Legal Methods (Ultimate Version)

SYLLABUS
● Module I : Understanding the general framework of Indian, English, American and French
Legal Systems - Hierarchy of Courts, Tribunals and other Judicial Organs - Nature of disputes
decided by the relevant courts - Important law reform and law making bodies in the respective
jurisdictions.
● Module II : How to use a law library; Sources of Legal Materials – Primary and Secondary
Sources; How to locate International Legal Instruments; How to locate central legislative
materials as well as state specific legislative materials in India; Understanding the structure and
content of primary and delegated legislation in India; Entry into force of legislations and
amendment of legislations in India; Law Reports – Official Law Report and Unofficial Law
Reports in India; Locating Case Law of Other Jurisdictions with special reference to America
and England; Understanding the features and contents of Secondary sources such as Text
Books, Case Books, Commentaries, Encyclopedias, Digests, Digital Databases and other
resources available in a law library – Legal research using internet and other online legal
databases.
● Module III : Understanding the Judicial Process - Doctrine of stare decisis - Doctrine of stare
decisis in India - Rules of practice relating to precedents in India - Retrospectivity and
prospectivity of judicial decisions – Overruling, reversing and distinguishing of cases -
Doctrine of prospective overruling.
● Module IV : Understanding a Judicial Opinion - Structure of a judicial opinion - Methods of
legal reasoning – Deductive and inductive - Determination of ratio decidendi – Obiter dicta and
its binding nature - Doctrines of per incuriam and sub-silentio - Majority opinion, Minority
opinion and Dissenting opinion.
● Module V : Introduction to types of law and select legal terminologies and abbreviations;
Legal Citations – their function in legal writing; Overview of some select legal citation formats
followed in India, America and England; Legal citation signals; Legal Writing – skills
necessary for the preparation of a legal research paper, synopsis of a research paper, abstracts
of research papers, preparation of head notes of cases, indexes of books, and case briefs;
Writing case comments.
MODULE I
● Understanding the general framework of Indian, English, American and French Legal Systems
● Hierarchy of Courts, Tribunals and other Judicial Organs
● Nature of disputes decided by the relevant courts
● Important law reform and law making bodies in the respective jurisdictions.
Coming Soon
English Legal System
Practice Statement(1966)
The Practice Statement [1966] 3 All ER 77[1] was a statement made in the House of
Lords by Lord Gardiner LC on 26 July 1966 on behalf of himself and the Lords of
Appeal in ordinary, that they would depart from precedent in the Lords in order to
achieve justice.
INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM
CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)
There are two constitutional courts in India. They are the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
They are called constitutional courts because they are established and gain their power from the
constitution of India.
Supreme Court of India:
The Supreme Court is the apex court of the country. It is the highest court of appeal.It was
established by Article 124 o f the Constitution. Article 129 makes the Supreme Court a Court of
Records.
Jurisdictions of the SC:
a) Original Jurisdiction: This power is derived from Article 131.It is an exclusive original
jurisdiction extends to any dispute between the Government of India and one or more
States or between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or
more States on the other or between two or more States, if and insofar as the dispute
involves any question (whether of law or of fact) on which the existence or extent of a
legal right depends.
rticle 32.The Constitution gives an

b) Writ Jurisdiction: This power is derived from A
extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court in regard to enforcement of
Fundamental Rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs
in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari to
enforce them.
c) Appellate Jurisdiction: This power is derived from Article 132. The appellate
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be invoked by a certificate granted by the High
Court concerned under Article 132(1), 133(1) or 134 of the Constitution in respect of
any judgement, decree or final order of a High Court in both civil and criminal cases,
involving substantial questions of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution.The
Supreme Court has also a very wide appellate jurisdiction over all Courts and Tribunals
in India in as much as it may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal under Article
136 of the Constitution from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in
any cause or matter passed or made by any Court or Tribunal in the territory of India.
d) Review Jurisdiction: This power is derived from Article 137. The SC has the power to
review any judgment pronounced or order made by the court under Article 145.
e) Extra-Ordinary Jurisdiction: This power is derived from Article 142.The SC can issue
decrees/orders for any disposing of any matter before it and to ensure justice is done and
make anyone appear before the court for making sure justice is maintained.
rticle 143.The Supreme Court has

f) Advisory Jurisdiction: This power is derived from A
special advisory jurisdiction in matters which may specifically be referred to it by the
President of India.
High Court(s) of India:
The High Courts of India are the supreme judicial authority at the State level and are
established under Article 214 of the Constitution. There are currently 24 High Courts in the
country and of these the oldest High Court of India is the Calcutta High Court, which was
established in the year 1862.
Their powers and jurisdiction are similar to that of the Apex court, but with a few differences
● Any law declared or orders/judgments passed by them are not binding on the other
High Courts (HCs) of the country or the subordinate courts which fall under the purview
of the other HCs unless the other High Courts choose to follow such law or order or
judgment.
● Their territorial jurisdiction is varied.
● The High Courts are the appellate authority for a State or group of States and get a lot of
matters in appeal from the subordinate courts.
● They have the power to issue writs, just like the Apex court, under Article 226 o f the
Constitution, but with one difference. While the Supreme Court has the power to issue
writs to enforce only the rights provided under Part III of the Constitution, the High
Courts can issue writs for enforcement of the rights under Part III as well as “for any
other purpose”.
● Just like in the case of the Supreme Court, the writ jurisdiction of the High Court is also
part of their Original jurisdiction, since all writ petitions are filed directly before the High
Court. Apart from writ petitions, any civil or criminal case which does not fall within the
purview or ambit of the subordinate courts of a State, due to lack of pecuniary or
territorial jurisdiction, can be heard by the High Court of that State. Also certain other
matters or issues may be heard by the High Court as part of its original jurisdiction, if the
law laid down by the legislature provides for it. For example, the company law cases fall
within the original jurisdiction of the High Court.
● Therefore, the High Courts’ work primarily consists of appeals from the lower courts as
well as the writ petitions filed before it under Article 226.
● The territorial jurisdiction of a High Court, as mentioned earlier, is varied.Both the

Supreme Court and the High Courts are courts of record and have all the powers
associated with such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.
Criminal Courts (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)
Section 6 of the CrPc (Code of Criminal Procedure) establishes 4 classes of Criminal Courts in
a State.
Hierarchy of Criminal Courts:
● Court of Judicial Magistrate of 2nd Class : This court is presided over by a Judicial
Magistrate of 2nd Class.
● Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class : This court is superior to Munsiff & JM of
2nd Class Court.
● Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate: Popularly known as CJM Court or CMM Court.
This court is presided over by a CJM or CMM and a Chief Judicial Magistrate according
to Section 12 of CrPc. Additional CJMs can be appointed.
● Sessions Court : A Sessions Court is responsible for adjudicating matters related to

serious criminal cases. This court is responsible for trying cases relating to murders,
theft, dacoity, rape and other such cases. Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant
Sessions Judges can also be appointed according to Section 10 of CrPc. It is established
by Section 9 of the CrPc.
Jurisdiction of Criminal Courts:
● Sentencing Jurisdiction (CrPc Section 28 and 29) :
A Judicial Magistrate of Second Class can pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 1 year a nd a fine of upto 5000 rupees.
A Judicial Magistrate of First Class may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 3 years and a fine of upto 10,000 rupees.
Chief Judicial Magistrate/Additional CJM c an try cases, which are punishable with
imprisonment for a term up to 7 years and an unlimited fine.
An Assistant Sessions Judge can give a punishment upto 10 years and an unlimited fine.
A Sessions Court can give sentences where punishment e xceeds 7 years and an
unlimited fine(authorised by law). A Sessions Court has the power to impose the full
ife-sentence & Death Sentence(when
range of penalties for criminal acts, including L
confirmed by the high court).
● Subject Matter Jurisdiction:
Sometimes, criminal courts are set up to deal with cases that come under a particular
subject matter or under a certain Acts of the Parliament. They are established by the Act
of the Parliament itself.
Eg. Section 36 of the NDPS A ct allows the government to establish as many special
courts for disposing off cases dealing with this subject matter according to their
discretion.Special courts have been established to try MPs and MLAs also.
● Territorial Jurisdiction:
The CrPc specifies the geographical limits of a court’s authority and it cannot exercise
authority beyond that territorial and geographical limits.
Section 7 of the CrPc divides the state into a Sessions/Sessions Divisions according to
Districts in the State. And further divisions are also made for the lower courts.
Civil Courts (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)
These courts deal with civil matters. The Civil Courts of Kerala are established by Section 2 of
the Kerala Civil Courts Act, 1957.
Hierarchy of Civil Courts:
● Munsiff Courts:The Munsiff Court is presided over by a Munsiff Magistrate. The

Government shall fix and may from time to time vary the local limits of the jurisdiction
of any Munsiffs Court in consultation with the High Court.
● Sub-Courts:The Sub-Courts are presided over by a Subordinate Judge . The Government

shall fix, and may from time to time vary, the local limits of the jurisdiction of any
Subordinate Judge’s Court in consultation with the High Court.
● District Courts:The District Judge presided over this court. The Government may, by
notification in the Gazette divide the State into civil districts and alter the limit or the
number of such districts.
Jurisdiction of Civil Courts:
● Subject Matter Jurisdiction: It can be defined as the authority vested with the court to
try and hear cases of the particular type and pertaining to a particular subject matter.
● Territorial Jurisdiction: The court can decide within the geographical limits of a
court’s authority and it cannot exercise authority beyond that territorial and geographical
limits.
● Pecuniary Jurisdiction: Pecuniary Jurisdiction is related to money, whether a court can

try cases and suits of monetary value/amount of the case or suit in question.
Munsiff court less than 10 lakh, Sub-Court above 10 lakh, District Court less than 20
lakh, High Court more than 20 lakh.
● Appellate Jurisdiction: It refers to the authority of a court to rehear or review a case
that has already been decided by a lower court. Appellate jurisdiction is generally vested
in higher courts. In India, both the High Courts and the Supreme Court have appellate
jurisdiction to hear matters which are brought in the form of appeal before them. They
can either overrule the judgment of the lower court or uphold it.
ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM

AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM
The court system in the United States of America is divided into two separate systems namely
federal and the state each of which is not completely independent of each other.
● Federal Court System

The Federal Courts are divided into two types mainly:
○ Article 3 Courts : They derive their power from A rticle 3 of the US

Constitution that establishes their judiciary.They are divided into:
■ District Courts : US District Courts are essentially trial courts or courts
exercising original jurisdiction. They deal with both civil and criminal
cases.
District Courts are nearly 100 in number in the US. Every state will have
at least one district court(s) (50 States). Cases handled by the Federal
District Courts include violations of constitution and other Federal law,
maritime disputes, cases directly involving the State or Federal
government etc.
■ United States Circuit Court of Appeal: These have appellate

jurisdiction over the District Courts. Courts of appeal have original
jurisdiction in cases involving challenge against order of federal
regulatory agencies.
There are 13 such courts: 12 regional circuits and each regional circuit has
one court of appeal. The thirteenth one is the US Court of Appeal for the
Federal Circuit and this court sits in Washington(not a court of original
but appellate jurisdiction). Any party aggrieved by the judgement of the
US District Court can appeal to this court, but if the accused is acquitted
then this claim does not lie.
The scope of this court is confined to questions of law and not to questions
of fact. They are not re-appreciated. It consists of three judges (coram).
■ Supreme Court of United States (SCOTUS): It is the highest court of

the US. It consists of one Chief Justice and 8 Associate Judges. 9 judges
in the US supreme court and all 9 sit together to decide cases.
● The judges of SCOTUS have no retirement age and are

appointed for life.The proceedings initiated in the SCOTUS are
initiated by a certain procedure - petition for a writ of certiorari
(cert.)It sits in Washington DC. parties aggrieved by the decision
of the Circuit Court of Appeal or the State Supreme Court and in
rare cases even parties aggrieved by the judgements of the US
District courts can appeal to the SCOTUS.
● The SCOTUS is primarily an appellate court but it has original
jurisdiction in rare cases like disputes between states, involving
ambassadors.
○ Special Courts: These courts are appointed by the President of the USA
(POTUS).
■ US Court of Claims (when cases against the government are filed)
■ US Court of International Claims (sits in new york and handles cases of

international tariff and international claims)
○ Article 1 Courts : These are legislative courts. They consist of courts like the
magistrate courts (civil and criminal cases- upon consent of the parties), the
bankruptcy courts (bankruptcy code), the us court of military appeals ( uniform
code of military justice, lot of cases arise here, it is an appellate court sitting to
handle cases arising under the uniform code of military appeal) , t he us tax court,
the us court of veterans’ appeal (Denial of benefits to veterans).
● State Court System
The State Court System is complex. No two State systems are exactly alike. Most of the
state court systems are made up of :
1)Trial Courts
There are two sets of trial courts:
○ Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction : These courts that deal with specific types
of cases. They are located in the county courthouse and presided by a single
judge.
■ Eg. probate court, family court, traffic court, juvenile justice court, small
claims court, municipal court.
○ Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction : These courts that hear cases that are
outside the jurisdiction of limited jurisdiction.It hears both civil and criminal case.
Very rarely the Courts of General Jurisdiction exercise appellate jurisdiction on
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction.
2)Intermediate Courts : Not all states have these courts .They exist between the
trial courts and highest state court.Any party aggrieved by the judgment of a state
trial court can prefer an appeal to the intermediate court for matters like
procedural mistake, errors on interpretation of the questions of law in a state trial
court.
3)The Highest State Court : These have a sort of original jurisdiction. In those
states where there is an intermediate court, only a few cases go to the highest
court. In every state, these are known by different names. In some states they are
known as Circuit Court, Superior Courts, Court of Common Pleas. In New York
this trial court of general jurisdiction it is called Supreme Court.
FRENCH LEGAL SYSTEM

France is a civil law system which means it places a greater emphasis on statutes as found within
various codes, instead of case law. The idea of stare decisis does not come into play in civil law
systems as each case is decided on an individual basis according to how it relates to the
codified law and how the judge chooses to interpret that law. Thus, two cases on the same topic
could have very different outcomes.
In France, the courts can be classified into:
● JUDICIAL COURTS
These are broadly divided into two:
i) Civil Courts:
Civil Courts are divided into :
○ Tribunal d’ instance : It is one which hears minor civil cases.
○ Court of Grand Instance(tribunal de grande instance) : It is one which has

general jurisdiction for civil matters over €10,000. It also acts as a juvenile court.
○ Labour Court (Conseil de prud’hommes) : Labour court hears dispute between

employers and employees. Land estate court hears cases dealing with leases or
farm land estate.
ii) Criminal Courts

Criminal Offences are categorized into:
○ Crimes : These are serious felonies.(Similar to cognizable offences). They are

tried in the Cour d’assises or the Assize Court.The Cour d’assises i s not a
permanent court and deals with those accused of crimes such as murder, rape,
armed robbery etc.
○ Délits : These are minor offences. They are dealt with by Correctional Courts or
Tribunal Correctionnel.
○ Contraventions: These are petty offences.They are tried in the Police Tribunals
or Tribunal de Police.
● Court of Appeal(Cour d’appel) : This hears appeal from lower courts. It is composed of
three judges. It has several divisions for civil, criminal, social security and business.
● The Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation ): This is the highest court.There are 120
judges serving in this court. Each case is heard by a minimum of seven judges. The court
of cassation is the court of final appeal for civil and criminal matters.
● Courts are also divided on the basis of Jurisdiction into :
1. Minor Jurisdiction: police courts/tribunal(petty offences)
2. Major Jurisdiction : correctional courts(misdemeanors)/ criminal courts
3. Specialized Court : labour court, land estate court , business court - appeal from
here to business division court of appeals.
● ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS: The administrative courts handle lawsuits involving

the French State, local authorities or other public authorities ruled by public law.
Administrative courts handle, for example, litigation with a mayor’s office on the grant of
a building license. Unlike Germany, France does not have a specific court for tax matters.
Administrative Courts are divided into:
○ Administrative Courts (Tribunal administratif) : First instance courts.
○ Administrative Courts of Appeal (Cour administrative d’appel) : Intermediate

appellate courts.
○ The Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) : Courts of last resort. Constitutional court
practices judicial review of legislative actions, checks constitutional validity of
legislations.
MODULE II
● How to use a law library; Sources of Legal Materials – Primary and Secondary Sources
● How to locate International Legal Instruments
● How to locate central legislative materials as well as state specific legislative materials in India
● Understanding the structure and content of primary and delegated legislation in India
● Entry into force of legislations and amendment of legislations in India
● Law Reports – Official Law Report and Unofficial Law Reports in India
● Locating Case Law of Other Jurisdictions with special reference to America and England
● Understanding the features and contents of Secondary sources such as Text Books, Case Books,
Commentaries, Encyclopedias, Digests, Digital Databases and other resources available in a law
library – Legal research using internet and other online legal databases.
SOURCES OF LEGAL MATERIALS
There are two sources of legal/legislative materials - Primary and Secondary Sources
PRIMARY SOURCES
These include the legislations and reports of decided cases.The word legislation taken in a wide
sense includes Acts, Rules, Ordinances, Regulations, Notifications and even Constitutional
Amendments. The most important source of legislation in the Indian scenario is an Official
Gazette. Central legislations will be published in the Gazette of India and State legislations will
be published in the State Gazettes . Apart from Official Gazettes ,Central as well as State Acts,
Rules, Ordinances, and Notifications can also be obtained from various private publications.
Current Indian Statutes and Current Central Legislation are two publications which are
frequently relied on for this purpose. Certain law reports also publish latest Acts , Rules and
Ordinances and Notifications in their Statute Sections . For example, the All India Reporter
(A.I.R.) publishes latest legislations in its Acts Section. Similarly Kerala Law Times (K.L.T.) a
private law report published from Kerala has a Statute Section wherein they publish Central as
well as State (Kerala) Acts, Rules, Notifications, Ordinances, Orders and even Constitutional
Amendments.
Law Reports: A law report is a production of an adequate record of a judicial decision on a

point of law in a case heard in open court for subsequent citation as a precedent. It is often
confused with the minutes of the trial recording evidence or cross examination and other
proceedings before the Court, but is not so.
Almost all law reports found in the law libraries are of Appellate Courts or of Constitutional
Courts. That does not mean that all appellate decisions are reported . Reported cases are confined
to those which make new law or are of general interest to the public . Selection of cases to be
reported and printed is usually a matter of editorial discretion on the part of the reporter.
Types of Law Reports :
Official Law Report : These are published under the statutory authority.
Eg. Supreme Court Reporter (S.C.R), Indian Law Reports (I.L.R.)
Unofficial Law Report : These are published by private/non-statutory authorities.

Eg. Supreme Court Cases ( SCC ), All India Reporter (A.I.R.), Kerala Law Times ( K.L.T.),
Judgment Today (J.T.)
- Specialised Law Report (Unofficial): These are reports which report cases from specific
branches of law.
Eg. Criminal Law Journal ( Cri.L.J.), Consumer Protection Journal ( C.P.J.), Accidents
Claims Journal ( A.C.J.)
Both official and unofficial reports use identical texts of judgments and opinions as supplied by
the Courts , but editorial matters such as tables , indices and head notes are different as between
official and unofficial reports .
SECONDARY SOURCES
These include:
a) Reports of Committees,Commissions and other Statutory or Legislative Bodies
b) Books: Case Books, Textbooks,Law Dictionary,Commentaries Encyclopedie, Case Digests,

Juristic Writings/Treatises, Law Review Articles
International Legal Instruments : For legislations of foreign jurisdictions one of most reliable
sources is the Legal Encyclopedia published in those jurisdictions. However, the major source of
legislations of foreign jurisdictions is the World Wide Web(www)
Case Books : The function of a Case Book is almost similar to that of a Textbook.It traces the
historical development of the topic to some extent. It offers an elementary exposition of the
general principles of the topic.It emphasizes on theory and trend . Unlike a textbook the pattern
of a Case Book is entirely different.Under each topic the author offers introductory comments
and remarks .It explains its scope and elements and supplements the discussion with edited
versions of important case laws and scholarly writings on the topic . At the end of the discussion
on each topic the author makes space for exercises and also raises questions which would
provide the reader with critical insights into the topic.
The Case Book Method of Study was introduced as the innovation of Prof. Christopher
Columbus Langdell. He was the Dean of Law at Harvard University.
Eg. K.N. Chandrasekharan Pillai’s General Principles of Criminal Law
Textbooks :Textbooks which are primarily written for law schools offer an elementary
exposition of the principles of the topic covered for the purpose of instructing its readers or
refreshing their memory .It usually traces the historical development of the topic to some extent ,
discusses the divergent rules , critiques cases and try to provide an overall picture of the law
involved. Not being intended as an exhaustive case finder, it makes no attempt to list all cases in
point, but confines itself to a relatively few leading ones . It emphasizes on theory and trend,
which are commonly omitted from encyclopaedias . It is also an excellent starting point, both for
a brush-up and for citation of good cases in point.
Eg. R.V. Kelkar's Criminal Procedure by K.N. Chandrasekharan Pillai
Law Dictionary :Law is among other things the science of precise use of words and therefore
indispensable for a lawyer. It comes to the aid of a law student when he is confronted with a
vocabulary which is relatively new to him. A law dictionary defines and illustrates the meaning
of words , terms and phrases which are legal words of art or have a legal slant. Most of these
words are English , but because early language of law was Latin , many words from the said
language are also defined.. Law dictionaries also cite or quote authorities for definitions . It may
serve as a case finder, through its citation of authorities leading to a snowballing process in legal
research by which a single case in point so often leads to all like cases .
Eg. Black's Law Dictionary by A. Garner
Commentaries :Most law books are written neither for students nor for scholars but for
practitioners to win cases. Such books which are called Commentaries or Practitioners' Books
emphasise on the case finding function of a law book and the practical aspects of the existing law
rather than historical development, theories or critical comments on the law . They assume more
of a background in the law on the part of the reader than does the elementary student books ,
Commentaries on specific statutes follow a pattern in which each and every section or article of
that statute is analysed in a chronological order with exhaustive comments incorporating case
laws appended to each provision .
Eg. D.D Basu’s Commentary on The Constitution of India, V.N. Shukla's Constitution of India
by M.P. Singh
Encyclopedie : The function of a legal encyclopaedia is to provide the following materials :

(1) A complete and integrated statement of all the applicable law
(2) Citation to the authority relied upon , which may include not only references to cases in
point, but also digest of cases and excerpts from standard treatises .
(3) Exhaustive analytical and subject index
(4) Frequent supplements in which the main text may be rewritten in view of later cases .
The encyclopaedia is best used as a starting point in a search for the law on a particular topic . It
provides a frame of reference to the researcher. It gives the researcher an elementary statement of
law as applicable to his problem as extracted from various cases. Like a conventional treatise, the
encyclopaedia states the law in literary form as extracted from the authorities cited. Like a
Digest, the encyclopaedia is alphabetically arranged by topics under a classification system
almost exactly like that of the Digest, even to the scope note, analysis and sub analysis
Eg. Halsbury's Laws of England, Halsbury's Statutes of England, Halsbury's Laws of India,
Corpus Juris Secundum, All India Reporter Manual ( Civil & Criminal)
Case Digests : It is a vastly detailed subject index to law as set forth in reported cases. Its text is
composed of a headnote paragraph, verbatim / paraphrased, which form the syllabi or the
headnote of a published law report. It does not contain any connecting comments. The
paragraphs are not linked together by editorial comments ; there is no synthesis of rules from a
group of cases, no statement as to jurisdictional rules, historical developments, majority and
minority views etc. as in treatise , encyclopedia or law review article . Although the subject
classification schemes employed by the editors differ from each other , there is a general
similarity between them . Digests are classified into different types depending on their period of
coverage . Thus there are Yearly Digests , Biennial Digests , Quinquennial Digests , Decennial
Digests etc. Digests are also classified into different types depending upon the subjects they deal
with. Thus there are general Digests which cover case laws on all subjects / statutes as well as
Digests covering case laws on specific subjects / statutes / topics. Certain publishers also come
out with Digests exclusively incorporating cases decided by the Supreme Court whereas others
publish Digests incorporating cases decided by one High Court or a number of High Courts .
Eg. Surendra Malik’s Complete Digest of Supreme Court Cases, Supreme Court Decennial
Digest and Quinquennial Digest
Juristic Writings/Treatises :A treatise helps the reader to brush up or refresh his memory on
the present state of the law , covered by the book , to study minutely an aspect of the law less
thoroughly treated in any other medium or to take from it citations to leading cases in point,
which will guide him to other cases in point. A treatise applies the expert knowledge and
research facilities of the author to an exhaustive consideration of the decided cases and statutes
and sets down in connected literary form an exposition of law as found therein . It thus goes a
step beyond the digest which supplies no comment. A treatise traces the history of the law
covered and its development along varying lines. In its best form, it is apt to be more assiduous
the encyclopaedia in pointing out the effect of statues or of cases overruling a line of earlier
cases and in calling attention to majority, minority and jurisdictional rules and trends or needed
changes. Treatises on specific statutes follow a pattern in which each and every section or article
of that statute is analysed in a chronological order.
Eg. H.M. Seervai’s Constitutional Law of India
Legal Research - Digital Databases:In the contemporary world, legal materials are mainly
accessed through digital databases. Some of the popular databases include SCC Online,
Manupatra, Judis, Westlaw, etc..The access of these materials through these databases is made
easy by use of organisation and advanced searching parameters .In these databases, a law student
can access materials such as Bare Acts, SC Judgements, HC Judgements, Law Review
Articles,Treatise, Bills in Parliament, Constitutional Document, Historical Trials, Notifications
,Circulars and Instructions, Reports of Commissions and Committees etc..
PARTS OF GAZETTE(IN INDIA)
Part, Section & Sub-Section Contents published in the Gazette of India
PART I
- Section 1: Notifications relating to Non-Statutory Rules, Regulations, Orders and
Resolutions issued by the Ministries of the Government of India (other than the Ministry
of Defence) and by the Supreme Court of India.
- Section 2: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

Officers issued by the Ministries of the Government of India (other than the Ministry of
Defence) and by the Supreme Court of India.
- Section 3: Notifications relating to Resolutions and Non-Statutory Orders issued by the
Ministry of Defence.
- Section 4: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

Officers issued by the Ministry of Defence.
PART II
- Section 1 :Acts, Ordinances and Regulations.
- Section 1 A: (Hindi) Authoritative texts in Hindi languages of Acts, Ordinances
and Regulations.
- Section 2:Bills and Reports of the Select Committee on Bills.
- Section 3:
- Sub Section (i) General Statutory Rules (including Orders, By laws etc. of general
character) issued by the Ministries of the Government of India (other than the
Ministry of Defence) and by the Central Authorities (other than the
Administration of Union Territories).
- Sub Section (ii) Statutory Orders and Notifications issued by the Ministries of the
Government of India (other than the Ministry of Defence) and by the Central
Authorities (other than the Administration of Union Territories).
- Sub Section (iii) Authoritative texts in Hindi (other than such texts, published in
section 3 or section 4 of the Gazette of India of General Statutory Rules and
Statutory Orders (including Bye-laws of a general character) issued by the
Ministries (including Ministry of Defence) and by Central authorities (other than
Administration of Union Territories).
- Section 4:Statutory Rules & orders issued by the Ministry of Defence.
PART III
- Section 1: Notifications issued by the High Courts, the Comptroller and Auditor General,
Union Public Service Commission the Indian Government Railways and by Attached and
Subordinate offices of the Government of India.
- Section 2 :Notifications and Notices issued by the Patent Office, relating to Patents and
Designs.
- Section 3 :Notifications issued by or under the authority of Chief Commissioners.
- Section 4;Miscellaneous Notifications including Notifications, Orders Advertisements

and Notices issued by Statutory Bodies.
PART IV
Advertisements and Notices issued by the Private Individuals and Private Bodies.
PART V
Supplement showing Statistics of Births and Deaths etc. both in English and Hindi.
Utility of Gazette in Legal Research
The Gazette of India is a publication made by the Union Government of India (Department of
Publication, Ministry of Urban Development). It's considered an authoritative, authentic, and
accurate publication with regards to the functioning of the Union Government, and its actions. In
a way, it’s the ‘official record’ that documents the activities of the Union Government.
• Legal Research: While numerous publishers come out with Bare Acts from time to time,
nothing offers the authenticity, and authoritativeness that the Gazette of India carries with it. In
all legal matters, regardless of the repute of the publisher of any Bare Act, what will be accepted
will be the Gazette of India.
• Official Record: Conventionally, only what’s there in the Gazette is accepted as the official
record with regards to the Union Government. If a particular act is not notified, the Act is
considered to have no effect even if it has received the assent of the President.
• Entry into Force of Laws: For an act to have the power of law, it must be informed at large to
the general public. This function is fulfilled by the Gazette of India. An Act enters into force
only after it’s published in the Gazette of India along with the date of its effect. If this is not
done, the Act completely toothless and has no legal standing.
• Legal Standing: In the eyes of the law, Gazette of India gives laws the legal standing they
require. This is why, if an Act is not published in the Gazette, it’s considered ineffective.
ENTRY OF FORCE OF AN ACT

Acts in India generally come into force or become legally enforceable in a manner or procedure
prescribed in the act itself.
a)Specific Date: The Act carries a specific date of entry into force. The Act enters into force as
whole on this date, and nothing can be done by the Executive regarding this, as soon as it
receives the assent of the President.The date is specified in Section 1, Sub-Section (4) of the
Act.
Retrospective Nature: A retrospective effect of an act implies that the act will have effect both
for the upcoming events and on those cases which are pending at the moment( but which were
filed at a time at which there was such kind of law)
- Eg. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017 (16th February)
Prospective Date: A prospective law is one that is to take effect, in point of time specified by the
Parliament in the future.
- Eg. Contract Act, 1872
Partly Prospective, Partly Retrospective : Sometimes, an Act can have both a retrospective as
well as prospective effect.
- Eg. Benami Transactions Act, 1988
b)Special Provisions: Although a specific date of entry into force is mentioned, the Parliament
empowers the executive to bring into force certain provisions on days the Executive deems fit. In
such cases, the Act enters into force as whole barring these few sections that are subsequently
notified into force by the Government.
Eg. Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005; The Official Languages Act, 1963
c)Un-Mentioned Date: When the date of enforcement is not mentioned explicitly in the Act
itself, application of the General Clauses Act is necessary. According to Section 5 of the General
Clauses Act(1897), the Act which doesn’t have a specific date will come into force on a date
specified by the President of India.
Section 5 : Coming into operation of enactment
15[(1) Where any Central Act is not expressed to come into operation on particular day, then it
shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the assent-
(a) in the case of a Central Act made before the commencement of the Constitution, of the
Governor-General, and
(b) in the case of an Act of Parliament, of the President].
16[* * * ]
(3) Unless the contrary is expressed, a 13[Central Act] or Regulation shall be construed as
coming into operation immediately on the expiration of the day preceding its commencement.
Eg. Appropriation Act, 2018
d)Discretion of Executive: In such cases, the Act enters into force on the date the Executive
notifies the Act in the Gazette. The discretion to carry out this is completely placed upon the
Executive. If the executive wants, they may never notify the Act.
Eg. Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act 2016 (8th September)
Locating Legislative Material
The legislative material can be located in Part II Section 1 of the Gazette of India.
STRUCTURE OF AN ACT
The elements of an Act are:
a)Long Title : The long title of the Act appears on the front page of all Act of Parliament. The
long title is the first element and is used to find out the true meaning of what it is about. Long
Title of the Act carries a short statement of objectives and reasons for the enactment of the Act.
It basically outlines the purpose and intention of its enactment
b)Short Title : There is a short title also which is more convenient.
c)Date of Publication: It is the date of publication in gazette.
d)Date of Notification(2nd Date): It is the date on which the Act is notified in the gazette.
e)Date of Assent: It is the date on which it received the assent of the president.
f)No. of the Act: It specifies the cardinal number in the chronological order of passing in that
year ( Eg. No 1 of 2017)
g)Date of Enforcement: It is the date the Act comes into force.
In Section 1,
● Sub-Section (1): Title of the Act
● Sub-Section (2): Geographical/Territorial Applicability
● Sub-Section (3): Applicability to various persons
● Sub-Section (4): Entry into force (If Entry into force is not specified, it enters into force
according to the Sec. 5 General Clauses Act,
h)Name of Agency(Ministry) : This is the name of the Ministry under which this Act comes
under.
i)Preamble: The Preamble can be identified by the wording “Whereas.” Older pieces of
legislation often include a preamble in place of the long title. A preamble describes the purpose
of an Act, and tends to be more comprehensive than a long title. Assembly Acts and Measures do
not contain preambles
j)Definitional Clauses: Section 2 is the ‘Definitional Clause’ in most of the acts. They will be
arranged in alphabetical orders. Definitions are probably the most important part of an Act as it
clearly defines the exact meaning of the words and terms within the Act. The English language
can have many meaning for the same word, so definitions clarify their exact context in which
they are read. Definitions can be of two types:
- Inclusive Definition: by using word ‘includes’.
Eg: animal includes…
- Descriptive Definition: by using word ‘means’.
Eg:animal means…
The words in the act which is not present in the definition clause will be present in:
i. Pari Materia Statutes
ii.General Clauses Act, 1897
iii.Judicial Interpretations
k)Marginal/Head Notes: They are not part of the Act itself, but their purpose is giving a brief
indication of what the sections or subsections are dealing with. Head Notes are found at the top
end of the beginning of a section. Both has same function.
l)Analysis, Debates and Discussions
m)Parts/Chapters >Sections>Subsections>Clauses >Sub-Clauses:

Both parts and chapters will have a title.
● Sections: indicated using Arabic numerals
● Subsections: indicated using () and Arabic numerals
● Clauses: indicated using small alphabets and ()
● Subclauses: indicated using small roman numerals in brackets like (i) (ii)
MODULE III
● Understanding the Judicial Process

● Doctrine of stare decisis - Doctrine of stare decisis in India
● Rules of practice relating to precedents in India
● Retrospectivity and prospectivity of judicial decisions
● Overruling, reversing and distinguishing of cases - Doctrine of prospective overruling.
STARE DECISIS
Stare decisis or, in its complete form stare decisis et non quieta movere is usually translated to
mean “to stand-by” or adhere to decisions and not to disturb what is settled. According to
William Blackstone precedents and rules have to be followed unless flatly absurd or unjust
because their reasons may not be obvious on first sight or first view yet we owe such a deference
to former times as not to suppose that they acted wholly without consideration. Alternatives to
stare decisis would be absolute discretion of the judges without deference or reference and
ignoring precedents. Another alternative would be codification where pure application is
involved and there is no interpretation.
Justice Felix Frankfurter recognizes stare decisis represents an element of continuity in law and
is rooted in the psychological need to satisfy reasonable expectations/ as embodying an
important social policy.
The doctrine operates both horizontally and vertically. Horizontal stare decisis refers to a court
adhering to its own precedent. A court engages in vertical stare decisis when it applies precedent
from a higher court. Consequently, stare decisis d iscourages litigating established precedents,
and thus, reduces spending.
Application of the Doctrine in India:

The doctrine of precedent is expressly incorporated in India by Article 141 of the Constitution of
India, 1950. Article 141 provides that the decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all
courts within the territory of India. Although there is no express provision, but by convention the
decisions of a High Court are binding on all lower courts within the territorial jurisdiction of that
High Court. Similarly, a decision of a higher Bench , is binding on the lower Bench.
PRECEDENT
“A decided case that furnishes a basis for determining later cases involving similar facts or
issues.”
- Black’s Law Dictionary
“ A precedent is a judicial decision which contains in itself a principle
- John Salmond
TYPES OF PRECEDENTS
Precedents can be classified on the basis of its application nature or on the basis of the origin.
On the basis of application, precedents can be divided into :
a)Authoritative/Coercive(Binding) Precedent : Authoritative Precedent is one which the

judges must follow whether they approve of it or not. These are binding precedents that have the
force of law on them. The decision of the Supreme Court is an authoritative precedent for all
other courts within the territory within the territory of India. These are again divided into :
- Absolute : They have to be followed by the judges even if they do not approve of them.
- Conditional : They can be disregard under certain circumstances . Ordinarily, they are
binding,but under special circumstances they can be disregarded . The court is entitled to
do so if the decision is a wrong one .
b)Persuasive Precedent : Persuasive Precedent is one which the judges are under no obligation
to follow but which they will take into consideration and to which they will attach great weight
as it seems to them to deserve.
On the basis of origin they can be again divided into two :
a)Declaratory: A declaratory precedent is one which is merely the application of an already

existing rule of law. In the case of a declaratory precedent , the rule is applied because it is
already law .
b)Original : An original precedent is one which creates and applies a new rule . In the case of an
original precedent, it is law for the future because it is now applied.
The different types of treatment given to precedents are as follows:
1.Distinguishing(A method of avoiding a previous decision because facts in the present case are
different)
2.Overruling(A decision which states that the legal rule (precedent set) in an earlier case is
wrong.)
3.Reversing(Where a higher court in the same case overturns the decision of the lower court)
Distinguishing
This is a method which can be used by a judge to avoid following a past decision which he/she
would otherwise have to follow. It means that the judge finds that the material facts of the case
he/she is deciding are sufficiently different for him/her to draw a distinction between the present
case and the previous precedent. The judge is NOT then bound by the previous case.
Two cases demonstrating this process are Balfour v Balfour (1919) and Merritt v Merritt (1971).
Both cases involved a wife making a claim against her husband for breach of contract. In Balfour
it was decided that the claim could not succeed because there was no intention to create legal
relations; there was merely a domestic arrangement between husband and wife and so there was
no legally binding contract.
The second case, Merritt, was successful because the court held that the facts of the case were
sufficiently different, in that although the parties were husband and wife, the agreement was
made after they had separated. Furthermore, the agreement was in writing. This distinguished the
case from Balfour; the agreement in Merritt was not just a domestic arrangement but meant as a
legally enforceable contract.
Overruling
This is where a court in a later case state that the legal rule (i.e. precedent set) decided in an
earlier case is wrong. Overruling may occur when a higher court overrules a decision made in an
earlier case by a lower court. For example, the House of Lords overruling a decision of the Court
of Appeal. It can also occur where the European Court of justice overrules a past decision it has
made; or when the House of Lords uses a device known as the Practice statement 1966 to
overrule a past decision of its own.
An example of this was seen in the Pepper v Hart (1993) when the House of Lords ruled that
Hansard (the record of what is said in Parliament) could be consulted when trying to decide what
certain words in an Act of Parliament meant. This decision overruled the earlier decision in
Davis v Johnson (1979) when the House of Lords had held that it could not consult Hansard.
Overruling is prospective– overruling of a 1930 case today would mean that the 1930 ruling was
never effective and this can create problems. For example, in Contract Law it would be possible
to argue that the contract was null and void (legal when created but not legal now). In Criminal
Law, could create offences which would make conduct which was legal when it happened
illegal.
Reversing
This is where a court higher up in the hierarchy overturns the decision of a lower court on appeal
in the same case. For example, the Supreme Court may disagree with the legal ruling of the High
Court and come to a different view of the law; in this situation they reverse the decision made by
the High Court.
Prospective Overruling
The literal meaning of the term ‘overruling’ is to overturn or set aside a precedent by expressly
deciding that it should no longer be controlling law. Similarly ‘prospective’ means operative or
effective in the future. So, combined together, prospective overruling means construing an earlier
decision in such a way that it would not have a binding effect to the parties of the original suit or
to the cases decided on the basis of that judgment, and yet changing the law, applying it only
prospectively to the future cases. For example, if principle A is laid down in the case of X v. Y
and later on the court disagrees with the Principle A, it changes the principle prospectively
without affecting the judgment of X v. Y and thus the new principle will apply only to the future
cases.
The basic objective of prospective overruling is to overrule a precedent without having a
retrospective effect.
Prospective Overruling in India

The doctrine of prospective overruling was for the first time adopted in the case of Golak Nath v.
State of Punjab by Justice Subba Rao (herein referred as Golaknath’s case). Since then it has
been applied in many case laws and has also been a point of debate of many jurists. Through this
article, an attempt is made at briefly analyzing the stand of the Indian Judiciary on adopting the
doctrine of Prospective overruling.
It is very important in this context to analyze the holding of the Judiciary in Golaknath’s case.
The doctrine is defined as:
“The doctrine of "prospective overruling" is a modern doctrine suitable for a fast moving society.
It does not do away with the doctrine of stare decisis but confines it to past transactions. While in
Strict theory it may be said that the doctrine 'involves the making of law, what the court really
does is to declare the law but refuse to give retroactivity to it. It is really a pragmatic solution
reconciling the two conflicting doctrines, namely, that a court finds the law and that it does make
law and it finds law but restricts its operation to the future. It enables the court to bring about a
smooth transition by correcting, its errors without disturbing the impact of those errors on past
transactions. By the application of this doctrine the past may be preserved and the future
protected. Our Constitution does not expressly of by necessary implication speak against the
doctrine of prospective overruling."
Propositions laid down in Golaknath Case

Because it was the first time that the Court was applying a doctrine which had evolved in a
different system of law so the Court laid down certain provisions restricting the application of
the doctrine in the Indian system. It was laid down that
(1) The doctrine of prospective overruling can be invoked only in matters arising under our
Constitution;
(2) It can be applied only by highest court of the country, ie. The Supreme Court as it has the
constitutional jurisdiction to declare law binding on all the Courts as it has India;
(3) The scope of the retrospective operation of the law declared by the Supreme Court
superseding its earlier decisions is left to its discretion to be moulded in accordance with- the
justice of the cause or matter before it.
In light of the above principles laid down for adopting the doctrine into our legal system, we see
that the American idea of Prospective overruling differs from what is adopted by the Indian
Legal system.
Backgrounds on Overruling :
● Judicial decisions are not infallible or immutable.The doctrine of precedent recognises
this and caters for it.If the reasoning of a case is exposed as faulty, or if other exigent
circumstances justify it, precedents can be changed.When this occurs, however, there is a
burden of justification. The precedent from which the court is departing should be stated,
and the reasons for rejecting it should be made convincingly clear.In this way, the law
grows and changes, but it does so incrementally, in response to the dictates of reason, and
not because judges have simply changed their minds.
● An overruling is a process by which a superior court or a larger bench overturns or sets
aside a precedent by deciding that it should no longer be the controlling law.A precedent
overruled is definitely and formally deprived of all authority.It becomes null and void
like a repealed statute and a new principle authoritatively substituted for the old. When
the ratio decidendi of the earlier decision under those such change, the final order of the
earlier decision as applicable to the parties to the earlier decision, is in no way altered or
disturbed. On the other hand ‘reversing’ is the process by which an appellate court or a
revisional court sets aside the decision which is challenged in appeal or revision.
● Overruling is of two types - Express Overruling and Implied Overruling. In Express
Overruling, the court while declaring the new law would expressly state that the law
declared in the earlier decision is no longer a good law. In implied overruling, the law
declared in an earlier decision automatically loses its efficacy in the light of the law laid
down in a new decision though the court which declared the new law may not be
referring to the decisions which get overruled in the process.
Declaratory Theory of Precedents(Blackstone):
Introductory Aspects
● When a court makes a decision that contains in itself a principle(s), it creates a judicial
precedent.
● The opinion in which the judge formulates his reasons for the decision is not the
precedent, although it may be impossible to ascertain the precedent without a study of the
opinion, since only from the opinion may one discover what facts have been regarded as
material
● The reason the judge gives is not necessarily the ratio decidendi (the principle of the
case), the principle of a case or the ratio decidendi has to be isolated from the decision by
considering it in relation to the material facts.
● A precedent may be a reiteration (fuzlunbi) of an existing precedent, or it may be
supplementary (shah bano supplements bai tahira in a way) or in some cases it may
establish a new law (bai tahira)Authority or significance of a precedent is increased or
strengthened when it is followed in subsequent cases, the authority or significance of a
precedent in weakened if it is neither followed in subsequent cases nor results in a course
of practice
Various theories have been expounded by jurists while examining the role played by a court
when it is in involved in the process of decision making.
● Scholars such as Mathew Hale, William Blackstone, Kent and James C Carter are of the
opinion that judges do not make law but only declare and publish it. They regarded
English law as, in the phrase of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “a brooding omnipresence in
the sky of natural law covering all possible situations perfectly and immutably”. Kent
considered judicial decision as highest evidence of the law.
● The declaratory theory as this theory is generally called, was severely criticized by
various other scholars. John Austin called the declaratory theory a “childish fiction
employed by our judges, that judiciary or common law is not made by them but is
miraculous something made by nobody, existing”. Austin, Holmes, Gray, Salmond,
Roscoe Pound, Goodhart all criticised the declaratory theory.
MODULE IV
● Understanding a Judicial Opinion - Structure of a judicial opinion

● Methods of legal reasoning – Deductive and inductive
● Determination of ratio decidendi
● Obiter dicta and its binding nature
● Doctrines of per incuriam and sub-silentio
● Majority opinion, Minority opinion and Dissenting opinion.
STRUCTURE OF A JUDGEMENT/JUDICIAL OPINION
A case reported in a Law Report published in India contains inter alia the following
information(Contents of a judgment):
(a) Citation
(b) Quorum
(c) Title
(d) Case Details
(e) Date on which the case was decided
(f) Head Notes
(g) Names of the Counsel who appeared for the parties of Counsels
(h) List of cases referred in the said decision
(I) The text of the Judgment (obiter dicta,ratio decidendi,facts)
METHODS OF LEGAL REASONING
There are two methods of judicial decisions : deductive and inductive
1. Deductive Method:The process is from general to the particular. In the case of deductive
method , the general legal rule is already fixed and certain and the same is applied in individual
cases by Judges . They are not required to use their own brains. Their function is merely to apply
the law which is clearly laid down in the same way as a student of geometry uses the axioms .
2. Inductive Method:The process is from particular to the general. In the case of inductive
method , the judge has to start from a particular case and come to a general principle of law .
According to Allen in one method, antecedent decisions are helpful only as illustrations of a
general proposition; in the other they are the very soil from which the general propositions must
be mined
RATIO DECIDENDI
“Ratio Decidendi is the principle or rule of law on which a court’s decision is founded ”
- Black’s Law Dictionary
“ A precedent is a judicial decision which contains in its a principle. The underlying principle
which thus form its authoritative element is often termed the ratio decidendi. ”
- John Salmond
“The material facts of a case plus the decision thereon”

- Prof. A.H Goodhart
“Ratio Decidendi is any rule of law expressly or impliedly treated by the judge as a necessary
step in reaching his conclusion, having regard to the line of reasoning adopted by him”
- Rupert Cross
“The ratio decidendi consists of the reasons for decision which the judge who gives it, wishes to
have the full authority of a precedent. ”
- Lord Devlin
“The ratio decidendi may be defined as a statement of law applied to the legal problems raised
by the facts as found, upon which the decision is based. The other two elements in the decision
are not precedents.”
- Qualcast(Wolverhampton)Ltd vs Haynes
“According to the Supreme Court, ratio decidendi is the rule deducible from the application of
law to the facts and circumstances of case”
- Regional Manager vs Pawan Kumar Dubey
Methods of Determining Ratio Decidendi
a)Wambaugh’s Test (Inversion Test by Eugene Wambaugh): Eugene Wambaugh, a

professor at The Harvard Law School, published in the year 1892 a classic textbook called ‘The
Study of Cases’.This textbook propounded, inter-alia, what is known today as the ‘Wambaugh
Test’ or the ‘Inversion Test’ as a means of judicial interpretation.
“In order to make the test, let him first frame carefully the supposed proposition of law. Let him
then insert in the proposition a word reversing its meaning. Let him then inquire whether, if the
court had conceived this new proposition to be good,and had had it in mind, the decision could
have been the same. If the answer be affirmative, then, however excellent the original
proposition may be, the case is not a precedent for that proposition, but if the answer be negative
the case is a precedent for the original proposition and possibly for other propositions also.”
b)Goodhart’s Test: In 1929, Goodhart had argued that the ratio of the case must be in the
reasons for the decision and there is no necessary connection between the ratio and the reasons.
According to Dr . Goodhart the ratio decidendi of a case is determined by ascertaining the facts
treated as material by the judge . It is the principle to be derived from the judge's decision on the
basis of those facts.
(1) The principle of a case is not to be found in the reasons given in the opinion .
(2) The principle is not found in the rule of law set forth in the opinion .
(3) The principle is not necessarily found by a consideration of all the ascertainable facts of the
case and the judge's decision .
(4) The principle of a case is found by taking account (a) of the facts treated by the judge as
material , and (b) his decision as based on them .
(5) A judge may expressly or impliedly treat certain facts as material
(6) A conclusion based on a hypothetical fact is a dictum.
Goodhart test of ratio is: ratio decidendi = material facts + decision. Goodhart states that "It is by
his choice of material facts that the judge creates law."
OBITER DICTA
In Halsbury Laws of England, it has been defined as

“statements which are not necessary to the decision, which go beyond the occasion and lay down
a rule that is unnecessary for the purpose in hand (usually term dicta) leave no binding authority
on another court, though they may have some merely persuasive efficacy.”
All propositions of law entertained by the court that cannot be called the Ratio Decidendi of the
case, can be called as Obiter Dictum - Prof. Goodhart
In Ashok Leyland it was held that “The obiter dicta of a judge of the Supreme Court even in a
dissenting judgement are entitled to high respect, especially if there is no direct decision to
conclude the question at issue.But statements on matters other than Law have no binding force.
Supreme Court decisions which are essentially on question of fact cannot be relied upon as
precedents upon as precedents for decisions of other cases.
PER INCURIAM
Doctrine of per incuriam (à Per incuriam), literally translated as "through lack of care", refers to
a judgment of a court which has been decided without reference to a statutory provision or earlier
judgment which would have been relevant.
Significance of Per Incuriam

The significance of a judgment having been decided per incuriam is that it does not then have to
be followed as precedent by a lower court. Ordinarily, in the common law, the rationes of a
judgment must be followed thereafter by lower courts while hearing similar cases. A lower court
is free, however, to depart from an earlier judgment of a superior court where that earlier
judgment was decided per incuriam. Also the said doctrine is an exception to article 141 of
Constitution of India which embodies the doctrine of precedents as a matter of law.
Sir John Salmond in his 'Treatise on jurisprudence' has aptly stated the circumstances under
which a precedent can be treated as 'per incuriam'. It is stated that a precedent is not binding if it
was rendered in ignorance of a statute or a rule having the force of statute or delegated
legislation.
SUB-SILENTIO
Professor P. J. Fitzgerald, editor of the Salmond on Jurisprudence, 12th edn., explains the
concept of sub silentio at p. 153 in these words :
“A decision passes sub silentio, in the technical sense that has come to be attached to that
phrase, when the particular point of law involved in the decision is not perceived by the Court or
present to its mind.”
“The Court may consciously decide in favour of one party because of point A, which it considers
and pronounces upon. It may be shown, however, that logically the Court should not have
decided in favour of the particular party unless it also decided point B in his favour; but point B
was not argued or considered by the Court. In such circumstances, although point B was
logically involved in the facts and although the case had a specific outcome, the decision is not
an authority on point B. Point B is said to pass sub silentio.”
MAJORITY OPINION AND MINORITY OPINION
Majority/Concurring Opinion
A Concurring Opinion or Judgment is an Opinion or Judgment in which a Judge announces his
concurrence or assent with the conclusion held by the other judges while entering into a
theoretical discourse in which he indicates his divergence of outlook to the question presented
before him . However in view of the assent, the divergence of outlook may not be very relevant
to the points raised in the main judgment.
Minority/Dissenting Opinion
A Dissenting Opinion or Judgment is an opinion or judgment in which a judge announces his
dissent from the conclusion held by the majority of the Court and expounds his own views . The
dissenting opinions play an important role in evaluating the wisdom of the majority views and
sometimes even supersedes the majority judgments as time rolls on. Sometimes the terms "
Minority Judgments " or" Minority Opinions " are also used in the place of Dissenting
Judgments ".However the said terminology is commonly used when more than one judge is
dissenting with the opinion of the others.
(Eg:Justice Indu Malhotra in the Sabarimala Case)
MODULE V
● Introduction to types of law and select legal terminologies and abbreviations

● Legal Citations – their function in legal writing
● Overview of some select legal citation formats followed in India, America and England
● Legal citation signals
● Legal Writing – skills necessary for the preparation of a legal research paper, synopsis of a
research paper, abstracts of research papers, preparation of head notes of cases, indexes of
books, and case briefs
● Writing case comments.
Types of Law
The different types of law are:
a)Civil Law
b)Common Law
LEGAL CITATIONS
Legal citation is a standard language that allows an author of a work to refer to legal authorities
with sufficient precision and generalities so that the reader can follow those references.
The legal citation strives to do at least three things:
- Firstly it identifies the document and the part of the document to which the author is
referring to.
- Secondly, it will provide the reader with sufficient information to find the document at a
later point of time.
- Thirdly, it furnishes important additional legal information about the legal authority and
its connection to the author’s argument so as to assist the readers in deciding whether or
not to pursue that reference.
Why is it essential?
It gives credit to the author of the original work. It allows the readers to identify and find that
legal authority so that he can learn more about the topic. It gives your paper more credibility
because when you use a legal citation you are demonstrating that your arguments are supported
by high quality sources.
There are certain principles of citation that are commonly followed:
1)Full Address Principle: Provides such information as necessary to help the reader to retrieve
that legal authority.
2)Other Minimum Content Principle: Additional information may also be given in the citation,
along with the retrieval address.
3)Compacting Principle: reduce the space taken up by the information included in a citation.
4)Format Principle: punctuation, typography, order of items within a citation, and the like.
Citation Styles
1)American : Bluebook (Developed by Harvard, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania State and

Yale Law Reviews, Latest Edition - 17th)
2)British : OSCOLA - Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities
3)Indian : SILC - Standard Indian Legal Citation
Comparative Legal Citation Styles:

*While writing in the exam, underline the words you want to make italics*
1.Books
Bluebook
M.P. JAIN, INDIAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (1998).
Format: AUTHOR, BOOK(Year).
OSCOLA
M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law (5th edn, Kamal Law House 1998 )
Format: Author,Book (No. edn,Publisher Name Year)
Standard Indian Legal Citation
M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law ( 5th ed., 1998).
Format: Author,Book (No. ed., Year).

2.Chapter in an Edited Book
Bluebook
R.K. Nayak, Evolving Global Drugs Law for the 21st Century, in GLOBAL DRUGS LAW 70
(D.C. Jayasuriya & R.K. Nayak eds., 2000).
Format: Author, Chapter Name, in BOOK Page Number(Editor’s Names eds.,Year).
OSCOLA
R.K. Nayak, ‘Evolving Global Drugs Law for the 21st Century’ in D.C. Jayasuriya & R.K.
Nayak (eds ), Global Drugs Law (2nd edn, Eastern Book Company 2000 )
Format: Author, ‘Chapter Name’ in Editors Names(eds), Book (No. edn,Publisher Year)
R.K. Nayak, Evolving Global Drugs Law for the 21st Century, 70 in Global Drugs Law (D.C.
Jayasuriya & R.K. Nayak, 2nd ed., 2000).
Format:Author, Chapter Name, Page Number in Book ( Editors,No. ed.,Year).
3.Article in a Journal
Bluebook
Cass R. Sunstein, Interpreting Statutes in the Regulatory State, 103 HARV. L. REV. 405
(1989).
Format:Author, Title, Volume L.RPT. Pg No (Year).
OSCOLA
Cass R. Sunstein, ‘Interpreting Statutes in the Regulatory State’ [1989] 103 Harv. L. Rev. 405
Alternatively it is possible to give name of the journal in full (in normal case). See below:
Cass R. Sunstein, ‘Interpreting Statutes in the Regulatory State’ [1989] 103 Harvard Law
Review 405.
Format:Author, ‘Title’[Year] Volume L.Rpt Page Number
Cass R. Sunstein, Interpreting Statutes in the Regulatory State, 103 Harvard Law Review 405
(1989).
Format: Author, Title, Volume Law Report PgNo. (Year).

RELEVANT CASES
1)Cause Title: Bai Tahira v. Ali Hussain Fissali Chothia and Another,
Coram:V.R Krishna Iyer,V.D Tulzapurkar and R.S Pathak
Citation: (1979) 2 S.C.C. 316.
Date of Judgement:October 6,1978
Nature of Case:Criminal Appeal
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any):Maintenance of Divorced Muslim Woman

-Binding precedent
No husband can claim 127(3) to absolve his obligation to maintenance provided in 125 of Crpc unless he
shows a proof for payment of a sum stipulated by the customary law whose quantum is equivalent to the
due sum of maintenance.(Mehar is something payable on divorce)
2)Cause Title: Fuzlunbi v. K. Khader Vali and Another
Coram:V.R Krishna Iyer,O.Chinnappa Reddy and A.P Sen
Citation: (1980) 4 S.C.C. 125.
Date of Judgement: May 8,1980
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any): Distinguishing of facts-declaratory precedent

127(3) cannot be misused to absolve the husband’s obligation to provide maintenance to his wife 125.
3)Cause Title: Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah bano Begum and Ors
Coram:Y.V Chandrachud,D.A Desai,E.S Venkataramiah,O.Chinnappa Reddy and Ranganath

Misra
Citation: MANU/SC/0194/1985
Date of Judgement:April 23,1985
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any):Mahr is not something payable on divorce rather it is a consideration for
marriage.Reiterated Bai tahira and Fuzlumbi.Obiter Dicta -passage of Article 144
4)Cause Title: Danial Latifi & Others v. Union of India
Coram:G.B Pattanaik,S Rajendra Babu,D.P Mohapatra,Doraiswamy Raju and Shivaraj V. Patil
Date of Judgement: September 21,2001
Nature of Case:Writ petition(Civil)
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any): Challenged the constitutional validity of Muslim women’s protection of
rights on divorce.
Muslim woman is entitled to reasonable and fair provisions of maintenance from her husband during the
period of iddat which can sustain her beyond the period of iddat
If she cannot sustain herself after the iddat, she may approach her relatives or the state wakf board for the
same
Art 14, 15 and 21 are not violated by this act
5)Cause Title: Dalbir Singh and Others v. State of Punjab
Coram:S.Rajendra Babu,A.R. Lakshmanan and G.P Mathur
Citation: AIR 1962 S.C. 1106.
Date of Judgement: April 8,2004
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any):
6)Cause Title: Golak Nath v. State of Punjab
Coram:K. Subba Rao,K.N Wanchoo,M. Hidayatullah,J.C. Shah,S.M. Sikri,R.S Bachawat,V.

Ramaswamy,J.M Shelat,V. Bhargava,G.K Mitter and C.A. Vaithiyalingam
Citation: AIR 1967 S.C. 1643.
Date of Judgement:February 27,1967
Nature of Case:Writ petition
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any): Prospective Overruling
7)Cause Title: Bengal Immunity Company Ltd. v. State of Bihar

Coram:Sudhi Ranjan Das,A.C.J Vivian Bose,N.H Bhagwati,B. Jagannadhadas,T.L
Venkattarama Ayyar,B.P Sinha and Syed Jafer Imam
Citation: A.I.R. 1955 S.C. 661.
Date of Judgement:September 6,1955
Nature of Case:Civil Appeal
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
8)Cause Title: State of Bombay v. United Motors (India) Ltd.
Coram:M. Patanjali Sastri,Bijan Kumar Mukherjea,Vivian Bose,Ghulam Hasan and N.H

Bhagwati
Citation: A.I.R. 1953 S.C. 252.
Date of Judgement: March 30,1953
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
9)Cause Title: Arnit Das v. State of Bihar
Coram:K.T Thomas and R.C LahotiCitation:(2000) 5 SCC 488
Date of Judgement:May 9,2000
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:According to Section 32 and 2(h),3,7(2),8,18,20 and Preamble of the Juvenile

Justice Act,1986 , the date on which the juvenile is produced before the competent authority is
the date used for determining he age of the juvenile.
Relevance of Case(if any): Was decided Per Incuriam of Umesh Chandra

1. The date on which the person is brought before the competent authority is the determining factor
i.e. whether he is a juvenile or not and not the date on which the offence was committed.
2. The counsel for the petitioner cited the cases of Bhola bhagat v state of Bihar,Gopinath Ghosh v
State of W.B and pointed out that their decisions were based on the consideration that the date of
commission of the offence is relevant.
3. However the court calls such cases to be sub silentio i.e a decision not expressed,not accompanied
by reason and not proceedings on a conscious consideration of an issue can be deemed to be a
law declared to have a binding effect as contemplated in article 141.That which has escaped the
judgement is not the ratio decidendi.This principle is termed as sub silentio.
10)Cause Title: Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand
Coram:N. Santosh Hegde,S.N Variava,B.P Singh,H.K Sema and S.B Sinha
Citation: (2005) 3 SCC 551
Date of Judgement:February 2,2005
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any):The court observed in Pratap singh that the law laid down in arnit das is bad
law as it defeats the purpose of Juvenile justice by holding the reckoning date to be the date of production
before a competent authority.Moreover the 2 judge bench in Arnit das overlooked(per incuriam) The 3
judge bench decision of umesh chandra which the court deems to be correct law
11)Cause Title: Union of India (UOI) and Ors. v. Raghubir Singh and Ors.
Coram:R.S. Pathak, E.S. Venkataramiah, Ranganath Misra, S. Natarajan and Sabyasachi
Mukherjee
Citation:MANU/SC/0619/1989
Date of Judgement: May 16,1989
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any): Para 4 the case came before a judge bench and they doubted the
correctness of the court’s previous decisions and referred it to a 5 judge bench
-kamalajammanivaru v special Acquisition officer-2 judge bench

Bhag singh v Union territory of India-3 Judge bench
Para 6 the counsel for the respondent contended that lesser judge bench cannot doubt the correctness of
the decision of a larger bench and refer it to a 5 judge bench
Para 8- decisions of court not just adjudicate on the specific dispute but also embodies a declaration of
law that operates a precedent (binding nature depends on the status/stature of court/bench deciding the
case)
Para 9- à court summarises the advantage of a binding precedent by promoting certainty and consistency
+ consequences of your actions
Para 10- à binding precedent has certain limitations – 1) need for evolution – readjustments may be
called for – hence adhering completely to a precedent is not feasible at all times
Para 14-Bengal immunity company ltd. v. state of bihar MANU/SC/0083/1955 : [1955]2SCR603à
important judgement à first decision called to decide whether the SC is bound by its own earlier decisions
and held that that if the court deems fit it may overrule the case and modify according to the changing
times
Para 16-Practice statement-A practice statement issued on 26th July 1966 made by lord gardiner, who was
the lord chancellor of England at that time – mailed a practice statement ( not a judgement but a statement
made by the administrative side) on behalf of himself and the house of lords – the house of lords never
overruled its own previous decisions and hesitated to do so- erroneous judgements were only changed by
legislative intervention
Para 21 – united motors being a precedent where they declared the overruling of the sc of its previous
cases cannot be done - and Bengal immunity committee overruled its decision because
1. no mention in the constitution that prevents the SC from overruling its previous decisions if the
sc is convinced of its error and baneful effects of its earlier decisions on the general interests of
the public –
2. far reaching effect of the decision of united motors and was convinced that it committed an error
in United motors by perpetuating a tax burden on the public that ought not to have been imposed.
The court should not overrule a previous decision just because a contrary view was acceptable –
but if the previous decision was “plainly erroneous “ there is a duty of the sc to admit the error
and not to perpetuate it again
In Bengal immunity company the court rejected the arguments advanced in accordance with the
principle of stare decisis on the following grounds –
1. the decision that was overruled in united motors was a reasonable one ( as a decision
becomes older and more reaffirmed by other cases it becomes stronger) – united motors
precedent was not strong -
2. it does not involve overruling a series of decisions as many cases after that did not rely
on it
3. the doctrine of stare decisis is not an inflexible one – not rigid but somewhat flexible
Para 23-When can the SC deviate from the doctrine of Stare decisis - Maganlal Chhagganlal (P.)
Ltd v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay - overruling could be permissible was a
situation where contextual values giving birth to the earlier view had altered substantially – when
the contextual value giving rise to earlier decisions has changed then the court may be justified in
overruling the previous decision i
Para 24 - Lt. Col. Khajoor Singh v. Union of India – if there is a fair amount of unanimity among
the members of a bench deciding a subsequent case that the previous decision was manifestly
wrong then that can also be another situation where the doctrine of stare decisis or binding
precedent can be departed from
Keshav Mills Company v. Commr. of Income-tax à if there were compelling and substantial
decisions – the doctrine of stare decisis can be departed from
Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan à is it absolutely necessary and essential that the question
already decided should be reopened?', and went on to observe : 'the answer to this question would
depend on the nature of the infirmity alleged in the earlier decision, its impact on public good and
the validity and compelling character of the considerations urged in support of the contrary view.
Bengal sugar company –
Para 28 of raghubir singh à question whether the bench consisting of two judges can doubt the
correctness of the judgement passed by a three judge bench solely by virtue of bench strength. –
sher singh case and tv vatheeshwaran and javed ahmed v. state of mahrashtra were the three cases
used as precedents (all death penalty related) – tv vatheeshwaran decided first in 1983 (by two
judge bench consisting of justice chinappa reddy) and held that a delay in execution of death
sentence for more than two years can be used as a reason for quashing the death sentence under
art.21 of const. – in 1983 the sher singh case was also decided by a three judge bench held that no
hard and fast rule can be laid down with respect to the right of a person to invoke art.21 to quash
death sentence – javed ahmed case three years later by a two judge bench consisting of justice
chinappa reddy where it was bound by sher singh because of three judge bench- but justice reddy
questioned the validity of sher singh and went on to note that it was a serious question: mentioned
in para 26 and overruled tv vatheeshwaran.
Can a division bench of 2 judges doubt the correctness of 3 judges and refer it to a larger bench?
Para 27- rules of practice – by way of convention not constitutional or statutory – ideally it is
better for the whole court to sit together and judge decisions in order to maintain consistency but
that is possible only in usa and not in india owing to the volume of work. Hence for convenience
purpose the court sits in divisions- so where do we find the purpose and reference to constitution
benches in the const. of india – art.145(3) of the Indian const – in order to hear a presidential
reference or an important reference to interpretation of const. – advisory opinion- Supreme court
rules of practice contains it. - a practice has been evolved where a division bench is considered
binding on a division bench of same or lesser judges – precedents laid down showing how a lesser
bench followed a higher bench precedent without reference to a higher bench – para 28
venkataramaiah and misra were bound to follow decision of bhag singh but in para 29 they say
the decision was appropriate ?
HELD-the decision by a larger division bench is binding on a lower bench
12)Cause Title: Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community v. State of Maharastra and Ors.
Coram: R.C. Lahoti, C.J., Shivaraj V. Patil, K.G. Balakrishnan, B.N. Srikrishna and G.P.
Mathur, JJ.
Citation: AIR 2005 SC 752
Date of Judgement: 17th December, 2004
Nature of Case: Writ Petition (Civil)
Nature of Opinions: Concurring
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
Relevance of Case(if any): Indra Jaising called Bharat petroleum(a lower judge bench cannot doubt
the correctness of the judgement pronounced by a larger bench) and Pradip Chandra Parija case(only a
same coram bench can refer the case to a larger bench) per incuriam as Raghubir and Hansoli devi ( a
lower judge bench can place the decision of a larger bench before constitutional bench)Case were
overlooked.However the court held that in Chandra Prakash V state of UP both raghubir and parija were
considered and parija was upheld.
1. It was concluded that all decisions of larger bench is binding on lower benches and
benches with the same coram.
2. A lower bench cannot doubt the correctness of a decision made by a larger bench.If at all
doubt arises all it can do is place a plea before the Chief justice who is the master of the
roster and however he may deem fit he can allocate the case.For a bench of co-equal
strength it can refer the case to a larger bench.
13)Cause Title: Justice K Puttaswamy and Anr v. Union of India And Ors
Coram:Ashok Bhushan, A.M Khanwilkar, A.K. Sikri, Dipak Misra and D.Y Chandrachud
Date of Judgement:September 26,2018
Nature of Case:Writ Petition (Civil)
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:
14)Cause Title: Abdulla C.M v Ibrahim and Another
Coram:Alexander Thomas J.
Citation: 2017 (4) KHC 34
Date of Judgement:July 24,2017

Nature of Case:Revision Petition
Nature of Opinions:
Material Facts:
Ratio Decidendi:

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SYLLABUS

INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)

Supreme Court of India:

Jurisdictions of the SC:

​ rticle 32​.The Constitution gives an

​ rticle 143​.The Supreme Court has

High Court(s) of India:

● Their territorial jurisdiction is varied.

● The territorial jurisdiction of a High Court, as mentioned earlier, is varied.Both the

Criminal Courts (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)

Hierarchy of Criminal Courts​:

● Sessions Court : A Sessions Court is responsible for adjudicating matters related to

Jurisdiction of Criminal Courts:

● Sentencing Jurisdiction​ (CrPc Section 28 and 29) :

● Subject Matter Jurisdiction​:

Civil Courts (Hierarchy and Jurisdiction)

Hierarchy of Civil Courts​:

● Munsiff Courts​:The Munsiff Court is presided over by a Munsiff Magistrate. ​The

● Sub-Courts​:​The Sub-Courts are presided over by a Subordinate Judge . The Government

Jurisdiction of Civil Courts:

● Pecuniary Jurisdiction​: Pecuniary Jurisdiction is ​related to money,​ whether a court can

ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM

● Federal Court System

○ Article 3 Courts : ​They derive their power from A ​ rticle 3 of the US

■ United States Circuit Court of Appeal​: These have ​appellate

■ Supreme Court of United States (SCOTUS)​: It is the highest court of

● The ​judges of SCOTUS have no retirement age and are

■ US ​Court of Claims​ (when cases against the government are filed)

■ US ​Court of International Claims (sits in new york and handles cases of

● State Court System

FRENCH LEGAL SYSTEM

In France, the courts can be classified into:

○ Tribunal d’ instance​ : ​It is one which hears ​minor civil cases.

○ Court of Grand Instance​(​tribunal de grande instance)​ : ​It is one​ ​which has

○ Labour Court​ (​Conseil de prud’hommes)​ : ​Labour court hears dispute between

ii)​ ​Criminal Courts

○ Crimes​ : These are ​serious felonies​.(Similar to cognizable offences). They are

● Courts are also divided ​on the basis of Jurisdiction​ into :

1. Minor Jurisdiction​: ​police courts/tribunal(petty offences)

2. Major Jurisdiction​ :​ correctional courts(misdemeanors)/ criminal courts

● ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS​:​ ​The administrative courts handle lawsuits involving

Administrative Courts are divided into:

○ Administrative Courts​ (​Tribunal administratif​) :​ First instance courts.

○ Administrative Courts of Appeal (​Cour administrative d’appel)​ : Intermediate

SOURCES OF LEGAL MATERIALS

Law Reports: ​A law report is a production of an ​adequate record of a judicial decision on a

Unofficial Law Report​ :​ These are published by private/non-statutory authorities.

b) Books: Case Books, Textbooks,Law Dictionary,Commentaries Encyclopedie, Case Digests,

Encyclopedie​ : ​The function of a legal encyclopaedia is to provide the following materials :

Part, Section & Sub-Section Contents published in the Gazette of India

- Section 2​: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

- Section 4​: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

- Section 2​:​Bills and Reports of the Select Committee on Bills.

- Section 4​:Statutory Rules & orders issued by the Ministry of Defence.

- Section 3​ :​Notifications issued by or under the authority of Chief Commissioners.

- Section 4​;Miscellaneous Notifications including Notifications, Orders Advertisements

Utility of Gazette in Legal Research

ENTRY OF FORCE OF AN ACT

b)Short Title : ​There is a short title also which is more convenient.

c)Date of Publication:​ It is the date of publication in gazette.

m)Parts/Chapters >Sections>Subsections>Clauses >Sub-Clauses:

● Understanding the Judicial Process

rticle 32.The Constitution gives an

rticle 143.The Supreme Court has

Hierarchy of Criminal Courts:

● Sentencing Jurisdiction (CrPc Section 28 and 29) :

● Subject Matter Jurisdiction:

Hierarchy of Civil Courts:

● Munsiff Courts:The Munsiff Court is presided over by a Munsiff Magistrate. The

● Sub-Courts:The Sub-Courts are presided over by a Subordinate Judge . The Government

● Pecuniary Jurisdiction: Pecuniary Jurisdiction is related to money, whether a court can

○ Article 3 Courts : They derive their power from A rticle 3 of the US

■ United States Circuit Court of Appeal: These have appellate

■ Supreme Court of United States (SCOTUS): It is the highest court of

● The judges of SCOTUS have no retirement age and are

■ US Court of Claims (when cases against the government are filed)

■ US Court of International Claims (sits in new york and handles cases of

○ Tribunal d’ instance : It is one which hears minor civil cases.

○ Court of Grand Instance(tribunal de grande instance) : It is one which has

○ Labour Court (Conseil de prud’hommes) : Labour court hears dispute between

ii) Criminal Courts

○ Crimes : These are serious felonies.(Similar to cognizable offences). They are

● Courts are also divided on the basis of Jurisdiction into :

1. Minor Jurisdiction: police courts/tribunal(petty offences)

2. Major Jurisdiction : correctional courts(misdemeanors)/ criminal courts

● ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS: The administrative courts handle lawsuits involving

○ Administrative Courts (Tribunal administratif) : First instance courts.

○ Administrative Courts of Appeal (Cour administrative d’appel) : Intermediate

Law Reports: A law report is a production of an adequate record of a judicial decision on a

Unofficial Law Report : These are published by private/non-statutory authorities.

Encyclopedie : The function of a legal encyclopaedia is to provide the following materials :

- Section 2: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

- Section 4: Notifications regarding Appointments, Promotions, Leave etc. of Government

- Section 2:Bills and Reports of the Select Committee on Bills.

- Section 4:Statutory Rules & orders issued by the Ministry of Defence.

- Section 3 :Notifications issued by or under the authority of Chief Commissioners.

- Section 4;Miscellaneous Notifications including Notifications, Orders Advertisements

b)Short Title : There is a short title also which is more convenient.

c)Date of Publication: It is the date of publication in gazette.

Application of the Doctrine in India:

a)Authoritative/Coercive(Binding) Precedent : Authoritative Precedent is one which the

a)Declaratory: A declaratory precedent is one which is merely the application of an already

Declaratory Theory of Precedents(Blackstone):

“The material facts of a case plus the decision thereon”

a)Wambaugh’s Test (Inversion Test by Eugene Wambaugh): Eugene Wambaugh, a

2)British : OSCOLA - Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities

Comparative Legal Citation Styles:

Format: Author,Book (No. edn,Publisher Name Year)

M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law ( 5th ed., 1998).

Format: Author,Book (No. ed., Year).

Format:Author, Chapter Name, Page Number in Book ( Editors,No. ed.,Year).

Format:Author, Title, Volume L.RPT. Pg No (Year).

Standard Indian Legal Citation

Format: Author, Title, Volume Law Report PgNo. (Year).

Coram:V.R Krishna Iyer,V.D Tulzapurkar and R.S Pathak

Citation: (1979) 2 S.C.C. 316.

Date of Judgement:October 6,1978

Nature of Case:Criminal Appeal

Relevance of Case(if any):Maintenance of Divorced Muslim Woman

2)Cause Title: Fuzlunbi v. K. Khader Vali and Another

Coram:V.R Krishna Iyer,O.Chinnappa Reddy and A.P Sen

Citation: (1980) 4 S.C.C. 125.

Date of Judgement: May 8,1980

Nature of Case:Criminal Appeal

Relevance of Case(if any): Distinguishing of facts-declaratory precedent

Coram:Y.V Chandrachud,D.A Desai,E.S Venkataramiah,O.Chinnappa Reddy and Ranganath

Date of Judgement:April 23,1985

Nature of Case:Criminal Appeal

4)Cause Title: Danial Latifi & Others v. Union of India

Coram:G.B Pattanaik,S Rajendra Babu,D.P Mohapatra,Doraiswamy Raju and Shivaraj V. Patil

Date of Judgement: September 21,2001

Nature of Case:Writ petition(Civil)

5)Cause Title: Dalbir Singh and Others v. State of Punjab

Coram:S.Rajendra Babu,A.R. Lakshmanan and G.P Mathur

Citation: AIR 1962 S.C. 1106.

Date of Judgement: April 8,2004

Nature of Case:Criminal Appeal

6)Cause Title: Golak Nath v. State of Punjab

Coram:K. Subba Rao,K.N Wanchoo,M. Hidayatullah,J.C. Shah,S.M. Sikri,R.S Bachawat,V.

Citation: AIR 1967 S.C. 1643.

Date of Judgement:February 27,1967

Nature of Case:Writ petition