Ejusdem generis

Ejusdem generis is a rule of statutory interpretation. When particular words that belong to a distinct genus or category are followed by general words, the general words are construed as limited to things of the same kind as those specified, rather than given their widest meaning. The rule rests on the presumption that, had the legislature intended the general words to be unrestricted, it would not have troubled to list the specific items.

The Supreme Court has identified the conditions for its use. The statute must contain an enumeration of specific words; the subjects of the enumeration must constitute a class or category; that class must not be exhausted by the enumeration; the general term must follow the enumeration; and there must be no indication of a different legislative intent. It follows that the rule applies only where the specific words share a common characteristic forming a genus; where they are disparate, the general words keep their ordinary meaning.

A leading application is Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010). The Explanation to the CrPC provisions on medical examination of an accused permitted DNA profiling and such other tests as the medical practitioner thought necessary. Applying ejusdem generis, the Court read such other tests as confined to the examination of physical evidence of the kind listed, so narcoanalysis, polygraph and brain mapping were not covered. The same wording now appears in the Explanation to Section 51 of the BNSS.

Ejusdem generis is a facet of the broader rule noscitur a sociis, under which a word takes its meaning from its associated words, and it is only an aid to construction, not a rule of law. It yields to clear contrary intention and does not apply where the specific words do not form a class. Examiners ask for the meaning and for the conditions of its application.