Advocate shree in his reply to N.K.Assumi about golden rule of interpretation, has referred the following passage.
Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Maharaj Chintamani Saran Nath Shahdeo vs. State of Bihar AIR 1999 SC 3609 in para 22-23 observed as follows:
“22. In Garikapatti Veeraya vs. N.Subbiah Choudhury, 1957 SCR 4888: (AIR 1957 SC 540 ), the Chief Justice S.R. Das speaking for the Court observed as follows (at p.553 of AIR):
‘The golden rule of construction is that, in the absence of anything in the enactment to show that it is to have retrospective operation, it cannot be so construed as to have the effect of altering the law applicable to a claim in litigation at the time when the Act was passed.’Now my question is the amendment to section 6 of Hindu Succession Act is made applicable to pending appeal and second appeal and the cases are being decided based on the amended act.
Whether the "Act" as it was then when the dispute arose or when the suit was filed are not applied to these cases?
One can say that appeal is continuation of suit and hence any change in law is applicable.
Then the rules of retrospective legislation, in the light of above cited paragraph loses its meaning.
How is it to be interpreted then?
