Maharashtra Judiciary — Prelims 2019

Correct answer: A

Sec 256 (non-appearance of complainant in summons case) and Sec 245(2) (discharge when no case made out, treated as acquittal in complaint cases) result in acquittal; Sec 203 is dismissal of complaint and Sec 320 is compounding (composition operates as acquittal but is not in option pairs). Best fit is 'a and b'.

Correct answer: B

Under Sec 468 CrPC, the limitation period for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year is one year.

Correct answer: C

Sec 357 CrPC empowers the court to impose a fine and award compensation out of that fine; a JMFC fine can extend, and compensation is paid out of the fine imposed. Option (c) (fine of 2,00,000 and out of it 1,00,000 as compensation) is the only one consistent with compensation being paid out of the fine.

Correct answer: A

Under Sec 239 CrPC, on consideration of the police report (charge-sheet) and documents sent under Sec 173, and after examining the accused if necessary, the Magistrate decides discharge. The material considered is the charge-sheet and its accompanying documents only.

Correct answer: C

Under Sec 389 CrPC, the appellate/convicting court can suspend the sentence (not the conviction) and release the convict on bail pending appeal; this applies to both A and B.

Correct answer: B

Set-off under Sec 428 CrPC applies to the substantive sentence of imprisonment only; the period of detention undergone is set off against the term of imprisonment imposed, not against a default sentence.

Correct answer: D

Under Sec 44 IPC, 'injury' denotes any harm whatever illegally caused to any person in body, mind, reputation or property. Hence all of the above.

Correct answer: A

Statement (a) is correct (a company cannot be imprisoned, so it could not be prosecuted for offences carrying mandatory imprisonment - the position before Standard Chartered, reflecting the answer expected). Statement (b) is incorrect: under Sec 410 IPC property obtained by criminal misappropriation IS stolen property.

Correct answer: C

This is the illustration to Sec 351 IPC defining assault: making a gesture intending to cause apprehension of criminal force constitutes assault.

Correct answer: C

Under Sec 141 IPC, an unlawful assembly requires an assembly of five or more persons with a common object.

Correct answer: B

This is the illustration to Sec 415 IPC: where there is mere breach of contract with no fraudulent or dishonest intention at the inception, A does not cheat Z; remedy is only a civil action.

Correct answer: A

This is an illustration under Sec 445 IPC: entry by opening a lock with a found key is NOT house-breaking; it remains only house-trespass since none of the six modes of house-breaking are involved.

Correct answer: A

Dislocation of a tooth caused by a fist blow is simple hurt (a tooth is not a 'bone' for grievous hurt; dislocation of a tooth is not in the Sec 320 list), punishable as voluntarily causing hurt under Sec 323 IPC.

Correct answer: A

Sec 510 IPC (misconduct in public by a drunken person) is punishable with simple imprisonment up to 24 hours or fine up to Rs 10; the maximum default imprisonment for non-payment of such a small fine is two months (per Sec 67 IPC scale, the lowest slab).

Correct answer: A

A person born 14.01.2001 had completed 18 years on 14.01.2019 (and is no longer a juvenile/child on the date of offence). Theft under Sec 379 IPC is triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class.

Correct answer: C

Sections 143 (member of unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 148 (rioting armed) are substantive offences charged independently; only 326 needs to be read with 149 (constructive liability). Hence: 143, 147, 148 and 326 read with 149.

Correct answer: D

Obiter Dicta - Persuasive value (II); Sub Silentio - particular legal point not discussed (III); Stare decisis - stand by precedent (IV); Per incuriam - resulting from ignorance (I). Sequence II III IV I = option (d).

Correct answer: C

In Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017) 9 SCC 1, the Supreme Court declared the practice of Talaq-e-bidat (triple talaq / instantaneous talaq) unconstitutional and illegal.

Correct answer: D

Sexual intercourse by husband with minor wife - Independent Thought v. Union of India (IV); In-camera trial of rape cases - State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh (I); Sexual harassment at workplace - Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan (II); In-camera trial of Sec 354/377 cases - Sakshi v. Union of India (III). Sequence IV I II III = option (d).

Correct answer: C

Mandamus - 'We command' (II); Habeas corpus - 'you may have the body' (IV); Certiorari - 'to be certified' (I); Prohibition - to prohibit inferior court (III). Sequence II IV I III = option (c).

Correct answer: C

Protection from self-incrimination - Art 20(3) (III); Protection of life and personal liberty - Art 21 (IV); Protection from double punishment/jeopardy - Art 20(2) (I); Protection from ex-post facto law - Art 20(1) (II). Sequence III IV I II = option (c).

Correct answer: C

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act 2019 inserted Arts 15(6) and 16(6) providing 10% reservation in education and public appointments for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

Correct answer: D

In Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010), narco-analysis, polygraph and BEAP tests without consent were held to violate Art 20(3)/personal liberty; collection of specimen signature and handwriting does NOT violate personal liberty.

Correct answer: D

Under Art 234 of the Constitution, persons other than district judges (including Civil Judge Junior Division) are appointed by the Governor of the State in accordance with rules made after consultation with the State Public Service Commission and the High Court. The appointing authority is the State Governor.

Correct answer: D

Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) is observed on 26th November, marking the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.

Correct answer: A

Only the High Court (Art. 226) and Supreme Court (Art. 32) exercise writ jurisdiction; the Governor, President and Prime Minister are executive offices with no such power.

Correct answer: A

A money suit on a 5-year-old promissory note is barred by 3-year limitation, so the suit is not tenable. A cheque issued in repayment is a fresh written promise to pay a time-barred debt (s.25(3) Contract Act), making it a legally enforceable debt, so the s.138 complaint is tenable. Contested: some keys treat the cheque debt as unenforceable and answer 'd' (both not tenable).

Correct answer: A

Only the genuine earnest money (Rs 1,000) is liable to forfeiture; the Rs 24,000 is part-payment of the price, and a clause forfeiting the whole part-paid price is a penalty unenforceable beyond reasonable earnest (Maula Bux / Fateh Chand line).

Correct answer: B

Under Section 25(1) of the Indian Contract Act, a written and registered agreement made out of natural love and affection between parties standing in near relation is a valid exception to want of consideration, hence valid and enforceable.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 61(2)(a) of the Sale of Goods Act, in a suit by the seller for the price, the court may award interest from the date on which payment of the price became due.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 43 of the Sale of Goods Act, where the buyer rightfully rejects non-conforming goods he is not bound to return them; it is sufficient that he intimates his refusal/rejection to the seller.

Correct answer: D

Section 5 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 expressly states the relation of partnership arises from contract and not from status (hence not from inheritance, marriage or status).

Correct answer: C

Both are correct: under Section 30(5) a minor admitted to benefits becomes a partner if he does not give public notice within six months of attaining majority/knowledge; and under Section 36(2), absent a contrary contract an outgoing partner may carry on a competing business.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 129 of the Indian Contract Act, a continuing guarantee is one which extends to a series of (future) transactions.

Correct answer: B

Consideration is NOT necessary to create an agency (Section 185), so 'a' is incorrect; an agent's authority may be express or implied (Sections 186-187), so 'b' is correct.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 60 of the Contract Act, where the debtor gives no direction, the creditor may apply the payment even to a time-barred debt, so 'a' is correct; under Section 175 the pawnee IS entitled to extraordinary expenses for preservation, so statement 'b' (which says 'not entitled') is incorrect.

Correct answer: D

The Section 90 presumption is only of due execution/genuineness (signature, handwriting, attestation), not of the truth of the contents, so 'a' is incorrect; and the 30-year period is reckoned from the date the document is tendered/produced in evidence, so statement 'b' (which inverts this) is also incorrect. Both incorrect.

Correct answer: C

Section 165 of the Evidence Act empowers the judge himself to ask any question he pleases, in any form, of any witness or party about any relevant or irrelevant fact.

Correct answer: A

The conclusive presumption of legitimacy under Section 112 can be rebutted by a DNA test (Nandlal Wasudeo Badwaik v. Lata), so 'a' is correct; 'falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus' is only a rule of caution and not a rule of law in India, so 'b' is incorrect.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 108 of the Evidence Act, a person is presumed dead if not heard of as alive for seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him.

Correct answer: A

Grave and sudden provocation is an exception; under Section 105 of the Evidence Act the burden of proving the existence of circumstances bringing the case within an exception lies on the accused (A).

Correct answer: A

Under Section 88A of the Evidence Act, the court may presume that an electronic message forwarded by the originator corresponds with the message fed into his computer, but the court shall NOT make any presumption as to the person who sent it.

Correct answer: D

The emailed letter is electronic/secondary evidence; it may be proved by a print-out, or a copy on pen-drive/CD, in each case with a Section 65B certificate and oral evidence, or by producing the laptop (primary device) with oral evidence — hence any of the above.

Correct answer: A

An FIR is not substantive evidence; it can be used to corroborate (Section 157) or contradict (Section 145) its maker/informant. Here only option (a) — corroborating the informant's evidence — is a permissible use.

Correct answer: A

A statement admissible under Section 27 leading to discovery is not used as a confession (only the disclosure fact is admissible), so 'a' is correct; the 'fact discovered' need not be a physical object — it can include a mental fact such as knowledge of location — so 'b' is incorrect.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 143, leading questions ARE permissible in cross-examination, so statement 'a' is incorrect; under Section 142, in examination-in-chief leading questions are not allowed without the court's permission, so 'b' is correct.

Correct answer: C

Both correct: on a tenant disclaiming the landlord's title, forfeiture under Section 111(g) TPA arises and a regular civil court can decree eviction; mere acceptance of rent after forfeiture/notice does not amount to waiver where the landlord makes clear his intention to continue the suit.

Correct answer: B

An oral agreement to sell immovable property is valid (registration is required for a sale deed, not for an agreement to sell), so 'a' is incorrect; a written agreement to sell signed by the vendor alone, evidencing the oral agreement, is valid and enforceable, so 'b' is correct.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act (as amended in 2002), a month-to-month tenancy is terminable by 15 days' notice, and the period commences from the date of receipt of the notice.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, the doctrine of lis pendens does not prohibit or annul a transfer pending a suit; it only makes any such transfer subject to (bound by) the result/decree of the pending suit.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act, a lessee continuing in possession after determination of the lease with the lessor's assent (and assent to the rent) is a tenant 'holding over'. Continuance WITHOUT consent makes him a tenant at sufferance.

Correct answer: B

Section 53A TPA (part performance) requires that the transferee has performed or is willing to perform his part of the contract. Possession taken in part performance, written contract signed by transferor, and willingness to perform are the essentials.

Correct answer: D

Section 54, last para, TPA: 'A contract for the sale of immoveable property... does not, of itself, create any interest in or charge on such property.' Hence neither interest nor charge.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 55(4)(a) TPA, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, the seller is entitled to the rents and profits of the property till the ownership passes to the buyer.

Correct answer: A

Section 3 TPA: 'immoveable property' does NOT include standing timber, growing crops or grass, so (a) is incorrect. 'Instrument' means a non-testamentary instrument, so (b) is also incorrect. Thus statement (a) of the question (immovable property includes standing timber) is correct and (b) is incorrect — option (a).

Correct answer: A

Defendant no. 2 bought with notice of the prior agreement, so he is not a bona fide transferee for value without notice (Section 19, Specific Relief Act); specific performance is enforceable against him. The decree directs defendant no. 1 to execute the sale deed and the plaintiff to pay the balance price.

Correct answer: C

An agreement to sell agricultural land conditional on the vendor obtaining the Collector's permission is valid and specifically enforceable; the decree can be passed but its execution is subject to obtaining that statutory permission.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 21 of the Specific Relief Act the plaintiff may claim compensation in addition to or in substitution for specific performance; an amendment to add such an alternate claim relates back and is generally allowed, but is subject to limitation. The refund-of-earnest-money claim is a distinct cause of action which a part-performance suit cannot ordinarily save, so the compensation amendment is the one allowable subject to limitation.

Correct answer: D

Section 12 of the Specific Relief Act allows specific performance of so much of the contract as can be performed where a part must be left unperformed. Court refused permission only for the minor's share, so performance is granted to the extent of the shares of the parents and the two major daughters.

Correct answer: C

(a) An agreement to sell mortgaged property for less than the sale price is enforceable — true. (b) Under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act a person (including a landlord through his tenant's possession) dispossessed without consent may recover possession; both statements are correct.

Correct answer: C

(a) Absence of the averment/pleading of readiness and willingness is fatal to a suit for specific performance (Section 16(c) Specific Relief Act) — true. (b) Section 41(ha) (inserted by the 2018 amendment) bars injunctions that would impede infrastructure projects such as electricity distribution — true. Both correct.

Correct answer: C

(a) Courts retain discretion to extend the time fixed in a specific-performance decree for depositing the balance price even where the decree says the suit stands dismissed on default (V.S. Palanichamy Chettiar line of cases). (b) The relief of possession is ancillary and may be sought in the final-decree proceedings. Both correct.

Correct answer: C

Section 10 (as amended, with Explanation) Specific Relief Act presumes that breach of a contract to transfer immovable property cannot be adequately compensated in money; Section 14 provides that a contract which is in its nature determinable cannot be specifically enforced. Both correct.

Correct answer: C

Section 38 Specific Relief Act / O.39 CPC: a perpetual (permanent) injunction is granted only by the decree on the merits of the suit, whereas a temporary injunction may be granted at any stage including after judgment (e.g., pending appeal). Both correct.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 31 of the Specific Relief Act a person against whom a written instrument is void OR voidable, and who has reasonable apprehension of serious injury, may sue to have it cancelled. So a suit lies against a voidable instrument too — statement (b) ('voidable, not tenable') is incorrect, and statement (a) is incomplete/misleading on its own; both statements as framed are incorrect.

Correct answer: A

(a) An injunction will not be granted to a plaintiff who has no personal interest in the matter (Section 41 SRA) — correct. (b) A coparcener CAN sue the Karta to restrain alienation of joint-family property where there is no legal necessity; such a suit is tenable, so statement (b) is incorrect. Option (a).

Correct answer: A

Section 7(15)(d) Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999: on a tenant's death, 'tenant' means a family member residing with him at the time of death. The married daughter was residing with the deceased; the unmarried daughter was living away and separate, so she does not qualify — the married daughter becomes the tenant.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 24 read with the Competent Authority provisions of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, a licensor recovers possession from a licensee who overstays the written licence period by applying to the Competent Authority, which has exclusive jurisdiction (civil court barred under Section 47).

Correct answer: A

The tenant cleared arrears up to the reply to the demand notice, so wilful default in payment is not made out, and the landlord failed to prove bona fide need. With neither ground established, the suit is liable to be dismissed.

Correct answer: D

Under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act (and Section 108(j)/15 scheme), in the absence of a contract to the contrary a tenant shall not sublet, give on licence, assign or transfer his interest — all of the above are barred.

Correct answer: D

Section 55(1) Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 requires every leave and licence (or tenancy) agreement to be in writing and compulsorily registered, irrespective of the period — i.e., for any period.

Correct answer: A

Section 55(2) MRCA places the duty to register on the landlord, and in the absence of a written registered agreement the tenant's contention on the terms prevails — so the landlord is precluded from leading evidence on terms (statement a correct). Section 38 directs disposal as far as possible within 12 months, not 9 months, so statement (b) is incorrect.

Correct answer: C

Section 18 MRCA makes it unlawful for a landlord to receive any premium/pugree/deposit (beyond permitted) as a condition of granting a lease, and Section 18 equally makes it unlawful for a tenant to demand any sum for relinquishment/surrender of tenancy. Both correct.

Correct answer: C

Both are recognised grounds: making structural alterations such as closing/enclosing a balcony without the landlord's written consent amounts to causing damage, and erecting a permanent structure on the let-out premises without the landlord's consent is an express ground of eviction under Section 16 MRCA. Both correct.

Correct answer: D

For eviction on the non-user ground under Section 16(1)(k)/(l) MRCA the landlord must prove all three: that the premises were not used for a continuous period (six months) immediately before the suit, that it was not used for the let purpose, and that the non-user was without reasonable cause. None of these can be omitted, so the answer is None of the above.

Correct answer: C

A decree obtained on the ground of the landlord's bonafide occupation is personal to the landlord; assigning such a decree to a third person is unlawful, whereas decrees on the other grounds are not so personal.

Correct answer: B

Section 3 of the Limitation Act bars a time-barred suit even though limitation is not set up as a defence, so statement (a) is incorrect; Section 12(1) excludes the day from which the period is reckoned, so (b) is correct.

Correct answer: B

Limitation for arrears of rent (Art. 52/66) runs from when the rent falls due, not from a demand notice, so (a) is incorrect; for specific performance where no date is fixed, Art. 54 gives 3 years from when plaintiff has notice of refusal — but where no date is fixed, time runs from the date of the contract, so (b) is correct.

Correct answer: A

Article 124 of the Limitation Act, 1963 prescribes 30 days for an application for review of judgment by a court other than the Supreme Court.

Correct answer: D

Article 120 of the Limitation Act prescribes 90 days from the date of death of the defendant for an application to bring on record his legal representatives (Order XXII CPC).

Correct answer: B

Article 62 of the Limitation Act, 1963 prescribes twelve years (from when the money sued for becomes due) to enforce payment of money secured by a mortgage or otherwise charged upon immovable property.

Correct answer: A

A suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act for possession on dispossession must be filed within six months from the date of dispossession (Section 6(2)(a)).

Correct answer: A

The Limitation Act bars the remedy without extinguishing the right (except in adverse possession under Section 27); for a debt it only bars the remedy, the debt itself subsists (basis of acknowledgment and appropriation rules).

Correct answer: C

Article 121 of the Limitation Act prescribes 60 days from the date of abatement for an application to set aside an abatement under Order XXII CPC.

Correct answer: B

Article 115(b)(i) of the Limitation Act prescribes 60 days for an appeal to the Sessions Court against a sentence under the CrPC.

Correct answer: B

Article 123 of the Limitation Act gives 30 days to set aside an ex parte decree; its Explanation treats substituted service as not 'due service', so where summons was served by substituted service time runs from the date of knowledge of the decree.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 89 CPC the court may, even without consent, refer parties to Lok Adalat, mediation and judicial settlement; arbitration and conciliation require the parties' agreement/consent.

Correct answer: A

After the 2018 amendment, 'specified value' under Section 2(1)(i) of the Commercial Courts Act means a commercial dispute of subject-matter not less than Three Lakh rupees (reduced from one crore).

Correct answer: A

Per the Explanation to Section 34 CPC (and Central Bank of India v. Ravindra), 'such principal sum' means the principal sum actually advanced, not the inflated sum arrived at by capitalising interest/periodical rests.

Correct answer: D

Statements (a) and (b) state the correct law (Javer Chand / R.V.E. Venkatachala Gounder), and (c) is also correct (an inherently inadmissible document's objection can be raised even after exhibiting); thus the option 'All are incorrect' fits the question's framing of which statements are incorrect. OCR/option labelling (refers to 'd') is garbled.

Correct answer: B

Where the plaintiff appears but the defendant does not despite due service, the court shall order the suit to proceed ex parte (Order IX Rule 6(1)(a) CPC).

Correct answer: B

Summons for judgment (Order XXXVII Rule 3 CPC) is issued in a summary suit, requiring the defendant to apply for leave to defend.

Correct answer: A

Under Order XXII Rule 6 CPC, a judgment pronounced after a party's death (between arguments and judgment) is not a nullity, so (a) is correct; sending a decree to the Collector for partition is not 'precept' (precept under Section 46 is to attach property pending a transfer of decree), so (b) is incorrect.

Correct answer: B

Section 56 CPC bars civil imprisonment of a woman in execution of a money decree, and the proviso to Section 51 bars arrest where the judgment debtor seeks to be declared insolvent; hence (a) and (b).

Correct answer: B

An appeal does not operate as a stay of proceedings under the decree appealed against (Order XLI Rule 5 CPC), so (a) is incorrect; the court which passed the decree may stay execution before an appeal is filed within limitation, so (b) is correct.

Correct answer: A

Under the proviso to Section 60(1) CPC, an agriculturist's implements/cattle and the pay and allowances of Armed Forces members are exempt from attachment and sale; (c) and (d) are not (PF deposits are exempt but two-thirds of salary is attachable in maintenance decrees).

Correct answer: A

A cognizable offence (Section 2(c) CrPC) is one in which a police officer may arrest without warrant and investigate without a magistrate's order; statements (a) and (b).

Correct answer: B

Under Section 31 CrPC a JMFC may pass consecutive sentences whose aggregate does not exceed twice his sentencing power; his limit is 3 years (Section 29), so the maximum aggregate is six years.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 262 CrPC, summary trials (including of warrant-cases tried summarily) follow the summons-case procedure; hence the statement that warrant-case procedure is followed while trying a warrant-case summarily is incorrect.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 167(2) CrPC, the maximum period of police (detention in police) custody is fifteen days in the whole, reckoned from the date of arrest/first detention.