A significant portion of the book is dedicated to presumptions . These are legal assumptions the court makes unless the statute explicitly says otherwise. Justice Singh lists them with Indian case law:
While the literal rule is the starting point, Singh warns that it cannot lead to an absurdity. He famously argues that judges must presume that the legislature does not make mistakes. If the literal meaning leads to a patent anomaly, the court is not a robot; it must move to the next rule.
It is a traditional rule often defended for ensuring that courts do not trespass into the legislative domain. The Golden Rule: principles of statutory interpretation gp singh
In such cases, the court will modify or alter the plain meaning just enough to prevent the absurdity, but no further. It essentially harmonizes the text to preserve the logical intent of the legislature. 3. The Mischief Rule (Purposive Construction)
Courts must lean toward an interpretation that makes the statute workable and valid, rather than one that renders it redundant, useless, or unconstitutional. 6. The Legacy of G.P. Singh’s Work A significant portion of the book is dedicated
One of the most significant subsidiary rules is that a (a case omitted) cannot be supplied by the court. Courts must not fill gaps in legislation through judicial fiat, as doing so would constitute legislation (law-making) rather than construction (law-interpreting). The judiciary must respect the separation of powers and cannot remedy legislative oversights unless strict necessity and the reason for it are found within the act.
GP Singh On IoS Continued | PDF | Statutory Interpretation - Scribd He famously argues that judges must presume that
Statutes are not read in disjointed fragments; they are read as a whole. Justice G.P. Singh heavily emphasizes the need for internal coherence.