INTERPRETATION OF

STATUTES
BY- PREETHA R
B.COM LLB
V-YEAR
171401601013
PARLIMENTARY HISTORY AS A TOOL FOR THE
PURPOSE OF INTERPRETATION
• Parliamentary history - means the includes conception of an idea, drafting of the
bill, the debates made, the amendments proposed, speech made by mover of the
bill, etc. Papers placed before the cabinet which took the decision for the
introduction of the bill are not relevant since these papers are not placed before
the parliament. The historical facts of the statute that is the external
circumstances in which it was enacted in should also be taken into note so that it can
be understood that the statute in question was intended to alter the law or leave it
where it stood. Statement of objective and reasons as to why the statute is being
brought to enactment can also be a very helpful fact in the research for historical
facts, but the same if done after extensive amendments in statute it may be unsafe
to attach these with the statute in the end. It is better to use the report of a
committee before presenting it in front of the legislature as they guide us with a
legislative intent and place their recommendations which come in handy while
enactment of the bill.
• The Supreme Court in S.R. Chaudhuri v. State of Punjab and others (2001) has
stated that it is a settled position that debates in the Constituent Assembly may be
relied upon as an aid to interpret a Constitutional provision because it is the
function of the Court to find out the intention of the framers of the Constitution.
But as far as speeches in Parliament are concerned, a distinction is made between
speeches of the mover of the Bill and speeches of other Members. Regarding
speeches made by the Members of the Parliament at the time of consideration of a
Bill, it has been held in K.S. Paripoornan v. State of Kerala and others (1995) that
they are not admissible as extrinsic aids to the interpretation of the statutory
provision. However, speeches made by the mover of the Bill or Minister may be
referred to for the purpose of finding out the object intended to be achieved by
the Bill.
Historical facts
Historical facts of the statute are the external circumstances in which it was
enacted. The object is to understand whether the statute in question was
intended to alter the law or leave it where it stood.
In (Keats v. Lewis Merthbyr Consolidated Collieries Ltd. (1911) it was held that
the external aid in the form of historical facts and circumstances surrounding the
legislation is necessary and quite useful in understanding the subject matter of
the statute and thereby to arrive at the legislative intent.
Statement Of Objects And Reasons

• The purpose and reasons for enacting the statute are stated in the statement of
objective and reasons. It is permitted to consult it in order to have a better
knowledge of the statute's background, antecedent condition of events, and
surrounding circumstances, as well as the ill that the statute attempted to address.
The purpose of the Statement of Objects and Reasons is to describe why the mover
introduced the bill in the House and what goals he hoped to achieve. However, those
aims and reasons may or may not match to the goal that the majority of members
had in mind when the law was approved. The Bill may have undergone significant
changes during its passage through the House or Houses, and there is no guarantee
that the reasons for its introduction and the goals it seeks to achieve will remain the
same until the Bill is passed as an Act of the Legislature, because they are not
included in the Bill and are not voted on by the members. The Bill's appended
Statements of Objects and Reasons should be disregarded as a tool for drafting
legislation.
• In Indira Sawhney v Union of India, the Supreme Court referred to Dr.
Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly and observed interpreting Article
16 (4), ‘that the debates in the Constituent Assembly could be relied upon as an aid
to interpretation of a constitutional provision is borne out by a series of decisions of
the Court.’
• Since the expression backward classes of citizens are not defined in the
Constitution, the reference to such debates is permissible to ascertain at any rate the
context, background, and objective behind them. Particularly where the courts want
to ascertain the ‘original intent’ such reference may be unavoidable.
 Report of Commissions
• Reports of Commissions including Law Commission or Committees including Parliamentary
Committees preceding the introduction of a Bill can also be referred to in the Court as
evidence of historical facts or of surrounding circumstances or of mischief or evil intended to
be remedied.
• The Supreme Court in Rosy and another v. State of Kerala and others (2000) considered Law
Commission of India, 41st Report for interpretation of section 200 (2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898 Earlier courts, while interpreting a provision in a statute used to refer
legislative history to ascertain its clear and complete meaning. The Traditional English Courts
used to refer the report 5 of a Committee presented to the Parliament/Legislature as an
external aid. But the modern trend seems to be that legislative history is not permissible as an
aid to interpretation.
• In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950 ), the Supreme Court observed that the debates in
Parliament on a bill are not admissible for the construction of an act. However, it became
incompatible to the Supreme Court to refer legislative history as an aid, while interpreting a
provision in the statute.
 Dictionary
• The meaning of particular words in an Indian statute is to be found not so much in a strict
etymological propriety of language nor even in popular sense, as in the subject or occasion on which
they used. But it is well known that words are generally used in their ordinary sense and therefore,
though dictionaries are not to be taken as authoritative in regard to the meanings of the words used
in statutes, they may be consulted. In Voltas Ltd. v. Rolta India Ltd.(2014) the Supreme Court has
held that: “Dictionaries can hardly be taken as authoritative exponents of the meanings of the
words used in legislative enactments for the plainest words may be controlled by a reference to the
context.”
• Therefore, the dictionaries are referred/consulted by the courts, whenever need arises to find out
the ordinary sense of the words. However, the courts must be very careful while referring the
dictionaries because the dictionary meaning of the word may not be true at all times in a particular
sense. If a word or an expression in an Act has been defined, there is no need to refer the dictionary
to find out its general meaning. One of the main objects of every dictionary of the English Language
is to give an adequate and comprehensive definition of every word contained in it. Dictionaries are
referred to, not only for meaning of the word, but also to find out the general use of it.
 Judicial Decisions

• Decisions by courts on the same manner act as precedents for the interpretation of
statutes. Indian judicial pronouncements may have binding value when issued by a
higher court, and have persuasive value when issued by a court having same or lower
authority. These foreign decisions from countries following the same system of
jurisprudence have persuasive value only and cannot be used to contradict binding
Indian judgements.
• In Amireddi Raja Gopala Rao v. Amireddi Sitharamamma,(1965) a Constitution bench
was concerned with the issue as to whether the rights of maintenance of illegitimate
sons of a Sudra as available under the Mitakshara School of Hindu law were affected
by introduction of Sections 4, 21 and 22 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance
Act, 1956. The Court held that they were not, and observed in as follows: 7 “. ... a
statute should be interpreted, if possible, so as to respect vested rights, and if the
words are open to another construction, such a construction should never be
adopted.”
 Foreign decision/Judgments and Foreign
Statutes
• The majority of Indian legislation is based on prior English statutes. Similarly, the ideas
established in many common law court rulings in England have been accepted and
adopted by Indian courts. As a result, the Indian legal system is a carbon copy of English
law. Although it is permissible to cite English and American cases because they share
our jurisprudence, they do not take precedence where the text of the Indian statute or
enactment is unambiguous. They aid in the clarification of broad principles and the
interpretation of Acts in pari materia. However, Indian statutes should be read in light
of the realities of Indian living.
• Before independence i.e before the establishment of the apex court in India, appeals
from the Indian High Courts were heard by the Privy Council were followed and applied
in Indian Courts, even after the independence till date. It is to be noted that a number
of statutes in India, substantial and procedural namely the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 etc. were drafted by the British Parliament, which are
applied in Indian Courts.
 Textbooks

• Sometimes, courts while interpreting a statute refer textbooks authored by

distinguished jurists and eminent scholars, so as to arrive at a true meaning of an
enactment. However, it is not necessary that the meaning of the words given in the
textbooks should correspond to the views/opinions of the Courts. In certain cases,
Vedas are quoted with approval by the courts. For example- Manu Smriti, Agna
Valkya Smriti, Jimutavahana, Vignaneswara, Kanitilya etc.
• Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) In this case, the Supreme Court
referred a large number of textbooks. The majority opinion was that, in view of
many opinions and counter opinions expressed by the authors and jurists in the
textbooks, it was not desirable to follow the opinions quoted in the textbooks.
 International Law: Treaties and Conventions

• International law is one of the most important fields of public law. Public
International Law and Private International Law/Conflict of Law are the two types.
International law is a set of norms and concepts that govern how members of the
international community conduct themselves and interact (UNO or U.N.). "The act
of summoning a conference as assembly, representatives or delegates assembled
for a common cause," the term convention literally denotes. For example, the 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A treaty, on the other hand, is
an agreement reached between two or more nations (countries) on a certain issue.
For example, the Indo-Pak Treaty is an agreement between India and Pakistan.
 Contemporanea Expositio or
contemporaneous Exposition or Construction
• The word ‘Contemporanea’ means “of the same time or the same period and the
word exposition or exposition means explanation. Hence, the expression
‘contemporanea expositio’ means interpreting a statute or any other document
by referring to the exposition it has received from contemporary authority.” The
rule of Contemporanea Expositio was coined for the first time by Lord. Coke. In
R.S. Nayak v. A.R. Antuley, (1984), the Supreme Court construed Section 21 of
Indian Penal Code, 1860 by referring to the principle of ‘Contemporanea
Expositio’ and it was held that a member of legislative assembly is not a public
servant as defined in the section
 Government Circulars, Publications (Reports
of Commissions and Committees)
• Government Circulars, Publications and Reports have been considered as external aids in
construction of statutes. Hence, the courts, at the time of interpretation of statutes.
Hence, the Courts at the time of interpretation refer them, unless they do not go against
the spirit of statute under which they are issued.
• In Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (1958)- The Supreme Court referred the
Press Commission’s Report.
• Therefore, it can be concluded that the importance of use of these aids is manifest. In
any case, where difficulty arises as to finding out the true intention of the legislature, the
use of these materials could be made by the Courts. Of course, in India, there is no
consistent and uniform approach to the use of extrinsic materials in the sense of
determining as aids for the purpose of interpretation of a given statute. Undoubtedly,
individually as well as collectively, they are very much useful in finding out the true
intention of the legislature. Of course, recourse to these aids could only be made in case
of possibility of more than one interpretation of a given statute.
 SHORT NOTE
• WHAT IS EX POST FACTO LAW?
EX POST FACTO = AFTER THE FACT
New Laws cannot apply to the people operating before the new law was passed.
It states that a person can neither be punished for any offence which was at the time of commission not
charged as an offence nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under
the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. Hence termed as Ex-Post facto Law.
Article 20(1) prohibits the imposition of enhanced penalty or punishment. But it does not bar any reduction in
the punishment. In the case of Rattan Lal v. State of Punjab, (AIR 1965 SC 444) the accused a boy of 16 years of
age was charged against the offence of outraging the modesty of a girl aged 7 years and house trespass. The
Magistrate imposed the punishment of rigorous imprisonment of six months and fine. In the meantime the
Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 came into force which stated that the person of 21 years of age and below
should not generally be sent to the imprisonment. The person accused pleaded to be covered under the
reformative theory of the Act. The State contended that the Act in relation was an ex post facto law and could
not be applicable in the said case. However, the Apex Court held that an ex post facto law which was beneficial
to the accused did not fall under the prohibition laid down under the article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution.
SHORT NOTE

• WHAT IS BONAM PARTEM ?

The interpretation of the words of a statute are to be interpreted
in their rightful and lawful sense.
Hence the term Bonam Partem is known to mean the interpretation
of words in their least aggravated sense.