West Bengal Special Courts Act (X of 1950), Ss. 3, 5 - Constitution of India, Art. 14 - Act constituting special courts and empowering State Government to refer “cases” or “offences” or “classes of cases” or “classes of offences” to such Court - Constitutional validity - Fundamental right to equality before the law and equal protection of the laws - Construction of Act - Reference to preamble - Act not classifying cases or laying down standard for classification - Intention of legislature how far material - Validity of notification under Act - Test of equality before law - Essentials of reasonable classification - Necessity of speedier trial, whether reasonable ground for discrimination. 

The West Bengal Special Courts Act (X of 1950) was entitled “An Act to provide for the speedier trial of certain offences,” and the object of the Act, as declared in the preamble, was “to provide for the speedier trial of certain offences”. Section 3 of the Act empowered the State Government by notification in the official gazette to constitute Special Courts, and sec. 5 provided that “A Special Court shall try such offences or classes of offences or cases or classes of cases, as the State Government may by general or special order in writing, direct.” The Act laid down a procedure for trial before Special Courts which was different in several respects from that laid down by the Criminal Procedure Code for trial of offences generally. ‘The respondent, who was convicted by a Special Court which tried his case under a notification issued by the Government under sec, 5, contended ‘that the said section was unconstitutional and void inasmuch as it contravened Art, 14 of the Constitution, which provides that “the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India”