JUDGMENT

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:—Both these appeals are by special leave and challenge is to the conviction and sentence of fine imposed under Section 24 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (III of 1956), (Act for short) by the learned Additional Sessions Judge and upheld by the Delhi High Court in appeal.

2. Commercial University Limited (CUL for short) was incorporated under the Companies Act. 1913 (VII of 1913) with objects, inter alia, to promote commercial education, encourage and impart commercial education by opening institutes, colleges and schools and provide, prescribe and maintain various standards of studies and examinations in the study of commercial subjects and to ascertain by means of examinations and/or otherwise the persons who acquire the prescribed standards and to confer on such persons any academic diplomas, degrees, etc. It has a Board of Governors and the Registrar of the University is one of the Ex-officio Governors. This institution claims to have expanded its activities and regular convocations have been held for awarding degrees and diplomas. The Act came into force in 1956 and for the first time provided restrictions under Sections 22 and 23 of the Act to the following effect:

"Section 22. The right to confer degrees:

(1) The right of conferring or granting degrees shall be exercised only by a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act or an institution deemed to be a University under Section 3 or an institution specially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees.

(2) Save as provided in sub-section (1) no person or authority shall confer, or grant, or hold himself or itself out as entitled to confer or grant, any degree.

(3) For the purpose of this section degree means any such degree as may with the previous approval of the Central Government, be specified in this behalf by the Commission by notification in the official gazette."

"Section 23. No institution, whether a corporate body or not other than a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act shall be entitled to have the word University associated with its name in any manner whatsoever:

Provided that nothing in this section shall, for a period of two years from the commencement of this Act, apply to an institution which, immediately before such commencement, had the word University associated with its name."

Penalties for contravening the provisions of Sections 22 and 23 were provided in Section 24 and whoever contravened those provisions became punishable with fine which would extend to rupees one thousand and if the person contravening was an association or other body of individuals, every member of such association or other body who knowingly or willingly authorised or permitted the contravention was punishable with fine which would also extend to one thousand rupees.

3. The appellants came to be prosecuted for the offence under Section 24 of the Act as CUL continued to bear the description of University even after the period indicated in the proviso to Section 23 of the Act was over.

4. Before coming into force of the Act, there was no legislation in India which prohibited any individual or body from establishing a university and such university was free to confer degrees and diplomas. Section 22 prohibited privately established universities from conferring degrees and restricted such conferment to universities established by Acts passed by State legislatures or Parliament or institutions which were deemed to be universities in the manner provided by the Act. Similarly, before the Act came into force there was no law which restricted the use of the word University and all institutions were free to associate this word with their names if they liked. Section 23, however, imposed the restriction in absolute term and the proviso allowed a period of two years within which adjustments to the new situation brought about by