Serajul islam's public demands recovery acts c.2

A milestone in the annals of legislation, the Public Demands Recovery Act came into force in united Bengal more than 75 years back and provided the model for the Bihar and Orissa Act of 1914, close on the heels of its enactment in 1913. It extended to the Province of Assam and still continues to apply there and in other parts of the north-eastern region including Tripura. That is not all. When Independence saw the country divided and bore the fruit of a truncated Bengal, it applied to the eastern part of the erstwhile Province then called East Pakistan and years later as till now applies to that land coming subsequently to be known as Bangladesh. So it is hardly necessary to overemphasise the importance of such a law covering such a far-flung region and also, alongside, that of a work like Serajul Islam's commentary providing clear insight into that law and ruling supreme as ever since the year 1930.

Viewed against the reality of the legislation bearing on such a widely spread out region, the concerned States as well as Bangladesh have been regarded for a thorough and equitable treatment of the subject in tune with the changes everywhere, thus rendering the work useful for all concerned. As for Bangladesh, the law operating there was entrusted to a highly competent Editor whose firsthand and thorough knowledge deals with the same most effectively, showing the difference, if any, at any stage with the law of 1913 which, as in West Bengal, is still followed there, and supporting the same throughout by the relevant and recent case laws. Now to turn to Assam. The Notifications of Assam have been included and several case laws on Assam furnished to support the law. The laws relating to Bihar and Orissa have also been dealt with.

So far so about Statewise treatment. Now about those legislations which are actually vital for the recovery of demands owing to the State. Such legislations are the Income Tax and Sale Tax Acts. both of which are important to help at times on points to realize public demands and hence have been duly included, dispensing with the need of consulting separate books on those subjects which may not be always with the practitioners at their arm's length, or, even if available, spares the time and trou ble of taking a separate book off one's shelf for the points being required. For a better understanding of the Tax Laws vis-a-vis the Public Demands Recovery, they have been treated by two separate Editors excelling in their respective fields of Income Tax and Sales Tax and long established in their specialised areas for their authoritative views and practical guidance. Case laws bearing on taxation and found apposite to any legal proposition at the time of recovering demands have been duly placed.

It is also significant to note that the Banking institutions previously used to take recourse to Civil Courts to recover their demands, if any. Instead they can now go straight to the Revenue authorities for recovering any loans advanced under the West Bengal Agricultural Credit Operations Act, 1973 and the West Bengal Employment Scheme Loans. (Recovery) Act, 1976.

What is also very important and much useful too is that the book contains a thoroughly split-up Contents showing the exact presence of topics and thus mirroring the whole gamut in a close round up making it virtually possible to find out associa tion between legal points without much labour for any conclusion. The Subject Index adds to such easy usability.