KSLU Solved Question Papers
Jurisprudence
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2015 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Jurisprudence 2015 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2015 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Jun 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.
Q1Define jurisprudence. Explain its nature and value.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: jurisprudence in brief (Austin, Salmond, Julius Stone); its nature examined point by point: is it a science; general and particular jurisprudence (Austin); Salmond's three branches (analytical, historical, ethical); a study of both what law is and what it ought to be; an interdisciplinary subject; a subject without fixed limits; theory that serves practice; its scope; its relevance today, each point shown by an Indian decision: positivism and morality (ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla, 1976), limits on law-making (Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, 1973), the theory of precedent (Union of India v. Raghubir Singh, 1989), legal personality (Yogendra Nath Naskar v. Commissioner of Income-tax, 1969), new questions of rights (Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja, 2014); its limits; a conclusion.
Jurisprudence in brief
Austin called jurisprudence the philosophy of positive law. Salmond called it the science of the first principles of the civil law. Julius Stone described it as the lawyer's extraversion: the lawyer looking at law from outside, in the light of other disciplines. Each description captures part of its nature, which is why the nature itself needs examining.
Its nature examined
1. Is it a science? Jurisprudence is a science in the sense of systematic and organised knowledge. It classifies legal ideas, finds the principles common to many rules, and explains how they fit together. But it is not an exact science like physics. Its conclusions cannot be tested in a laboratory, and jurists disagree on basic questions. It is better called a social science.
2. General and particular. Austin distinguished general jurisprudence, the study of principles common to mature legal systems, from particular jurisprudence, the study of one country's system. Most jurisprudence is general: ideas such as right, duty, possession and liability are found in every developed system.
3. Salmond's three branches.
- Analytical jurisprudence analyses the basic concepts of law as it now exists, such as rights, persons, ownership and liability.
- Historical jurisprudence studies how law and legal ideas have developed over time.
- Ethical jurisprudence asks what law ought to be, and judges existing law by standards of justice.
4. Both what law is and what it ought to be. The analytical school insists on studying law as it is. The natural law school insists on asking what it ought to be. Jurisprudence includes both inquiries, and the tension between them is one of its central themes.
5. Interdisciplinary. Jurisprudence draws on philosophy, history, sociology, economics, psychology and political theory. The sociological school and the realists brought this out most clearly.
6. Without fixed limits. Unlike contract or criminal law, jurisprudence has no settled list of topics. Its content changes as new questions arise, such as the legal status of animals, artificial intelligence or the environment.
7. Theory that serves practice. Jurisprudence is abstract, but its purpose is practical. It equips lawyers and judges to handle questions that no statute answers directly.
The schools as views of its nature
Each school of jurisprudence answers the question of its nature differently.
- The analytical school (Austin, Hart, Kelsen) treats jurisprudence as the analysis of legal concepts and of the structure of a legal system, apart from morality.
- The historical school (Savigny, Maine) treats it as the study of how law grows out of the life and spirit of a people.
- The sociological school (Ihering, Ehrlich, Pound) treats it as the study of law in society, judged by its effects.
- The realist school (Holmes, Llewellyn, Frank) treats it as the study of what courts and officials actually do.
- The natural law school treats it as the study of the higher standards by which positive law must be judged.
No single school gives the whole picture. A modern student combines their insights, which is itself part of the nature of the subject.
Jurisprudence and other branches of law
The other subjects of the law course, such as contract, crime and property, study particular rules. Jurisprudence studies the ideas those rules have in common. Harold Laski called jurisprudence the eye of law, because it lets a lawyer see the system as a whole. A student who knows what a "right", a "person" or "possession" means can understand any branch of law more quickly.
Its scope
Jurisprudence usually covers the nature and functions of law and the schools of legal thought. It also covers the sources of law (legislation, precedent, custom) and the administration of justice. Finally, it covers the basic legal concepts: rights and duties, persons, possession, ownership, obligation and liability.
Its relevance today
1. Law and morality. In ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla, AIR 1976 SC 1207, the President had suspended the right to move courts for enforcing article 21 during the Emergency. The majority held that detenus could not challenge their detention. That was a strictly positivist reading: no right existed beyond the enacted text. Khanna J. dissented. He held that the sanctity of life and liberty did not depend on article 21. The State, he said, could not take them without the authority of law. The Forty-fourth Amendment later made article 21 non-suspendable, and in 2017 a nine-judge Bench overruled the majority. The case shows that a judge's jurisprudence can decide the most serious questions.
2. Limits on law-making. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, the Supreme Court held that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution so as to destroy its basic structure. The question whether any law-maker is unlimited, debated since Austin, was answered for India.
3. The theory of precedent. In Union of India v. Raghubir Singh, 1989 AIR 1933, two Benches of the Supreme Court had disagreed on enhanced solatium. A Constitution Bench explained why binding precedent gives certainty and consistency. It held that a Bench's ruling binds later Benches of equal or smaller strength. That is jurisprudence on precedent applied directly.
4. Legal personality. In Yogendra Nath Naskar v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Calcutta, 1969 AIR 1089, income from properties of two Hindu deities was assessed to tax. The Supreme Court held that a Hindu idol is a juristic entity that can hold property and be taxed through its shebaits. The theory of legal personality decided the case.
5. New questions of rights. In Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja, (2014) 7 SCC 547, the Court read five freedoms of animals into the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. It called article 51A(g) a magna carta of animal rights. That result was later changed after a Constitution Bench ruling of May 2023. But the case raised the jurisprudential question whether beings other than humans can have rights.
6. Legal education and law reform. Jurisprudence trains students to think clearly about legal concepts. It also helps legislators frame laws with precise rights and duties. A law commission deciding whether to recognise a new kind of property, such as data, must first ask what ownership and possession mean. Those are jurisprudential questions.
Its limits
Jurisprudence does not give ready answers to practical cases. Its schools disagree, and its language can be abstract. Critics say it is too far from daily practice. But the decisions above show that the hardest cases are often decided on jurisprudential grounds.
| Aspect of its nature | What it means | Relevance shown by |
|---|---|---|
| A social science | Systematic, but not exact | Classifying rights, persons, liability |
| General | Principles common to legal systems | Precedent theory, Raghubir Singh |
| Analytical | Analyses legal concepts | Personality, Yogendra Nath Naskar |
| Historical | Traces growth of legal ideas | Origins of custom and precedent |
| Aspect of its nature | What it means | Relevance shown by |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical | Asks what law ought to be | Khanna J. in ADM Jabalpur; Kesavananda |
| Interdisciplinary and open | Draws on many subjects; new questions | Animal rights, Nagaraja |
Conclusion. Jurisprudence is a social science of the first principles of law, general rather than particular. It is analytical, historical and ethical, studying both what law is and what it ought to be. It draws on many disciplines and has no fixed limits. Its relevance is shown in Indian law. ADM Jabalpur raised law and morality, and Kesavananda limited law-making. Raghubir Singh applied the theory of precedent, Yogendra Nath Naskar legal personality, and Nagaraja new questions of rights. It remains essential to legal education, judging and reform.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 5 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.