KSLU Solved Question Papers
Legal Methods
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2025 Jan (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Legal Methods 2025 Jan (100 marks) 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 2025 Jan (100 marks) examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2025 Jan (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2025 Jan (100 marks) 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 100 · 13 questions answered
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.
Q1Explain the various sources of Law.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what a source of law is; formal and material, legal and historical sources (Salmond); each main source in depth (legislation, precedent, custom, agreement and treaty, professional opinion), with its Indian basis and a case; the sources of law in India in their order of rank; justice, equity and good conscience; how the sources interact; a table; a conclusion.
What a source of law is
A source of law is the origin of a legal rule: where its content comes from and what gives it binding force. A lawyer often asks, "what is the source of this rule?". He wants to know whether it rests on the Constitution, an Act, a judgment or a custom. The answer decides how strong the rule is and how it can be changed.
Formal and material, legal and historical
Salmond's analysis is the classic one. "A formal source is that from which a rule of law derives its force and validity." For the whole legal system, the formal source is "the will and power of the state as manifested in courts of justice". Material sources supply the content of the rule, "the matter, not the validity of the law".
Salmond then divided material sources into legal sources, "recognised as such by the law itself", and historical sources, which "are such in fact, but are nevertheless destitute of legal recognition". A statute is a legal source; Roman law, from which an English rule may have come, is only a historical source.
An example. The Information Technology Act 2000 drew much of its content from the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, which its preamble recites. The Model Law is a material, historical source. Parliament, which gave the rules the force of law, is the formal source.
The legal sources, one by one
Salmond named five legal sources: "Legislation, Custom, Precedent, Professional Opinion, and Agreement."
1. Legislation. "Legislation is that source of law which consists in the declaration of legal rules by a competent authority." It is either supreme or subordinate. Supreme legislation is made by the sovereign power and controlled by no other legislative authority. Subordinate legislation is made by a lower authority under delegated power.
In India, Parliament and the State Legislatures make law under Articles 245 and 246, within the Constitution. Rules and regulations made under Acts are subordinate legislation. Ordinances have the force of law while they last, but within limits. In Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, decided on 2 January 2017, seven judges examined seven successive Bihar Ordinances taking over 429 Sanskrit schools, none of which had been laid before the legislature. The Court held that laying an Ordinance is "a mandatory constitutional obligation", and re-promulgation "a fraud on the Constitution".
2. Precedent. "Precedent is the judicial application of a principle to its appropriate facts." Under the doctrine of stare decisis, courts follow earlier decisions. Article 141: "The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India." A High Court binds the courts under its superintendence (Article 227).
In Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd v. State of Bihar, (1955) 2 SCR 603, seven judges, by four to three, overruled an earlier decision on the States' power to tax sales. The Court held that Article 141 "quite obviously refers to Courts other than this Court". So precedent binds the lower courts, while the Supreme Court can correct itself.
3. Custom. "Custom is the realisation or embodiment of a principle in a uniformity of practice." Article 13(3)(a) counts custom or usage having the force of law as "law". A custom must be ancient, certain, reasonable, continuous and not against statute or public policy, and it must be proved.
In Ujagar Singh v. Mst. Jeo, 1959 AIR 1041, a collateral heir relied on a general Punjab custom recorded in Rattigan's Digest. The Supreme Court held that all customs must be proved unless, by repeated recognition by the courts, a custom "passes into the law of the land". Because decisions on that custom conflicted, it was not proved, and the sister inherited under Hindu law.
4. Agreement and treaty. "Agreement is the adoption of a principle by the consent of those whose interests are affected by it." Between private persons, agreement creates rules binding them, which courts enforce. Between States, agreement takes the form of a treaty. In India a treaty does not change domestic law by itself; Parliament gives it effect under Article 253.
In Gramophone Company of India Ltd v. Birendra Bahadur Pandey, (1984) 2 SCC 534, cassettes in transit to Nepal reached Calcutta Port and were suspected to be pirated. The Supreme Court held that rules of international law are part of national law "unless they are in conflict with an Act of Parliament". "National courts cannot say yes if Parliament has said no to a principle of international law", but statutes must be read "so as to avoid confrontation" with it.
5. Professional or expert opinion. The writings of jurists and the opinions of the profession. Salmond called the law they produce juristic law, and noted that in English law it is "merely an historical, not a legal source". In India, courts often adopt the statements of standard text books, as Tirath Singh v. Bachittar Singh, AIR 1955 SC 830, adopted Maxwell's statement of the golden rule. But a text book binds only through a court's adoption.
The sources in India, in order of rank
- The Constitution. Supreme. Under Article 13(2) any law taking away a fundamental right is void.
- Legislation. Acts and Ordinances, within the Constitution.
- Delegated legislation. Rules and regulations, within the parent Act.
- Precedent. Binding through Articles 141 and 227.
- Custom. Valid if proved, but yielding to statute and the fundamental rights.
- Treaties. Effective in domestic law through legislation, and used to read Indian law where it is unclear.
Laws made before 1950 continue under Article 372(1) "until altered or repealed or amended", which is why the Contract Act 1872 and the CPC 1908 still apply.
Justice, equity and good conscience
Where no statute, precedent or proved custom applies, Indian courts decide by justice, equity and good conscience. In Saraswathi Ammal v. Jagadambal, 1953 AIR 201, a claimed custom of succession among dasis was not proved. The Court held that succession "must be governed by the rule of propinquity of Hindu law as a rule of justice, equity and good conscience". The daughters took equal shares.
How the sources interact
The sources do not stand side by side; they work on each other.
- Courts interpret legislation, and their interpretations become precedent.
- Legislation can override precedent. After I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, AIR 1967 SC 1643, Parliament inserted Article 13(4) by the Twenty-fourth Amendment, with effect from 5 November 1971.
- Statutes may save or displace custom. The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 saves certain customs by name; the Shariat Act 1937 displaces custom in listed matters.
- Treaties shape the reading of statutes, as Jolly George Verghese v. Bank of Cochin, (1980) 2 SCC 360, shows.
| Source | Salmond's description | Indian basis | Illustration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legislation | Declaration by a competent authority | Arts. 245, 246 | Krishna Kumar Singh |
| Precedent | Judicial application of a principle | Arts. 141, 227 | Bengal Immunity |
| Custom | Uniformity of practice | Art. 13(3)(a) | Ujagar Singh |
| Agreement and treaty | Adoption by consent | Art. 253 | Gramophone Company |
| Professional opinion | Recognition by those who know the law | Through court adoption | Tirath Singh (Maxwell) |
Conclusion. Law draws its force from a formal source, the State, and its content from material sources. Salmond's five legal sources are legislation, custom, precedent, professional opinion and agreement. In India they stand in a ladder headed by the Constitution, followed by legislation, delegated legislation, precedent, custom and treaties. Justice, equity and good conscience fill the gaps. Krishna Kumar Singh, Bengal Immunity, Ujagar Singh and Gramophone Company show each source at work within its limits.
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