KSLU Solved Question Papers
Legal Methods
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2023 Sep Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Legal Methods 2023 Sep Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Sep examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Sep examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Sep examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five questions. (2) One essay type question and short note compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicates marks. (4) Answer should be written either in Kannada or English completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
(a)What are the various sources of laws ?[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of "source of law"; formal and material sources; legal and historical sources; Salmond's five legal sources; the sources of law in India in their order of rank (Constitution, legislation, delegated legislation, precedent, custom, treaties); justice, equity and good conscience; the cases; a table; a conclusion.
Meaning
A source of law is the origin from which a rule of law comes and from which it gets its force. Asking for the source of a rule is asking two questions: where did its content come from, and why is it binding?
Formal and material sources
Salmond drew the basic distinction in his Jurisprudence. "A formal source is that from which a rule of law derives its force and validity." For the whole legal system, that is "the will and power of the state as manifested in courts of justice". The material sources supply the content of the rule, "the matter, not the validity of the law".
For example, the Information Technology Act 2000 drew much of its content from the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce. The Model Law is a material source; Parliament, which gave the rules the force of law, is the formal source.
Legal and historical sources
Salmond divided material sources further. Legal sources are recognised by the law itself: statutes, binding precedents and valid customs. A court must follow them. Historical sources explain where an idea came from, without binding anyone, such as Roman law or the writings of jurists.
Salmond's five legal sources
Salmond named "Legislation, Custom, Precedent, Professional Opinion, and Agreement".
- Legislation "is the declaration or enunciation of a principle by some adequate authority in the body politic".
- Custom "is the realisation or embodiment of a principle in a uniformity of practice".
- Precedent "is the judicial application of a principle to its appropriate facts".
- Professional opinion is the recognition of a principle by "those whose business it is to know the law".
- Agreement "is the adoption of a principle by the consent of those whose interests are affected by it". Between States, agreement takes the form of a treaty.
The sources of law in India, in order of rank
- The Constitution. It is the supreme law. Under Article 13(2), any law that takes away a fundamental right is void.
- Legislation. Acts of Parliament and the State Legislatures, made under Articles 245 and 246. Ordinances have the same force while they last.
- Delegated legislation. Rules, regulations and notifications made under an Act, valid only within the power the Act gives.
- Precedent. Article 141 makes the law declared by the Supreme Court binding on all courts.
- Custom. A custom having the force of law is "law" under Article 13(3)(a), but it gives way to statute and to the fundamental rights.
- Treaties. A treaty does not by itself change Indian law. Parliament gives it effect under Article 253, though courts read Indian law in its light.
Laws made before 1950 continue under Article 372(1) until altered or repealed. That is why the Indian Contract Act 1872 and the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 still apply.
Justice, equity and good conscience. Where no statute, precedent or proved custom applies, Indian courts decide by what is fair and just. In Saraswathi Ammal v. Jagadambal, 1953 AIR 201, a claimed custom of succession among dasis was not proved. The Supreme Court held that succession "must be governed by the rule of propinquity of Hindu law as a rule of justice, equity and good conscience", and the daughters took equal shares.
The cases
Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd v. State of Bihar, (1955) 2 SCR 603. The Supreme Court held that Article 141 "quite obviously refers to Courts other than this Court", so it may overrule its own earlier decisions. Precedent binds the courts below, but the Supreme Court can correct itself.
Jolly George Verghese v. Bank of Cochin, (1980) 2 SCC 360. Debtors relied on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights against arrest for an unpaid decree. The Court held that "until the municipal law is changed to accommodate the Covenant what binds the court is the former". But in case of doubt, Indian law is read in line with India's international obligations.
Bhimashya v. Janabi, AIRONLINE 2006 SC 355. A claimed custom permitting the adoption of a married man over fifteen failed because it was not pleaded or proved. Custom is a source of law only when it is proved.
| Source | Indian basis | Its limit |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution | Supreme law | Amendable only by Art. 368 |
| Legislation | Arts. 245, 246 | Must respect the Constitution |
| Delegated legislation | The parent Act | Within the power given |
| Precedent | Art. 141; Art. 227 | Only the ratio binds |
| Custom | Art. 13(3)(a) | Yields to statute; must be proved |
| Treaty | Art. 253 | Needs legislation to change domestic law |
Conclusion. Sources of law are formal, which give a rule its force, and material, which give it its content. Salmond named legislation, custom, precedent, professional opinion and agreement as the legal sources. In India they stand in a ladder headed by the Constitution, followed by legislation, delegated legislation, precedent, custom and treaties. Where all are silent, courts decide by justice, equity and good conscience, as in Saraswathi Ammal.
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