KSLU Solved Question Papers
Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 6
2021 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act) 2021 Mar 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 2021 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar 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) One essay type question and short note/problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or in 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)Explain various schools and sub-schools of Muslim law.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what a school (madhab) is and why schools arose; the Sunni-Shia division; the four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali) with founders and features; the Shia schools and sub-schools (Ithna Ashari with Akhbari and Usuli, Ismaili with Bohras and Khojas, Zaidi); the main legal differences on this paper; how an Indian court decides which school governs (presumption of Sunni and Hanafi law; conversion between schools); Siddiq Ahmad, Syid Murtaza Husain and Chand Patel explained; a conclusion.
What a school is
A school (madhab) is a tradition of interpreting the sources of Muslim law. It is not a separate religion or a separate source of law. Schools arose because the jurists read the same Quran and Sunna in different ways. They weighed traditions differently, reasoned by analogy differently, and paid different attention to local practice.
The first great division is between Sunnis and Shias. It began with a dispute over who should lead the community after the Prophet. The Sunnis accepted the elected caliphs. The Shias held that leadership belonged to Ali and his descendants, the Imams.
The Sunni schools
- Hanafi. Founded by Abu Hanifa (died 767) at Kufa. It used reasoning freely, including analogy (qiyas) and juristic preference (istihsan). His disciples Abu Yusuf and Muhammad developed it. Most Sunni Muslims in India follow this school, and its leading texts are the Hedaya and the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri.
- Maliki. Founded by Malik ibn Anas (died 795) at Medina. It gave great weight to the practice of the people of Medina and to public interest. It was generous in allowing a wife judicial divorce.
- Shafii. Founded by al-Shafii (died 820). He systematised the four sources and restricted juristic preference. The school is found in parts of South India, including the Malabar coast.
- Hanbali. Founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (died 855). It kept closest to the texts and the traditions and allowed little reasoning.
The Shia schools and sub-schools
- Ithna Ashari (the Twelvers). The largest Shia school in India. They follow twelve Imams. They divide into the Akhbari, who rely mainly on the traditions, and the Usuli, who allow reasoning by qualified jurists.
- Ismaili. They follow a line of Imams through Ismail. In India the main groups are the Khojas, who follow the Aga Khan, and the Bohras.
- Zaidi. The followers of Zaid. Their law is closest to the Sunni schools. They are few in India.
The main differences on this subject
| Point | Hanafi | Shia (Ithna Ashari) |
|---|---|---|
| Witnesses to marriage | required | not required |
| Irregular (fasid) marriage | recognised | not recognised |
| Temporary marriage (muta) | not valid | valid |
| Triple talaq at one sitting | operated as three (now void by statute) | not recognised |
| Qiyas as a source | accepted | replaced by reason (aql) |
| Point | Hanafi | Shia (Ithna Ashari) |
|---|---|---|
| Bequest to an heir within one-third | needs the other heirs' consent | valid without consent |
| Pre-emption | co-sharer, participator, neighbour | co-sharer only |
How a court decides the school
- Presumption. Most Indian Muslims are Sunnis, and most Sunnis are Hanafis. A court presumes a party to be a Hanafi Sunni unless he proves otherwise.
- Proof of another school. A party who claims to be Shia or Shafii must plead and prove it as a fact, usually from family practice.
- Change of school. A Muslim may change from one school to another. The change governs his rights from then on.
- Statutes override. The Acts of 1937, 1939, 1986 and 2019 apply to Muslims of every school.
The leading cases
Siddiq Ahmad v. Shaukat Ali (Allahabad High Court, 13 September 2022). In an inheritance dispute the High Court worked out the shares under Hanafi law. It recorded the settled rule that a Muslim party is presumed to be a Sunni. A Sunni is in turn presumed to be a Hanafi, unless the contrary is shown. The case shows how the school is decided in practice.
Syid Murtaza Husain v. Musammat Alhan Bibi (1909) 2 Ind Cas 671 (All). A Shia widow with a daughter claimed her share in her husband's land. The defence relied on the Shia rule excluding a childless widow from land. The court followed the Sharaia, treated as the chief authority of Shia law. It held that a widow with a child takes her share in both movable and immovable property. The case shows a Shia rule differing from the Hanafi one.
Chand Patel v. Bismillah Begum, AIR 2008 SC 1915. A man married his wife's sister while his first marriage subsisted. The Supreme Court held that under Hanafi law such a marriage is irregular, not void, and the wife was entitled to maintenance. Under Shia law, which has no irregular category, the answer would differ. The case shows why the school matters.
Conclusion. Muslim law is divided into Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali) and Shia schools (Ithna Ashari with its Akhbari and Usuli branches, Ismaili and Zaidi). They differ on marriage, divorce, wills and pre-emption. Indian courts presume Hanafi law, as Siddiq Ahmad records. Syid Murtaza Husain and Chand Patel show that the school can change the result.
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