Unit II · Interpretation of Statutes

Contemporanea expositio, casus omissus and construction ut res magis valeat

Study aid only. Confirm statute numbers with the current bare Act and the official OU LL.B. (3-YDC) 2024–25 syllabus PDF.

Statute sections

Act / instrument	Section	Name
General Clauses Act, 1897	26	Provision as to offences punishable under two or more enactments
Constitution of India	367	Interpretation of the Constitution

AIR 1984 SC 684 · Supreme Court of India

Contemporaneous exposition, including the mover's speech, may illuminate ambiguous words such as 'public servant'.

AIR 1957 SC 628 · Supreme Court of India

Prize competitions that are of a gambling nature can be severed from innocent competitions so that the valid part of the law stands.

AIR 1962 SC 159 · Supreme Court of India

Contemporanea expositio is of little weight for modern statutes; the court prefers an updating construction of general words.