Haryana Judiciary — Prelims 2021

Correct answer: B

The definition of 'victim' in s.2(wa) was introduced by the CrPC (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 5 of 2009), which received assent and came into force in 2009; official Haryana key marks 2009.

Correct answer: B

Section 27 CrPC provides jurisdiction in case of juveniles. However, the marked options here are imperfect; among the given choices s.27 deals with trial of persons who are below 16 (juveniles). Closest correct option is (c) Trial of Juveniles.

Correct answer: B

Preventive action of the police is dealt with under Chapter XI (Sections 149-153) of the CrPC, titled 'Preventive Action of the Police'.

Correct answer: D

Section 166A CrPC deals with the procedure for a letter of request to a competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside India.

Correct answer: A

Under s.27 CrPC read with the proviso, women/juveniles under 18 in detention are to be sent to a remand home or recognised place of safe custody, not an ordinary prison.

Correct answer: D

Section 172 CrPC requires the investigating officer to maintain a 'case diary' (diary of proceedings in investigation).

Correct answer: D

Section 309 CrPC embodies the principle of speedy trial and the power to postpone or adjourn proceedings, with the mandate that trials be held expeditiously.

Correct answer: D

Under s.321 CrPC the Public Prosecutor may withdraw from prosecution, with the court's consent, at any time before the judgment is pronounced.

Correct answer: C

Under s.265-B CrPC, the application for plea bargaining is to be filed by the accused in the court in which the offence is pending trial.

Correct answer: C

Section 394 CrPC provides for abatement of appeals, primarily on the death of the appellant/accused.

Correct answer: B

Section 416 CrPC empowers the High Court to postpone execution and commute the death sentence of a pregnant woman. Note: the matching option labelled 'Sec. 414' (b) corresponds to the section; correct authority is s.416, marked answer (d) Sec. 416.

Correct answer: D

Stem is OCR-truncated (the courts/clauses 'I, II, III' are missing). Section 340 inquiry can be conducted by the court in respect of offences under s.195(1)(b); best guess given the comprehensive option pattern is (d) I, II and III.

Correct answer: B

Section 44 CrPC empowers a Magistrate (Executive or Judicial) to arrest, or order the arrest of, a person who commits an offence in his presence within his local jurisdiction.

Correct answer: B

Section 57 CrPC mandates that an arrested person be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours (excluding journey time), reflecting Article 22(2) of the Constitution.

Correct answer: B

Under s.30 CrPC, imprisonment in default of payment of fine is in addition to (and not in substitution for) the substantive sentence imposed.

Correct answer: A

Under s.468 CrPC, the limitation for taking cognizance is three years where the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.

Correct answer: C

Under s.61 of the Indian Evidence Act, the contents of documents may be proved either by primary or by secondary evidence.

Correct answer: C

Under s.74 of the Evidence Act, public documents include both records of acts of sovereign authority/official bodies/public officers (clause 1) and public records kept in any State of private documents (clause 2). Hence both (a) and (b).

Correct answer: A

Under s.108 of the Evidence Act, when a person was shown alive within thirty years, the burden of proving that he is dead lies on the person who affirms the death.

Correct answer: D

Section 3 of the Evidence Act defines 'Court' to include all Judges and Magistrates and all persons (except arbitrators) legally authorised to take evidence; an arbitrator is expressly excluded.

Correct answer: C

The IT Act, 2000 amended the definition of 'evidence' in s.3 of the Evidence Act to include 'electronic records' produced for inspection (documentary evidence).

Correct answer: A

An admission (ss.17-23) is a substantive piece of evidence, though not conclusive proof; it can be used against the maker but is rebuttable.

Correct answer: A

Section 32 (statements of persons who are dead or cannot be found, e.g., dying declarations) is a statutory exception to the rule that hearsay is no evidence. Section 27 is also an exception, but s.32 is the classic/primary answer.

Correct answer: A

Section 165 of the Evidence Act confers on the Judge the power to put any question to any witness or party and to order production of any document or thing.

Correct answer: C

Under s.126 of the Evidence Act, professional/confidential communications made to a legal adviser (barrister, attorney, pleader, vakil) are privileged and protected.

Correct answer: A

Section 62 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 defines and deals with primary evidence (the document itself produced for inspection of the court).

Correct answer: B

Corroborative evidence only lends support to substantive evidence; in the absence of any substantive evidence, corroborative evidence has no independent worth or value.

Correct answer: B

In Shripatrao v. State of Maharashtra, the medical certificate vouched only physical fitness, not the deceased woman's state of mind at the crucial moment, so the dying declaration of the person of unsound mind could not be relied upon.

Correct answer: A

Section 14 (Explanation 1) of the Evidence Act makes relevant facts showing the existence of a particular/specific state of mind towards a particular person or thing, not a general disposition of mind.

Correct answer: B

Under the proviso to Section 162 Cr.P.C., a statement recorded under Section 161 during investigation may be used only to contradict the witness in the manner provided by Section 145 of the Evidence Act, not to corroborate.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 6(3) of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, where the seller purports to effect a present sale of future goods, the contract operates only as an agreement to sell the goods.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 49 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the unpaid seller's lien is lost both when he delivers goods to a carrier/bailee for transmission without reserving right of disposal and when the buyer or his agent lawfully obtains possession; both (a) and (b).

Correct answer: D

The nemo dat exceptions (Sections 27-30 SGA) include sale by mercantile agent, by a co-owner in possession, and by a seller in possession after sale; a sale without the owner's consent or authority is the general rule, not an exception (the wrong option).

Correct answer: C

Article 116 of the Limitation Act, 1963 prescribes 90 days for an appeal to a High Court from a decree or order of a Civil Court; an appeal from an order to the High Court is filed within this 90-day period.

Correct answer: B

Section 6 of the Limitation Act, 1963 gives extended limitation to persons under legal disability, namely a minor, an insane person, and an idiot; an insolvent is not covered.

Correct answer: C

Section 19 of the Limitation Act, 1963 provides that where payment on account of a debt is made before expiry of the period, a fresh period of limitation is computed from the time of payment.

Correct answer: B

After the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides for substituted performance of contract; the old discretion of the court to decree specific performance was deleted.

Correct answer: C

The 2018 Amendment inserted clause (ha) in Section 41, barring injunction that would impede or delay any infrastructure project; options (a) and (b) (clauses g and h) already existed in the original section.

Correct answer: B

Explanation IV to Section 11 CPC embodies constructive res judicata: any matter which might and ought to have been made a ground of defence or attack in the former suit is deemed to have been directly and substantially in issue.

Correct answer: C

Stem and option items (I, II, III) are truncated in the paper; the standard intended answer for the scope of Order II Rule 2 CPC across the listed proceedings is 'I, II and III'.

Correct answer: B

Section 100-A CPC bars any further appeal (Letters Patent appeal) from the decision of a single Judge in a second appeal.

Correct answer: D

An order allowing or disallowing amendment of pleadings is not a decree and is not listed as appealable under Order XLIII Rule 1 CPC; it is not independently appealable (revisable/challengeable in appeal from the decree), so 'none of the above'.

Correct answer: C

Under the proviso to Section 60(1) CPC, a mere right to sue for damages is exempt from attachment; government securities and currency/bank notes are attachable.

Correct answer: A

Under Order VII Rule 11 read with Order VII Rule 13 CPC, rejection of a plaint is a deemed decree (Section 2(2)), and the remedy against a decree is to file an appeal.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 2(2) CPC, a decree is preliminary when further proceedings have to be taken before the suit can be completely disposed of.

Correct answer: B

Section 102 CPC (as substituted) bars second appeal where the subject-matter of the original suit is for recovery of money not exceeding Rs. 25,000.

Correct answer: D

Section 99 CPC bars reversal for non-prejudicial error/irregularity (a is correct), and Section 96(2) allows an appeal from an ex parte decree (c is correct); Section 96(3) bars appeal from a consent decree (b is wrong). Hence both (a) and (c).

Correct answer: C

Under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, a person whose title or legal character is denied (a cloud on title) may sue for a declaratory decree to dispel it.

Correct answer: C

Under Order XXXIX Rule 4 CPC, an order of injunction may be discharged, varied or set aside on application by any party dissatisfied, i.e. both plaintiff and defendant.

Correct answer: B

Section 10 CPC (res sub judice) bars only the trial of a subsequent suit, not its institution; the statement that it bars institution as well is untrue.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 2(2) CPC, a 'decree' is the formal expression of an adjudication which conclusively determines the rights of the parties with regard to all or any of the matters in controversy in the suit.

Correct answer: B

Section 13 CPC makes a foreign judgment conclusive only if pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction. A judgment in rem operates against the world, so on the ground of jurisdiction only a judgment in rem can bind a person who was not a party; clause (a) of s.13 read with the in rem/in personam distinction supports option (b).

Correct answer: A

Under Section 2(g)/2(j) of the Indian Contract Act, a void agreement is void ab initio, but a contract that becomes void (s.2(j)) is valid when made and only later becomes unenforceable, so it is not void ab initio. Hence the proposition 'a void contract is void ab initio' (a) is incorrect.

Correct answer: B

Communication by e-mail is treated as instantaneous; the postal (mailbox) rule does not apply. The receipt/reception rule governs, so the contract is concluded where and when the acceptance is received (consistent with s.13 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Bhagwandas Goverdhandas Kedia v. Girdharilal).

Correct answer: D

Under Section 56 of the Contract Act and Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur, the doctrine of frustration does not apply to a completed conveyance such as a lease (a transfer creating an interest in property), since a lease is a completed transfer, not an executory contract. Hence statement (d) is the incorrect proposition.

Correct answer: C

Substituting a new debtor (Z) for the old debtor (X) with the creditor's consent, discharging the old debt and creating a new one, is novation under Section 62 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Correct answer: D

All three statements restate Section 2 of the Contract Act: (a) s.2(h) - agreement enforceable by law is a contract; (b) s.2(e) - definition of agreement; (c) correctly notes all enforceable agreements are contracts but not all agreements are enforceable. Hence 'All of the above'.

Correct answer: C

Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 declares every agreement in restraint of trade void to that extent (subject to the goodwill-sale exception).

Correct answer: B

Section 41 of the Punjab Courts Act, 1918 provides for second appeal to the High Court from an appellate decree.

Correct answer: C

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender; the Bitcoin Law came into force on 7 September 2021.

Correct answer: A

The NDMA guidelines, approved by the Supreme Court in 2021, recommended ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 to the next of kin of each person who died of Covid-19.

Correct answer: D

The Pegasus surveillance matter was decided in Manohar Lal Sharma v. Union of India (27 October 2021), where the Supreme Court appointed an expert committee.

Correct answer: B

In Kush Kalra v. Union of India, the Supreme Court (Aug-Sep 2021) passed and refused to vacate the interim order allowing women candidates to appear for the NDA examination that year.

Correct answer: A

Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra was the Chairman of the Bar Council of India in 2021.

Correct answer: D

Ultraviolet rays in sunlight convert 7-dehydrocholesterol present in the skin into vitamin D (cholecalciferol), which improves health.

Correct answer: C

Ecology is the branch of biology dealing with the relationship between organisms and their environment.

Correct answer: C

India won 7 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze) at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, its best-ever single-edition haul.

Correct answer: D

The line (originally Charles Evans Hughes' words) on dissent in a court of last resort being 'an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law' was famously invoked by Justice H.R. Khanna in his lone dissent in ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla; among the options the intended answer is Justice H.R. Khanna.

Correct answer: B

Finland became the first country to make broadband (1 Mbps) a legal right for every citizen, effective 1 July 2010.

Correct answer: C

The Haryana Government launched the 'Reading Mission-Haryana' to inculcate reading habits among students.

Correct answer: B

Justice N.V. Ramana was the 48th Chief Justice of India (sworn in 24 April 2021).

Correct answer: C

The McMahon Line is the boundary line between India and China (demarcated at the 1914 Simla Convention).

Correct answer: B

Kiren Rijiju was the Union Minister of Law and Justice, having taken charge on 7 July 2021 (replacing Ravi Shankar Prasad).

Correct answer: C

Under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, where the rites include saptapadi, the marriage becomes complete only when the seventh step is taken; the customary rites and ceremonies require participation of both bride and bridegroom.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, registration is not mandatory for validity; non-registration does not affect the validity of the marriage, but the State may provide that omission to register is punishable with a fine.

Correct answer: C

Under Sec. 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, restitution of conjugal rights lies where one spouse has withdrawn from the society of the other 'without reasonable excuse'; the burden of proving reasonable excuse is on the withdrawing party.

Correct answer: D

Inability to produce progeny (mere barrenness/sterility) is not a ground that renders a Hindu marriage either void (Sec. 11) or voidable (Sec. 12) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; impotency exists but mere inability to procreate is none of these.

Correct answer: C

Per Sec. 3(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act/Hindu Succession Act, persons related by blood or adoption but NOT wholly through males are 'cognates'; agnates are related wholly through males.

Correct answer: D

Under Sec. 7(2) proviso of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, a male's wife's consent is dispensed with if she has completely and finally renounced the world, ceased to be a Hindu, or been declared of unsound mind.

Correct answer: D

Under Sec. 11(i) HAMA, 1956, a male/female cannot adopt a son if he/she has a Hindu son, son's son or son's son's son (great-grandson) living; existence of a Hindu daughter is no bar to adopting a son, so statement (d) is wrong.

Correct answer: B

Alienation of joint family property by the Karta without legal necessity or benefit of the estate is voidable at the instance of the coparceners (not void), who may challenge it; settled Mitakshara coparcenary law.

Correct answer: C

Section 22 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides that proceedings shall be conducted in camera and may not be printed or published except as permitted.

Correct answer: C

Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 empowers the court to pass orders regarding custody, maintenance and education of children in matrimonial proceedings.

Correct answer: A

Desertion under the Hindu Marriage Act means the total repudiation of the obligations of marriage, comprising factum of separation and animus deserendi (intention to desert) without reasonable cause.

Correct answer: C

Section 21 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (commorientes) raises a rebuttable presumption of law that the younger survived the elder where order of deaths is uncertain.

Correct answer: C

Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 converts a female Hindu's limited estate into absolute ownership and applies to any property, movable or immovable, possessed by her.

Correct answer: B

Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, father is a Class II heir (Entry I) and son's daughter's son is also a Class II heir; neither is a Class I heir, so both are Class II heirs.

Correct answer: C

Under Muslim law, where a husband or wife dies during the iddat following a REVOCABLE (raj'i) divorce, the marital tie subsists and both spouses can inherit from each other; the right ceases only on expiry of iddat or on an irrevocable divorce.

Correct answer: B

Under Sec. 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat (instant irrevocable triple talaq) is punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine.

Correct answer: C

Under Sec. 2 of the Wakf Act and classical Muslim law, wakf is the permanent dedication of any property (movable or immovable) for purposes recognised as pious, religious or charitable.

Correct answer: A

Section 54 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 expressly saves such agreements: notwithstanding Sec. 27 of the Contract Act, a partner may agree not to carry on a similar business within specified period/limits, provided the restrictions are reasonable.

Correct answer: D

Public notice (Sec. 72) is required on retirement, expulsion, insolvency and dissolution of a registered firm; a mere alteration in the firm's name does not require public notice.

Correct answer: A

Section 2(a) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 defines 'an act of a firm' as any act or omission by all the partners, or by any partner or agent of the firm, which gives rise to a right or liability enforceable by or against the firm.

Correct answer: C

Under Sec. 20 of the Registration Act, 1908, the registering officer may refuse a document containing interlineations, blanks, erasures or alterations unless the persons executing the document attest them by their signatures or initials.

Correct answer: D

Under Sec. 23 of the Registration Act, 1908, no document (other than a will) shall be accepted for registration unless presented within four months from the date of execution.

Correct answer: D

Under Sec. 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, a lease of immovable property exceeding one year (or from year to year/reserving yearly rent) requires compulsory registration; wills and leases up to one year do not.

Correct answer: C

Under the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973, no person shall convert a residential building into non-residential use except with the written permission of the Controller appointed under the Act.

Correct answer: B

Under the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973, once fair rent is fixed under Sec. 4, no further increase or decrease is permissible for a period of three years (subject to specified exceptions).

Correct answer: C

Indian courts do not insist on the English rule fixing immemorial antiquity at 1189 AD; for a valid custom in India, long, continuous and uniform usage of reasonable antiquity is sufficient (Hurpurshad and later authorities).

Correct answer: B

'Uberrima fides' is a Latin maxim meaning 'utmost good faith', the standard required in contracts such as insurance where full disclosure of material facts is mandatory.

Correct answer: B

'Persona non grata' is a Latin diplomatic term meaning a person who is not wanted/not acceptable, typically used when a host state declares a foreign diplomat unwelcome (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Art. 9).

Correct answer: A

The police officer was entrusted with fine money in his official capacity and dishonestly converted it to his own use; this is criminal breach of trust under s.405 IPC (aggravated as s.409 when by a public servant).

Correct answer: D

Section 76 IPC exempts an act done by a person bound, or who by mistake of fact believes himself bound, by law; a hangman executing a court-ordered hanging acts under legal compulsion and is protected by s.76 IPC.

Correct answer: B

On the Palani Goundan pattern, the fatal act (hanging) was done believing the wife already dead, so murder is not made out; the established exam-key answer is culpable homicide.

Correct answer: D

Abduction under s.362 IPC has no age limit; it is the compelling or inducing by force/deceit of any person to go from any place, hence the abducted person may be of any age (unlike kidnapping from lawful guardianship under s.361).

Correct answer: A

Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 684 upheld the constitutional validity of the death penalty and laid down the 'rarest of rare' doctrine; it concerns capital punishment in India.

Correct answer: A

Whether provocation was grave and sudden (Exception 1 to s.300 IPC) is essentially a question of fact to be decided on the circumstances of each case (K.M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra).

Correct answer: B

Voluntarily burning a valuable security with intent to cause wrongful loss is an illustration of mischief; s.425 IPC defines mischief as causing destruction/diminution of value of property with intent to cause wrongful loss or damage.

Correct answer: C

Section 166 IPC punishes a public servant who disobeys a direction of the law with intent to cause, or knowing he is likely to cause, injury to any person.

Correct answer: B

Section 507 IPC deals with criminal intimidation by anonymous communication or by a person taking precaution to conceal the source of the threat.

Correct answer: B

This is the standard illustration to s.92 IPC (act done in good faith for another's benefit without consent in an emergency); the surgeon trepanning the insensible Z in good faith for his benefit has committed no offence.

Correct answer: C

Voyeurism is defined and punished under s.354C IPC, inserted by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.

Correct answer: C

Section 82 gives total immunity below seven years; under s.83 a child above seven and below twelve is liable only if he HAS attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct.

Correct answer: C

Making a false document (s.464) with any of the intents specified in s.463 IPC constitutes forgery.

Correct answer: D

The Concurrent List, along with the idea of cooperative federalism in the legislative scheme, was borrowed from the Constitution of Australia.

Correct answer: B

Marbury v. Madison (1803) established judicial review; the year '1503' in the option is a printing error but it is the only case that introduced judicial review (the others are tort/property cases).

Correct answer: A

Sir Elijah Impey was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, Calcutta, established under the Regulating Act, 1773 (1774).

Correct answer: B

Rajasthani is not in the Eighth Schedule; Dogri, Sindhi and Manipuri are all listed (Dogri was added by the 92nd Amendment, 2003).

Correct answer: D

In a democratic republic, sovereignty ultimately lies with the people, as reflected in the Preamble ('We, the People of India... do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution').

Correct answer: B

Article 43 directs the State to endeavour to secure to all workers a living wage and conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life (the 'living wage' DPSP).

Correct answer: A

In Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974) 2 SCC 831, the Supreme Court held the President/Governor exercises powers on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, so 'satisfaction' means that of the Council, not personal satisfaction.

Correct answer: D

A financial emergency under Article 360 has never been proclaimed in India.

Correct answer: D

Protection and improvement of the environment, forests and wildlife appears both as a DPSP (Art. 48A) and as a Fundamental Duty (Art. 51A(g)), both inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Correct answer: D

S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) 3 SCC 1 held that secularism is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Correct answer: C

The Constitution makes no provision for the post of Deputy Prime Minister; it expressly provides for the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Art. 89), Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha (Art. 93) and Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly (Art. 178).