21. Power to make, to include power to add to, amend, vary or rescind, orders, rules or byelaws. Where, by any Central Act or Regulation, a power to issue notifications, orders, rules, or byelaws is conferred, then that power includes a power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like sanction and conditions (if any), to add to, amend, vary or rescind any notifications, orders, rules or byelaws so issued.
Judicial Interpretations
2025 SCLR 25Shakir Ullah and 35 others vs. The Secretary, E&SE Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar and another
--- S. 21 --- Power to issue notification/order/rule --- Implied power to amend, vary or rescind --- Doctrine of locus poenitentiae --- Limits on withdrawal of administrative order --- Scope --- Section 21 ensures that when an authority is empowered to issue a rule, order, notification, or bye-law, it also possesses the implied power to modify, amend, or withdraw the same unless the parent statute provides otherwise --- However, once a decisive step has been taken, other legal considerations may arise --- If such a step has not yet been taken, there is no justification for restricting the authority’s power to alter or rescind its order --- The exercise of power under section 21 is subject to the principle of locus poenitentiae, which in law denotes the right to withdraw or rescind an order until a conclusive step has been taken.