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All rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husband's property shall upon her remarriage cease an determine as if she had then died.

2. If the section were to be taken in its widest scope, it would have to be conceded that the provision of law applies to any widow whatsoever. It would then include not only all Hindu widows, but even Christian and Muslim widows. Such a construction of the section would lead to absurdity. It is therefore impossible to say that Section 2 of the Act can be interpreted without reference to the other provisions of the Act and without reference to the preamble. Were it possible to interpret Section 2 standing by itself and independently of everything else, there might have been some force in saying that it applied to all Hindu widows. But we are forced to restrict its scope so as to exclude at least Christian, Muslim, Parsi or Buddhist widows. In order therefore to find out the true scope of the section, one is compelled to look to the provisions of that Act contained in Section 1, as well as to the preamble. No doubt a preamble can never control or restrict the substantive provisions of an Act. It merely supplies a key to the interpretation of those sections. But where there is an ambiguity in the sections or where there is any doubt as to the true scope of the provisions of that enactment, the preamble may be of some guidance. The Act was professedly passed with the object of removing all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows. The preamble stated that it was known that Hindu widows, with certain exceptions, are held to be by reason of their having been once married, incapable of contracting a second valid marriage and the offspring of such widows by any second marriage are held to be illegitimate and incapable of inheriting, whereas many Hindus believed that this imputed legal incapacity, although in accordance with established custom, was not in accordance with the precepts of their religion and desired that the law should no longer prevent those Hindu widows who may be so minded from adopting a different custom. The Act was intended to relieve all such Hindus from this legal incapacity complained of and to remove all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows.

4. The Allahabad High Court has accordingly held that the Act could never have been intended to apply and did not apply to those Hindu widows who by the custom of their caste had independently of the Act, a right to remarry. The point does not appear to have been emphasized in any of the previous cases nor does it appear to have been refuted in cases taking the contrary view that there is no option but to restrict the scope of Section 2. That section cannot apply to all widows. It can only apply to a particular class of widows for whom the Act was intended. To ascertain that class one is compelled to look to the preamble, which shows that that class of widows consisted of those who were incapable of contracting a second valid marriage. This obstacle in their way was removed and their children were declared by enactment to be legitimate. The Act was intended to render remarriage valid and to legalize the legitimacy of children. It conferred a benefit on those who could not remarry, but at the same time imposed a restriction on them. It was not intended to deprive those who already possessed the right to remarry of whatever rights they enjoyed in their deceased husbands' properties.

King, J.

32. The chief question for our determination is whether a Hindu widow who remarries in accordance with the custom of her caste, forfeits thereby her rights in the estate of her first husband under Section 2, Hindu Widows Remarriage Act, 1856. In other words the question is whether Section 2, Act 15 of 1856, applies to a Hindu widow, who can remarry in accordance with the custom of her caste.

33. The language of Section 2 is certainly very wide, and if the section is read alone, without regard to the preamble and to the other sections of the Act, it would undoubtedly apply to the present case. Section 2 purports to lay down a general rule that all rights and interests which "any widow" may have in her deceased husband's property shall upon her remarriage cease and determine as if she had then died. The words "any widow" would not only cover the case of a Hindu widow who is authorized by custom to remarry, but would also apply to a Christian or Muslim widow who had never been a Hindu at any time. I think it could not be seriously argued that a woman who has been a Muslim from her childhood and who married a Muslim husband who died in her lifetime would forfeit all rights in her deceased husband's property under Section 2, Hindu Widows Remarriage Act, if she married again. It is clear therefore that the wide language of Section 2 must be controlled and restricted with reference to the preamble and to the provisions of the Act as a whole. The only question is how far should the language be restricted. The object and the scope of the Act can be ascertained from the preamble. The Act is described as an Act to remove all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows.'' It is further explained that by the law administered in the civil Courts, Hindu widows with certain exceptions are held to bet by reason of their having been once married incapable of contracting a second valid marriage, and as many Hindus believe that this imputed legal incapacity is not in accordance with a true interpretation of the precepts of their religion, and as it is just to relieve all such Hindus from this legal incapacity of which they complain and the removal of all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows will tend to the promotion of good morals and the public welfare therefore the Act has been passed.