NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI

B.A.LLB.(Hons.): I-YEAR, I-SEMESTER (Batch of 2019)

End-Semester Examinations, December-2019
Paper 1.1: Legal Methods
Time: 3 Hours Total Marks: 50

Instructions:
1. Read the questions carefully and answer. No clarification shall be sought on the question paper.
2. Do not write anything on the question paper except your Roll No.

Q1. Champa was very excited for her 25th birthday. A grand party was organized at a five-star hotel in
Chanakyapuri. Being her parents‟ only daughter, they thought to gift Champa Poogle‟s new self-driving car G-
Robo. The car had been launched only a week ago and had already seen strong sales. The technology used in G-
Robo had been tested several times and was declared by Poogle to be adjusted for driving in India. It promised
to not only provide comfort but also guaranteed 100% safety, to the extent where it can predict driver
personalities. No accidents involving the G-Robo were reported from anywhere in the world. For those who
loved to drive, Poogle had also allowed the car to switch to a manual driving mode with the press of a button
near the gearbox.

Champa was ecstatic on seeing her new car and was determined to make all her trips in it. Even on the day it
had come home, she decided to take it to her party and show it off to all her friends. She drove down to
Chanakyapuri with her windows rolled down, and arrived safely at the venue. While the car was parked by the
hotel valet on manual mode, Champa along with her friends had many alcoholic drinks at the bar. The party
ended and the friends decided to head home at 3:00AM. On being cautioned to not drive back home on her own
as she is drunk, she flaunted her new car and its features. She boarded the car, switched on the automatic mode,
fed the destination to her house in the system and sat on the backseat of the car where she fell asleep. She was
on her way when she was stopped by Chandni, a traffic police officer, at Satya Marg, an area known to have
many Embassies and High Commissions. She was asked to take a breath test to ascertain the alcohol level in her
blood. It was found to be four times the permissible blood alcohol content (BAC). Her car was seized and she
was taken to the police station where a case was registered against her under s.12 of the Licensing Act, 1872.

Licensing Act, 1872

Section 12- Penalty on persons found drunk

Every person who is drunk while in charge on any highway or other public place of any carriage, horses, cattle,
or steam engine, or who is drunk when in possession of any loaded firearms, shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding forty thousand rupees, or in the discretion of the court to imprisonment for any term not exceeding
one month.

A. What is the ratio decidendi of the decision in Corkery v. Carpenter? Applying the ratio in Corkery and the
statutory provision provided, decide the outcome in the above scenario.
B. If you had to argue that the ratio in Corkery was inapplicable, how would you:
i. Restrictively distinguish the ratio in Corkery
ii. Non-restrictively distinguish the ratio in Corkery
C. Assume for purposes of this sub-question that the decision in Corkery was not in play. Applying the principles
of statutory interpretation to s.12 of the Licensing Act, 1872, decide the above scenario.
D. What is the difference between the mischief rule of interpretation and purposive interpretation?
(10 marks and maximum 4 sides)

Q2. Consider the following four statements each for Regina v. Stone & Dobinson [(1977) 2 WLR 169] and Regina v.
Bryne [(1960) 2 Q.B. 396]:

Regina v. Stone & Dobinson [(1977) 2 WLR 169] (7 marks and maximum 3 sides)

P.T.O.
 A. There is a common law duty to act through voluntary assumption of responsibility for another person.
B. A person can be guilty of being reckless once it has been established that there existed a duty of care towards
the other and that duty had been breached, due to complete indifference.
C. Once a duty of care is voluntarily assumed, complete indifference towards a risk arising during that duty,
irrespective of its foreseeability, would constitute recklessness.
D. The direction to be given to a jury to decide on the nature of recklessness need only emphasise on a high degree
of negligence, without asking them to consider whether the risk arisen during the accused‟s duty of care was
foreseeable.

Regina v. Bryne [(1960) 2 Q.B. 396] (7 marks and maximum 3 sides)

A. “Abnormality of mind” is wide enough to cover the mind's activities in all its aspects, including the ability to
exercise will power to control physical acts in accordance with rational judgment as to whether an act is right or
wrong.
B. The medical evidence should be looked in light of behavioural evidence to determine the extent of loss of self-
control.
C. To establish the defence of diminished responsibility, one does not have to establish scientific certainty, but
balance of probabilities, where it has to be shown that there was substantial impairment of mental responsibility.
D. To establish diminished responsibility, it has to be shown that there should be loss of self-control and the degree
of loss of self-control should be substantial, when compared to a reasonable person.

For each case, answer the following questions:

i. Which statement is the closest articulation of the ratio decidendi in each case? Justify with reasons.
ii. Provide reasons to justify why each of the three other statements cannot be considered as the ratio decidendi
of the case.
Q3. Based on your reading of Smt. Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar Chadha [AIR 1984 SC 1562]which of the
following statements is the obiter dicta in the case? Provide justifications for characterising each statement as
obiter dicta or not. Please allow for the possibility that more than one statement could be obiter dicta.
(7 marks and maximum 3 sides)

A. The remedy of restitution of conjugal rights is aimed at cohabitation and consortium and not merely at sexual
intercourse
B. Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act is not violative of Article 14 or Article 21 of the Constitution.
C. If the conduct of the husband does not fall within the expression “his own wrongs” as per S. 23(1) of the
Hindu Marriage Act then he is not disentitled to a decree of divorce.
D. A wife is entitled to maintenance only until she remarries and a daughter is entitled to maintenance until she is
married.

Q4. Identify and discuss the relevant themes in the film ThondimuthalumDrikshakshiyum(„The Exhibits and the
Witness‟, Malayalam, Directed by Dileesh Pothan, 135 mins, 2017) that reflect Upendra Baxi‟s concerns
surrounding the legitimacy of the Indian legal system. (7 marks and maximum 3 sides)

Q5. How would you characterise critical legal theory‟s foundational premise in understanding the nature of law?
What do you understand as its fundamental disagreement with the characterisation of law by the natural law and
positivist theorists? (6 marks and maximum 2 sides)

Q6. While describing the structure and features of the Indian courts system, provide an assessment of courts in India
as public institutions using themes identified by Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Milan Vaishnav in
their introduction to „Rethinking Public Institutions in India‟ (Oxford University Press, 2017).
(6 marks and maximum 2 sides)
 NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI

B.A.LLB.(Hons.): I-YEAR, I-SEMESTER (Batch of 2019)

End-Semester Examinations, December-2019

Paper 1.2: Law of Torts-I

Time: 3 Hours Total Marks: 50

Instructions:
1. Read the questions carefully and answer.
2. No clarification shall be sought on the question paper.
3. Do not write anything on the question paper except your Roll No.

1. „X‟ died in an accident which was caused due to „D‟s negligence. X‟ is survived by his wife and two
minor children. The family of „X‟ files a suit against „D‟ claiming compensation. Under which heads,
is the compensation payable to the family? Also discuss the steps in which compensation is assessed in
cases of death. Answer while explaining the relevant methods of assessment of damages.(12 Marks)

2. „X‟s servant had left his two horses van unattended in a crowded street. The horses bolted when a boy
threw a stone at them. „P‟, a policeman on duty, saw the horse van and found that many lives were in
danger. With a sense of duty, he tried to stop the horses, however during the course of doing this, he
suffered severe personal injuries. „P‟ files a civil suit against „X‟ claiming compensation. „X‟ argues
that there was a novus actus interveniens and therefore the chain of causation between cause of
accident and the damages was broken. He also pleads the defence of volenti non fit injuria claiming
that „P‟ himself had assumed the risk. Discuss the liability of „X‟with help of relevant principles of tort
law and decided cases. Are there any exceptions to the defence of volenti? (12 Marks)

3. ‘The true position is that every error of judgment may not be negligence; it depends on the nature of
the error.’
„H‟ a minor was admitted to a hospital, where the „X‟, the attending paediatrician (defendant), due to
an error of judgment, injected a high dose of a highly toxic drug to „H‟ intravenously which can be
fatal for life. As a result of this, „H‟ suffered a cardiac arrest and permanent brain damage, rendering
him permanently disable. „H‟ files a civil suit through his parents against „X‟ claiming compensation.
Is „X‟ liable? Decide with help of relevant principles of tort law and decided cases.(10 Marks)

4. „X‟, a driver left a mini-bus parked in a public place with the keys in the ignition. The said bus was
stolen, and, in the course of the theft, was involved in an accident in which a cyclist „P‟ was killed. The
vehicle was left at a changeover point that normally took 5 minutes, on this occasion it rested there for
half an hour. The relatives of „P‟ brought an action against the bus company for negligence. Decide
„X‟s liability. (10 Marks)

5. ‘Discharge of tort means reaching an end of the tort. It is a process by which tort stops to exist and the
wrongdoer is no longer liable.’
In light of the above, define six factors which discharge a defendant from liability in tort.(6 Marks)
 NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI

B.A.LLB.(Hons.): I-YEAR, I-SEMESTER (Batch of 2019)

End-Semester Examinations, December-2019

Paper 1.3: History of Legal and Constitutional Development in India

Time: 3 Hours Total Marks: 50

Instructions:
1. Read the questions carefully and answer.
2. No clarification shall be sought on the question paper.
3. Do not write anything on the question paper except your Roll No.

Q.1 Write short notes on the following:

a) Establishment of Mayor‟s Court under the Charter of 1726.
b) Doctrine of the Rule of Law.
c) Doctrine of Separation of Powers in India.
d) Edmund Burke‟s speech outlining the reasons for Warren Hasting‟s impeachment in the House of
Lords.
e) Establishment of the High Court as under the High Court Act of 1861. (2X5=10 Marks)

Q.2 A giant step was taken in the Indian Legal History when the Supreme Court of Judicature was created
at Calcutta under the Regulating Act of 1773.

Discuss the main features of the Regulating Act, 1773 and of the Supreme Court so established under
the 1773 Act. (10 Marks)

Q3.a The judicial plan of 1772, does honour to Warren Hastings as within the limitations of the available
resources, the plan as the first essay on judicial administration was a creditable achievement. Discuss
highlighting the role of Warren Hastings in undertaking the various administrative measures in the
acquired territories.
b. The tenure of Lord Cornwallis as Governor General from 1786 to 1793 is a remarkable and creative
period of our legal history.

Discuss the efforts made by Cornwallis in streamlining the administration. (2X5=10 Marks)

Q.4 Only through codification, it was possible to achieve certainty for uncertainty, a written and stable law
instead of a wildness of judicial precedents which were bewildering to the litigants and confusing to
the court.

Discuss the process of codification of laws as undertaken by the Charter of 1833. Highlight the
Benthamite influence especially on the framing of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1861.(10 Marks)

Q.5 The Legislative Councils beginning from 1861 were in no sense of the term parliamentary bodies.
They were legislative bodies which only discussed immediate legislation and, were not allowed to
travel outside that circumscribed sphere. Discus and also highlight the main features of the Govt. of
India Act, 1935. (10 Marks)
 NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI

B.A.LLB.(Hons.): I-YEAR, I-SEMESTER (Batch of 2019)

End-Semester Examinations, December-2019

Paper 1.4: Political Science-I

Time: 3 Hours Total Marks: 50

Instructions:
1. Read the questions carefully and answer.
2. No clarification shall be sought on the question paper.
3. Do not write anything on the question paper except your Roll No.

Q.1 Which approach to democracy addresses democratic equality in the best possible manner and for what
reasons? (10 Marks)

Q.2 Does the Marxian methodology of historical change suffer from over determination? What are its
limitations? (10 Marks)

Q.3 Why the obligation to obey the law by the citizens does not adequately capture the essence and
meaning of political obligation? (10 Marks)

Q.4 Explain the conjunctive and disjunctive mode of politics with reference to structural functional
approach to politics. (10 Marks)

Q.5 Power is an essentially contested concept. Discuss. (10 Marks)

OR

Write Short notes on only two of the following:

1. Normative Concept
2. Aggregative approach to democracy
3. Rousseau‟s general will (5x2=10 Marks)
 NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI

B.A.LLB.(Hons.): I-YEAR, I-SEMESTER (Batch of 2019)

End-Semester Examinations, December-2019

Paper 1.5: English-I

Time: 3.00 Hours Total Marks: 50

Instructions:
1. Read the questions carefully and answer. No clarification shall be sought on the question paper.
2. Be legible and tidy. Please answer within the word limit.
3. Answer in the order of the questions.
4. Write your Roll Number, in the designated space above, immediately on receipt of this question paper.
5. Do not write anything on the question paper except your Roll No.

Q.1 Write a note on the role of language and literature in the profession of Law.
(Around 400 words, 10 Marks)
Q.2
a) What do you mean by „res ipsa loquitur‟?
b) What is the difference between: „Defuse‟ and „Diffuse‟?
c) What is the difference between: „rule in‟ and „rule out‟?
d) Explain the meaning of „Per se‟.
e) Explain the meaning of „Fiduciary‟. (Around 400 words, 2x5=10 Marks)

Q.3 What are the similarities between the two trials of „The Benefit of the Doubt‟? What is the significance
of these similarities? (Around 400 words, 10 Marks)

Q.4 What similarities do you see between, „Before the Law‟, and „An Imperial Message‟?
(Around 400 words, 10 Marks)
Q5.
a) What is the difference between „Parentheses‟ and „Square Brackets‟?
b) Should the numbers be spelt, or put in numerals?
c) What do you mean by the terms, „Legalese‟ and „Plain Language‟?
d) How can we avoid sexist language?
e) What message do you carry from the poem, „The Slave Auction‟?
(Around 400 words, 2x5=10 Marks)