legal maxim

The Latin maxim of Absoluta sententia Expositore Non Indiget literally means that a simple proposition needs no expositor, which basically states that a sentence which has only one meaning cannot be interpreted. When cases are brought about in the Courts, the judges often have to interpret the meaning of the crucial words of the legislature in several ways before coming to one appropriate conclusion for the concerned case, in this scenario, it is the opposite. When any act or statute or rule or order passed by the legislature has only one meaning, it is not in the hands of the Judiciary to interpret it, no matter how absurd the meaning is. The words of the legislature have to be followed, since it is the law-making body of the country and the laws will only have to be interpreted in a manner in which the legislature wants it to be interpreted into.

Martab Ali v. Union of India

The question before the Court in this case was the meaning of the term “loss” and the phrase “compensation for the loss, destruction or deterioration of goods” used in Section 77 of the Railways Act, 1989. The section said that any man facing any loss or destruction to his goods or person or animals shall not get any compensation for the losses until they have written it to the authorities. The learned judge made it clear that the meaning of the words is plain, simple and straight-forward, and thus do not require any interpretation.