Test: Legal Reasoning - 3 - CLAT MCQ

Directions: Questions 4 - 6 are based on a common set of principles and facts. Answer accordingly.

Principle 1: Any person (Principal) authorizing another person (Agent) to do a certain act will be liable for all acts of such person done within the course of employment. The tests of control and
direction must be complied with.

Principle 2: A wrongful act authorized by the Principal as well as a lawful act done in a wrongful
manner would be considered to have been within the course of employment unless specific directions were given regarding the mode of performance of the act.

Principle 3: For an act to fall outside the scope of employment, the act should either have been
performed after the authorized act had come to an end or must be of such nature that it can be
completely divorced from the authorized act.

Principle 4: Such a relationship need not be a long term arrangement and can be set up for one specific transaction.
Facts: Aggubai instructed her long standing childhood friend Annubai to go to Palampur and strike a deal with Tagesh, a spirit supplier, for the purchase of 1000 bottles of McDowell‘s No.1 whisky, which Aggubai intended to sell at her retail store in Mumbai. Annubai was also instructed to keep in touch with Aggubai over phone regarding the deal. Accordingly, Annubai took a train to Palampur, planned a meeting with Tagesh and made the requisite purchase.

Q. Did Annubai and Aggubai have a principalagent relationship?

Principle 1: Any person (Principal) authorizing another person (Agent) to do a certain act will be liable for all acts of such person done within the course of employment. The tests of control and
direction must be complied with.

Principle 2: A wrongful act authorized by the Principal as well as a lawful act done in a wrongful
manner would be considered to have been within the course of employment unless specific directions were given regarding the mode of performance of the act.

Principle 3: For an act to fall outside the scope of employment, the act should either have been
performed after the authorized act had come to an end or must be of such nature that it can be
completely divorced from the authorized act.

Principle 4: Such a relationship need not be a long term arrangement and can be set up for one specific transaction.

Facts: Aggubai instructed her long standing childhood friend Annubai to go to Palampur and strike a deal with Tagesh, a spirit supplier, for the purchase of 1000 bottles of McDowell‘s No.1 whisky, which Aggubai intended to sell at her retail store in Mumbai. Annubai was also instructed to keep in touch with Aggubai over phone regarding the deal. Accordingly, Annubai took a train to Palampur, planned a meeting with Tagesh and made the requisite purchase.

Q.
On her way back, Annubai decided to drivedown for a part of the journey as her friendBhavinder told her it was a scenic drive.Annubai got tempted and downed 4 bottlesof whisky in the car. Owing to herinebriated state, Annubai sped and her carran into a family of three sleeping on thefootpath. Who will be liable for theaccident?

Principle 1: Any person (Principal) authorizing another person (Agent) to do a certain act will be liable for all acts of such person done within the course of employment. The tests of control and
direction must be complied with.

Principle 2: A wrongful act authorized by the Principal as well as a lawful act done in a wrongful
manner would be considered to have been within the course of employment unless specific directions were given regarding the mode of performance of the act.

Principle 3: For an act to fall outside the scope of employment, the act should either have been
performed after the authorized act had come to an end or must be of such nature that it can be
completely divorced from the authorized act.

Principle 4: Such a relationship need not be a long term arrangement and can be set up for one specific transaction.
Facts: Aggubai instructed her long standing childhood friend Annubai to go to Palampur and strike a deal with Tagesh, a spirit supplier, for the purchase of 1000 bottles of McDowell‘s No.1 whisky, which Aggubai intended to sell at her retail store in Mumbai. Annubai was also instructed to keep in touch with Aggubai over phone regarding the deal. Accordingly, Annubai took a train to Palampur, planned a meeting with Tagesh and made the requisite purchase.

Q.
Had Aggubai clearly instructed Annubai totravel only by train, who would then beliable for the accident?

Principle- The delivery of possession is anessential requisite of a contract ofbailment. It is different from custody. Afterthe delivery of possession, the bailee hasfull control over the goods bailed and hemust take care of the goods as if they werehis own.

Facts - Berry walks into Straw‘s office for ameeting and as he was entering, Shelly,Straw‘s employee, took his coat off and hungit on a hook behind the door of the meetingroom without being asked to do so. Shelly hadbeen instructed to do so for everyoneattending the meeting. After the meeting whenBerry asked for his coat, it was missing. IsStraw liable?

Jack was a high-profile detective. He decided to outsource some work to Jones, an efficient but less experienced detective. Jones had been appreciated by many a client for his high work ethics. Jack assigned specific cases to Jones. The papers related to these cases were handed
over to Jones every morning and locked in a cupboard located in Jones room every evening after making sure no paper/s hadbeen removed. The keys to this cupboardwere always in Jack‘s possession. Onemorning, when Jack went to Jones‘ officeto hand over the papers to him as usualand unlocked the cupboard, severalimportant papers were missing. He filed asuit against Jones. Will he succeed?

The 99th Constitutional Amendment Acthas sacked the system of Collegium forappointing and transferring judges of theHigh Courts and the Supreme Court. Whoamongst the following is not a member ofthe recently constituted National JudicialAppointments Commission?

Forty years ago, India saw emergencybeing put in force for about two years.According to Article 352 of theConstitution, the President has the powerto proclaim emergency. Why then is Ms.Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister ofIndia, is accused of imposing emergencywhen it was a proclamation made by thethen President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed?

In a recent judgement, the Supreme Courthas held Section 66 A of the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 to beunconstitutional. Which fundamental rightdid this section violate?

The Goods and Services Tax Bill passedby the Lok Sabha, and pending before theRajya Sabha, has created extreme furore.What is the nature of the Goods andServices Tax?

The recent land-swap agreement with Bangladesh required our Parliament topass an amendment to the Constitution. According to Article 368, an amendment tothe Constitution requires a specialmajority. What is a special majority‘?

Which of the following is not a part of the term Parliament‘?

Which of the following fields of law doesthe Government of the NCT of Delhi hasthe power to govern?

Which of the following organisations are set-up under the Constitution of India?

Who is the Chairperson of the National Ganga River Basin Authority?

Why is the Indian Political System called the Westminister System‘?

Principle – Nobody shall make use of his property in such a way as to cause damage to others. Any such use would constitute private nuisance, a wrongful act under the law of torts.

Facts – Priya lived in an apartment, and there were six other flats on the same floor as hers.
All of these flats were owned by Nikita, who had leased them out to the respective tenants. When Priya got accepted for a PhD at Harvard University, she sub-leased the house to Anahita, her cousin, who was incidentally HIV positive. When the neighbours came to know of this, they all moved out of Nikita’s flats, fearing the spread of AIDS. Nikita requested Priya to evict her cousin, and offered to find a suitable tenant in her place. However, Priya refused, and argued that merely being HIV positive does not mean that the disease would spread like wildfire. Nikita then filed a suit against Priya, claiming damages for nuisance. Will she succeed?

Principle 1 – Volenti non fit injuria – A person has no remedy against an injury caused by an
act to which he has consented.

Principle 2 – If a person does an act that isper se violative of the law, he cannot escapeliability by pleading that he was asked tocommit that act

Facts – Shruti was in a hurry to get to theairport to catch a plane, so she hired a taxi runby the Gupta Taxi Company, which was wellknown in the Begumpet locality. Sherepeatedly urged the driver to drive faster.Within the city, there was a speed limit of 50kmph, and the driver reluctantly drove as fastas 80 kmph so as to reach the airport on time.While driving at this high speed, the driver lostcontrol and hit the divider on the road, as aresult of which, Shruti was badly injured. Shefiled a suit for damages against the taxicompany.

Principle: Misrepresentation causes acontract to be voidable at the option of the buyer.

Facts – Amritam wants to sell his house.Sukriti approaches him with an offer to buy thehouse. However, the house is actually in adismal condition. Without repairs being carriedout, the house would be uninhabitable.Amritam does not mention the condition of thehouse, or tell Sukriti that repairs need to becarried out, so as to make it habitable. Sukritipurchases the house for a sum of Rs. 30lakhs. When she is about to move into thehouse, she realizes that the house is almost ina tumbledown state, and wishes to void thecontract. Can she do so?

Principle – Whoever uses force without anylawful justification commits battery.

Facts – Navya and Sushma have anargument, where Navya clearly wins thedebate and Sushma’s arguments are made toseem absurd. Humiliated by this, Sushmapulls the chair away just when Navya is aboutto sit down. Although Navya falls down, she isnot hurt. However, she seeks to sue Sushmafor battery. Will she succeed?

Principle – A right to action cannot arise outof an illegal activity.

Facts – Bala and Harsha were thieves, whostole cars, other motor vehicles, engines,tyres, etc. Bala had a particular fascinationwith aeroplanes, and often spent all daygazing at the skies and listening to music byHans Zimmer. One day, Bala was insistent onstealing some equipment from the nearbyaerodrome, so that he could build his veryown glider. They hired a driver to drive one oftheir stolen cars and take them to theaerodrome in the outskirts of the city. Sneakilyand successfully accomplishing the theft, theysought to get away from the place as quicklyas possible. They then got into the car andurged the driver to drive away as fast as thecar could take them. They had not realizedthat the indicator of the car had not beenworking, and they fail to inform the driver ofthis. Consequently, the car ended up in anaccident, and he sustained some seriousinjuries. He seeks to sue Bala and Harsha andclaim damages.

Principle 1 – State sovereignty is supreme,and no state can interfere in the internalaffairs of another state.

Principle 2 – If there has been a grossviolation of human rights in one State, anyother State in the international community caninterfere to protect the rights of the subjects ofthat state.

Facts – Ritania and Reverentia areneighbouring states. They share friendlyrelations, and several citizens of Ritania areemployed in corporations in Reverentia,where there has recently been an industrialboom. Ritania has two ethnic groups – theTootoos and the Hutsies. The Hutsies formthe majority in the ruling party of the nation,and the two ethnic groups are resentful ofeach other. In popular cinema, the Tootoosare portrayed as wealthy villains who exploitthe hardworking Hutsies and never do anhonest day’s work in their lives. One day, aTootoo rickshaw puller accidentally causesthe death of a Hutsie customer. Clashes breakout between the two communities, and in amatter of weeks, the clashes spreadthroughout the state of Ritania. Internationalnews agencies report that the violence beingunleashed against the Tootoos is state-backed, and that the Tootoos have no hope of survival if the state itself is involved in theviolence against them. There are reports of Tootoo persons being tortured and killed bythe hundreds, and children kidnapped.Reverentia then sends its army across theborder, and after a tussle between Reverentian and Ritanian forces, the violencecomes to an end. Ritania holds that thisinterference by Reverentia into its internalaffairs was unlawful, and seeks to claimreparations from the State of Reverentia.