Chapter III General Rules of Construction

Every enactment shall, unless the contrary is expressly provided therein, apply to the whole of Meghalaya

1. (1) Where a Meghalaya Act is not expressed to come into force on a particular day, then, it assents of the Governor in first published in the official Gazette.
2. (2) Unless the contrary intention is expressed, a Meghalaya Ordinance shall come into force on the day on which it is promulgated by the Governor;
3. (3) Unless the contrary intention is expressed, every enactment shall be constructed as coming into force immediately on the expiration of the day preceding the day on which it comes into force.

Where an enactment is expressed to expire, lapse or otherwise cease to have effect on a particular day, it shall, unless the contrary intention is expressed, be constructed as ceasing to have effect immediately on the commencement of the following day.

The marginal notes appearing against any provision of any enactment, and the reference to the number and date of any number and date of any former law in the margin against any such provision, shall form no part of the said enactment and shall be deemed to have been inserted for the sake of convenience only.

In the absence of an express provision to the contrary, every enactment shall be binding on the Government.

Where any enactment constitutes a body corporate by any form of words, that body corporate shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and may enter into contracts by its corporate name, acquire, hold and dispose of property, whether movable or immovable, and sue or be sued by its corporate name.

1. (1) If a person committing an offence under any enactment is a company, the company as well as every person in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at time of the commission of the offence shall the deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
2. (2) Where an offence under any enactment has been committed by a company , any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, not being a person in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence , shall, if it is proved that the offence has been committed with his consent or convenience or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on his part, also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation :For the purpose of this section –
   • (a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of persons, and
   • (b) “director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm

In all enactments unless a different intentions appeals –

1. (a) words importing the masculine gender shall be taken to include females ;
2. (b) words in the singular shall be taken to include the plural and vice-versa.

In any enactment, it shall be sufficient –

1. (a) to use the word “from” or the word “after” for the purpose of excluding the first in a series of days ;
2. (b) to use the word “to” for the purpose of including the last in a series of days ;
3. (c) to use the word “on” or the word “with ” for the purpose of including the day on which the period is expressed to begin or to end ; and
4. (d) in relation to the interval between two events, to use the words “clear days” or “at least” or “not less than” a number of days for the purpose of excluding the days on which the events happen and merely to specify the number of days for the purpose of excluding the days on which the events happen and merely to specify the number of days for the purpose excluding the days on which the first event happens and including the day on which the second event happens.

Where by any enactment any act or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken in any court or office on a certain day or within a specified period, then, if the court or office is closed on that day or the last day of the specified period, the act or proceeding shall be considered as done or taken in due time it is done or taken on the next day afterwards on which the court or office is open.; Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any act or proceeding to which the Limitation Act, 1963 applies.

Where, in any enactment, any reference to a specified time of the day occurs, such time shall, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, be deemed to mean the Indian Standard Time.

Where, by any enactment , any duty of customs or excise or in the nature thereof, is leviable on any given quantity by weight , measure or value of any goods or merchandise, then a like duty is leviable according to the same rate on any greater or less quantity.

In the measurement of any distance for the purpose of any enactment, that distance shall , unless a different intention appears, be measured in a straight line on a horizontal plane.

Whenever in any enactment a punishment is provided for an offence, such punishment shall unless a different intention appears, be deem to be the maximum punishment for that offence.

Save as otherwise expressly provided by any enactment, whenever a form is prescribed by any enactment, slight deviations there from, not affecting the substance or calculated to mislead, shall not invalidate it.

. Save as otherwise expressly provided by any enactment, no act done by any authority, whether such authority is judicial or executive shall be invalid by reason only of its having been done on a public holiday.

Where an act or omission constitutes an offence under two or more enactments, the offender shall be liable to be prosecuted or punished under either or any of them, but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence.