KSLU Solved Question Papers
Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 9
2024 Aug Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation 2024 Aug Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2024 Aug examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2024 Aug examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problem is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English/Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain restrictive and beneficial construction.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: construction by subject matter and purpose; the reason behind the two arms (who bears the risk of unclear words); restrictive construction, where it applies and its authority (Tolaram Relumal, Dilip Kumar); beneficial construction, where it applies and its authority (B. Shah, State of Bombay v. Hospital Mazdoor Sabha); the two arms in the same Act; limits of each; comparison table.
Construction by subject matter and purpose
How widely or narrowly a court reads a provision depends on what the statute does and why it was passed. A law that takes away liberty, property or a right is read narrowly. A law passed to help a weaker class is read generously. These are the two arms of the rule: restrictive (strict) and beneficial (liberal) construction.
Why there are two arms
No statute is perfectly clear. When a doubtful word must be construed, someone gains and someone loses. The two arms decide who bears the risk of unclear drafting.
- Some statutes impose a burden, such as a punishment, a tax or the loss of a right. The State drafted them, and the citizen suffers under them. So the doubt goes in favour of the citizen.
- Where a statute confers a benefit on a protected class, the purpose of the Act is to help that class. So the doubt goes in favour of the class.
Restrictive construction
Meaning. The provision is confined to the plain meaning of its words. Nothing is added by implication, and the person affected gets the benefit of a real doubt.
Where it applies.
- Penal statutes. In Tolaram Relumal v. State of Bombay, AIR 1954 SC 496, a landlord who took money under an agreement for a future lease was held not to have taken a premium "in respect of the grant, renewal or continuance of a lease". If two reasonable constructions are open, the court leans towards the one that exempts the subject from penalty.
- Taxing statutes, as to the charge. The subject is taxed only if the words clearly cover him.
- Laws taking away vested rights or operating retrospectively.
- Laws ousting the jurisdiction of the civil courts.
- Laws restricting fundamental rights.
A twist for exemptions. Strict construction does not always help the subject. In Commissioner of Customs (Import), Mumbai v. Dilip Kumar and Company, AIR 2018 SC 3606, a Constitution Bench held that an exemption notification is read strictly, and any ambiguity in it goes in favour of the revenue.
Beneficial construction
Meaning. Some statutes are passed for the benefit of a class. Where such a provision can bear two meanings, the court adopts the one that advances the benefit. It is the mischief rule applied to welfare laws.
Where it applies. Labour and social security laws, maternity benefit, rent control, consumer protection, and laws for women, children and other weaker groups.
Authorities.
- B. Shah v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Coimbatore, AIR 1978 SC 12. A woman worker was paid maternity benefit for 72 working days, leaving out the Sundays in her twelve weeks. The Supreme Court held that a "week" in the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 means seven days including Sunday. Because the Act is welfare legislation, it was construed in her favour, and she was paid for all 84 days.
- State of Bombay v. Hospital Mazdoor Sabha, AIR 1960 SC 610. Two ward servants of a State-run hospital were retrenched without compensation. The Court read "industry" in the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 at its full width. Profit motive and investment of capital were held unnecessary, and the hospital was an industry. The workmen got the protection of the Act.
The two arms in the same Act
One Act may contain both kinds of provision. The rule is chosen provision by provision. A rent Act that protects tenants is read beneficially on the protection. The offence it creates for landlords is read strictly, as in Tolaram Relumal.
Limits
- Neither arm can rewrite clear words. Both apply only where two reasonable meanings are open.
- Restrictive construction is not artificial construction. It does not allow a strained reading that defeats the Act.
- Beneficial construction protects the class, not any individual. It cannot be used to give a benefit the Act clearly withholds.
Comparison
| Point | Restrictive | Beneficial |
|---|---|---|
| Type of law | Penal, taxing, rights-reducing, ouster | Welfare, remedial, social |
| Doubt resolved for | The person burdened | The protected class |
| Authority | Tolaram Relumal; Dilip Kumar on exemptions | B. Shah; Hospital Mazdoor Sabha |
| Limit | No artificial narrowing | No rewriting of clear words |
Conclusion. The subject matter and purpose of a statute decide whether it is read restrictively or beneficially. Laws that burden the citizen are read strictly in the citizen's favour (Tolaram Relumal), though exemptions are read strictly against the claimant (Dilip Kumar). Welfare laws are read generously in favour of the class they protect (B. Shah; Hospital Mazdoor Sabha). Both arms operate only where the words leave a real choice.
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