Odisha Judiciary — Prelims 2018

Correct answer: C

In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), the SC reiterated (following Kesavananda) that the Preamble can be amended under Art. 368 so long as the basic features/structure are not altered.

Correct answer: C

Conflict between a Parliamentary law and a State law on a Concurrent List subject is resolved by the doctrine of repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution.

Correct answer: B

In Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980), the Supreme Court upheld capital punishment for murder as constitutional and not violative of Article 21 (rarest of rare doctrine).

Correct answer: B

Fundamental Rights (Part III) prevail over Directive Principles, which are non-justiciable (Champakam Dorairajan). The harmonious construction rule still applies, but on direct conflict FRs prevail.

Correct answer: C

Article 300 of the Constitution provides that the Union of India and the States are juristic persons that may sue and be sued in their respective names.

Correct answer: C

In Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992), the Supreme Court held that charging capitation fee for admission to educational institutions is illegal and unconstitutional, violating Articles 14 and 21.

Correct answer: A

In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985), the SC held that the right to livelihood and shelter is part of the right to life under Article 21.

Correct answer: A

A writ of Certiorari is issued to an inferior court or tribunal to quash its order where it has exceeded jurisdiction or acted contrary to the rules of natural justice.

Correct answer: D

The concept of Fundamental Duties (Part IVA, Article 51A), added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), was borrowed from the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR.

Correct answer: D

Article 30 guarantees the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Correct answer: A

Under Order IX Rule 13 CPC, an ex parte decree can be set aside if the summons was not duly served, or the defendant was prevented by sufficient cause from appearing.

Correct answer: D

The CPC provides for preliminary decrees in suits for dissolution of partnership (O.XX R.15), accounts (O.XX R.16), and partition (O.XX R.18) — hence all of these.

Correct answer: B

In deciding jurisdiction, the court looks to the substance of the matter and not the mere form of the suit (settled CPC principle).

Correct answer: A

Where res judicata (Section 11 CPC) applies, the court has no jurisdiction to try the subsequent suit and it is liable to be dismissed (not merely rejected under O.VII R.11).

Correct answer: C

Under Section 19 CPC, for a wrong (defamation) the suit may be filed where the defendant resides (Delhi) or where the wrong/publication occurred (Calcutta) — at the plaintiff's option.

Correct answer: B

Section 18 CPC deals with the place of institution of a suit where the local limits of jurisdiction of courts are uncertain (immovable property); Section 19 covers movable property/wrongs to person or movables. As framed by the paper, the intended answer is Section 18.

Correct answer: D

For a legal set-off under Order VIII Rule 6 CPC, all the listed conditions must be satisfied: ascertained sum recoverable, within pecuniary jurisdiction, in a money suit — hence all of these.

Correct answer: A

A separate suit to set aside a decree obtained by fraud is maintainable; fraud vitiates the decree (Section 44 Evidence Act; explanation to Section 11 CPC), even though Order IX Rule 13 is also available.

Correct answer: B

A second appeal under Section 100 CPC lies only on a substantial question of law, not on questions of fact.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 16 CPC, a suit for partition of immovable property must be instituted in the court within whose local limits the property is situated.

Correct answer: C

Section 61 CrPC prescribes the form of summons and Section 62 the manner of service; the stem's wording ('procedure for serving the summons') is OCR-ambiguous, but the paper's intended answer aligns with Section 61 (form/procedure of summons). Best guess (c).

Correct answer: C

Under Section 125 CrPC, a woman in a purely illicit relationship (not a legally wedded wife) is not entitled to maintenance, but an illegitimate child is entitled to maintenance from the father.

Correct answer: A

Section 144(2) CrPC expressly permits an order to be passed ex parte in cases of emergency where circumstances do not admit of serving notice.

Correct answer: D

In Ahmed Noormohmed Bhatti v. State of Gujarat (2005), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 151 CrPC (preventive arrest) as not arbitrary or violative of Articles 21 and 22.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 155(2)-(3) CrPC, a police officer ordered to investigate a non-cognizable offence may exercise the same powers as in a cognizable case except the power to arrest without warrant.

Correct answer: C

Section 161 CrPC empowers a police officer to examine orally any person acquainted with the facts during investigation. (Section 160 = requiring attendance of witnesses; 159 = power to hold investigation.)

Correct answer: B

Section 164A CrPC provides for the medical examination of the victim of rape by a registered medical practitioner, with consent, within 24 hours.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 265-B CrPC, only the accused may file an application for plea bargaining in the court in which the offence is pending trial.

Correct answer: A

Section 428 CrPC provides for set-off, i.e. the period of detention undergone by the accused during investigation, inquiry or trial is set off against the sentence of imprisonment.

Correct answer: A

In M.C. Abraham v. State of Maharashtra (2003) 2 SCC 649, the Supreme Court held that mere rejection of an anticipatory bail application is no ground for immediate arrest; arrest depends on facts and the investigating officer's judgment.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, a 'fact in issue' is a fact from which, either by itself or in connection with other facts, the existence/non-existence of a right, liability or disability necessarily follows; in practice it is the disputed fact between the parties.

Correct answer: C

A presumption operates as proof so long as it is not rebutted; once an unrebutted presumption stands, the court may treat it as tantamount to proof of the presumed fact.

Correct answer: D

An alibi (A in Bombay when B was murdered in Chennai) is not irrelevant in itself; rather it is a fact inconsistent with the fact in issue and is relevant under Section 11. However, among the options, the presence of A elsewhere is the fact that does NOT tend to connect A to the murder, so it is treated as not relevant in this question's framing. Borderline phrasing, but (d) is the intended answer since the other three (absconding, last-seen-together, motive) are classic relevant facts under Sections 8, 7, 8.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 47A of the Indian Evidence Act, when the court has to form an opinion as to the digital/electronic signature of a person, the opinion of the Certifying Authority which issued the Digital Signature Certificate is a relevant fact.

Correct answer: B

Res gestae (Section 6, Evidence Act) is a recognised exception to the hearsay rule, admitting statements forming part of the same transaction.

Correct answer: B

By Sections 25-26 of the Evidence Act, confessions to police are inadmissible; a non-confessional statement may be admissible, and statements made otherwise than in the course of investigation can be received. (b) best captures the limited admissibility.

Correct answer: B

Section 79 of the Indian Evidence Act raises a presumption as to the genuineness of certified copies.

Correct answer: B

By Section 105 of the Evidence Act, when an accused claims the benefit of a general exception (such as unsoundness of mind under Section 84 IPC), the burden of proving the existence of circumstances bringing the case within the exception lies on the accused.

Correct answer: C

A preliminary examination (voir dire) to test competency under Section 118 of the Evidence Act is suggested in the case of child witnesses, to ascertain whether the child understands the questions and can give rational answers.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 143 of the Evidence Act, leading questions may be asked in cross-examination; under Section 142 they may not be asked in examination-in-chief or re-examination without the court's permission.

Correct answer: A

'Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea' means the act alone does not make a person guilty unless it is accompanied by a guilty mind (mens rea).

Correct answer: B

Where death results from an intervening accident (ambulance collision) wholly disconnected from the slight wound, the result is too remote; A is not liable for murder, only for the attempt. The chain of causation is broken.

Correct answer: D

All three carry death as a possible punishment: Section 305 (abetment of suicide of a child/insane person), Section 364A (kidnapping for ransom), and Section 396 (dacoity with murder). Hence 'All of these'.

Correct answer: B

Affray (Section 159 IPC) is fighting in a public place disturbing public peace and does not require a common object; common object is essential for unlawful assembly (149) and rioting (146).

Correct answer: B

Distributing mobile phones to voters to induce their votes is bribery under Section 171B IPC (giving gratification to induce a person to exercise an electoral right).

Correct answer: A

A homoeopath prescribing allopathic medicine causing death is guilty of causing death by a rash and negligent act under Section 304A IPC (cf. Poonam Verma v. Ashwin Patel), as he acted without the requisite knowledge/qualification.

Correct answer: B

Attempt to commit suicide is punishable under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (the section existed and was the law at the time of this 2018 paper). Section 306 deals with abetment of suicide.

Correct answer: C

This is the exact statutory illustration to Section 330 IPC: 'A, a police-officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section' (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession).

Correct answer: A

Section 336 IPC punishes any act done so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others. (337 = hurt thereby; 338 = grievous hurt thereby.)

Correct answer: C

Section 509 IPC punishes word, gesture or act (including exhibition of any object) intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

Correct answer: D

Section 16 of the Limitation Act, 1963 deals with the effect of death on or before the accrual of the right to sue (or to make an application).

Correct answer: A

Section 25 of the Limitation Act, 1963 governs the acquisition of an easement by prescription (e.g., right to light, air, way after 20 years' uninterrupted enjoyment).

Correct answer: A

Section 27 is an exception to the general rule: on expiry of the limitation period for a suit for possession, the right to the property itself is extinguished, not merely the remedy.

Correct answer: C

Under Article 5 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, a suit for an account and a share of the profits of a dissolved partnership is governed by a three-year period (running from the date of dissolution).

Correct answer: A

Under Article 61(a) of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, a suit by a mortgagor to redeem or recover possession of immovable property mortgaged has a limitation period of thirty years.

Correct answer: B

Under Article 133 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, an application to the Supreme Court for special leave to appeal where leave was refused by the High Court must be filed within sixty days from the date of the order of refusal.

Correct answer: B

Section 3 of the Limitation Act, 1963 mandates that every suit, appeal or application made after the prescribed period shall be dismissed, even though limitation has not been set up as a defence.

Correct answer: A

Under Article 21 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963, a suit on a promissory note or bond payable by instalments has a three-year limitation period (running from the expiration of each term of payment).

Correct answer: B

Cause of action under S.138/142 NI Act arises after the 15-day notice period (15.06.1995); the complaint had to be filed within one month thereafter (by mid-July 1995). Filed on 15.11.1995, it is barred by limitation.

Correct answer: A

Dismissal of a civil appeal as time-barred is a decree; an appellate order disposing of an appeal (including dismissal on limitation) operates as a decree and is itself appealable.

Correct answer: D

Section 17 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 permits accumulation of income for a period not longer than the life of the transferor, or eighteen years from the date of the transfer.

Correct answer: A

Feeding the grant by estoppel (Section 43, TPA) operates where a person fraudulently or erroneously represents that he is authorised to transfer property and professes to transfer it for consideration.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act, a condition restraining alienation is void, but the proviso saves a condition in a lease imposed for the benefit of the lessor (or those claiming under him).

Correct answer: B

The doctrine of lis pendens (Section 52, TPA) does not apply to a collusive suit or proceeding, as such a suit is not a bona fide contest of rights.

Correct answer: D

Where the mortgagor ostensibly sells the mortgaged property, it is a 'mortgage by conditional sale' (Section 58(c), TPA) — none of the listed options (anomalous, deposit of title deeds, English) describes it, so 'None of these'.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 67 of the Transfer of Property Act, the mortgagee's right to foreclosure is not available, inter alia, where a decree has been made for the redemption of the mortgaged property.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 69 of the Transfer of Property Act, the power to sell the mortgaged property without the intervention of the court is available in an English mortgage (and certain other specified cases).

Correct answer: C

A tenant who continues in possession after the expiry/determination of the tenancy (e.g., after notice to quit) without the landlord's assent is a tenant at sufferance.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 3 of the TPA, an actionable claim is a claim to an unsecured debt or to beneficial interest in movable property not in possession; a share/interest in a partnership is not an actionable claim.

Correct answer: C

'Donatio mortis causa' means a gift made in contemplation of death — a conditional gift that takes effect on the donor's death and is revocable if he survives (Section 191, Indian Succession Act).

Correct answer: C

Under the doctrine of privity of contract, a stranger to a contract cannot enforce it even if he has an interest in the consideration; only a party to the contract can sue on it.

Correct answer: D

Forbearance to sue is good consideration only when it is at the desire/request of the promisor, as consideration under Section 2(d) of the Indian Contract Act must move at the promisor's desire.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 4 of the Indian Contract Act, the communication of acceptance is complete as against the proposer when it is put in a course of transmission so as to be out of the power of the acceptor.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 15 of the Indian Contract Act, 'coercion' includes committing or threatening to commit any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 21 of the Indian Contract Act, a contract is not voidable because it was caused by a mistake as to any law in force in India; such a contract remains valid.

Correct answer: C

Section 31 of the Indian Contract Act defines a contingent contract as a contract to do or not to do something if some event, collateral to such contract, does or does not happen.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 43 of the Indian Contract Act, joint promisors are jointly and severally liable; the promisee may compel any one or more of them to perform the whole promise. Hence X can recover the full Rs. 6,000 from any one of them.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 41 of the Indian Contract Act (and illustration to s.63), where a creditor accepts a smaller sum from a third person in satisfaction of the claim, it operates as a full discharge of the whole debt. B's acceptance of Rs. 2,000 from C discharges the entire claim against A.

Correct answer: C

Under Section 192 of the Indian Contract Act, where a sub-agent is properly (lawfully) appointed, the agent is responsible to the principal for the acts of the sub-agent, and the sub-agent is responsible to the agent (not directly to the principal except for fraud/wilful wrong).

Correct answer: B

Under Section 137 of the Indian Contract Act, mere forbearance on the part of the creditor to sue the principal debtor does not, in the absence of any provision in the guarantee, discharge the surety. So A is not discharged.

Correct answer: B

Under Mitakshara Hindu law, a coparcenary consists of a male and his three lineal male descendants: sons, grandsons and great-grandsons.

Correct answer: B

For self-acquired (separate) property of a Hindu male dying intestate, succession is governed by Section 8 r/w Class I heirs (Schedule). Father is NOT a Class I heir (he is Class II); mother, sons (including adopted), and daughters are Class I heirs and share equally. Hence: mother, adopted son, three daughters and two natural-born sons.

Correct answer: A

Brother is a Class II heir under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, not a Class I heir. Daughter of predeceased daughter, daughter of predeceased son and son of predeceased son are all Class I heirs.

Correct answer: A

Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 converts the limited estate of a female Hindu into her absolute property (full ownership).

Correct answer: A

Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 lays down the general rules of succession to the property of a male Hindu dying intestate.

Correct answer: D

Section 33A of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (special rule where intestate leaves a widow and no lineal descendants) is the provision; more broadly, the Act's rules of distribution to kindred (ss.33-49) treat agnates and cognates and male and female heirs equally. Among the options, 33A is the designated answer.

Correct answer: C

A holograph will is one written entirely in the testator's own handwriting.

Correct answer: B

Under Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, where a legacy is given to A and on his death to B, and A survives the testator, the legacy over to B does not take effect; A takes the legacy absolutely.

Correct answer: C

Probate is a copy of the will certified under the seal of the court of competent jurisdiction with a grant of administration of the testator's estate (Section 2(f), Indian Succession Act, 1925).

Correct answer: C

Section 114 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 deals with this. (Note: a bequest to a person by a particular description who does not exist at the testator's death is void under Section 105; among the listed options, Section 114, the rule against perpetuity, is the intended key.) Best fit among options is Section 114.

Correct answer: D

A suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 for recovery of possession of immovable property must be filed within 6 months of dispossession (Section 6(2)(a)).

Correct answer: B

Section 8 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 deals with liability of a person in possession, not as owner, to deliver to persons entitled to immediate possession (recovery of specific movable property).

Correct answer: C

A declaration (declaratory decree under Section 34, Specific Relief Act, 1963) is an authoritative pronouncement by the court on a person's legal character or right to property.

Correct answer: A

Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides only for a declaration of status or right; it does not by itself empower the court to grant consequential relief beyond declaration (that is the proviso's effect). So it deals with mere declaration of rights.

Correct answer: C

An order of the court directing a party to do or refrain from doing a specified act is an injunction (Sections 36-42, Specific Relief Act, 1963).

Correct answer: C

A perpetual (permanent) injunction is granted by the decree at the hearing and on the merits of the suit and operates without any time limit (Section 37, Specific Relief Act, 1963), unlike a temporary injunction.

Correct answer: B

A 'quia timet' injunction is one sought to prevent some future probable/apprehended injury to the rights or interests of a person where no injury has yet occurred.

Correct answer: A

Yes. Under Section 21 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the court may award compensation in lieu of, or in addition to, specific performance, including where specific performance has become impossible.

Correct answer: B

Rectification (Section 26, Specific Relief Act, 1963) corrects a mistake in the way the transaction has been expressed in the written instrument so that it reflects the real intention of the parties; it does not correct a mistake in the transaction itself.

Correct answer: A

Under Section 12(2) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, where a part of the contract cannot be performed, the court may direct specific performance of the part that can be performed at the suit of the party who is willing to relinquish the rest, i.e. the promisee (the party seeking performance).