No suit shall lie against any public servant for anything done by him in good faith under this Act.
General principles of interpretation. - When a statute is carefully punctuated and there is doubt about its meaning, weight should be given to the punctuation. But punctuation is a minor element in the construction of a statute and every little attention is paid to it by English courts.
Sub-section must be construed as an integral part of the enactment. It is not legitimate for the courts to re-write the sub-section, particularly when no repugnancy exists.
The illustration given along with a statutory provision neither curtails nor expands the meaning of the clause under which it finds place. At the same time an illustration is not exhaustive. It is not to be readily assumed that an illustration to a section is repugnant to it.
_______________________ 1 Substituted for the words "Provincial" by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1951.
2 Ashwini Kumar v. Abrindra Bose, 1953 SCR 1: AIR 1952 SC 369.
3 Madanlal v. Sree Chandan Sugar Mills, AlR 1962 SC 1543.
4 Madan Lal v. Sree Chandan Sugar Mills, AIR 1962 SC 1543.
5 Jumma Masjid v. Kodimaniandra Deviah, AlR 1962 SC 847.
The presumption is in favour of the constitutionality of a legislation and one has to resume that the legislature understands and correctly appreciates the needs of its people.
Proviso and its effect. - A proviso to a section is subservient to the, main provision of the statute. Provisos are generally inserted to remove misapprehensions.
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1. Ram Parshad v. State of Bihar, 1953 SCR 1129: AIR 1953 SC 215.
2. S. Asia v. Sarup Singh, AIR 1966 SC 346.
3 Madan Lal v. Saree Chanden Sugar Mills, AIR 1962 SC 1543.