casus omissus

A casus omissus is a gap: a case the legislature did not foresee or chose not to cover. The general rule in India is that courts will not fill it. Adding words to a statute is legislating, which is Parliament's job, and a court must read the statute as it stands.

The rule is not absolute. A court may supply an omission only in a case of clear necessity, where the reason for doing so is found within the four corners of the statute itself. Students often confuse this with purposive interpretation: purposive reading chooses between meanings the words can bear, while supplying a casus omissus adds a meaning the words do not contain.

Example

Since the Act is silent on appeals against interim orders, this is a casus omissus that the court cannot supply, and the remedy lies with the legislature.

In Indian law

• Padmasundara Rao v. State of Tamil Nadu, 2002 INSC 136: a casus omissus cannot be supplied by the court except in a case of clear necessity

See also

purposive interpretation · literal rule · mischief rule

Read more in the study notes

• Meaning of statute and purpose of interpretation (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
• Restrictive and beneficial construction; welfare legislation (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
• The literal rule and the golden rule (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
• Law-making: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)