DRT Presiding Officers Serving As On Sept 1, 2016, Entitled To Complete Term Until They Attain Age Of 65, Holds SC [Read Judgment]

‘The rule is that when a subsequent Act amends an earlier one in such a way as to incorporate itself, or a part of itself, into the earlier, then the earlier Act must thereafter be read and construed as if the altered words had been written into the earlier Act with pen and ink and the old words scored out so that thereafter there is no need to refer to the amending Act at all.’ The. ‘The rule is that when a subsequent Act amends an earlier one in such a way as to incorporate itself, or a part of itself, into the earlier, then the earlier Act must thereafter be read and construed as if the altered words had been written into the earlier Act with pen and ink and the old words scored out so that thereafter there is no need to refer to the amending Act at all.’ The Supreme Court has held that Presiding Officers of Debt Recovery Tribunals, who were serving as on September 1, 2016 i.e., the date when the 2016 amendment of Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act became enforceable, are entitled to complete the term of five years taking advantage of the amended provision which allows them to continue until attaining the age of 65 years. The primary contention in Gottumukkala Venkata Krishamraju vs. Union of India was that since by the Amendment Act, new Section 6 stands ‘substituted’ with the old Section 6, the provision would be applicable also to those Presiding Officers who were holding the post as on September 1, 2016, when the amendment was brought into force. The rule is that when a subsequent Act amends an earlier one in such a way as to incorporate itself, or a part of itself, into the earlier, then the earlier Act must thereafter be read and construed as if the altered words had been written into the earlier Act with pen and ink and the old words scored out so that thereafter there is no need to refer to the amending Act at all.