CMA Intermediate · Business Laws and Ethics · Introduction to Law and Legal System in India
A statute penalises a person who keeps 'cows, buffaloes, goats, or other animals' in a residential area without a licence. Applying the rule of ejusdem generis, the words 'other animals' would most likely be read as covering:
The words 'other animals' would be confined to animals of the same kind as cows, buffaloes and goats, that is, domestic livestock. Under ejusdem generis, general words following a list of specific items of one class are restricted to that class and do not extend to every animal.
- AOnly animals of the same kind as cows, buffaloes and goats, such as domestic livestockCorrect
- BEvery kind of animal including pet birds, fish and wild animals
- COnly animals that are specifically named in the section
- DOnly animals that are dangerous to human beings
Explanation
Ejusdem generis means 'of the same kind'. When general words follow a list of specific words of one class, the general words are limited to that class. So 'other animals' means similar livestock, not every animal. Reading it as all animals ignores the limiting effect of the specific list.
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