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CMA Foundation · Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication · Legal Methods and Court System in India

Under the 'mischief rule' laid down in Heydon's case, which of the following is the correct set of questions a court asks to interpret a statute?

The mischief rule asks what the law was before the Act, what defect or mischief it left unaddressed, what remedy the legislature provided, and the true reason for that remedy. The court then interprets the provision to suppress the mischief and advance the remedy.

  1. AWhat the dictionary says, what grammar requires and what the parties intended
  2. BWhat the common law was before the Act, what defect the common law did not provide for, what remedy Parliament adopted and its true reasonCorrect
  3. CWhat the earlier court decided, whether it was binding and whether it can be overruled
  4. DWhat words precede and follow the disputed term and whether they belong to the same class

Explanation

Heydon's case requires the court to consider the common law before the Act, the mischief or defect for which the common law did not provide, the remedy the legislature resolved upon, and the true reason for the remedy. The court then interprets the provision to suppress the mischief and advance the remedy. Option D describes ejusdem generis and noscitur a sociis, while option C concerns precedent.

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