Introduction A penal statute in its broader sense connotes an enactment that creates an offence against the state whatever may be the character of the offence.1 Usually, a penal statute provides for a harsher punishment than any other statute and consequently it follows that there is a greater danger that it would interfere with the life and liberty of a citizen. In this context, it becomes important to examine the attitude of the Courts while interpreting such a statute as this attitude is more often than not likely to determine the result of a particular case.2 Strict Construction : Its Background In the seventeenth century, England had a number of laws that prescribed very severe punishments for what were by any standard, offences of an extremely trivial nature. For instance, it was punishable with death to chop down a cherry tree in an orchard or ....