With regard to the provisions of the Bill, we have, as has been pointed out, about eighty or to be more exact, seventy-nine appeals pending before the Privy Council. Of these, thirty-one appeals in civil matters have been brought as a right and the records relating to those appeals had been received in England before 1st February 1948 when the Federal Court enlargement of jurisdiction came into force. There are thirty-eight civil appeal from the High Court in India in which special leave has already been granted and the appeals admitted for hearing before the Privy Council. With regard to criminal matters there are only ten appeals in which special leave has already been granted. As honourable Members are aware, no appeal in a criminal case lies to the Privy Council as of right. It is only by special leave of their Lordships that criminal matters can be heard there. In ten cases, such leave has already been granted and the cases are ripe for hearing. This is the entire list of pending cases though out of these seventy-nine cases, records of fifty–two cases have already been received in England and petitions of appeal leave been lodged in forty–one.
