Mimansa Rules of Interpretation

Mimansa Rules of Interpretation

Mimansa Rules of Interpretation: According to the Court, every legal system has a hierarchy of laws. Whenever there is conflict between a norm in a higher layer in this hierarchy and a norm in a lower layer, the norm in the higher layer will prevail. The hierarchy in our country has the Constitution of India right at the top. Next comes the statutory law, which may be either the Parliamentary law or law made by the State Legislature. Third is delegated or subordinate legislation, which may be in the form of rules and regulations made under the Act. And last in the hierarchy are administrative orders or executive instructions. The theory of the eminent positivist jurist Kelsen (The Pure Theory of Law) [see Kelsen’s ‘The General Theory of Law and State’], were relied on.

On the basis of existing rules of interpretation generally followed by Courts, the Court has summarized the position with respect to statute and rules, as hereunder –
(a)    If there are two possible interpretations of a rule, one which serves the object of a provision in the parent statute and the other, which does not, the former has to be adopted because adopting the latter will make the rule ultra vires the Act.
(b)   The Act falls in the second layer in this hierarchy, the rules made under the Act fall in the third layer. Hence, if there is any conflict between the provisions of the Act and the provisions of the Rules, the former will prevail.

Re.: Dr. Rajbir Singh Dalal Vs. Chaudhary Devi Lal University (on 6th. Aug. 2008) http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1268797/

Para 18. It is deeply regrettable that in our Courts of law lawyers quote Maxwell and Craies but nobody refers to the Mimansa Principles of interpretation. Most lawyers would not have even heard of their existence. Today our so-called educated people are largely ignorant about the great intellectual achievements of our ancestors and the intellectual treasury which they have bequeathed us. The Mimansa Principles of interpretation is part of that great intellectual treasury, but it is distressing to note that apart from the reference to these principles in the judgment of Sir John Edge, the then Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, in Beni Prasad v. Hardai Bibi, 1892 ILR 14 All 67 (FB), over a hundred years ago and in some judgments of one of us (M. Katju, J.) there has been almost no utilization of these principles even in our own country. Many of the Mimansa Principles are rational and scientific and can be utilized in the legal field (see in this connection K.L. Sarkar's `Mimansa Rules of Interpretation' which is a collection of Tagore Law Lectures delivered in 1905 containing the best exposition of these principles in English. Most other books on Mimansa are in Sanskrit).

Para 19. The Mimansa Principles of Interpretation, as laid down by Jaimini around the 5th century B.C. in his sutras and as explained by Sabar, Kumarila Bhatta, Prabhakar, Mandan Mishra, Shalignath, Parthasarathy Mishra, Apadeva, Shree Bhat Shankar, etc. were regularly used by our renowned jurists like Vijneshwara (author of Mitakshara), Jimutvahana (author of Dayabhaga), Nanda Pandit (author of Dattaka Mimansa), etc. whenever there they found any conflict between the various Smritis, e.g., Manusmriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti, or ambiguity, ellipse or absurdity in any Smriti. Thus, the Mimansa principles were our traditional system of interpretation of legal texts. Although originally they were created for interpreting religious texts pertaining to the Yagya (sacrifice), they were so rational and logical that gradually they came to be utilized in law, philosophy, grammar, etc., that is, they became of universal application. Thus, Shankaracharya has used the Mimansa Adhikaranas (principles) in his bhashya on the Vedanta sutras.

Para 20. The Mimansa principles were regularly used by our great jurists for interpreting legal texts (see also in this connection P.V. Kane's' History of the Dharmashastra', Vol. V, Pt. II, Ch. XXIX and Ch. XXX, pp. 1282- 1351).

Para 21. In Mimansa, casus omissus is known as adhyahara. The adhyahara principle permits us to add words to a legal text. However, the superiority of the Mimansa Principles over Maxwell's Principles in this respect is shown by the fact that Maxwell does not go into further detail and does not mention the sub-categories coming under the general category of casus omissus. In the Mimansa system, on the other hand, the general category of adhyahara has under it several sub-categories, e.g., anusanga, anukarsha, vakyashesha, etc. Since in this case we are concerned with the anusanga principle, we may explain it in some detail.

Para 22. The anusanga principle (or elliptical extension) states that an expression occurring in one clause is often meant also for a neighbouring clause, and it is only for economy that it is only mentioned in the former (see Jaimini 2, 2, 16). The anusanga principle has a further sub- categorization. If a clause which occurs in a subsequent sentence is to be read into a previous sentence it is a case of Tadapakarsha, but when it is vice-versa it is a case of Tadutkarsha.

Para 23. The Anusanga principle of Mimansa was used by Jimutvahana in the Dayabhaga. Jimutvahana found that there is a text of Manu which states: "Of a woman married according to the Brahma, Daiva, Arsha, Gandharva and Prajapartya form, the property shall go to her husband if she dies without issue. But her property, given to her on her marriage in the form called Asura, Rakshasa and Paisacha, on her death without issue shall become the property of her parents."

Para 24. It can be seen that in the second sentence the word `property' is qualified by the words `given to her on her marriage', whereas in the first sentence there is no such qualification. Jimutvahana, using the anusanga principle of Mimansa, said that the words "given to her on her marriage" should also be inserted in the first sentence after the word "property", and hence there also the word `property' must be interpreted in a qualified sense.

Para 25. In the Mitakshara also the anusanga principle of Mimansa has been used. Yajnavalkya II. 135-136 lays down the order of succession to the wealth of a person dying sonless. Yajnavalkya II. 137 deals with succession to property of a forest hermit, an ascetic, or a perpetual Vedic student. The Mitakshara then holds that Yajnavalkya II. 138 `samaristinastu samaristi' is to be construed as an exception to Yajnavalkya II. 135, 136 and understands that the words `of one dying without having a son' (grand son or great grand son) are to be supplied before Yajnavalkya II. 138 from II. 136, i.e., there is to be anusanga of the word `svaryatasya-putrasya'.