MIRPURKHAS SUGAR MILLS LIMITED vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice Occupie

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MIRPURKHAS SUGAR MILLS LIMITED VS FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice Occupied filed and repugnancy, doctrines of---Distinguished---Doctrine of occupied field relates to those legislative entries of Province which are expressly made subject to a corresponding entry in the concurrent list---Such doctrine is merely concerned with legislative power and starts off when Federal Legislature legislates and frames the law on a subject and occupies the field and no room or space is left for Provincial Legislator to enter the field---Even when the field is not occupied by a Federal law and Provincial Legislature first legislates in respect of a field hitherto unoccupied, and then Federal Legislature makes a law on the very subject---Such law being passed by dominant legislature pushes aside the Provincial law to the extent it is in conflict with it---In such a situation, however, doctrine of repugnancy and not the doctrine of occupied field comes into play---Very thin line of difference exists between doctrine of repugnancy and doctrine of occupied field, where occupied field ends, repugnancy starts---Repugnancy arises when there is an actual conflict between two legislations, one enacted by a Provincial Legislature and the other by Parliament, and both are competent to do so---Doctrine of occupied field has nothing to do with conflict of laws between Province and Center; it is concerned only with existence of legislative power, while repugnance is with exercise of legislative power that is shown to exist---Normally, when there is a conflict, Courts try to construe Federal law and Provincial law on the same subject harmoniously---When Parliament tries to occupy the field, being the supreme law-making body in Constitutional scheme, it prevails over Provincial law regardless of whether it precedes or succeeds Federal law---Such rule of propriety and supremacy regarding Federal law is aptly encoded in Art. 143 of the Constitution---Court to trump a Provincial statute at the anvil of doctrine of occupied field has to see that both the Provincial and Federal legislature are competent to legislate on the subject; provincial statute in pith and substance is compatible or in pari materia with Federal statute; Provincial law is subsequent to the Federal law etc.

MIRPURKHAS SUGAR MILLS LIMITED vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice Occupied filed and repugnancy, doctrines of — 2022 CLD 352 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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