Assam Judiciary — Prelims 2023

Correct answer: B

SECRET:CLANDESTINE are synonyms (both meaning hidden/concealed). Covert:Stealthy is the analogous synonym pair; both mean secret/furtive.

Correct answer: A

A malapropism is a comic misuse of WORDS; analogously an anachronism is a misplacement in TIME. The relation (an error of category X) matches Anachronism:Time best.

Correct answer: C

India is flanked by its neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh (a central country with two bordering nations). Iraq:Kuwait:Iran mirrors this geographic-neighbour relationship most accurately.

Correct answer: B

Smile:Laugh:Cry progresses through degrees/expressions of emotion. Frown:Anger:Temper similarly captures escalating emotional expression.

Correct answer: A

To 'calumniate' means to make false and defamatory statements about someone, i.e. to accuse falsely / slander.

Correct answer: D

The instruction is to choose the opposite. 'Coalesce' means to combine/unite; its antonym among the choices is 'Cover' (the others are near-synonyms), or more aptly to separate—'Cover' is the intended opposite key.

Correct answer: C

'Amiably' means in a friendly, agreeable manner; its opposite is 'Hateful'.

Correct answer: A

'Adage' is a short well-known saying or maxim; among the options 'Motto' (a short maxim/saying) is the closest synonym, while proverb is also close but motto/adage best match as a pithy saying.

Correct answer: D

'Fastidious' describes one who is very hard to please and excessively attentive to detail.

Correct answer: D

A 'triumvirate' is a group of three powerful people who jointly hold authority.

Correct answer: A

The handwritten Constitution was photolithographed (reproduced) at the Survey of India offices in Dehradun, which printed 1,000 copies.

Correct answer: C

Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan rover, via its LIBS instrument, confirmed the presence of sulphur on the lunar surface near the south pole (Aug 2023).

Correct answer: B

Under the J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023, the Lieutenant Governor may nominate up to two members of the Kashmiri migrant community to the Legislative Assembly.

Correct answer: D

In July 2023 Jharkhand's Panchayati Raj Department released draft rules for implementation of the PESA Act and invited public responses.

Correct answer: B

CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) issued the 'Guidelines on Information Security Practices' for Government Entities for Safe & Trusted Internet (June 2023).

Correct answer: C

The Assam Public Service Commission Regulations were promulgated under Article 318 and came into force on 1 September 1951.

Correct answer: B

Assam's only chemical fertiliser plant, run by Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (BVFCL), is located at Namrup in Dibrugarh district.

Correct answer: A

'O Mur Apunar Desh', written by Lakshminath Bezbaroa, was first published in 1909 in the Assamese magazine 'Bahi' (flute).

Correct answer: D

Bhattadeva (Baikunthanath Bhagavata Bhattacharya) is regarded as the 'Father of Assamese Prose' for his prose renderings of the Bhagavata and Gita.

Correct answer: D

As of 2023 Assam had seven national parks (Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang, Dibru-Saikhowa, Raimona, Dehing Patkai), the last two declared in 2021.

Correct answer: C

An acceptance is valid only if made with knowledge of the offer (Lalman Shukla v. Gauri Dutt). Since Mithilesh had no knowledge of the reward offer, he cannot claim it.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 4 IPC / Section 188 CrPC, an Indian citizen is liable to be tried in India for an offence committed abroad regardless of whether it is an offence in that country; so Vaibhav can be tried for murder in India.

Correct answer: C

Section 56 of the Contract Act renders an agreement to do an impossible act void; an agreement to discover treasure by magic is impossible of performance and hence void.

Correct answer: C

The principle penalises wilful rash driving; the only option affirming liability on the ground that the person was in fact driving rashly is correct (yes, because he was driving rashly).

Correct answer: D

In Rattan Lal v. State of Punjab (AIR 1965 SC 444), the Court held Article 20(1) bars retrospective operation only of criminal laws that operate to the disadvantage of the accused; beneficial criminal laws may apply retrospectively.

Correct answer: B

In Meera Kanwaria v. Sunita (2005) the Supreme Court held that a forward/high-caste woman marrying a Scheduled Caste man does not acquire SC status and is not entitled to reservation benefits under Articles 15(4)/16(4) etc.

Correct answer: C

Article 236(a) defines 'district judge' by an exhaustive list of judicial posts (city civil court judge, sessions judge, etc.); it does not include a person presiding over a tribunal.

Correct answer: B

New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Nusli Neville Wadia (2008) held that a landlord which is 'State' under Article 12 must act fairly/reasonably and must show how its eviction prayer meets the requirements of Article 14.

Correct answer: D

Article 20(3) protects only against testimonial compulsion of an accused. A voluntary confession made to a friend (no compulsion by the State) is outside its scope, so the protection is not available there.

Correct answer: D

Section 39 CPC permits transfer of a decree for execution to another court in all the situations listed (residence/business of judgment-debtor, insufficient property locally, or immovable property situated outside jurisdiction).

Correct answer: C

Where leave to sue without the two-month Section 80(2) CPC notice in cases of urgent relief is granted, interim/ex parte relief may be granted only in certain circumstances, after the court is satisfied and gives the Government a reasonable opportunity.

Correct answer: C

Under Order 40 Rule 1 CPC a court receiver is an officer of the court; for acts done in his official capacity he can sue and be sued by a third party only with the leave of the court that appointed him.

Correct answer: C

Dhulabhai (AIR 1969 SC 78) Proposition 5 holds that questions of correctness of assessment (apart from constitutionality) are for the authorities and a civil suit does NOT lie where the orders are declared final; option (c) reverses this, so it is not a principle laid down.

Correct answer: B

Order 21 Rule 22 CPC requires notice to the judgment-debtor before execution only where the application is made more than two years after the decree; if within two years, no notice is required.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 167(5) CrPC, if investigation in a summons-case is not concluded within six months the Magistrate stops it; but continuation without permission does not vitiate the whole investigation, it only means the prosecution cannot rely on the further investigation/evidence so collected.

Correct answer: B

Section 221 CrPC: where it is doubtful which offence (theft/receiving stolen property/cheating etc.) is made out, a person charged with one may be convicted of the other proved offence though not formally charged.

Correct answer: A

Per Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab (2014), the Section 319 CrPC power to summon an additional accused can be exercised by both a Magistrate and a Court of Session only after evidence is recorded during inquiry or trial.

Correct answer: B

Section 462 CrPC: an inquiry, trial or proceeding held in a wrong place/division is not to be set aside merely on that ground unless it has in fact occasioned a failure of justice.

Correct answer: D

The three numbered propositions on a surety's liability under the bond are not reproduced in the OCR stem; on the standard law of surety bonds the most inclusive answer 'I, II & III all are correct' is the best guess. Reason: incomplete/OCR-truncated question.

Correct answer: C

Amjad (Amzad) Khan v. State, AIR 1952 SC 165, explained the extended right of private defence under Section 100 IPC: a reasonable apprehension of death from an assault justifies causing death even before the offence is actually committed.

Correct answer: B

By transferred provocation/Section 301 IPC read with Exception 1 to Section 300, M's act done under grave and sudden provocation, killing Q instead of P, is culpable homicide not amounting to murder, not murder.

Correct answer: B

Section 83 IPC gives only a qualified exemption to a child above 7 and under 12; if the child had attained sufficient maturity to understand the nature and consequences of the act, he is guilty. On these facts the boy is guilty.

Correct answer: B

These are the facts of Veeda Menezes v. Yusuf Khan (AIR 1966 SC 1773); the trifling harm (a scratch from a thrown file) attracted Section 95 IPC, so the accused was acquitted under Section 95.

Correct answer: B

These are the facts of Dr. Vimla v. Delhi Administration (AIR 1963 SC 1572): though there was deceit in signing as the daughter, there was no advantage to her or injury to the insurer, so no 'fraudulently' element and hence no forgery under Section 467.

Correct answer: D

Where the original is in the possession of the opposite party who fails to produce it, secondary evidence (the carbon copy) is admissible: Section 65(a) permits secondary evidence and the carbon copy is itself within Section 64/63, so both Sections 64 and 65 are satisfied.

Correct answer: C

Mere omissions/contradictions from police statements (Section 161 CrPC) put to a witness under Section 145 of the Evidence Act do not by themselves impeach credibility unless they are material contradictions as contemplated by Section 145; minor ones do not impeach the witness.

Correct answer: B

This is the illustration to Section 115 (estoppel) of the Evidence Act: having induced B to buy by representing the land as his, A is estopped and must NOT be allowed to prove his want of title.

Correct answer: A

A retracted confession is admissible but requires corroboration; the court is bound to take note of (consider) the fact of retraction before acting on the confession. The other options overstate the law.

Correct answer: C

Section 19 of the Evidence Act makes admissions by persons (strangers to the suit) whose position or liability it is necessary to prove against a party, relevant against that party.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 92 read with Section 91 of the Transfer of Property Act, a person who redeems the mortgage is subrogated to and has the same rights as the mortgagee whose mortgage he redeems (as against the mortgagor and other interests), not the rights of the mortgagor.

Correct answer: B

This is the illustration to Section 43 (transfer by unauthorised person who subsequently acquires interest / feeding the grant by estoppel) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Since C has not rescinded the sale, C may require A to deliver Z after A acquires it as B's heir.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 112 read with Section 111(g) TPA, forfeiture is waived by acceptance of rent which became due after forfeiture; but acceptance does not operate as waiver where the lessor was unaware that the forfeiture had been incurred. Hence waiver does not occur if the lessor is not aware forfeiture has incurred.

Correct answer: A

This is the illustration to Section 31 TPA (condition subsequent). The transfer is to cease on the happening of a specified event; B having cut down the wood, B loses the life interest in the garden.

Correct answer: A

Settled rule of construction of deeds: a mere inaccuracy in the recitals describing the property cannot 'whistle down' (override/defeat) the effect of the clear operative recitals identifying the property sold.

Correct answer: B

Where the defendant objected to non-impleadment of a necessary party and the plaintiff nonetheless continued the suit, the plaintiff cannot be said to have prosecuted the earlier suit with due diligence and good faith; hence the time is not liable to be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

Correct answer: A

Section 14 (exclusion of time spent in bona fide proceeding before a court without jurisdiction) and Section 5 (condonation of delay for sufficient cause) of the Limitation Act operate in different fields and are independent of each other; relief under one does not preclude the other.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963, if the court is closed on the day the period expires, the suit may be instituted on the day the court reopens; closure of the court (even for part of the day) on the last date saves limitation, whereas illness, absence or advocate's negligence do not.

Correct answer: D

Salmond's classification: remedial liability is that whose sole purpose is to enforce the plaintiff's right (restore/redress), not to punish the wrongdoer; penal liability aims at punishment.

Correct answer: A

The classification of the sources of law (formal and material) is attributed to Salmond and Keeton.

Correct answer: A

Bentham's Utilitarianism is founded on the principle that nature has placed mankind under two sovereign masters, 'pain' and 'pleasure', which govern all human actions.

Correct answer: D

Roscoe Pound propounded the theory of 'social engineering', viewing jurisprudence as a means of balancing competing interests in society.

Correct answer: C

Ad-hoc arbitration is arbitration not administered by an institution and is agreed to when the parties submit to arbitration 'all or any' differences that have arisen or may arise, arranging the procedure themselves.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 16(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, a plea that the arbitral tribunal does not have jurisdiction must be raised not later than the submission of the statement of defence.

Correct answer: B

In conciliation the conciliator does not make any award; the parties themselves arrive at an amicable settlement (recorded as a settlement agreement under Section 73 of the Act) with the conciliator's assistance.

Correct answer: C

Section 73 of the Indian Contract Act codifies Hadley v. Baxendale: special damages are recoverable only if the special circumstances were within the knowledge of the party in breach at the time the contract was made.

Correct answer: B

A contract to marry is a personal contract; X's becoming insane (incapacity) is a supervening impossibility frustrating the contract under Section 56, rendering it void, so Y has no right to sue for damages.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 74 of the Contract Act, a stipulation for increased/excessive interest on default is treated as a penalty, and the court may grant only reasonable compensation upon being satisfied that the stipulation is by way of penalty.

Correct answer: D

Section 35 ICA: a contingent contract to do something if a specified uncertain event does not happen within a fixed time may be enforced when the time expires without the event happening, or earlier if it becomes certain the event will not happen.

Correct answer: B

A clause permitting termination of the contract for future supplies does not destroy the basis of the contract; consideration and mutuality subsist for supplies already made, so the clause is valid.

Correct answer: D

Section 13(1A) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (non-resumption of cohabitation/non-restitution after a decree) embodies the breakdown theory of divorce; the fault grounds are in Section 13(1).

Correct answer: C

A donee under a gift takes the property as his separate (self-acquired) property irrespective of whether the donor gifted self-acquired property or joint family property in his capacity as karta; it is not ancestral in the donee's hands.

Correct answer: A

Hiba-bil-iwaz (gift for consideration) becomes irrevocable only once the iwaz (consideration) is paid/delivered; before delivery of the iwaz (even after delivery of possession of the hiba) it remains revocable.

Correct answer: B

On an irrevocable (bain) divorce the marital tie is wholly severed and mutual rights of inheritance terminate; therefore if either spouse dies during iddat following an irrevocable divorce, neither can inherit from the other.

Correct answer: C

Where the term of a muta is proved and cohabitation continues after its expiry, the inference is that the term stands extended for the whole period of cohabitation (and children so conceived are legitimate); hence option (a) calling them illegitimate is wrong.

Correct answer: D

Section 2(b) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 defines 'settlement' as an instrument (other than a will or codicil) whereby the destination or devolution of successive interests in movable or immovable property is disposed of or agreed to be disposed of.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 12 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, where part of a contract cannot be specifically performed, the purchaser may relinquish his claim to performance of the remaining part and is entitled to specific performance of the part that can be performed, with compensation.

Correct answer: D

Section 11(2) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides that a contract made by a trustee in excess of his powers or in breach of trust cannot be specifically enforced.

Correct answer: B

Section 161(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 defines terms: clause (a) defines 'grievous hurt' and clause (b) defines 'hit and run motor accident' as an accident where the identity of the vehicle(s) cannot be ascertained despite reasonable efforts.

Correct answer: A

Section 175 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 bars the jurisdiction of civil courts to entertain any question relating to claims for compensation where a Claims Tribunal has been constituted for the area.

Correct answer: A

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936: where the establishment employs less than one thousand persons, wages must be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage period.

Correct answer: D

The current statutory ceiling under Section 4(3) of the Payment of Gratuity Act after the 2018 amendment is Rs 20,00,000, which is not an option; the highest option offered, Rs 10,00,000, was the pre-2018 ceiling and is the intended answer for this paper. Flagged due to the dated option set.

Correct answer: B

Under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the 'appropriate Government' / land acquiring authority for acquisition is the State Government (with the Collector acting on its behalf).

Correct answer: B

Under Section 2(2) of the LARR Act, 2013, consent of at least 70% of affected families is required for acquisition for public-private partnership projects (80% for private companies).

Correct answer: A

Chapter VI of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, headed 'The Rights and Liabilities of the Beneficiary', comprises Sections 55 to 69; rights of beneficiaries are dealt with in Sections 55 onwards, the relevant cluster being Sections 51-65 as listed.

Correct answer: D

Section 77 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 lists the grounds on which a trust is extinguished (purpose fulfilled, becomes unlawful, performance becomes impossible, or revoked). Mere transfer of the trustees' interests is NOT a ground of extinguishment.

Correct answer: A

Under Sections 28 and 29 read with Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, a document relating to immovable property must be registered in the office within whose sub-district the property is situate; registration at a place where no part of the property lies is void ab initio (wholly without jurisdiction).

Correct answer: C

Under the proviso to Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, an unregistered document may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance (and as evidence of any collateral transaction), though not to affect immovable property.

Correct answer: C

'Lease' is defined in Section 2(7) of the Registration Act, 1908, which includes a counterpart, kabuliyat, an undertaking to cultivate or occupy, and an agreement to lease.

Correct answer: C

Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 is titled 'Computation of fees payable in certain suits' and prescribes how ad valorem court fee is to be computed for various categories of suits.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 7(iv) of the Court Fees Act, 1870, in suits for an injunction (and certain other categories such as easements and movable property of no market value) the plaintiff himself states the value of the relief; for a suit for an injunction the fee is not computed according to a fixed amount but as valued by the plaintiff. Note: options (a) movable property of no market-value and (c) easements also fall under 7(iv); option (b) injunction is the clearest single intended answer.