|best| — Principles Of Statutory Interpretation Gp Singh

Must be interpreted strictly based on the literal text. There is no room for equity or intendment in a tax law; a citizen is either clearly taxed or not taxed.

This is where Singh modernizes the field. He robustly supports the use of parliamentary debates (travaux préparatoires), law commission reports, legislative history, and even dictionaries. He famously argues that while parliamentary debates cannot be used to ascribe subjective intent to individual speakers, they can be used to understand the objective context—the social and economic problem the statute addresses. This pragmatic approach has deeply influenced the Supreme Court of India, which now routinely cites parliamentary debates in constitutional and statutory interpretation. principles of statutory interpretation gp singh

GP Singh's principles of statutory interpretation are characterized by the following features: Must be interpreted strictly based on the literal text

Must be construed strictly. If there are two reasonable interpretations of a penal provision, the court must adopt the one that favors the accused. No one should be penalized under an ambiguous law. He robustly supports the use of parliamentary debates