Showing 81–81 of 81 terms for letter P
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P
Legal term
Purposive Interpretation
Ratio Legis (Latin)
Definition
A method of statutory interpretation that focuses on the purpose or object the legislature sought to achieve — interpreting the statute in a way that advances its identified purpose, even if the literal words do not unambiguously point to that result.
Explanation
Purposive interpretation (also called 'teleological interpretation' from the Greek 'telos' — end, purpose) asks: why did the legislature enact this statute? What problem was it trying to solve? What mischief was it addressing? Provisions are then interpreted to most effectively advance that purpose. The mischief rule (Heydon's Case, 1584) is the historical ancestor: courts look at the mischief that existed before the statute, what the legislature was trying to remedy, and interpret the statute to most effectively suppress the mischief. Indian courts, particularly in constitutional and socially beneficial legislation (labour law, consumer protection), strongly favour purposive interpretation over literal readings that would undermine the statute's social purpose.
Statutory Provision
No statutory provision — purposive interpretation is the dominant approach in modern Indian constitutional and statutory jurisprudence. The Supreme Court in <em>Workmen v. American Express International Banking Corporation</em> (1985) 3 SCC 545 held: 'In interpreting a statute, the court should adopt a purposive and not a literal interpretation to effectuate the object and purpose of the enactment.' For constitutional interpretation, the Supreme Court in <em>Kesavananda Bharati</em> applied the purposive approach to give full meaning to constitutional provisions in light of the Constitution's transformative objectives.
