Internal Aids to Construction.The meaning of internal aid those which are available in the statute itself, the court can interpret the statute by employing such aids

Long title

Internal Aids to Construction – A long title to an Act is a part of the Act and is admissible as an aid to its construction. In the past, the long title was not considere

a part of the statute and therefore, it was not put in the category of internal aids to the construction.

There are Long title alone or along with the preamble is a good guide regarding the object, scope, or purpose of the Act

The Act, a short title can be said to be the nickname of the Act. There is only an abbreviation for purposes of reference and it is not a useful aid to construction.

Long title ordinarily starts with the words “An Act”, “An Act” words start with the ordinary long title. For Example- the long title start of the code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is “An Act to consolidate and

amend the law relating to criminal procedure”.

The Supreme Courts Advocates (Practice in High Courts) Act, 1951, bears a full title as “Act Act to authorize Advocates of the Supreme Court to practice

as of any High Court.” SR Das, J, observed relation to the Act.

Title of an order

Title of an order is not conclusive of its legislative nature.

West Bengal Excise (Selection of persons for Grant of License at New Sites for Retail sale of Spirit and certain Other than Foreign liquor on categories of licenses and licenses for Denatured Spirit) Order, 2002, was

held to be not conclusive of its legislative nature.

Preamble

As the long title of a statute, the preamble of a statute is also a part of the Act ais not and is an admissible aid to construction. It is not an enacting part, but, it is expect to express the scope, object, and

purpose of the Act more comprehensively than the long title.

The role of preamble in the interpretation cannot be curtail or restrict.

The preamble can be and in construing a provision is ambiguous. It can afford useful assistance to ascertain legislative intension, but, cannot control otherwise the plain meaning of a provision.

Headings

Every Heading constitutes an important part of the Act itself. In comparison to the preamble of the statue, they may provide a better key to the construction of sections that follow them.

There are two kinds of headings, those prefixed to a section and

those prefixed to a group or set of sections. It’s a heading of a section that indicates factors to be consider in.

It is now settle that the headings can be refer to in consisting of an Act of the Legislature. But what weight should be attached to the headings, is a debatable question.

One group puts the view that a heading is to be regard as giving the key to the interpretation of clauses arrange under it unless the wording is inconsistent with such interpretation and

so the heading may be treat as preambles to the provisions following them. But, according to another group, resort to the heading can only be taken when the enacting words are ambiguous.

Notes

A note append to a rule cannot derogate from the explicit words of the substantive provision and must be read as explanatory and in harmony within.

Marginal Notes

Notes which are insert at the side of the sections in an Act and express the effect of the sections are call marginal notes. They are not part of a provision and therefore, they cannot be considered

as a legitimate aid to the construction of the provision.

Although, a marginal note may not be determinative of the content of the provision, it may act as an intrinsic aid to construction.

There is the interpretation of a statute marginal notes are not use because most of these notes are insert by the draftsmen and

not by the legislators and not even under the instructions of the legislators.

Punctuation

It is very doubtful to say that in the construction of modern Acts punctuation can be looked upon for purposes of construction.

A few years back also courts did not regard punctuation in the construction of a statute. In the words of hob house, “It is an error punctuation in construction Acts of the legislature’.

In Ashwini Kumar Ghose V Arabinda Bose Mukherjea, J, said, “Punctuation is, after all, a minor element in the construction of a statute, and very little attention pay to it by English courts…”

With respect to modern statutes, it appears that if the statute in question is found to be carefully punctuate, punctuation, through

a minor element, may be resort to for purposes of construction.

Definition clauses

In any statute, ‘definitions’ of certain words and expressions use elsewhere in the body of the statute are commonly found. The definition object is to avoid the necessity of frequent repetitions in describing all the subject-matter to which the word or

expression so define is intend to apply.

There is a definition clause that may borrow definitions from an earlier Act and the definition so borrow may not necessarily be in the definition section but maybe in some other provision of the earlier Act. A word or expression

once define in the statute has to be gives the same meaning unless the context otherwise requires it.

The definition contain in the definition clause of a particular statute should be used for the purposes of that Act.

There is a term or expression define under a particular statute that has its own scope or limits. There, such a definition should not be either restrict or expanded by importing elements

from other legal systems when there is no ambiguity in the definition.

Restrictive and Extensive definitions

In the legislature has power to define a word even artificially. That, the definition of a word in the definition section may either be restrictive of its ordinary meaning or it may be extensive of the same.

There is a particular expression that is often define

by the Legislature by using the word ‘means’ or the word ‘includes’. So, sometimes the words ‘means and excludes’ are used.

There are use of the word ‘means’ indicates that definition is hard and fast definition, and

no other meaning can be assign to the expression than is put down in the definition’.

In a definition may include certain things and exclude certain other things i.e. that, a definition may be both inclusive and exclusive. There are Limit exclusion of a thing may suggest that other categories of that thing

which are not exclude fall within apparently wide or inclusive definition. But if the purpose behind the exclusion clause so requires, exclusion clause may be given liberal construction.

Ambiguous Definitions

Internal Aids to Construction – Although, there is normally presume that the legislature will be especially precise and careful in its choice of language in a definition section, at

times the language used in such a section may itself require interpretation.

The definition section may itself be ambiguous and may have to be interpreted in the light of other provisions of the Act

having regard to the ordinary connotation of the word defined.

There is a definition that is not to be read in isolation. It must be read in the context of the phrase which it defines, realizing that the function of a definition is to give precision and certainty to a word or phrase which would otherwise be vague and

uncertain, but not to contradict it or supplant it altogether.

There is any word or phrase use or define in a statute generally must be take to have been use in its ordinary sense. Only in case of vagueness or ambiguity a word or phrase may be so interpreted so

as to add something to the statutory definition.

Cases related to Internal Aid

In kedar Nath v State of West Bengal[1],

Internal Aids to Construction – Sec 4 of the West Bengal Criminal law Amendment Act, 1949, is interpreted. This section under which the state government is empowered to choose as to which particular case should go for reference to the special court and be tried under a special procedure, was challenged as violative of art. 14 of the Constitution of India. Rejecting the contention, the supreme court held that long title of the Act which said as Act to provide for the Supreme Court held that long title of the act which said as An Act to provide for the more speedy trial and more effective punishment of certain offenses was clear enough to give the state government discretion

as to offenses deserve to be trie by the special courts under a special procedure.

In Deewan Singh v Rajendra Pd Ardevi[2],

Marginal notes may not be relevant for interpreting the action of decisions in all types of cases but where the main provision is sought to be interprete differently, a

reference to marginal note may be permissible.

In Bengal Immunity Co Ltd v State of Bihar[3],

The Supreme Court of India held that marginal note appended to article 286, which provides for ‘restrictions as to the imposition of tax on the sale or purchase of goods’, there is a part of the Constitution and

So, they furnish ‘prima facie’ some clue as to the meaning and purpose of the Article.

In Hood-Barrs v IRC[4],

It was held that words use in an interpretation clause may be given a limited meaning having regard to the context as a whole for word in a statute, whether there shall be the body of the statute or in the interpretation clause is not to be construe without reference

to the context in which it appears. But it will also not be correct to say that wide words in an inclusive definition should be given a limited scope

by reference merely to the ordinary meaning of the word defined.