Evolution of Mischief Rule in Indian Jurisprudence

Principles of Interpretation of Statutes form an essential part of jurisprudence. The paper aims to study the origin of the mischief rule in Heydon’s case and its journey to application in Indian cases. The Mischief rule as traced back to the Heydon’s case is one of the oldest rule of statutory interpretation. It has found application in a number of cases not just in the British context but also in the Indian scenario. The mischief rule has been applied to different kinds of statutes in the Indian precedents to remedy different kinds of mischiefs beginning from the Bengal Immunity case where an act of the State legislature was in question and extending to application in the commercial laws of the State like the law relating to taxation and negotiable instruments. The paper focuses on the variety of cases in which mischief rule has found application. The study also focuses on the extension of the mischief rule as the purposive interpretation.