Section 84 of the Chit Funds Act, 1982 - Power to Delegate

Section 84 authorises a State Government to delegate specified powers exercisable by it under the Chit Funds Act, 1982 or the rules made under the Act to an officer of the State Government. The delegation must be made by notification in the Official Gazette and may be made subject to stated terms and conditions.

Text and meaning of Section 84

Section 84 - Power to delegate.

The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any power, other than the power to hear appeals or to make rules, exercisable by it under the Act or the rules made thereunder may also be exercised by an officer of the State Government, subject to the terms and conditions specified in the notification.

In practical terms, the section is an enabling provision. It allows administrative powers of the State Government under the Act to be exercised by a designated State Government officer when a valid Gazette notification delegates those powers.

Essential requirements for delegation

Delegating authority: The power belongs to the State Government.
Mode of delegation: Delegation must be made through a notification in the Official Gazette.
Person to whom power may be delegated: The delegated power may be exercised by an officer of the State Government specified or covered by the notification.
Terms and conditions: The notification may impose conditions or limits on the exercise of the delegated power.
Excluded powers under the central text: The power to hear appeals and the power to make rules are not delegable under the general wording of Section 84.

What does "power to delegate" mean?

Delegation means authorising another legally permitted officer to exercise a statutory power on behalf of the authority in which that power is originally vested. Section 84 does not itself transfer every State Government power automatically. A Gazette notification is required, and the officer exercising the delegated power must act within the scope and conditions of that notification.

Karnataka amendment to Section 84

For Karnataka, Section 84 was amended by the Chit Funds (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2007, published as Karnataka Act 2 of 2008. The words "to hear appeals or" were omitted from Section 84 in its application to Karnataka. The effect is that the statutory bar on delegation of the power to hear appeals was removed for Karnataka, while the power to make rules remains excluded.

State-specific application: State amendments can alter how the central provision operates within a particular State. For a matter involving a specific State, the applicable State amendment and the relevant Gazette delegation notification should be checked before relying on Section 84.

Why Section 84 is important

The provision supports administrative implementation of the Chit Funds Act by allowing specified State Government functions to be exercised at the officer level. At the same time, the requirement of an Official Gazette notification and the ability to prescribe conditions define the legal limits of the delegated authority.

Related provisions

Section 84 appears in the miscellaneous provisions of the Chit Funds Act. Readers may also refer to Section 83 - Officers to be public servants, Section 85 - Act not to apply to certain chits, Section 87 - Power to exempt, and Section 89 - Power to make rules.

Official source

The consolidated text of the Chit Funds Act, 1982, including Section 84 and the Karnataka State amendment reproduced with the central Act, is available from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Updated: 16 September 2026. This page is intended for legal information and should be read with the applicable State amendments, rules, and Gazette notifications.