Interpretation of statues

 THE GENERAL CLAUSES ACT, 1897

The Salient features of the GCA, 1897

*An Act to consolidate and extend the General Clauses Acts, 1868 and 1887 [11th March,

1897]

*Article 367(1) of the Constitution says that unless the context otherwise requires, the General Clauses Act, 1897, shall, subject to any adaptations and modifications that may be made therein under Article 372, apply for the interpretation of this Constitution.

* The General Clauses Act, 1897 is applicable for the interpretation of the Constitution of India as well as of an Act of the Legislature.

*Section 3 explains about GENERAL DEFINITIONS for certain important words as follows;-

1. "Abet", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall have the same meaning as in the IPC from Sections 107 to 120. Additionally, there are two more Sections 305 and 306 dealing with the same. The first two sections out of the above, Sections 107 and 108, define 'abetment of a thing' and 'abettor‟ respectively.

2. "Act", used with reference to an offence or a civil wrong, shall include a series of acts, and words which refer to acts done extend also to illegal omissions; is a law applicable only to a particular part of India.

3. "Affidavit" - affirmation and declaration in the case of persons by law allowed affirming or declaring instead of swearing.

4. "Barrister" shall mean a barrister of England or Ireland or a member of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland.

5. ―Collector"- in a Presidency-town, the Collector of Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, as the case may be, and elsewhere the chief officer-in-charge of the revenue administration or a district.

6. "Commencement", used with reference to an Act or Regulation, shall mean the day on which the Act or Regulation comes into force.

7. "Commissioner"- the chief officer-in-charge of the revenue administration of a division.

8. "Constitution" shall mean the Constitution of India.

9. "District Judge" - the Judge of the Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction, but shall not include a High Court in the exercise of its ordinary or extraordinary original civil jurisdiction.

10. "Document" shall include any matter written, expressed or described upon any substance by means of letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those means which is intended to be used, or which may be used, for the purpose of recording that matter.

11. "Father", in the case of anyone whose personal law permits adoption, shall include an adoptive father.

12. "Financial year" shall mean the year commencing on the first day of April.

A thing shall be deemed to be done in "Good faith" where it is in fact done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not.

13. "Government" or "the Government" shall include both -the Central Government and

-any State Government.

14. “Government securities" - securities of the Central Government, or of any State Government but in any Act or Regulation made before the commencement of the Constitution shall not include securities of the Government of any Part B State.

15. "High Court"- the highest civil court or Appeal (not including the Supreme Court) in the part of India in which the Act or Regulation containing the expression operates.

16. "Immovable property"-includes land, benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth.

17. "Imprisonment" - imprisonment of either description as defined in the IPC.

18. "Magistrate"- includes every person exercising all or any of the powers of a Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure for the time being in force.

19. "Month" - a month reckoned according to the British calendar.

20. "Movable property"- property of every description except immovable property.

21. "Oath" - an affirmation and declaration in the case of persons by law allowed affirming or declaring instead of swearing.

22. "Offence"- any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force. 23. ―Gazette” - the Gazette of India

24.‖The Official Gazette”– the gazette of a State.

25. ―Person‟-any company or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not.

26. "Public nuisance"- a public nuisance as defined U/s.268 of the IPC.

27. "Registered"-used wider the fence to a document, shall mean registered in India under the law for the time being in force (i.e., Registration Act, 1908) for the registration of documents.

28. "Regulation" - a Regulation made by the President under Article 240 of the Constitution and shall include a Regulation made by the President under Article 243 thereof and a Regulation made by the Central Government under the Government of India Act, 1870, or the Government of India Act, 1915, or the Government of India Act, 1935. 29. "Rule"- a rule made in exercise of a power conferred by any enactment, and shall include a regulation made as a rule under any enactment.

30. "Sign"- with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall, with reference to a person who is unable to write his name, include "mark", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions

31. "Son"- in the case of any one, whose personal law permits adoption, shall include an adopted son.

32. "Swear"- with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall include affirming and declaring in the case of persons by law allowed to affirm or declare instead of swearing.

33. "Will"-includes a codicil and every writing making a voluntary posthumous disposition of property.

34. "Writing-" includes printing, lithography, photography, and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form.

35. "Year" - a year reckoned according to the British calendar.

36. “Ordinance”- promulgated by the President under Article 123 of our Constitution.