List of top Legal Studies Questions

The following are enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution of India: I. Equality of status and of opportunity
II. Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
III. Justice - social, economic and political
IV. Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual
V. Unity and Integrity of the nation
Which of the following is the correct order in which they appear in the Preamble?

Identify the correct statement:

Consider the following statements: I. In a recent Supreme Court verdict pronounced by Justice Markandeya Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, the court upheld the constitutionality of the Hajj subsidy.
II. Muslims are not the only beneficiaries of the secular state's generosity. Hindus have also received substantial financial support from the Government.
Which of the statements mentioned above is correct?

Assertion (A): The essence of joint liability under Section 149 of the IPC is that the criminal act must have been done with a view to fulfil the common object of an unlawful assembly.
Reason (R): Any sudden and provocative act done by a member of an unlawful assembly would render the other members of that assembly liable.

Assertion (A): Freedom of Speech is the most important civil liberty of people in a democratic polity.
Reason (R): State can regulate free speech in the interest of public order.

Assertion (A): A person claims compensation for his non-gratuitous act.
Reason (R): A person who enjoys benefit from lawful, non-gratuitous act of another must compensate him even though there is no contract.

Assertion (A): During inflation, there is increase in money supply and rise in price level.
Reason (R): The rise in prices is due to shortage in supply of essential consumer goods.

Assertion (A): In the Event of violation of any legal right (tort) the aggrieved party is entitled to recover unliquidated damages.
Reason (R): The object of awarding damages to the aggrieved party is to put him in the same position in which he would have been if the wrong would not have been committed. Damages are therefore, assessed on that basis.

Assertion (A): X and V independently entertained the idea to kill Z. Accordingly, each of them separately inflicted wounds on Z who died as a consequence. X and Y are liable for murder under 341, IPC.
Reason (R): When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of common intention of all, each of such persons is liable as if the whole act was done by him alone.

Assertion (A): If the budget presented to the Rajya Sabha is not passed in the stipulated period, the budget proposals are not affected.
Reason (R): The Lok Sabha is more powerful, in financial matters, than the Rajya Sabha.

Assertion (A): X, because of unsound state of mind and not knowing the nature of the act, attacks Y, who in self-defense and in order to ward off the attack, hits him thereby injuring him. Y has not committed an offence.
Reason (R): Y had a right of private defense against X under Section 98 of the Indian Penal Code.

Assertion (A): The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Part III (Fundamental Rights) and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.
Reason (R): The fundamental rights are the rights reserved by the people and for this reason they are eternal and sacrosanct.

Assertion (A): Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.
Reason (R): Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights are both complementary to each other but in case of any controversy fundamental rights will prevail.

Assertion (A): All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Reason (R): Institutions established by the minorities are not entitled to governmental aid and government is not under an obligation to give aid.

Assertion (A): The right to move the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the fundamental rights is guaranteed as a fundamental right.
Reason (R): Supreme Court of India has been appointed as the guardian of the Constitution.

Assertion (A): A void contract is not necessarily illegal.
Reason (R): Every illegal contract is void.

Assertion (A): The Indian Constitution was adopted on 26th November, 1949.
Reason (R): Law Day is celebrated in India on 26th November every year.

Principle: Proposal (communication) + Acceptance (communication) + Consideration = Contract. The communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made.
Facts: X’s nephew absconded from home. He sent his servant in search of the boy. After the servant had left, X by handbills offered to pay Rs. 501 to anybody finding his nephew. The servant came to know of this offer only after he had already traced the missing child. He brought an action to recover the reward.

Principle: Agreements, the meaning of which is not certain, or not capable of being made certain, are void.
Facts: A horse was bought for a certain price coupled with a promise to give Rs. 500 more if the horse is proved lucky.

Principle: Mere silence as to the facts likely to affect the willingness of a person to enter into a contract is not a fraud, unless the circumstances of the case are such that, on close examination, it is found to be the duty of the person keeping silent to speak, or unless his silence is, in itself, equivalent to speech.
Facts: X sells by auction to Y, a horse which X knows to be of unsound state of mind. X says nothing to V about the horse's unsound state of mind. Give the correct answer—

Principle: Injuria Sine Damnum i.e. Injury (violation of legal right) without damage.
Facts: X, who was the returning officer at a polling booth in Amethi, wrongly refused to register a duly tendered vote of Y in the recent UP elections, even though Y was an eligible voter. The candidate in whose favour Y wanted to vote was declared elected.
Give the appropriate answer—

Principle: Any direct physical interference with goods in somebody's possession without lawful justification is called trespass of goods.
Facts: Z purchased a car from a person who had no title to it and sent it to a garage for repair. X, believing wrongly that the car was his, removed it from the garage.

Principle: Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsound state of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that what he is doing is either wrong or contrary to law.
Facts: X takes his son Y, who is three years old, for bathing to the well. He throws his son inside the well so that the son can have a good bath. After 10 minutes, he also jumps into the well to take a bath and get his son out of the well. Both were rescued by villagers, but the son was found dead.

Principle: Ignorance of Fact is excused but ignorance of law is no excuse.
Fact: X was a passenger from Zurich to Manila in a Swiss Plane. When the plane landed at the Airport of Bombay on 28 Nov. 1962 it was found on searching that X carried 34 kg of Gold Bars on his person and that he had not declared it in the 'Manifest for Transit'. On 26th November, 1962 the Government of India had issued a notification modifying its earlier exemption, making it mandatory now that the gold must be declared in the "Manifest" of the aircraft.

Principle: I. The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
II. The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth or any of them.
Facts: The Government of Rajasthan passed an order providing for reservations for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (including Muslims), and Women, in all institutions of higher education, including private educational institutions, both aided as well as unaided, in the following manner: Scheduled Caste - 15%; Scheduled Tribe - 7.5%; Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (including Muslims) - 27%.
Statements: I. The reservation policy of the government is violative of the principle of equality envisaged in the Constitution.
II. The reservation policy is unconstitutional because it is based on 'caste' which is a prohibited marker.
III. Reservation does not violate equality clause as it entails "like should be treated like and unlike should be treated differently."
IV. Reservation does not violate equality clause as the Constitution itself enables the State to make special provision for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.