Sneha Chavan

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Module 4. Internal Aids To Interpretation

Introduction
The statute is a set of guidelines for the individuals of a society. They are codified
in nature. But sometimes, certain provisions seem to have more than one
meaning. These meanings could be conflicting in nature. Hence, they serve as
the root cause of disputes between the parties. Therefore, such discrepancies
need to be sorted in the quickest manner to prevent such confusion and conflicts
in society.

Aid means ‘to help’ or ‘to assist’. These are the devices that help in our task(s).
So, whenever there is a dispute or conflict regarding understanding any
provision or statute, the judiciary seeks help from various aids. These are the
devices that help to understand the true meaning of the statute. These aids
could be – Internal or external.

Internal aids to interpretation are those devices that are present within the
statute. No external references are required to interpret the meaning. Various
in-texts (within the statute) are sufficient to interpret it. On the contrary,
sometimes external references are also used to understand the true meaning of
a particular disputed provision(s). These are references as termed as ‘external
aids’.

The Supreme Court enjoys advisory jurisdiction as per Article 143 of the Indian
constitution. Similarly, High Courts are often referred to when a substantial
question of law is involved in a case. Judiciary uses these aids to solve the
ambiguity related to the interpretation of statutes.
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1. Preamble
A preamble is an introduction or a preface to any Act or statute. It explains its
purpose(s). The preamble contains the aims and objectives of the entire statute
or Act. It reveals the true intention of the legislature for which the Act or statute
was enacted. The courts certainly use the preamble to interpret the provisions
of the Act or statute. It is an integral part of the statute. However, the preamble
is also secondary in nature if the words of the provisions in the Act are
unambiguous.[1]

Example: Preamble to the Constitution of India.

Some important case laws in reference to preamble as an internal aids to

interpretation are discussed below-

i. In Re: Kerala Education Bill, 1957, it was held that the policy and purpose of
the Act could be derived from its preamble.

ii. In Kesavananda Bharati vs. the State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461– The
Supreme Court strongly recommended that the Preamble of the Constitution of
India for deciding the power of the Parliament to amend the constitution under
Article 368 was not unlimited. It could not disturb the basic structure of the
constitution.

iii. In Global Energy Ltd. vs. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission– It was
observed that the aim and objects of the statute should be read along with the
preamble to it.

iv. In Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh v. NTC (South Maharashtra)– The Supreme
Court of India held that preamble must not be referred to- as an aid to interpret
the provisions of any Act if the words of the provisions are unambiguous and
clear.

v. In Maharashtra Land Development Corporation vs. the State of

Maharashtra– It was held that the Preamble of the Act is a guiding Light. Hence,
It could be treated as an essential aid for interpreting the provisions in the Act.
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2. Headings
Headings are attached to every section of every Act or statute. For example;
Section 3 of ‘General Powers of Central Government’ in the Indian Constitution
has a heading i.e. ‘Power of Central Government to take measure to protect and
improve the environment’. Like marginal notes, headings too, are not
introduced by the legislators themselves. The drafters insert these. Headings
and the preamble are treated in a similar fashion. It is used as an aid to
interpretation when the content of the provisions create ambiguity. However, if
the general meaning of the enactment is clear, headings must not be used. But
if there is more than one conclusion of any provision, its heading should be used
to derive a true meaning to the provision.

i. In N.C. Dhoundial v. Union of India, the court held that the heading
could be relied upon to conclude a clear meaning of a provision if more
than one conclusion is derived from the wordings of that provision.
ii. ii. In Union of India v. ABN Amro Bank, the court said that in a situation
where there is no ambiguity in the interpretation of the content,
headings must not be relied upon for deriving a different conclusion.

3. Title
i. Short Title

It addresses the name of the act followed by the year of its enactment. Such
titles do not include any description. They do not play any role in the
interpretation of the act. Despite being an essential part of any statute, these
do not carry a specific meaning. These are just the names of the acts.

Example: Indian Contract Act 1872, Indian Penal Code 1860, etc.

ii. Long Title

Such titles address the name of the Act along with its short description. It
addresses the general object of that Act. Long titles could be used for the
interpretation of the provisions under them. These serve as crucial internal aids
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interpretation. They are used for resolving the conflicts arising out of ambiguous
terms in that Act. However, if the words in the statute are unambiguous, long
titles serve no help.

Example:

a. ‘The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 – An Act to amend the laws

relating the transfer of property by Act of parties’.
b. ‘Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – An Act to consolidate and
amend the law relating to the prevention of corruption and matters
connected therewith’.
Earlier the Long titles were not considered as part of the statute. Hence, they
were not considered as an internal aids to interpretation. But now, long titles
are being used by judicial officers and judges to interpret the Acts. Some case
laws, which credit long titles to be used as internal aid, are discussed below –

i. Popat Lal Shah vs. State of Madras (AIR 1953 SC 274) – In this case, the ‘Long
title’ of the Madras General Sales Tax, 1939, was used to address the general
object of the Act.

ii. Amarendra Kumar Mahopatra vs. State of Orissa (AIR 2014 SC 1716) – In this
case, the court held that title is an integral part of the statute. It determines the
general object of it, but the true nature of the Act must not be deduced from
the title but the content of such Act or statute.

Exceptions:

a. Title could not be used as an internal aids to interpretation if the

words in the provisions of that Act or statute are unambiguous.
b. The content of the Act/provision is primary, while the title is
secondary. The label cannot prevail against the precise meaning of
the statute.
c. The title must not narrow the scope of the content in the statute.
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4. Marginal Notes
These are the side notes to the sections in the Act. It expresses the effect of the
section. Mostly, marginal acts are not added to the sections, by the legislators
themselves. Instead, they are added by the drafter later. Hence, marginal notes
cannot be used as an aid to interpretation unless the legislators have added
them as in the Constitution of India.

i. In Bengal Immunity Company vs. The State of Bihar, it was held that the
marginal notes could be relied on for interpretation of the provisions in Article
286 of the Constitution of India.

ii. In Tara Prasad Singh vs. Union of India, the court held that marginal notes are
secondary in nature. The general content of the provision(s) is primary in nature.

iii. In S.P. Gupta vs. President of India, the apex court decided that if any conflict
between the content and the marginal notes of a provision arises, then the
marginal note is to be yielded. However, they may be looked into as an aid to
interpretation in case of ambiguity. Marginal notes must not disturb the effect
of explicit provisions of the legislature.

5. Illustrations
Certain provisions are explained through illustrations. These narrate a story in
reference to the provision. These represent the situations in which that
provision may be referred to. They create a background to the provision and its
future implications. Illustrations address the situations or conditions under
which the provision or statute may be used. These can be used as an aid to the
interpretation of law or provision.

i. In Mahesh Chand Sharma vs. Raj Kumari Sharma, the apex court held that
illustration is an essential part of any section. Hence, it could be used in deriving
the meaning of the provision(s).

ii. In Mudliyar Chatterjee v. International Film Co., it was observed that an

illustration could not be ignored while interpreting a provision.
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However, it cannot be used to defeat the content of the provision or modify the
provision’s language.

6. Schedules
Schedules attached to the Act list out the powers, methods, subjects etc.
associated with the primary concept of the provisions in the Act. At times, the
schedule may be composed of methods to achieve the rights conferred in the
provision(s). Schedules are an essential part of any statute. Hence, these can be
relied upon for interpreting any provision in case of a dispute with regard to the
meaning of the terms used in them.

i. In M/s. Aphali Pharmaceuticals Limited vs. State of Maharashtra, the court

held that the schedule is secondary to the general content of the provision.
Hence any conflict of meaning due to terms used in the main provision and the
schedule, the main content of the provision must be given priority.

ii. In Jagdish Prasad v. State of Rajasthan and others, it was held that the
content in the schedule cannot overrule the general content of the provisions.
However, it must be referred in case of dispute regarding common
understanding of the provisions.

7. Explanation
These address the meaning of any provision. These help in removing the doubts
which may otherwise arise due to complex terminologies used in the Act. It must
be noted that it does not expand the meaning of the provisions. Most of the
Indian statutes have explanations attached to them. These serve to be an
important aid to interpretation. However, these could not be used to
manipulate the language of the main content of the provision.

i. In Bengal Immunity Company v. State of Bihar, explanations were recognised

as an important part of any section of an Act. These were used to interpret the
meaning of a provision.

ii. In Bihta Co-operative Development Cane Marketing Union v. State of Bihar,

the court held that in case of conflict due to explanation and the main content
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of the provision, the court must try to establish a balance between both of them
before deriving a conclusion.

iii. In Sundaram v. V.R. Pattabhiraman, the apex court recognised explanations

as statutory part of an Act; and not just substantive in nature.

8. Punctuation
Statue punctuation is represented by various symbols such as colons,
semicolons, commas, full stops, dashes, hyphens, brackets and more. In earlier
times, statutes were passed without punctuation, and courts needed to give
more importance to them. However, in modern times, statutes are passed with
punctuation.

The rule of interpretation regarding punctuated provisions is that if the court

encounters repugnancy or ambiguity while interpreting a provision with
punctuation, the court should read the provision as a whole without attaching
significance to the punctuation. If the meaning is clear, it should be interpreted
accordingly.

9. Provisos
A proviso to a section is presumed to be part of the section and is an internal aid
to the interpretation of statute. It is meant to qualify or exempt certain
provisions, impose mandatory conditions for the enactment to be workable,
serve as optional addenda or become an integral part of the enactment.

The rule of interpretation regarding provisos is that they cannot nullify the main
enactment’s implications nor expand its scope. Provisos can only be referred to
in case of ambiguity in the section. They must be harmoniously construed in case
of a conflict between the main enactment and a proviso. However, some jurists
argue that the proviso prevails as it represents the legislature’s latest intention.

For example, Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India is considered a proviso to

Article 16(1) as held in T. Devadasan v. Union of India.
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Conclusion
Legislators draft the statutes with utmost care. They ensure that no provision of
the law causes ambiguity. After drawing these statutes, they undergo an
intensive debate and discussion. A group of intellectuals scrutinise the draft
proposal. However, sometimes people misinterpret the texts of these statutes.
Such misinterpretation might result in disputes between parties. Hence, to
resolve any misunderstanding concerning texts of the provision(s), the statutes
are provided with multiple internal aids to interpretation like- marginal notes,
exceptions, schedules, etc. These aids are beneficial in situations where the
provision’s text could be interpreted as having two different meanings.

These aids support the actual meaning of the text and the legislators’ intention
while drafting these statutes and provisions. The judiciary has used internal aids
to settle the disputes arising out of the substantial question of law or fact.
Internal aids to interpretation help legislators while drafting new proposals. It
makes it convenient for them to convey their actual messages through
explanations, illustrations etc. Being an essential part of the statute itself,
internal aids to interpretation serve to be more reliable than external aids. These
are considered to be the first option for answering the substantial questions on
the law in case of ambiguities in the texts.