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Pragati Solanki*, Sparsh Sinha**
ABSTRACT:
In the broader picture, Interpretation of Statutes donnes a rather infinitesimal scope to its applications in the practical judicial setup of the nation. Be it the Constitution or the plethora of laws that are passed by the parliament to run the nation and govern its various stratum, interpretation plays a dominant role in getting the same to percolate down to the grass-root level.
Benjamin N Cardozo has very famously theorized a lot of what the scope of interpretation of statutes entails and has even streamlined major theories to deduce the process of derivation used by judges to draw out conclusions in various cases. These postulations, although not expressly, find themselves being effectuated via various judges and the same can be deduced upon closer inspection of the wordings of the judgment a judge chooses to articulate while delivering the same. These processes of reasoning by judges vary in their applications and lead to consequences that have been intended by the legislature or rather furthered by the principles of justice, equity and good conscience, the three pillars of a just society.
Through the course of this paper, we analyse two major judgments, Sowmithri Vishnu v. Union of India and Joseph Shine v Union of India. Both cases were instituted challenging the constitutionality of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, that criminalise the act of adultery. The former case, adjudged by Justice YV Chandrachud upheld its constitutional validity whereas the later one adjudged by Justice DY Chandrachud decriminalised the section. Adjudging the interpretative paths taken by the two judges in light of Cardozo’s understanding of Interpretation provides unique insight into the workings of the judicial minds and how time influence the scope of the same. The variance in judgments delivered by father and son presents as an important ground to understand the role of interpretation of statutes and its applications in the world while also helps map out a certain evolutionary process that may be attributed to the scope of interpretation in light of various societal factors that also affect it.
Publication date and year: 1st March 2021
DOI link: https://doi.org/10.59126/v1i1a5
Preferred Citation: Solanki & Sinh , CHANDRACHUD V. CHANDRACHUD: UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE OF INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES THROUGH THE FATHER, Vol. I-I, 59-68 (2021).
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* Student of 4th year BA LL.B Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Email id : solankipragati98@gmail.com
** Student of 4th year BA LL.B Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Email id : sinhasparsh@gmail.com
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