CLAT Legal Reasoning Questionbank

Principle: The Constitution protects the personal liberty of every person; no one may be detained except according to procedure established by law.

Fact: Ravi is picked up by private security guards for questioning and locked in a store room overnight without any complaint filed against him.

Is the detention lawful?

Principle: Whoever enters another's land without permission commits trespass, even if the entry causes no damage.

Fact: Meena, walking at night, mistakes Arjun's unfenced orchard for a public park and crosses it. She plucks no fruit and leaves no trace.

Is Meena liable for trespass?

Principle: A professional is negligent if she fails to exercise the ordinary skill expected of a reasonably competent member of her profession, causing injury.

Fact: Dr. Sen, a qualified radiologist, overlooks a shadow on an X-ray that a competent radiologist would ordinarily notice; the patient's condition worsens as a result.

Is Dr. Sen liable?

Principle: An acceptance must correspond exactly to the terms of the offer. A reply that varies the terms is not an acceptance but a counter-offer, which destroys the original offer.

Fact: Asha offers to sell her scooter to Vikram for Rs. 40,000. Vikram replies: "I accept, provided you also give me the spare helmet." Asha stays silent.

Is there a contract?

Principle: No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to fair, just and reasonable procedure; the protection of this right extends to dignity, not mere animal existence.

Fact: A municipal authority demolishes hawkers' stalls without notice or rehabilitation plan, leaving dozens of licensed vendors without livelihood.

Which conclusion best follows?

Principle: A person who voluntarily agrees to suffer a harm cannot later claim damages for it (consent is a defence).

Fact: Dev buys a ticket and sits in the first row at a cricket match. A fielder's wild throw strikes him on the shoulder, causing a bruise.

Can Dev succeed in a claim for damages?

Principle: An agreement made without consideration is void.

Fact: Ramesh promises his nephew Rs. 10,000 out of natural love and affection, signs the promise in writing, but never pays. The nephew sues.

What is the likely result under the principle given?

Principle: A person who keeps any dangerous substance on her land owes a duty to prevent its escape; if it escapes and harms others, she is liable for the resulting damage irrespective of negligence.

Fact: Kavita stores large quantities of chemicals on her factory premises. Due to an unprecedented flood - a natural disaster of extraordinary severity - the chemicals wash into a neighbouring farm and destroy crops.

Is Kavita liable?

Principle: Courts may permit public-spirited persons to bring proceedings on behalf of those unable to approach the court due to poverty or disadvantage.

Fact: A social worker files a case highlighting unsafe conditions in state-run shelters, though she herself suffers no personal injury.

Will her petition be entertained under the principle?

The writ issued by courts to produce a detained person before them and examine the legality of the detention is:

Principle: An employer is liable for wrongs committed by an employee in the course of employment.

Fact: A courier company's driver, while making his scheduled deliveries, negligently knocks down a pedestrian. The pedestrian sues the company, not the driver.

Can the company be held liable?

Principle: An agreement by a person who is not of the age of majority is void from the very beginning and cannot be made valid later.

Fact: At 16, Prem sells his guitar to a dealer. After turning 18, Prem confirms the sale and demands the payment promised. The dealer now refuses to pay, invoking the earlier agreement.

Which position is correct on the principle given?

Principle: Every person has a right to protect personal information from unwarranted intrusion, subject to reasonable restrictions for legitimate state aims such as public health.

Fact: A fitness app sells users' detailed health and location data to insurers without consent. The app argues commercial data sharing is its business model.

Is the app's practice justifiable?

Principle: A statement that lowers a person's reputation in the estimation of right-thinking members of society is defamatory; truth published for the public good is a defence.

Fact: A journalist publishes a verified, accurate report showing a builder's repeated safety violations in towers occupied by hundreds of families. The builder sues, claiming his reputation suffered.

Will the defence apply?

The Directive Principles of State Policy in a constitution are best described as:

Principle: Where a person's own carelessness contributes along with another's wrongdoing to an injury, any compensation may be reduced in proportion to the claimant's share of responsibility.

Fact: A cyclist, riding at night without lights against the flow of traffic, is hit by a lorry driver who was speeding. The cyclist suffers injuries worth Rs. 5,00,000. The court finds both equally at fault.

What compensation is the cyclist most likely to receive on the principle?