Application of Definitions to Previous Enactments and Indian Laws (Sections 4 and 4A)
# Application of Definitions (Sections 4 & 4A)
The Act of 1897 is the third General Clauses Act (earlier ones: 1868 and 1887). Each successive Act added new definitions. Sections 4 and 4A spell out which definitions in Section 3 also apply retrospectively to older Central Acts and Regulations, and which apply to all Indian laws.
## Section 4 — Application to previous enactments
Divided into two limbs based on the date threshold of the old General Clauses Acts.
### (1) Definitions applicable to Central Acts on/after 3 January 1868 and Regulations on/after 14 January 1887:
Affidavit
Immovable property
Imprisonment
Month
Movable property
Oath
Person
Section
Year
### (2) Definitions applicable to all Central Acts and Regulations on/after 14 January 1887:
Commencement
Financial year
Offence
Registered
Schedule
Sub-section
Writing
All the above apply unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context.
### Why the two lists?
The earlier 1868 Act had a smaller set of definitions; the 1887 Act expanded the list. Hence newer definitions only apply to laws made on or after 1887 — not to laws between 1868 and 1887.
## Section 4A — Application to all Indian Laws
Some definitions are so fundamental that they apply to all Indian laws (not just Central Acts/Regulations), unless context requires otherwise:
Central Act
Central Government
Gazette
Government
Government Securities
Indian Law
Official Gazette
The phrase 'unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context' is the master safety valve — context can always displace the general definition.
Worked example
### Example 1
Q: A Central Act passed in 1875 uses the word 'imprisonment' without defining it. Which definition applies?
A: Section 4(1) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 extends the Section 3(27) definition of 'imprisonment' to all Central Acts made after 3rd January, 1868. Hence the 1897 Act's definition governs the 1875 Act.
### Example 2
Q: A State law (not a Central Act) refers to the term 'Official Gazette'. Does the General Clauses Act, 1897 definition apply?
A: Yes. 'Official Gazette' is listed in Section 4A as applying to all Indian laws, not just Central legislation, unless context requires otherwise.
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Applying every Section 3 definition automatically to pre-1897 enactments — only the words listed in Section 4 enjoy that retrospective reach.
Forgetting that the application is always 'unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context' — the parent Act's context can override.
Assuming Section 4A definitions apply only to Central Acts. They apply to all Indian laws, including State legislation.
Bare-Act text Sections 4 and 4A · The General Clauses Act, 1897 · click to expand
Section 4 (excerpt): The definitions in section 3 of the words and expressions 'affidavit', 'immovable property', 'imprisonment', 'month', 'movable property', 'oath', 'person', 'section' and 'year' apply also, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, to all Central Acts made after the 3rd January, 1868, and to all Regulations made on or after the 14th January, 1887; and the definitions of 'commencement', 'financial year', 'offence', 'registered', 'schedule', 'sub-section' and 'writing' apply also, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, to all Central Acts and Regulations made on or after the 14th January, 1887.
Section 4A: The definitions in section 3 of the expressions 'Central Act', 'Central Government', 'Gazette', 'Government', 'Government Securities', 'Indian Law' and 'Official Gazette' shall apply, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, to all Indian laws.