made under this Act shall [The words "when sanctioned by the G.G.in C".rep.by Act 38 of 1920, section 2 and Schedule I.} be published in the [Substituted by the A.O.1937 for "C.P.Gazette".] [Official Gazette] and shall thereupon have the force of law.
2 (2) Every rule made by the State Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the State Legislature
[Inserted by Act 2 of 1879, section 2.]
_______________________
1. Substituted vide The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 2004.
2. Inserted vide The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 2004.
Sections 184, 185 and 189 of the Code of Civil Procedure [See now the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), Schedule I, Order XVIII, rules 8, 9 and 13.] are hereby repealed.]
[Inserted by Act 2 of 1879, Section 2.]
For sections 182, 190 and 191 of the same Code701 the following shall be substituted (namely):--
Note of evidence to be taken.--
"182. A note of the essential points of the evidence of each witness shall be made at the time.and in the course of oral examination, by the Judge, in his own language, or English if he is sufficiently acquainted with- that language, and such notes shall be filed with, and form part of the record of the case.
Judge unable to make note to record reason of his inability.--
"190. If the Judge be prevented from making a note as above required, he shall record the reason of his inability to do so, and shall cause such note to be made in writing from his dictation in open Court, and shall sign the same, and such note shall form
SCHEDULE
(See section 3)
A ---BENGAL REGULATIONS {So much of Act 20 of 1875 as relates to the following Bengal Regulations was rep.by the Act noted against each:-
{Ben.Reg.1 of 1798 --- Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882).
Ben.Reg.10 of 1804 - Special Laws Repeal Act, 1922 (4 of 1922).
Ben.Reg.17 of 1806 - Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882).
Ben.Reg.20 of 1810 - Cantonments Act, 1889 (13 of 1889).
Ben.Reg.5 of 1817 --- Indian Treasure-trove Act, 1878 (6 of 1878).
Ben.Reg.20 of 1825 - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882 (10 of 1882).
&
ACTS OF THE GOVERNMENT GENERAL IN COUNCIL
Number and year of Act Subject Extent of operation
1 2 3
VIII of 1851.. Tolls on Roads and Bridges The whole Act, except section 1, and the schedule.
{The entry relating to Act 18 of 1853 (Sale of Spirits in Cantonments) was rep.by Act 12 of 1891.
XIII of 1857.. Opium...... Sections 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.
[The entry relating to the Minors Act, 1858 (40 of 1859), was rep.by Act 8 of 1890.]
XV of 1864. Tolls..... The whole Act.
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