Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab, (2014) 3 SCC 92 held, if an interpretation leads to a conclusion that the word used by Legislature is redundant, it should be avoided as the presumption is Legislature has deliberately and consciously used the word for carrying out the purpose of the Act. The legal maxim ‘a verbis legis non est recedendum‘ which means, ‘from the words of law, there must be no departure’ has to be kept in mind. There could be no assumption, Legislature committed a mistake when the language of the statute was plain and ambiguous. No word in a statute has to be construed as a surplusage nor could any word be rendered ineffective or purposeless if Court is required to carry out the legislative intent fully and completely.

– Hon’ble Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Shobana, [Civil Appeal Nos. 3745-3754 of 2020].

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It has to be added, legal maxims which trace their origin and birth in experience of older times and emerge in progress of civilization, blend reasonableness, wisdom, truthfulness and objectivity to enrich interpretational contents and add to jurisprudential stuff.

– Hon’ble Justice N.V. Anjaria, Roma Ahuja v. State, [Criminal Appeal Nos. 1831-1832 of 2026] decided on 09.04.2026.