Case Name : State of Manipur & Ors vs Surjakumar Okram & Ors Case Reference: (2022) LiveLaw (SC) 113 : (2022) 1 SCR 1057 Case Number: CA Nos. 823-827/2022 Court: Supreme Court Bench: 03 Coram: L Nageswara Rao (Author), BR Gavai, BV Nagarathna Date: 01.02.2022
A statute made by competent legislature is valid till it is declared unconstitutional by a court of law. Once a statute is declared as unconstitutional by a court of law, it is non est for all purposes. Rights cannot be built up under it and contracts which depend upon it for their consideration are void. It constitutes a protection to no one who has acted under it and no one can be punished for having refused obedience to it before the decision was made. It is inoperative as though it had never been passed.
The effect of repealing a statute is to obliterate it completely from records of Parliament as if it had never been passed and must be considered as a law that never existed except for the purposes of actions which were commenced, prosecuted and concluded while it was an existing law.
An unconstitutional law whether due to lack of legislative competence or in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India is void ab initio.
Refer also: Kay vs Goodwin Norton vs Shelby County State of UP & Ors vs Hirendera Pal Singh & Ors Behram Khurshid Pesikaka vs State of Bombay Deep Chand vs State of UP & Ors
incomplete - on laws pertaining to appointment of CM/etc not included
See also: Constitution - Article 142 GCA - Section 6
PDF: