doctrine of eclipse

Article 13(1) makes pre-Constitution laws void to the extent of inconsistency with Part III. The doctrine of eclipse holds that such a law is not wiped out: it remains valid for transactions before 26 January 1950 and against persons who are not citizens (where the right is available only to citizens), and is merely eclipsed by the fundamental right. If the Constitution is amended to remove the inconsistency, the law revives without re-enactment.

In Bhikaji Narain Dhakras a pre-Constitution law on motor transport, eclipsed by Article 19(1)(g), revived after the First Amendment widened Article 19(6). The Supreme Court has held that the doctrine does not apply in the same way to post-Constitution laws under Article 13(2), which are void from inception, though they may be enforced against non-citizens.

Example

The 1948 Act was only under an eclipse after 1950; once the First Amendment removed the conflict with Article 19(1)(g), the doctrine of eclipse revived it.

In Indian law

• Article 13(1), Constitution of India
• Bhikaji Narain Dhakras v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 1955 INSC 49

See also

doctrine of severability · doctrine of waiver · ex post facto

Read more in the study notes

• Article 13: pre- and post-constitutional laws, severability, eclipse and waiver (Constitutional Law I)
• Article 19: assembly, association, movement, residence and profession (Constitutional Law I)
• Constitutional interpretation (Constitutional Law II)
• Application of Hindu law: who is a Hindu (Family Law I - Hindu Law)
• Temporal dimensions of rights and legal relations (Legal Concepts)