State Of Punjab And Another vs Shamlal Murari & Anr on 6 October, 1975
In
State of Punjab and another vs. Shamlal Murari & Anr., AIR 1976 SC 1177, the principle of law, laid down, was to
the effect that procedure, is, in the ultimate, handmaid of justice, and not
its mistress, and is meant to advance its cause, and not to obstruct the same.
The procedural Rule, therefore, has to be liberally construed, and care must be
taken, that so strict interpretation be not placed thereon, whereby,
technicality may tend to triumph over justice. It has to be kept in mind, that
an overly strict construction of procedural provisions, may result in the
stifling of material evidence, of a party, even if, for adequate reasons, which
may be beyond its control. We must always remember that procedural law, is not
an obstruction, but an aid to justice. Procedural prescriptions are the
hand-maid, and not the mistress, a lubricant, not a resistant, in the
administration of justice. If the breach can be corrected, without injury to
the just disposal of a case, regulatory requirement should not be enthroned
into a dominant desideratum. The Courts and the quasi-Judicial Tribunals, have
been set up, with the sole purpose of dispensing justice, and not to wreck the
end result, on technicalities.