Provisions applicable to making of rules or bye-laws after previous publication
Section 23 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 deals with provisions applicable to making of rules or bye-laws after previous publication. Where, by any [Central Act] or Regulation, a power to make rules or bye-laws is expressed to be given subject to the condition of the rules or bye-laws being made after previous publication, then the following provisions shall apply, namely:-- (1) the authority having power to make the rules or bye- The Act came into force on 11 Mar 1897.
Where, by any 1[Central Act] or Regulation, a power to make rules or bye-laws is expressed to be given subject to the condition of the rules or bye-laws being made after previous publication, then the following provisions shall apply, namely:--
(1) the authority having power to make the rules or bye-laws shall, before making them, publish a draft of the proposed rules or bye-laws for the information of persons likely to be affected thereby;
(2) the publication shall be made in such manner as that authority deems to be sufficient, or, if the condition with respect to previous publication so requires, in such manner as the 2[Government concerned] prescribes;
(3) there shall be published with the draft a notice specifying a date on or after which the draft will be taken into consideration;
(4) the authority having power to make the rules or bye-laws, and, where the rules or bye-laws are to be made with the sanction, approval or concurrence of another authority, that authority also, shall consider any objection or suggestion which may be received by the authority having power to make the rules or bye-laws from any person with respect to the draft before the date so specified;
(5) the publication in the 3[Official Gazette] of a rule or bye-law purporting to have been made in exercise of a power to make rules or bye-laws after previous publication shall be conclusive proof that the rule or bye-law has been duly made.
Section 23, The General Clauses Act, 1897 (Act 10 of 1897).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 52
- Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act s. 44 Power to make rules
- Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act s. 44 Power to make rules
- Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act s. 44 Power to make rules
- Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act (CENTRAL ACT) s. 44 Power to make rules
- Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions and Empoyment) Act s. 44 Power to make rules
- Bihar Control of Crimes Act s. 25 Revocation of detention orders
- Delhi Police Act s. 28 Power to make regulations for regulating traffic and for preservation of order in public places, etc
- Delhi Police Act s. 37 Power to make regulations prohibiting disposal of the dead except at places set apart
- Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act s. 4 Making, variation and revocation of schemes
- Employee’s Compensation Act s. 34 Publication of rules
- Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923(CENTRAL ACT) s. 34 Publication of rules
- Factories Act s. 115 Publication of rules
and 40 more
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
K. T. Plantation Pvt. Ltd. vs State of Karnataka
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The ratio decidendi of this judgment is that: (1) Section 110 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961 does not suffer from excessive delegation of legislative power as the legislative policy is discernible from the scheme of the Act and the Legislature has conferred conditional power to withdraw exemptions; (2) the Roerich and Devika Rani Roerich Estate Acquisition Act 1996 is protected by Article 31A of the Constitution as a valid agrarian reform measure after obtaining Presidential assent and is immune from challenge under Articles 14 and 19; (3) Article 300A, while omitting the doctrine of eminent domain, incorporates the requirement of public purpose as a pre-condition for deprivation of property and the right to compensation can be inferred from Article 300A; (4) statutes depriving property are amenable to judicial review on grounds of violation of Articles 14, 21, or the rule of law principle which is a basic feature of the Constitution; (5) the rule of law principle applies even to statutes blessed by Article 300A in rarest of rare cases where laws are tyrannical or violate the basic structure of the Constitution.
On this section: Applied to establish that publication in official gazette is conclusive proof of valid notification
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Questions about Section 23
What have the courts held on Section 23 of the General Clauses Act?
K. T. Plantation Pvt. Ltd. vs State of Karnataka (09 Aug 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applied to establish that publication in official gazette is conclusive proof of valid notification.
How do I find court cases under Section 23 of the General Clauses Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: General Clauses Act 23, section 23 General Clauses Act, section 23 of the General Clauses Act. People searching for it also type general clauses act 1897 section 23. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with K. T. Plantation Pvt. Ltd. vs State of Karnataka (09 Aug 2011).
What should I read with Section 23 of the General Clauses Act, and has it changed?
52 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently Maharashtra Factories (Safety Audit) Rules, 2014 (2014).
When did Section 23 of the General Clauses Act come into force?
Section 23 of the General Clauses Act, cited as General Clauses Act 23, came into force on 11 Mar 1897, having been enacted on 11 Mar 1897. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.