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CSEET · Business Laws and Management · Introduction to Law

Under the General Clauses Act, 1897, words in the singular include the plural and vice versa. Which of the following is the correct qualification to this rule?

The rule that singular includes plural, and the reverse, operates only unless something in the subject or context of the enactment is repugnant to it. It is a default aid to interpretation, not an absolute rule, so context can displace it.

  1. AIt applies only to criminal statutes
  2. BIt applies only if the Act is passed after 1897
  3. CIt applies always, even where the context is contrary
  4. DIt applies unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or contextCorrect

Explanation

The rule of singular including plural and vice versa is a default rule of construction. It gives way where the subject or context of the statute is repugnant to it. It is not confined to criminal statutes or to later Acts, and it is not absolute.

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