If the Act is mandatory, disobedience entails serious legal consequences amounting to the invalidity of the act done in disobedience to the provision

7. As far as mandatory provision of law is concerned, the same is required to be enforced strictly without interpreting/construing it in any manner liberally. Such a principle of interpretation is discussed and applied in the case of “Niaz Muhammad v. Mian Fazal Raqib” (PLD 1974 SC 134) in the following words:-

 "It is the duty of the Courts to try to get at the real intention of the Legislature, by carefully attending to the whole scope of the statute to be construed. As a general rule, however, a statute is understood to be directory when it contains matter merely of direction, but not when those directions are followed up by an express provision that, in default of following them, the acts shall be null and void. To put it differently, if the Act is directory, its disobedience does not entail any invalidity; if the Act is mandatory, disobedience entails serious legal consequences amounting to the invalidity of the act done in disobedience to the provision".  

Part of Judgment 

LAHORE HIGH COURT RAWALPINDI BENCH, RAWALPINDI JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Investigation of Police
9380-15

2015 LHC 7745