1
INTRODUCTION The essen essence ce of law law lies in in the spir spirit, it, not not its lette letterr, for the the letter letter is signicant signicant only as being the external external
manifestatio manifestation n of the intention intention
that underlies it.
Salmond
A statut atute e is a will will of legi legis slatu laturre con conveye veyed d in the the for form of text text.. Interpretation or construction of a statute is an age-old process and as old as language. Elaborate rules of interpretation were evolved even at a very early stage of Hindu civilization and culture. he rules given by !"aimini#$ the author of %imamsat &utras$ originally meant for srutis were employed for the interpretation of &mrities also.1 It is well settled principle of law that as the statute is an edict of the 'egislature$ the conventional way of interpreting or construing a statute is to see( the intenti intention on of legisla legislatur ture. e. he intent intention ion of legisla legislatur ture e assimi assimilat lates es two aspects) one aspect carries the concept of !meaning#$ i.e.$ what the word means and another aspect conveys the concept concept of !purpose# !purpose# and !ob*ect# or the !reason# or !spirit# pervading through the statute. he proc proces ess s of cons constr truc uctio tion$ n$ ther therefo efore re$$ comb combin ines es both both the the liter literal al and and purposive approaches. However$ necessity of interpretation would arise only where the language of a statutory provision is ambiguous$ not clear or where two views are possible or where the provision gives a di+erent meaning defeating the ob*ect of the statute., he ob*ect of all interpretation of a written instrument i nstrument is to discover the intenti intention on of the author author as expr express essed ed in the instru instrumen ment. t. here here are many so called rules of construction that courts have resorted to in their interpretation of statutes but the paramount rule remains that 1 'aw ommission of India$ /0th eport$ hapter ,$ para ,., , 'aw ommission on India$ 12 rd eport$ !A continuum on the 3eneral lauses Act$ 1245 with special reference to the admissibility and codi6cation of external aids to interpretation of statutes# 7.2
,
ever every y stat statut ute e is to be expou xpound nded ed acco accorrding ding to its its mani manife fest st and and expressed intention.8 Interpretation of statute being an exercise in the asce ascert rtai ainm nmen entt of mean meaning ing$$ every everyth thing ing which which is logi logica cally lly relev relevan antt should be admissible. admissible.9 he most common rule of interpretation is that every part of the statute must be understood understood in a harmonious harmonious manner by reading and construing every part of it together. he maxim :A ;erbis legis non est referendum< means that you must not vary the words of the statute while interpreting it. Interpretation of statute is the proc proces ess s of asce ascert rtai aini ning ng the the true true mean meanin ing g of the the wor words us used ed in a statute. It is therefore necessary to interpret the statute to 6nd out the real intention of the statute./
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:METHODOLOGY: he research research methodology is purely doctrinal in nature. =urther$ it is basical basically ly descri descripti ptive$ ve$ compar comparativ ative e and fundam fundament ental$ al$ >ualita >ualitativ tive e and appr apprai aisa sall orie orient nted ed resear esearch ch ?at ?at plac place e conc concep eptu tual@ al@ which which depl deploy oys s dedu deduct ctiv ive e log logical ical reaso easoni ning ng for for
elab elabo orati rating ng the the
reaso easons ns of the the
exhaustive interpretation.
AIMS & OBJECTIVE: he main ob*ective of this research paper is to do comparative study of the internal external aids to interpretation. =urther it will deal with the situation when there is a conBict between internal and external aid which will prevail. I will try to come out with all the loopholes of internal Halsubury#s 'aws Ceeds and Dther Instruments ;ol ;ol 1 ?,005 eissue@ 7ara 7ara 1/9 8 A-3 for anada v. v. Hallet arey 'td. 149,F Ac 8,5 9 G.7. ;arghese v Income ax Dcer Erna(ulam$ AI 1421 & 14,, / a*(umar a*(umar &. Adu(ia$ Interpretation Interpretation of &tatutes$Also &ee httpJJwww.caaa.inJImageJInte httpJJwww.caaa.inJImageJInterpretationK,0 rpretationK,0ofK,0&tatutes ofK,0&tatutes.pdf .pdf ?last Accessed on 19th %arch at /.0 7.%@
aids to interpretation and bring all chec( and balances of internal external aids to interpretation.
RESEARCH QUESTION:1. Lhy internal internal aids prevail prevail over exter external nal aids of interpret interpretationM ationM ,. Lhy Lhy 7reamb eamble le is an intr intrin insi sic c aid aid in the the inte interp rprretat etatio ion n of an ambiguous ActM
SOURCES 7rimary &ources "udgements 'aw eports &econdary &ources Noo(s Articles
ANALYSIS BY DELHI HIGH COURT Osually the interpretation has to be based on the section itself and even the intention intention of legislatur legislature e can be best
found as recorded recorded in
the section itself and only in case the language of section is not clear or ambig ambiguo uous us such such inter interna nall or
exter externa nall aids aids to inter interpr pret etati ation on of
statutes can be brought into.5 herefore it is well settles that internal or external aids of interpretation are only necessary when there is an ambiguity$ however usually they are not called for. he true end and design of interpretation is to gather the intent of the legislature from the most probable signs. 2I f courts are to allow allow a purp purpos osiv ive e inter interpr pret etat atio ion) n) it follo follows ws that that it may may loo( loo( for for auth author ority ity outs outside ide the the sp speci eci6c 6c word words s of the the legis legislat lation ion.. Lher Lhere e the the authority is in the same statute$ this is often referred to as a !Intrinsic 5 Honeywell International ?India@ ?7@ 'td. v. Ceputy ommissioner of Income ax$ ,002F,/&D90?Celhi@ 2.7O=EPCD=$ GEPPE$ D= HE 'AL D= PAOE APC PAIDP& ?8H EC. E C. 15,4@$7 15,4@$ 7.99 4. 0 7.%. 7.%. NAG&HI$ N AG&HI$ IPE7EAIDP IPE7EAIDP D= &AOE& &AOE& ?,010 E7IP@ E7IP @ 7.14, 7.14,
2
8
authority# or !Internal Aid#. Everything else will be extrinsic or !External Aid#.4 herefore internal aids mean those materials which are available in the statute itself$ though they may not be part of enactment. hese internal aids include$ long title$ preamble$ headings$ marginal notes$ illustrations illustrations$$ punctuation$ punctuation$ proviso$ proviso$ schedule$ schedule$ transitory transitory provision provisions$ s$ etc. Lhen internal aids are not ade>uate$ court has to ta(e recourse to External aids. External Aids may be parliamentary material$ historical bac( bac(gr grou ound nd$$
repor eports ts of
a
com committe ittee e
or
a
com commiss ission$ ion$
oci ocial al
statement$ dictionary meanings$ foreign decisions$ etc.10 Even after the act is passed$ the court has to interpret the act on the basis of informed basis by applying external aids if the language is ambiguous.11 It is a cardinal rule of interpretation that internal aids to construction should be given preference while interpreting a statute however where internal aids are not forthcoming$ we can always have recourse to external aids to discover the ob*ect of the legislation. External aids are not ruled out. his is now a well settled principle of modern statutory construction.1,
VARIOUS CASE LAWS WITCH HELPS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL AIDS TO INTERPRETATION
4 1010. Gehar &ingh v. &tate ?Celhi Admin.@ AI 1422 & 12211. Coypac( &ystems 7vt. 'td. ;. Onion of India$ AI 1422 & 52,. 1, . N. 7rabha(ar ao and others v &tate of A.7. and others $ AI 142/ & 1,0.
11 1,
9
Suprem eme e Cour Courtt in Gras Grasim im Indu Indust stri ries es Ltd. Ltd. V ecen ecentl tly$ y$ agai again n Supr Collector of Customs, Bombay $
1
has followed the same principle
and observed Lhere the words are clear and there is no obscurity$ and there is no ambiguity and the intention of the legislature is clearly conveyed$ there is no sc scop ope e for for cour courtt to ta( ta(e upon upon itse itself lf the the tas( tas( of amen amendi ding ng or altering the statutory provisions. ecently$ in District Mining Ocer and ot!ers " #ata Iron $ Steel
Co. and anot!er $18 &upreme ourt has observed :It is also a cardinal principle of construction that external aids are brought in by widening the concept of context as including not only other enacting provisions of the same statute$ but its preamble$ the existing state of law$ other statutes in pari materia and the mischief which the statute was intended to remedy.< remedy.< In %ilson ". Secretary of state for trade and Industry $19 he respondent appealed against a 6nding that the provision which made a loan agreement completely invalid for lac( of compliance with the 1458 Act was itself invalid under the Human ights Act since it deprived the respondent of its property rights. It was also argued that it was not possible to ma(e a declaration of incompatibility in respect of matters arising from events before the coming into force of the 1442 Act. Held 7arliament cannot have intended that section ?1@ should have the e+ect of altering the parties## existing and obligations under the onsumer redit Act. In this transition type of case$ section ?1@ is 1 ?,00,@8 & ,45 18 ?,001@5 & 92. 19 OGH' 80$ ,00F L' 9/2$
/
inapplicable to the interpretation of the onsumer redit Act$ and the court had no *urisdiction to ma(e a declaration of incompatibility. he court is not re>uired to evaluate the e+ect of primary legislation in terms of convention rights and$ where appropriate$ to ma(e a formal declaration of incompatibility. he court was entitled for the purpose of interpretation to loo( at ministerial statements but not generally at parl parlia iame ment ntar ary y debat debates es to esta establ blis ish h the the purpo purpose se of the the Act unde underr cons consid ider erat atio ion$ n$ and and in doin doing g so it was was neit neithe herr encr encroa oach chin ing g upon upon parliamentary privilege nor >uestioning the proceeding of parliament.
HEADING Head Headin ing g are are of two two (ind (inds s Q one one pre6 pre6x xed to the the sect sectio ion n and and othe otherr pre6xes to a group or set of section. Heading is to be regarded as giving the (ey to the interpretation and the heading may be treated as preambles to the provisions following them. Headings or titles which are pre6xed to section can be referred to$ in construing an act of the legislature.1/ A heading is usually regarded as giving the (ey tom the interpretation of the clauses arranged under it$ unless the wording is inconsistent with such interpretation.15And if there are any doubts in the interpretation of the words in a section$ the headings certainly help the court to resolve that doubt. In &ris!nai! V. State of '.( .12 7I' 7I' was was 6led 6led by one &ri &ri . Gris Grishn hnaia aiah$ h$ 7res 7resid iden entt of A. A.7 7 Nac( Nac(wa ward rd lasses Lelfare Association writ of mandamus declaring the action of the 3overnment of Andhra 7radesh in issuing Drdinance which found to be illeg illegal al$$ unco uncons nstit titut ution ional al and and with withou outt any any lega legall or cons constit titut utio iona nall 1/ Nhin(a v haran &ingh$ AI 1494 & 4/0 15 Rualter Hall o. 'td v. Noard of rade$ ?14/,@ h ,5 12 SA.7. AI ,009 A7 10T
5
authority has been sought. He has also sought for an interim direction restraining the government of Andhra 7radesh not to draw or spend any any sums ums of mone money y from from the the cons conso olida lidate ted d fun fund of the the &tat &tate e or ontingency =und of the &tate of Andhra 7radesh. It was held that heading pre6xed to sections cannot control the plain words of the provision$ only in the case of ambiguity or doubt$ heading or sub-heading may be referred to as an aid in construing provision.
MARGINAL NOTES %arginal notes are the notes which are inserted at the side of the sect sectio ions ns in an Act and and expr xpress ess the the e+ec e+ectt of the the sect sectio ions ns stat stated ed.. %arginal notes appended to the Articles of the constitution have been to cons constit titut ute e part part of the the cons constit titut ution ion as pass passed ed by the the cons consti titu tuent ent assembly and therefore they have been made use of in construing the articles.
B')B*) ". SOM*)S*# CO+#- CO+CIL$14 A teacher sought damages from his employer after su+ering a wor( related stress brea(down. Held he de6nition of the wor( expected of him did not *ustify the demand placed upon him. he employer could have chec(ed up on him. he employer could have chec(ed up on him during his sic(ness absences$ and given him support. It did not do so. It was liable. It was further said that it is only when the contractual position between the parties is explored fully along with the relevant statutory framewor( that it would be possible possible to give appropriat appropriate e content to the duty of the reaso easona nabl ble e car care upon upon whic which h an empl employ oyee ee clai claimi ming ng dama damage ges s for for negligent inBiction of psychiatric in*ury i n*ury at wor( would see( to rely. rely. In ) ". (ace $ )ogers$,0 14 ,008F 1 L' 1024
2
he 7rinciple issue i ssue before the court of Appeal was the mental element re>uired for an attempt to money launder. hames ;alley police sent undercover ocers into scrap metal yards to sell power Qcable$ lead Bashing Bashing$$ even a brass brass war memori memorial al pla>ue pla>ue all purpor purported tedly ly stolen. stolen. Pone of the items were were in fact stolen. he defendants defendants were were convicted of an attempt to convert criminal property Q section ,5?1@?c@. he rown#s case was that though there could be no (nowledge that the goods were stolen Q since they were not Q they could be a !suspicion# which is the entire Act re>uired. he ourt of Appeal thought t hought it odd that a man man coul could d not not be guilt guilty$ y$ unde underr these these circu circums msta tanc nces es$$ of actu actual ally ly laundering but could be guilty of attempting it ?7ara /8@ and$ following the the case case of ) " Montilla,/ found that for an o+ence of converting crim crimin inal al prop proper erty ty to be made made out out of prop proper erty ty had had actu actual ally ly to be !criminal#.
)eturning turning Ocer, Ocer, &ollar District (anc!ayat! (anc!ayat! $,, . In 'is!a (otty " )e the High ourt of Gerala held that the marginal note of Article ,8 D of the constitution$ namely$ :Nar to interference by courts in electoral matters< can be relied upon for Uinterpretation of provision only if there is ambiguity$ the words of the main provision itself lends (ey to its interpretation and the marginal note cannot control the same. &ince neither this Article nor section 22 of the Gerala 7anchayat a* Act$ 1448$ 14 48$ ther there e is no inten intentio tion n to oust oust *uri *urisd sdic ictio tion n of civil civil cour courtt from from election matter.
arg!ese e " Income Income #a0 Ocer Ocer $,it was stated by the In &.(. Varg!es &upreme ourt that while it is undoubtedly true that the marginal note ,0 ,018F ELA rim 12/ ,1 ,009F 1 r. App. ,/$ ,, AI ,00, Ger 24 , AI 1425 1 & 14,,
4
to a section cannot be referred to for the purpose of construing the section$ it can certainly be relied upon as indicating the drift of the section or to show what the section is dealing with. It cannot control the the inte interpr rpret etati ation on of the the word words s of a secti section on part partic icula ularl rly y when when the the language of the section is clear and unambiguous but$ being part of the statu statute te$$ it prim prima a facie facie furn furnis ishe hes s some some clue clue as to the the mean meanin ing g and purpose of the section. Nesides this a lot of cases show that in case of constitutional
matter$
the
marginal
note
can
be
ta(en
into
consideration to resolve the ambiguity in a statute.
PROVISO 7roviso can be interpreted in so many forms and there is no guideline in any *udgement as to when a particular form is the proper form it all depends upon the context and ob*ects. In Ma!a (rasad Sing! ". )amani Mo!an Sing! $,8the respondent 6led 6led the the su suit it in the the su subo borrdina dinate te *udg *udge e cour courts ts and and the the appe appell llan antt cont conten ende ded d that that the the cour courtt had had no *uri *urisd sdic icti tion on to try try the the su suit it $ the the property sub*ected to mortgage was situated in &anthal 7arganas and act 5 of 1299 provided that the whole administration of civil *ustice in that area became vested in the ocer or ocers appointed by the lieutenants governor of Nengal$ the proviso of the enactment reads :7rovided that all civil suits in which the matter in dispute shall exceed the value of s.1000 shall be tried and determine according to the general general laws and regulations regulations in the same manner as if this act has not been passed.< It was held that the interpretation of this proviso is a matter of great diculty) two rival interpretations naturally suggest themselves. he one is that the ocer exercising the *urisdiction shall do in accordance with the general law and regulations$ so that the right of the parties are ,8 AI 1418 7 180
10
una+ected by the provision although they are to be pronounced upon by a di+erent *udicial tribunal. he other is that not only the laws that gove govern rn righ rights ts but but also also the the proc proced edur ure e to enfo enforc rce e thos those e righ rights ts is to remain unchanged$ now it must be observed that this is a proviso and not not an exce except ption ion and acco accorrdingly dingly ta(en ta(en into into conn connect ectio ion n with with the the general language of the previous portion of the clause the former of thes these e two two inter interpr preta etati tion on is the the one one that that comm commen ends ds itse itself lf to their their lordship so that it must be construed as providing that the special ocer or ocers shall try such suits but in trying an determining them they shall observe the general laws and regulations obtaining in Nengal which but for the act would have applied e>ually in sonthal paranas.,9
Madura raii Mill Mills s$,/ the In CI# "s Madu the respo espond ndent ent held held sh shar ares es in three three compan companies ies which which went went into volunt voluntary ary li>uida li>uidation tion and the li>uidat li>uidator or made a distribution as a result of which the appellant got assets in lieu of cash $ on the >uestion whether the value of the assets was liable as capital gains $ holding in favour of the respondent it was held :the appellant has invited our attention to the third proviso to &ubsection ?1@ of &ection 1,N as originally enacted by the Income-tax and Excess 7ro6t ax ?Amendment@ Act wherein it was stated$ inter alia$ that any distribution of capital assets on the dissolution of a 6rm or other association of persons or on the li>uidation of a company shall not for the purpose of &ection 1,N be treated as sale$ exchange or transfer of capital assets. It is urged that the omission 145 &..J2/ ;II 3--/ of such distribution of capital assets in the 6rst proviso to &ubsection ?1@ of &ection 1,N$ as revived by the =inance ?Po. @ Act of 149/$ would show that the legislature wanted the distribution of capital assets on dissolution of a 6rm or other association of persons or the ,9 ;E7A.7.&AAHI$ ;E7A.7.&AAHI$ :IPE7EA :IPE 7EAIDP IDP D= D = &AOE< &AOE< 9H 9 H ECIIDP$ ECI IDP$ ,004 , 004,/. ommissioner of Income-ax$ %adras ;. %adurai %ills o. 'td. AI 145 & 195.
,/
11
li>uidation of a company to be treated as sale$ exchange or transfer. his contention$ in i n an opinion$ is not well founded. It appears to us that t hat the cases of the distribution of capital assets on dissolution of a 6rm or othe otherr ass associa ociati tion on of pers person ons s or li> li>uida uidati tio on of a com compan pany wer were mentioned in the third proviso under the earlier Act$ as a matter of clari6cation clari6cation to allay fears even though the language language of &ub-section &ub-section ?1@ of &ection 1,N was not intended to apply to such cases. 7rovisos$ as mentioned on page ,,1 of aries on &tatute 'aws$ &ixth Edition$ are often inserted to allay fears. A proviso is inserted to guard against the particular case of which a particular person is apprehensive$ although the enactment enactment was never intended to apply to his case or to any other similar case at all.< It is well settled that consideration stemming from legislative history must not be allowed to override the plain words of a statue $ a proviso cannot be construe as enlarging the scope of an enactment when it can be fairly and properly construe without attributing to it that e+ect $ further if the language of the enacting part of the statue is plain and unambiguous and does not contain the provisions which are said to occu occurr in it $ one canno cannott deri derive ve thes these e prov provis isio ions ns by impl implica icati tion on of proviso.
PREAMBLE he 7reamble of the statue li(e li (e the long title is a part of the act and is an admiss admissible ible aid to constr construct uction ion$$ the pream preamble ble expres express s the scope$ scope$ ob*ect and purpose of the act. It may be recite the ground and cause of ma(ing the statue$ the evil sought to be remedied$ or the doubts which may be intended to be settled in words of &ir "ohn Pichol :It is to the preamble more specially we are to loo( for the reason or the spirit of every statue$ rehearsing this as it ordinarily does$ the evils sought to be remedied$ or the doubts purported to be removed by the statue$ and so evidencing$ in best and most satisfactory manner$ the
1,
ob*ec ob*ectt or inten intentio tion n of legi legisl slat atur ure e in ma(i ma(ing ng or pass passing ing the the statu statue e itself.<,5
-THE PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION7reamb eamble le has has the the func functi tion on to expr xpress ess cert certai ain n fact facts. s. &eei &eeing ng the the preamble of Indian onstitution it is easily accessible the motive and ob*ect of the founding fathers that they wanted to ma(e India into U&over U&overeign eign &ocial &ocialist ist &ecula &ecular$ r$ Cemocr Cemocrati atic c epubli epublic. c. hey hey wanted wanted to secure *ustice$ liberty$ e>uality$ fraternity to every citizen. he drafting committee of constituent assembly formulated the preamble in the light of ob*ective resolution but restricted it to de6ning the the esse essent ntia iall feat featur ure e of a new new stat state e and and its its basi basic c soci socio o poli politi tica call ob*ec ob*ecti tive ves. s. he he prea preamb mble le of cons constit titut utio ion n li(e li(e any any prea preamb mble le of any any statu tatue e fur furnis nishes hes the the (ey to open open the the mind mind of the the ma( ma(er of the the constitution more so because the constitution assembly too( great pain in formulating it so that it may reBect the essential feature and basic ob*ecti ob*ectives ves of the consti constitut tution ion.. he consti constitut tution ion includi including ng pream preamble ble must be read as a whole and in case of doubt interpreted consistent with its basic structure to promote the great ob*ectives stated in the preamble.,2 he preamble as a whole can never be regarded as a source of substantive power or as a source of any prohibition or limitation. ,4 he pre preamble of
the constitu itution
amendment act
can be
used
to
understand understand the ob*ect of the amendment. amendment.0 he ma*ority *udgement in ,5 Nrett v Nrett$ ?12,/@ 1/, E 89/$ p. 892- 894 ,2 Geshavanada Nharti v &tate of Garnata(a AI 145 & 18/1$ %inerva %ill s v Onion of India AI 1420 & 1524 ,4 Indira Pehru 3andhi v. a*Parain AI 1459 & ,,44$ this has also been reiterated in aghu nath ao 3anpathao v. v. Onion Df India AI 144 144 & 1,/5 0 aghu nath ao ao 3anpathao v. v. Onion Df India AI 144 & 1,/5
1
Geshavananda bharti1 and %inerava %ills, strongly relied upon the preamble in reaching the conclusion that the power of amendment confer by article /2 was limited and did not enable parliament to alter the basic structure or framewor( of the c constitution. onstitution. Ny &ec. , of the constitution amendment act 145/ two amendments were were made made by the the parlia parliame ment nts s in the the prea preamb mble le wher wherein ein the the wor words !sov !sover erei eign gn$$
dem democra ocrati tic$ c$
repub epubli lic# c#
were ere
repla eplace ced d
by
the the
wor words
!sovereign socialist secular democratic# were substituted and secondly for the words unity of India the words unity and integrity of nations were substituted. substituted. hese amendments amendments were to be held valid in %inerva %inerva %ills#s case. he addition of the word socialist enables the court to lean more in favour of nationalisation and economic eco nomic e>uality. e>uality.8
Lord Somer"ell has has stated :he
principle
that
the
preamble
di+ers
in
their
scope
and
conse>uently in the weight$ if any$ which they may have on one side or the other of the dispute. here can be no rule. If in an act the preamble is general or brief statement of the main purpose$ it$ may well be of little$ if any$ value. he act may say to go beyond or in some respect fall short of the purpose so brieBy stated.<
EXTERNAL AIDS Exte Exterrnal nal aids aids to inte interp rprretat etatio ion n of stat statut utes es incl includ ude e Parla!"#$ar%
H$'r%( H$'r)al Fa)$ a#* S+rr'+#*#, Cr)+!$a#)"( La$"r
1 Supra Note 21 , Ibid Ibid 8 "O&IE 3.7. &IP3H$ :HE 7IPI7'E D= IPE7EAIDP D= &AOE<11th Ed.$ ?,002@
18
S)" S)"#$ #$ ) )
I#." I#."#$ #$' '# #((
R"/" R" /"r" r"#) #)" "
$'
O$0 O$ 0"r
S$a$ S$a$+$ +$" "
12ar 12ar
!a$"ra3 & U" '/ F'r",# D")'# . PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY he ingredients of 7arliamentary History are the bill in its original form or the amendments considered during its progress in the 'egislature$ &peech of the minister who introduced the bill in the 7arliament which is also referred to as &tatements of Db*ects and easons$ eports of 7arliamentary debates and resolutions passed by either House of the 7arli arliam amen entt
and and
the the
epor eports ts
subm su bmit itte ted d
di+e di+errent ent
7arli arliam amen enta tary ry
ommittees. According to the traditional English view the 7arliamentary History of a statute was not considered as an aid to construction. he &upreme ourt of India in the beginning enunciated the rule of exclusion of 7arliamentary History in the way it was traditionally enunciated by the English ourts but on many an occasion$ the court used this aid in resolving >uestions of construction.9
SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS he laws made in the past are applied in the present contemporary society in the light of changed social$ political$ legal and economic circumstances ta(ing into consideration the advancement in science and technology. &tatutes must be interpreted in accordance with the spirit of the onstitution of India even though the statutes were passed befor before e inde indepen penden dence ce of Indi India a or befor before e the the comm commenc encem emen entt of our our onstitution.
REFERENCE TO OTHER STATUTES &tatutes must be read as a whole in order to understand the words in their context. 7roblem arises when a statute is not complete in itself 9 efer 3enerally$ &ingh 3.7.$ 3.7.$ 7rinciples of &tatutory Interpretation$ ,,1 ?Ladhwa and ompany$ Pagpur$ enth Edition$ ,00/@
19
i.e. the words used in i n the statute are a re not explained clearly. clearly. Extension of this rule of context permits reference to other statutes in pari materia i.e. statutes dealing with the same sub*ect matter or forming part of the the same same sy syst stem em.. he he mean meanin ing g of the the phra phrase se pari pari mate materi ria a was was
+nited d Socie Society ty ". *agle *agle Ban1 Ban1 expla xplain ined ed in an 'merican Case$ +nite ?12,4@ in the following words :&tatutes are in pari materia which relate to the same person or thing$ or to the same class of persons persons or things. he word par must not be confounded c onfounded with the word similes. It is i s used in opposition to it- intimating not li(eness merely but identity. It is a phrase applicable to public statutes or general laws made at di+erent times and in reference to the same sub*ect<./
USE OF FOREIGN DECISIONS eference to decisions of the English ourts was a common practice in the the admi admini nist stra ratio tion n of *ust *ustic ice e in pre pre inde indepen pende dent nt Indi India. a. he he reas reason on behind this was that the %odern Indian 'egal &ystem owes its origin to the English ommon 'aw &ystem. Nut after the commenceme commencement nt of the onstitution of India as a result of the incorporation of the =undamental igh ights ts$$ the the &upr &uprem eme e our ourtt of India India gave gave mor more acce access ss to Amer Americ ican an precedents. It cannot$ however$ be doubted that (nowledge of English law and prec preced eden ents ts when when the the lang langua uage ge of an Indi Indian an Act was was not not clea clearr or express$ has often been of valuable assistance. &pea(ing about Indian odes &hri %..&etalvad has stated :Lhere the language of the code was clear and applicable$ no >uestion of relying on English Authority would arise. Nut very often the general rule in the Indian ode was based on an English 7rinciple and in such cases the Indian ourts fre>uently sought the assistance of English Cecisions to support the conclusions they reached. hey could not otherwise for not only the / &ee.$ &igh 3.7.$ 3.7.$ 7rinciples of &tatutory Interpretation$ ,59?Ladhwa and ompany$ Pagpur$ enth Edition$ ,00/@
1/
general rules contained in the codes but some of the illustrations given to clarify the general rules were based on English decisions.<5 %ost acts contain exceptions to their main purpose on the meaning$ on which such preamble would presumably$ throw no light. Dn the other hand some general and most local acts have their limits set out in some some deta detail ils s ther there e may may be case cases s in whic which h a sect sectio ion n read ead with with a preamble may have di+erent meaning from that which it would have if there were no preamble.2
CONCLUSION he Internal Aids to construction evolved over time as a very important and ban(able source while interpreting any statute. he view earlier was to give it a very narrow scope however over time the *urisprudence of interpretation has developed so has the value of internal Aids$ Even today Internal Aids to construction are given preference over external aids to construction. Df course it is true that when the meaning of a section is clear internal aids have no relevance and also there is no way that the meaning of a section could be changed due to the internal aids i.e.$ even if the headings ?Internal Aid@ of a section is contrary to the the sub*e ub*ect ct matt matter er or cont conten entt of a sect ection ion and and if the the secti ection on is suciently suciently clear$ the heading cannot be used to nullify the meaning meaning of 5 &ee.$ &etalvad %..$ he ommon 'aw in India $ /1 as a s cited in &ingh 3.7 3.7.$ .$ 7rinciples of &tatutory Interpretations$ ,5?Ladhwa and ompany$ Pagpur$ enth enth Edition$ ,00/@. 2 ?1495@ 1 A'' E 84 1495 A 8/ ?H'@
15
the section$ still headings ?internal aids@ play a very important role. It is give given n a high high pref prefer eren ence ce over ver Exte Exterrnal nal aid aids. Als Also the the / /rrd 'aw 'aw commission and the 12rd 'aw ommission of India reports signify the importance attached to internal aids of construction. Ny virtue of the case laws$ 'aw ommission reports ?referred above@ and the opinion of various authors it is now clear that internal aids to construction could be cons constru trued ed very very impo import rtan antt sour source ces s to (now (now the the inte intent ntion ion of the the legis legislat latur ure. e. he he inten intenti tion on of the the legis legislat latur ure e coul could d be asce ascert rtai ained ned through Headings$ preamble$ proviso$ marginal notes$ etcVherefore our initial >uestion as to whether internal aids to construction can be cons constr true ued d to repr epresen esentJ tJsi sign gnif ify y the the inte intent ntio ion n of the the legi legisl slat atur ure e is answered in the positive.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOO4S REFERRED 3.7.&IP3H$ :HE 7IPI7'E D= &AODW IPE7EAIDP< 11H EC. ?,002@
12
HA'&ONOW#& 'AL& CEEC& APC DHE IP&O%EP& ;D' 1 ?,005 EI&&OE@ %AXLE''$ IPE7EAIDP D= &AOE&$ ?EC.10$@ 7.%. NAG&HI$ IPE7EAIDP D= &AOE& ?,010 E7IP@ 7O=EPCD=$ GEPPE$ D= HE 'AL D= PAOE PAOE APC PAIDP& PAIDP& ?8H EC. 15,4@ ;E7A.7.&A .&AA AHI$ HI$ :IPE7EA :IPE7 EAIDP IDP D= &AOE< &AOE< 9H ECIIDP$ ,004
ARTICLES REFERRED a*(umar a*(umar &. Adu(ia$ Interp Interpretation retation of &tatutes DHE DHE AOH AOHD DI IIE& IE& 'aw 'aw omm ommis issi sion on of India India$$ 12 12r rd d eport eport$$ !A continuum on the 3eneral lauses Act$ 1245 with special reference to the admissibility and codi6cation of external aids to interpretation of statutes#$ 'aw ommission of India$ /0th eport$ hapter ,$ 7ara ,.,
