CLAT 2015

PRINCIPLE: agreements the meaning of which is not certain or capable of being made certain are void.
FACT: A horse was bought for a certain price coupled with a promise to give Rs. 500 more if the horse proved lucky.

PRINCIPLE: Mere silence as to facts likely to affect the willingness of a person to enter into a contract is not fraud, unless the circumstances of the case are such that regard being had to them it is the duty of the person keeping silence to speak or unless his silence is, in itself equivalent to speech.
FACT: A sell by auction to B, a horse which A knows to be unsound. A says nothing to B about the horse’s unsoundness.

PRINCIPLE: Any direct physical interference with the goods in somebody’s possession without lawful justification is called trespass to goods.
FACT: A purchased a car from a person who had no title to it and had sent it to a garage for repair. X, believing, wrongly, that the car was his, removed it from the garage.

PRINCIPLE: “Nobody shall unlawfully interfere with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or some right over or in connection with it. The use or enjoyment, envisaged herein, should be normal and reasonable taking into account surrounding situation.
FACT: Jeevan and Pavan were neighbours in a residential locality. Pavan started a typing class in a part of his house and his typing sound disturbed Jeevan who could not put up with any kind of continuous noise. He filed a suit against Pavan.

PRINCIPLE: Doctrine of Double jeopardy: No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence twice.
FACT: Maqbool brought some gold into India without making any declaration to custom department on the airport. The custom authorities confiscated the gold under the sea customs act.
Maqbool was later charged for having committed an offence under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

Assertion: custom per se is law, independent of prior recognition by the sovereign or the judge.
Reason: custom is source of law but by itself is not law.

Assertion: Idol is a person who can hold property.
Reason: only human being can be called person not the lifeless things.

Assertion: Laws are means of achieving an end namely social control.
Reason: The ultimate end of law is to secure greatest happiness to greatest number.

Assertion: Every person should have the freedom of speech and expression.
Reason: If a person is stopped from speaking then mankind will lose the truth.

Assertion: Attempt to commit an offence though does not result in any harm should also be punished.
Reason: A person who tries to cause a prohibited harm and fails is in terms of moral culpability not materially different from the person who tries and success.