Interpretation Of Procedural Aspects Of Law In India: A Comparative Analysis Of The Utility Of The Literal And Golden Rules Of Interpretation
- IJLLR Journal
- May 14
- 2 min read
Ms. Sudiksha Ghatak, Ms. Sudiksha Ghatak, Assistant Professor of Law, Indian Institute of Legal Studies, Darjeeling
Ms. Supriya, Assistant Professor of Law, Assistant Professor of Law, Indian Institute of Legal Studies, Darjeeling.
ABSTRACT
The interpretation of procedural law occupies a quietly critical space in the Indian legal system. While substantive law defines what rights a person holds, it is procedural law that determines whether those rights can be meaningfully exercised before a court. Yet the question of how procedural statutes ought to be interpreted has rarely received the sustained scholarly attention it deserves. This paper attempts to address that gap.
Drawing upon the two foundational canons of statutory interpretation, the literal rule and the golden rule, this paper undertakes a comparative analysis of their utility in the specific context of procedural law in India. The literal rule, with its insistence on the plain and ordinary meaning of statutory text, offers courts a disciplined framework that honours legislative primacy and promotes certainty. The golden rule, by permitting departure from literal meaning where absurdity or injustice would otherwise result, introduces a degree of judicial flexibility that procedural contexts sometimes urgently demand.
Through an examination of landmark decisions of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India, as well as select English precedents that have shaped Indian interpretive jurisprudence, this paper evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of both rules when applied to statutes such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. It argues that neither rule alone is adequate and that Indian courts have, often intuitively, moved toward a more harmonious and purposive approach that draws upon both traditions. The paper concludes with recommendations for a more principled and consistent judicial methodology in the interpretation of procedural statutes.
Keywords: Statutory Interpretation, Literal Rule, Golden Rule, Procedural Law, Indian Judiciary
