Doctrine of 'Noscitur a sociis'

Q. Discuss the doctrine of "Noscitur a sociis". [10 marks - 2023] Q. Explain "Noscitur a Sociis" [4 marks - 2021] Q. Associated words take meaning from one another under the doctrine of 'Noscitus a sociis' " Discuss. [20 marks - 2019]

Doctrine of 'Noscitur a sociis'

Noscere means to know and sociis means association. Thus, Noscitur a Sociis means knowing from the association. Thus, under the doctrine of “noscitur a sociis” the questionable meaning of a word or doubtful words can be derived from its association with other words within the context of the phrase.

The maxim "Noscitur a sociis" is the principle of construction (or interpretation) of statutes and other documents that the meaning of words should be identified by reference to other words in the context of which they appear.

The applicability of this rule of interpretation arises when a word or phrase in question cannot be interpreted in isolation and requires the words that surround it to also be understood in order to better grasp the concept. 

The scope of this rule of interpretation is limited, for it can only be applied in the circumstances where the law was either not clear or it was ambiguous.

In State of  Assam vs R Muhammad AIR 1967, SC made use of this rule to arrive at the meaning of the word “posting” used in Article 233 (1) of the Constitution. It held that since the word “posting” occurs in association with the words “appointment” and “promotion”, it took its color from them and so it means “assignment of an appointee or a promotee to a position” and does not mean the transfer of a person from one station to another.