What is the rule of ‘Reading Down’ the clause?

About ‘Reading Down’ the clause:

• “Reading Down” provision is one of the many methods the court may turn to when it finds that a particular provision, if for its plain meaning, cannot be saved from invalidation.
• It refers to a legal interpretation approach where a court, while examining the validity of a statute, attempts to give a narrowed or restricted meaning to a particular provision to uphold its constitutionality.
• When a court encounters a provision that, if interpreted according to its plain and literal meaning, might lead to constitutional or legal issues, the court may opt to read down the provision.
• Reading down involves construing the language of the provision in a manner that limits its scope or application,making it consistent with constitutional or legal principles.
• So, by restricting or reading it down, the court makes it workable to salvage and save the provision from invalidation.
• This principle is rooted in the idea that courts should make every effort to preserve the validity of legislation and should only declare a law invalid as a last resort.
• The rule of “Reading Down” is only for the limited purpose of making a provision workable and its objective achievable.

Q1: What is a Legal Clause?

A clause is a specific point or provision in a law or legal document. It can be an article, section, or standalone paragraph that addresses any topic pertaining to the document that contains it.

• Source:A Perfectly Valid Provision Can’t be ‘Read Down’ Just Because It Imposes Harsher Consequences: Supreme Court

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