KSLU Solved Question Papers
Family Law I (Hindu Law)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2019 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Family Law I (Hindu Law) 2019 Dec 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 2019 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2019 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2019 Dec 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 Units. (2) Answer one essay type question and short note/problem is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers should be written either in English or Kannada 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
Unit I
(a)What is custom ? Briefly explain requirements of a valid custom.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of custom (section 3(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955); custom distinguished from a mere practice or habit; the requirements as the tests a court applies: long usage, continuity, uniformity, certainty, reasonableness, conformity with public policy and statute, and, for a family custom, not abandoned; how a custom is pleaded and proved (instances, records such as Rattigan's Digest, judicial notice; Ujagar Singh); strict proof and strict construction (Surajmani Stella Kujur, Ramalakshmi Ammal); a worked example; a conclusion.
What custom is
A custom is a rule of conduct that a body of people has followed for a long time and consistently. They have come to treat it as binding law. It is law that grows from below, from the practice of a community, rather than law made by a ruler or a legislature.
The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 puts this in section 3(a). Custom and usage signify "any rule which, having been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family". The rule must be "certain and not unreasonable or opposed to public policy". A family rule must "not have been discontinued by the family".
Custom and a mere practice
Not every practice is a custom. A practice followed out of convenience, or a habit that people feel free to drop, is not law. The key words are "obtained the force of law". The people must regard the rule as one they are bound to obey, and courts must be able to enforce it.
The requirements, as a court tests them
1. Long usage. The court asks how long the rule has been followed. Indian courts do not demand proof from time immemorial. They ask whether it has been followed long enough to be accepted as law in that community.
2. Continuity. The court asks whether the rule has been followed without a break. A practice abandoned for a generation and then revived does not qualify.
3. Uniformity. The court asks whether the rule has been applied in the same way each time. If it has been followed sometimes one way and sometimes another, it is not a custom.
4. Certainty. The court asks whether the rule can be stated precisely: who it binds, and what it requires. A vague claim fails.
5. Reasonableness. The court asks whether the rule is reasonable in its setting. An arbitrary or oppressive rule fails.
6. Public policy and morality. A rule that is immoral or against public policy is void, however old it is.
7. Consistency with statute. A custom cannot override an Act. Section 4 of the Hindu Marriage Act and of the Hindu Succession Act gives those Acts overriding effect. Custom survives only where they save it.
8. A family custom must not have been abandoned. A custom confined to one family ends if the family stops following it.
How a custom is pleaded and proved
The person who relies on a custom must plead it in his pleadings and prove it by evidence. The usual evidence is:
- witnesses from the community who speak to the rule;
- instances where the rule was followed, especially in disputes;
- old records, such as village records, customary codes and digests; and
- earlier judicial decisions recognising the custom.
Ujagar Singh v. Mst. Jeo, AIR 1959 SC 1041, explains when proof is not needed. A collateral relied on a general Punjab custom, recorded in Rattigan's Digest, excluding sisters from inheritance. The Supreme Court held that every custom must ordinarily be proved. Only where the courts have recognised a custom again and again can they take judicial notice of it. Rattigan's statement had been contradicted by many decisions, so it had to be proved. It was not, and the sister succeeded under Hindu law.
Strict proof and strict construction
A custom departs from the ordinary law, so the courts treat it with caution.
Ramalakshmi Ammal v. Sivanantha Perumal Sethurayar, (1872) 14 MIA 570. A special family custom of succession to a zamindari was set up. The Privy Council held that such usages must be ancient and invariable, and proved by clear and unambiguous evidence. The custom failed for want of such proof.
Surajmani Stella Kujur v. Durga Charan Hansdah, AIR 2001 SC 938. A tribal wife prosecuted her husband for bigamy, relying on a tribal custom of monogamy. The Hindu Marriage Act did not apply to the tribe. The Supreme Court held that a custom must be pleaded and proved to be ancient, certain and reasonable. "Custom being in derogation of the general rule is required to be construed strictly." She had not proved a custom making the second marriage void, so the prosecution failed.
A worked example
A community in Karnataka claims a custom allowing a man to marry his elder sister's daughter. Such a marriage is within the prohibited degrees under section 3(g) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
- Is custom relevant? Yes. Section 5(iv) allows the marriage if the custom governing each party permits it.
- What must be shown? That the community has followed the practice for a long time, continuously and uniformly, and regards it as binding.
- Is it reasonable and lawful? The court will consider whether it offends public policy. Such marriages are well known in parts of south India and are not treated as immoral.
- Who proves it? The party relying on the custom, by witnesses, instances and records.
If proved, the marriage is valid. If not, it is void under section 11.
Conclusion. Custom is a rule that a community has followed continuously and uniformly for a long time, so that it has obtained the force of law. To be valid it must be of long usage, continuous, uniform, certain, reasonable, lawful and consistent with statute. A family custom must also not have been abandoned. The person relying on it must plead and strictly prove it, unless repeated judicial recognition allows judicial notice, as Ujagar Singh explains. Because it departs from the general law, it is construed strictly, as Surajmani Stella Kujur holds.
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