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The parameters have not been adhered to in practice.

The word prospective overruling implies an earlier judicial decision on the same issue which was otherwise final. That is how it was understood in Golaknath. However, this Court has used the power even when deciding on an issue for the first time. Thus in India Cement Ltd. and Others vs. State of Tamil Nadu and Others , when this Court held that the cess sought to be levied under Section 115 of the Madras Panchayats Act, 1958 as amended by Madras Act 18 of 1964, was unconstitutional, not only did it restrain the State of Tamil Nadu from enforcing the same any further, it also directed that the State would not be liable for any refund of cess already paid or collected.

To the same effect is another order dated 12th March, 1990 again by a Bench presided over by Chief Justice Mukherji in Writ Petition No. 8435 of 1981 - Yawar Ali vs. The State of U.P. & Ors. By these two orders the State of U.P. was directed not to recover the amounts outstanding despite recovery notices having been issued on a date prior to 25th October, 1989. These two orders are important inasmuch as the author of the judgment in second Synthetics case understood his own decision of prospective overruling to imply that if a levy in respect of the period earlier than 25th October, 1989 has not been recovered by the excise authorities then notwithstanding a recovery order having been issued the State was not entitled to recover the amount. It can be said that in 1990 Chief Justice Mukherji, along with two companion Judges interpreted his earlier decision in a manner which clearly showed that paragraph 89 of the judgment in the second Synthetics case could not entitle the State to physically receive any amount in respect of the levy for the period prior to 25th October, 1989 even though it could be said that the levy before that date was not invalid because of the doctrine of prospective overruling.