Law Legal Studies · Civics Polity

Legal Principles and Doctrines

2,539 Questions

Legal principles and doctrines establish the foundational rules of jurisprudence and civil rights. Questions cover constitutional reasonable restrictions, courtroom evidence standards, and property laws. These topics are strictly necessary for law legal studies exams and judicial services prelims.

Constitutional doctrinesGuardianship rightsExpert testimony standardsCriminal trial instructionsContractual authorityRegistration law principles

Legal Principles and Doctrines Questions

Multiple choice

If a journalist publishes an article in a leading newspaper that all lawyers were thieves, no particular lawyer could sue him unless there is something to point to the particular individual. It refers to

  1. defamation of a company

  2. innuendo

  3. defamation of public figures

  4. defamation of class of persons
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

If a journalist publishes an article in a leading newspaper that all lawyers were thieves, no particular lawyer could sue him unless there is something to point to the particular individual. It refers to defamation of class of persons.

Multiple choice

The rule of sub judice implies that

  1. where the same subject matter is pending in a court of law for adjudication between the same parties, the other court is barred to entertain the case so long as the first suit goes on

  2. where the same subject matter is pending in a court of law for adjudication between the different parties, the other court is barred to entertain the case so long as the first suit goes on

  3. where the different subject matter is pending in a court of law for adjudication between the same parties, the other court is barred to entertain the case so long as the first suit goes on

  4. All of the above

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The rule of res sub judice under Section 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that no court shall proceed with the trial of any suit in which the matter in issue is also directly and substantially in issue in a previously instituting suit between the same parties, where such suit is pending in the same or any other court in India.

Multiple choice

The court frames the issues on the basis of

  1. allegations made on oath by the parties or their pleaders

  2. allegations made in the pleadings

  3. allegations made in answer to interrogatories

  4. All of the above

  5. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

All of the above are valid points from which the court may frame issues. All are valid points from which the court may frame issues.

Multiple choice

Who shall bear the expenses for the summoning of a witness?

  1. The plaintiff

  2. The defendant

  3. The party applying for the summons

  4. The court

  5. The witness himself
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The party applying for summons for calling the witness shall bear the expenses to be paid in the court and to the witness for procuring his attendance.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not a sufficient cause for granting adjournment?

  1. Sickness of a party, his witness or his counsel

  2. Non-service of summons

  3. Reasonable time for preparation of a case

  4. Non-examination of a witness present in the court

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

If a witness present in the court has not examined, the court cannot adjourn the hearing and will hear both the parties and their witnesses.

Multiple choice

Non est factum means

  1. document executed in ignorance

  2. document executed under coercion

  3. document executed under undue influence

  4. document executed outside India

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A claim of non est factum means that the signature on a contract was signed by mistake, without the knowledge of its meaning, but was not done so negligently. A successful plea makes the contract void ab initio.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

  1. The litigant has a right to wait till the last day of limitation.

  2. Sufficient cause in Section 5 must receive a liberal construction so as to advance substantial justice.

  3. The sufficient cause is a question of fact and not a question of principle.

  4. A plea that the delay was due to administrative reasons is sufficient by itself to establish sufficient cause.

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A plea that the delay was due to administrative reasons is not sufficient by itself to establish sufficient cause. It is merely an averment in the nature of a plea and it does not itself establish sufficiency for cause of action.

Multiple choice

Mere silence is not fraud unless____________________.

  1. the silence is deceptive

  2. there is a change in the circumstances to be brought to the notice of other party

  3. there is a duty to speak

  4. all of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Mere silence is not fraud, unless there is a duty to speak.

Multiple choice

Silent is fraudulent in the following cases

  1. if the circumstances of the case are such that, regard being had to them, it is the duty of the person keeping silence to speak

  2. where the circumstances are such that silence is in itself equivalent to speech

  3. both (1) and (2)

  4. none of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Silence becomes fraudulent when there's a legal duty to disclose (such as in fiduciary relationships or when parties are not at arm's length) OR when the circumstances make silence equivalent to speech (like when a person's conduct would naturally lead the other to believe the silent facts are true). Since both conditions independently make silence fraudulent, option C is correct.

Multiple choice

The maxim 'delegatus non potest delegare' means

  1. a person whom authority has been given cannot delegate the authority to another

  2. a person whom authority has been given can delegate the authority to another with prior permission

  3. a person whom authority has been given to indemnify agent for injury caused by principal's neglect can be delegated

  4. an authority can be delegated under protest by the person to whom authority has been given
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Latin maxim 'delegatus non potest delegare' means that a delegate cannot further delegate their authority - the person to whom authority has been given cannot pass it on to another. This principle ensures that delegated authority remains with the intended delegate. Option B incorrectly suggests delegation is possible with permission, while options C and D introduce concepts not related to the core meaning of this maxim.

Multiple choice

A proposal may be revoked in the following ways

  1. by notice of revocation

  2. by lapse of time

  3. by death or insanity

  4. all of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Under Section 6 of the Indian Contract Act, a proposal (offer) may be revoked by: (1) notice of revocation communicated to the offeree, (2) lapse of reasonable time, or (3) death or insanity of the proposer before acceptance. All three are valid modes of revocation, making 'all of these' the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Jus in personam means

  1. a right against or in respect of a thing

  2. a right against or in respect of a person

  3. both (1) and (2)

  4. none of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Jus in personam is a Latin legal term meaning 'a right against or in respect of a person'. It refers to personal rights enforceable against specific individuals, distinguished from jus in rem which is a right against the world at large (like property rights). Contractual rights are typically jus in personam.

Multiple choice

Misrepresentation means and includes

  1. the positive assertion, in a manner not warranted by the information of the person making it, of that which is not true, though he believes it to be true

  2. any breach of duty, which, without an intention to deceive, gains an advantage to the person committing it, or any one claiming under him, by misleading another to his prejudice or to the prejudice of any one claiming under him

  3. causing, however innocently, a party to an agreement to make a mistake as to the substance of the thing which is the subject of the agreement

  4. all of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Misrepresentation under Section 18 includes three types: (1) unwarranted positive assertions of untruths believed true, (2) innocent breach of duty that misleads and advantages the representor, and (3) innocent acts causing mistakes about the subject matter. All three constitute misrepresentation, making 'all of these' correct.

Multiple choice

Suit for specific performance & suit for injunction

  1. are remedies which provide the same result

  2. are different remedies and they provide different results

  3. are not the correct way to act against the party committing the breach

  4. are the only correct way to act against the party committing the breach
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Specific performance compels a party to fulfill their contractual obligations (often for unique goods or property), while injunction restrains a party from doing something they shouldn't (like violating a negative covenant). They are fundamentally different remedies serving different purposes.