The six propositions are:
- Questions arise if the legislature has transgressed constitutional powers, whether patent or disguised.
- It conveys that a legislature pretends to act within powers but in substance transgresses them, veiled by pretence.
- Substance of the Act is material, not just form, to determine if it’s beyond legislative powers.
- Legislature cannot violate constitutional prohibitions indirectly. Enquiry must be into true nature and character, considering object, purpose, design.
- The doctrine does not involve bona fides or mala fides; it’s a question of legislative competency.
- A court must scrutinize the entire impugned statute and related Acts to ascertain its true character and substance, especially if it’s part of a scheme to evade constitutional provisions.