Kerala Judiciary — Prelims 2022

Correct answer: A

Section 146 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 provides that co-sureties are liable to contribute equally to the debt or part unpaid by the principal debtor.

Correct answer: B

Under the Specific Relief Act (Sections 5 and 7), a suit for recovery of possession lies in respect of both immovable property (s.5) and movable/specific movable property (s.7-8).

Correct answer: C

Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 embodies the doctrine of part performance of a contract.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 6 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, a cheque is a bill of exchange drawn on a specified banker and payable on demand.

Correct answer: A

Section 25 of the Limitation Act, 1963 deals with acquisition of easements (right to light, air, way, water etc.) by prescription on 20 years' uninterrupted enjoyment.

Correct answer: C

Section 12(1) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 bars a tenant from contesting an eviction application or preferring an appeal under Section 18 unless he pays/deposits the admitted arrears of rent.

Correct answer: C

Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 provides for exclusion of time spent prosecuting in good faith a civil proceeding before a court that, from defect of jurisdiction or like cause, was unable to entertain it.

Correct answer: B

'Pari passu' means proportionate/rateable distribution among creditors on an equal footing; in the execution context (s.73 CPC) it denotes rateable distribution of assets.

Correct answer: A

A promissory note (s.4 NI Act) contains an UNconditional undertaking to pay; a conditional undertaking is therefore not correct of a promissory note.

Correct answer: D

Order 13 Rule 9 CPC entitles the person who produced a document to receive it back, whether or not he is a party to the suit.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 36 of the Partnership Act, 1932, an outgoing partner may carry on a competing business and advertise it, but may not use the firm's name, represent himself as carrying on the firm's business, or solicit the firm's old customers.

Correct answer: A

Section 6(2)(a) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 bars a suit for possession based on prior possession if brought after six months from the date of dispossession.

Correct answer: C

Under the proviso to Order 17 Rule 1 CPC, no adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during the hearing of the suit.

Correct answer: B

Orders passed at the execution stage of a rent control petition are challengeable by revision (under Section 20 of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act / civil revision), not by appeal.

Correct answer: B

A suit for possession of immovable property based on title under Section 5 of the Specific Relief Act follows the ordinary 12-year limitation period (Articles 64/65, Limitation Act).

Correct answer: A

Supplying wheat is wholly outside the ordinary course of a stationery business, so the act does not bind the firm under Sections 19/22 of the Partnership Act; the firm is not liable.

Correct answer: A

An inchoate (incomplete) stamped instrument is one delivered incomplete, dealt with under Section 20 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

Correct answer: C

Under Article 35 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the limitation for a suit on a promissory note payable on demand is three years from the date of execution.

Correct answer: C

The rule against perpetuity is contained in Section 14 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

Correct answer: C

Section 114 and Order 47 Rule 1 CPC deal with the filing of a review.

Correct answer: D

All three tests (identity of cause of action, whether relief could have been claimed in the earlier suit, and omission to sue for a relief on the same cause of action) apply to a bar under Order 2 Rule 2 CPC.

Correct answer: B

Under Order 2 Rule 2 CPC, a plaintiff who omits to sue for an instalment already due cannot afterwards sue for that omitted portion of the claim.

Correct answer: B

Section 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure deals with the transfer of a decree to another court for execution.

Correct answer: C

In computing maturity under Section 24 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the date of drawing/presentment is excluded and three days of grace are added.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 6(c) of the Transfer of Property Act, an easement cannot be transferred apart from the dominant heritage to which it is attached.

Correct answer: A

Lis pendens (Section 52, Transfer of Property Act) applies to immovable property only; among the options, 'movable and immovable properties' is the closest intended answer recognising it covers transfers of immovable property pending suit. Note: strictly TPA s.52 is confined to immovable property, but the keyed option here is (a).

Correct answer: A

Novation under Section 62 of the Indian Contract Act means substitution of a new contract for an existing one, discharging the old contract.

Correct answer: D

Under Article 120 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the period to apply to bring the legal representatives of a deceased defendant/respondent on record is 90 days from the date of death.

Correct answer: D

Section 89 CPC lists arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement including Lok Adalat, and mediation as modes of alternative dispute resolution the court may refer the dispute to; hence all of the above.

Correct answer: D

A suit for specific performance can be filed where the immovable property is situate (Ernakulam), where the cause of action wholly or partly arose / where the agreement was executed and money paid (Thiruvananthapuram), or where the defendant resides (Section 16 read with Sections 19/20 CPC); hence all of the above.

Correct answer: B

Omission to name the sub-tenant (Gopi) in the Section 11(4) notice is not fatal to a rent control petition for eviction on the ground of subletting, since the statutory requirement is notice to the tenant; the sub-tenant need not be separately noticed.

Correct answer: B

Constructive res judicata is embodied in Explanation IV to Section 11 CPC — matters which might and ought to have been made a ground of attack or defence in the former suit are deemed to have been directly and substantially in issue.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 13 TPA (transfer for benefit of unborn person), the requirements are a prior life interest, the whole remaining interest vested in the unborn, and existence before the prior estate ends; there is no requirement that the unborn be a descendant of the transferor. Hence (d) is not essential.

Correct answer: D

The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 introduced substituted performance (s.20), special courts for infrastructure contracts (s.20B), and a 12-month time limit for disposal (s.20C). Since all three listed are genuinely new provisions, the correct answer is 'None of the above'.

Correct answer: B

In an English mortgage (Section 58(e) TPA), the mortgagor binds himself to repay the mortgage money on a certain date — a personal undertaking to pay is an essential feature, unlike a usufructuary mortgage where there is no personal liability.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 130 TPA, transfer of an actionable claim is effected only by an instrument in writing signed by the transferor or his duly authorised agent.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, an agreement in restraint of trade is void (to that extent).

Correct answer: C

Under Section 123 TPA, a gift of immovable property must be effected by a registered instrument signed by the donor and attested by at least two witnesses.

Correct answer: A

The doctrine of feeding the grant by estoppel is contained in Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act (transfer by unauthorised person who subsequently acquires interest in the property).

Correct answer: C

Transfer of property for the benefit of an unborn person is governed by Section 13 TPA, read with Section 14 (rule against perpetuity); hence Sections 13 and 14.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 30 Cr.P.C., imprisonment in default of fine shall not exceed one-fourth of the term of imprisonment which the Magistrate is competent to inflict as punishment for the offence otherwise than as imprisonment in default.

Correct answer: C

Section 149 IPC (unlawful assembly — every member vicariously liable for an offence committed in prosecution of the common object) is the classic provision incorporating constructive/vicarious criminal liability.

Correct answer: B

A witness may be compelled to answer an incriminating question under Section 132 of the Indian Evidence Act (with the proviso protecting the answer from being used against him), read with Section 147.

Correct answer: C

On alteration of charge under Section 216 Cr.P.C., the prosecutor and accused may be permitted under Section 217(b) Cr.P.C. to recall or re-summon and examine any witness with reference to the alteration. Hence yes, under 217(b).

Correct answer: B

On breach of a bond (failure to appear), the court under Section 446 Cr.P.C. records the grounds of proof of forfeiture and calls upon the person bound (or surety) to pay the penalty or show cause why it should not be paid.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act, oral admissions as to the contents of a document are relevant when the party is shown to be entitled to give secondary evidence of its contents under the rules.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 34 IPC, physical presence at the scene is not always essential (participation in furtherance of common intention suffices); requiring each accused to be present at the time of commission is therefore not a correct/necessary proposition.

Correct answer: B

Section 197 Cr.P.C. sanction is required where a Judge, Magistrate or public servant not removable from office save by/with sanction of Government is accused of an offence alleged to have been committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of official duty — option (b).

Correct answer: B

Under Section 201 Cr.P.C., if a written complaint is made to a Magistrate not competent to take cognizance, he shall return it for presentation to the proper court with an endorsement to that effect.

Correct answer: D

Estoppel under Section 115 of the Indian Evidence Act requires a representation by one person to another, the other acting upon it, and that act being to his detriment/alteration of position; hence all the above.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act, a dying declaration may be made to any person (Magistrate, police officer, doctor or any private individual); there is no rule requiring a particular recorder. Hence 'All of above.'

Correct answer: D

Criminal conspiracy under S.120A/120B IPC is complete on the mere agreement to do an illegal act; commission of an overt act is NOT essential (except for conspiracies to commit acts not amounting to an offence). Thus 'commission of an overt act' is not an essential ingredient.

Correct answer: B

Under S.284 CrPC, a commission to examine a witness may be issued when attendance of the witness cannot be procured without an amount of delay, expense or inconvenience which would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

Correct answer: A

S.359 CrPC empowers the court, on conviction of a non-cognizable offence on a complaint, to order the convicted accused to pay the complainant's costs. (S.358 deals with compensation to a groundlessly arrested person, not costs by the accused.)

Correct answer: B

Under S.151 of the Indian Evidence Act, the court may forbid indecent or scandalous questions, but it shall permit them when they relate to facts in issue, or to matters necessary to be known in order to determine whether facts in issue existed.

Correct answer: B

S.155 of the Evidence Act lists the modes of impeaching credit: evidence of persons who testify the witness is unworthy of credit, proof of bribery/corrupt inducement, and proof of former inconsistent statements. 'Evidence of persons who know the witness is not creditworthy' is not a recognised statutory mode (the witness must testify to his unworthiness from personal knowledge).

Correct answer: A

Section 34 IPC creates no substantive offence; it only lays down a rule of evidence/constructive joint liability where a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.

Correct answer: D

Section 43 IPC defines 'illegal' as everything which is an offence, or which is prohibited by law, or which furnishes ground for a civil action. Hence all of the above.

Correct answer: C

A true and voluntary dying declaration can be the sole basis of conviction without corroboration (so (a) and (b) are wrong), but a cryptic dying declaration, being unreliable, is to be discarded. Hence (c) is the correct statement.

Correct answer: B

Under S.73 IPC, where the imprisonment imposed does not exceed six months, the period of solitary confinement shall not exceed one month.

Correct answer: B

Sections 76 and 79 IPC embody the maxim ignorantia facti excusat - they provide the general exception of mistake of fact (a person bound, or believing in good faith by reason of a mistake of fact that he is bound/justified by law, to do an act).

Correct answer: D

Where the sole eyewitness says the wound was a puncture wound by a sharp weapon but the post-mortem surgeon says it was a gunshot, the direct evidence is fundamentally contradicted by medical evidence; such an irreconcilable conflict entitles the accused to the benefit of doubt and acquittal.

Correct answer: C

Accident as a general exception is dealt with in Section 80 IPC (act done by accident or misfortune, without criminal intention or knowledge, in doing a lawful act by lawful means with proper care and caution).

Correct answer: B

Examination-in-chief (S.137 Evidence Act) must be confined to relevant facts; leading questions are generally not permitted (S.142), and it is not restricted only to facts in issue. Hence 'It must only relate to relevant facts.'

Correct answer: B

Section 114 of the Evidence Act, especially illustration (e), allows the court to presume that judicial and official acts have been regularly performed (omnia praesumuntur rite esse acta).

Correct answer: D

Disputed handwriting/signature (S.67) may be proved by direct evidence of one acquainted with it (S.47), by expert evidence (S.45), or by the court comparing it under S.73. Hence all of the above.

Correct answer: C

Under S.50 of the Evidence Act, the opinion on relationship is relevant only when expressed by a person who, as a member of the family or otherwise, has special means of knowledge on the subject.

Correct answer: A

Under S.190 CrPC, cognizance is taken of an offence, not of an offender/accused. (R.R. Chari v. State of U.P.)

Correct answer: D

Under S.90 of the Evidence Act, a document must be 30 years old and come from proper custody, whereupon the court may presume the signature, execution and attestation. Hence all of the above.

Correct answer: D

S.202 CrPC concerns postponement of issue of process so the Magistrate may inquire himself or direct an investigation by a police officer or other person. At that stage the Magistrate is NOT authorised to issue process to the accused (process is issued under S.204).

Correct answer: D

Laying of a trap to catch an offender (e.g. in bribery cases) is a part of the investigation, which under S.2(h) CrPC includes all proceedings for collection of evidence conducted by a police officer.

Correct answer: D

A Test Identification Parade is held during investigation by the police (often with a Magistrate); it is neither part of the trial nor of an inquiry. Hence 'None of the above.'

Correct answer: A

Firing a loaded pistol into a crowd is an act so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death, done without excuse - it falls under S.300 'Fourthly' and is murder.

Correct answer: B

Under S.85 IPC, involuntary intoxication is a defence only where the thing which intoxicated was administered to the accused without his knowledge or against his will.

Correct answer: A

The right of private defence (Ss.96-106 IPC) is founded on the instinct of self-preservation and the basic human right to protect oneself, one's property and others against unlawful aggression.

Correct answer: C

S.149 IPC (unlawful assembly) creates a distinct/specific substantive offence imputing constructive liability on members, whereas S.34 IPC is merely a rule of evidence/principle of joint liability and creates no offence by itself.

Correct answer: D

Cruelty under S.498A IPC includes harassment, physical cruelty and mental cruelty; the odd-one-out (what it does not separately require as a single answer) is 'all of the above cumulatively' — any one form suffices, so option (d) is the correct exclusion.

Correct answer: D

The maxim volenti non fit injuria (consent as defence) is reflected across Ss.87, 88 and 89 IPC dealing with acts done with consent; hence all the above.

Correct answer: D

Under Ss.97-99 IPC the right of private defence extends to the body of oneself or another and to property (movable or immovable); hence all the above.

Correct answer: D

In framing S.313 Cr.P.C. questions the court may take assistance of the Public Prosecutor and the defence counsel (S.313(5) Cr.P.C., inserted by 2008 amendment).

Correct answer: C

Actus curiae neminem gravabit (an act of the court shall prejudice no one) underlies restitution under S.144 CPC, which restores parties on reversal of a decree.

Correct answer: B

Letters rogatory for issue of process to a foreign authority/serving summons abroad are provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure (S.166A/166B Cr.P.C.).

Correct answer: A

The legality of narco-analysis, polygraph and BEAP tests was decided in Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010) 7 SCC 263, holding involuntary administration violates Art.20(3) and 21.

Correct answer: B

Justice Leila Seth became the first woman Chief Justice of a State High Court (Himachal Pradesh) on 5 August 1991. (Fatima Beevi was first woman Supreme Court judge.)

Correct answer: C

The other pairs are genuinely related; 'Doctrine of substituted Security and substituted performance' is the odd/mismatched pair (substituted performance is a Specific Relief Act concept while 'substituted security' is not a paired counterpart).

Correct answer: A

The 'rarest of rare' doctrine for death penalty was laid down in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980); among the listed options only Mithu v. State of Punjab (death-penalty jurisprudence) fits, the others being evidence/narco cases, so (a) is the best answer.

Correct answer: D

Seeing A and the accused together amicably a few days before the death only shows they were on good terms till then; the gap is too large for the last-seen-together theory, so (d) is the most rational inference.

Correct answer: A

A fiduciary relationship is founded on trust and confidence reposed by one person in another.

Correct answer: A

A witness deliberately making a false statement on oath in court commits perjury (giving false evidence, S.191/193 IPC).

Correct answer: B

An eo nomine party is a person who is a party to the proceeding by or under that very name, expressly named on the record.

Correct answer: D

The question whether 'such other vehicles' covers two-wheelers is resolved by ejusdem generis (general words take colour from preceding specific words); since that rule is not listed, the answer is 'None of the above'.

Correct answer: A

A court of record is one whose acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled/preserved as records for perpetual memory and testimony (Art.129/215). Option (a) best captures this.

Correct answer: B

Harilal J. Kania was the first Chief Justice of India (from 26 January 1950).

Correct answer: D

If both the President and Vice-President offices are vacant, the Chief Justice of India (or senior-most SC judge) discharges the President's functions under the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969.

Correct answer: A

Fundamental Duties (Art.51A) are contained in Part IVA of the Constitution, inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Correct answer: B

Passive euthanasia in exceptional circumstances (with safeguards) was permitted in Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. Union of India (2011) 4 SCC 454.

Correct answer: A

'In pari delicto' means both parties to the dispute are equally at fault/in wrong.

Correct answer: D

The Supreme Court directed compulsory registration of all marriages in Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006) 2 SCC 578. Option (d) 'Seema V. Aswinkumar' is the correct case (option (a) names a different respondent).

Correct answer: C

In Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980) the Supreme Court held that Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles must be balanced, striking down the clause giving DPSPs unconditional primacy; among the options it is the case asserting primacy of Fundamental Rights.

Correct answer: A

A holographic will is one written entirely in the handwriting of the testator himself.