KSLU Solved Question Papers
Property Law
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 6
2024 Aug Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Property Law 2024 Aug Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2024 Aug examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2024 Aug examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2024 Aug 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 a short note/problem is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written completely either in English or in Kannada.
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)Define vested interest and contingent interests. Distinguish between them.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the definition of vested interest in section 19, its three cases and the Explanation; the rule that a vested interest survives the transferee's death; the definition of contingent interest in section 21 and its two forms; the Exception for income given before a stated age; section 20 on the unborn person; illustrations of each; the test of intention from Rajes Kanta Roy v. Santi Debi; Rukhamanbai v. Shivram; a full table of differences.
Why the distinction matters
A transfer may give an interest that the transferee is to enjoy only later. The law must then decide whether he already owns the interest, with enjoyment postponed. The alternative is that he will own it only if some uncertain event happens. The first is a vested interest; the second is a contingent interest. The answer decides whether the interest passes on his death to his heirs. It also decides how it may be transferred and whether the rule against perpetuity applies.
Vested interest: section 19
Section 19 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882 provides that an interest is vested where it is created in favour of a person:
- "without specifying the time when it is to take effect"; or
- "in terms specifying that it is to take effect forthwith"; or
- to take effect "on the happening of an event which must happen".
This holds "unless a contrary intention appears from the terms of the transfer". The third case covers events that are certain though their date is not, such as the death of a living person. A transfer to Ravi for life and then to Sunil gives Sunil a vested interest at once. Ravi's death is certain, though its time is not.
The second paragraph adds: "A vested interest is not defeated by the death of the transferee before he obtains possession." If Sunil dies before Ravi, the interest passes to Sunil's heirs. They take possession when Ravi dies.
The Explanation to section 19
An intention that an interest shall not vest is not to be inferred merely from any of these provisions:
- a provision postponing enjoyment;
- a provision giving or reserving a prior interest in the same property to another person;
- a direction to accumulate income until the time of enjoyment;
- a provision that if a particular event happens the interest shall pass to another person.
So a vested interest may be subject to a gift over on some event. It is vested subject to being divested.
Contingent interest: section 21
Section 21 provides that where an interest is created "to take effect only on the happening of a specified uncertain event, or if a specified uncertain event shall not happen", the transferee "acquires a contingent interest". It becomes vested "in the former case, on the happening of the event, in the latter, when the happening of the event becomes impossible".
- On the happening of an uncertain event. Property is transferred to Meena if she becomes a doctor. Her interest is contingent until she qualifies.
- On an uncertain event not happening. Property is transferred to Meena if she does not leave India. Her interest vests only when leaving becomes impossible, which is on her death.
The Exception to section 21
An interest given upon attaining a particular age is ordinarily contingent. The Exception provides that it is "not contingent" where the transferor also gives the person absolutely the income before he reaches that age. The same applies where he directs the income, or so much as is needed, to be applied for his benefit. A gift of a house to Arun "when he attains twenty-one", with the rents meanwhile paid to him, is therefore vested at once.
The unborn person: section 20
Under section 20, a person not living at the date of the transfer acquires on his birth a vested interest, unless a contrary intention appears. This is so even if he is not entitled to immediate enjoyment.
The test: intention from the whole document
Rajes Kanta Roy v. Santi Debi, AIR 1957 SC 255, decided on 19 November 1956, laid down the approach. Ramani Kanta Roy's trust deed of 1945 applied the income of his estate to his debts and the family's maintenance. His eldest son Rajes was a trustee. The widow of another son held a decree for maintenance of Rs 475 a month and sought to attach Rajes's interest. Rajes said his interest was contingent and could not be attached.
The Supreme Court held that his interest was vested. The settlor had postponed only enjoyment, not vesting. The test is the intention gathered from the whole deed, with a leaning towards vesting unless a contrary intention is clear. The interest was "vested in title but restricted in enjoyment so long as the settlor is alive and the debts are not discharged". It could therefore be attached.
Rukhamanbai v. Shivram, (1981) 4 SCC 262, decided on 3 September 1981, shows the other side. A settlement of 1930 gave the appellant a life interest in agricultural land and the land to her children on her death. When tenants applied to buy the land under the Bombay Tenancy Act 1948, she argued that her children already held a vested interest. The Supreme Court held that her own life interest was vested. But "the interest of future born children would be contingent till the death of the appellant".
The differences
| Point | Vested interest | Contingent interest |
|---|---|---|
| Section | 19 | 21 |
| Depends on | Nothing uncertain; at most a certain event | A specified uncertain event happening or not happening |
| Right | A present right, enjoyment may be postponed | Only a right that may become a present right |
| Death of transferee | Not defeated; passes to his heirs (section 19) | No such statutory protection; it depends on whether the condition requires his survival |
| Point | Vested interest | Contingent interest |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer | Can be transferred and attached | Can be transferred, but the transferee takes subject to the condition |
| Becomes absolute | Already complete in title | Only when the event happens or becomes impossible |
| Rule against perpetuity | Not affected | Must vest within the period of section 14 |
| Example | To Ravi for life, then to Sunil | To Meena if she becomes a doctor |
Both kinds of interest are real interests in property. A contingent interest must not be confused with spes successionis under section 6(a), which is no interest at all and cannot be transferred.
Conclusion. A vested interest under section 19 is a present right of ownership, though enjoyment may wait. It is not lost if the holder dies before possession. A contingent interest under section 21 depends on an uncertain event and becomes vested only when the event happens or becomes impossible. The Exception makes an age-related gift vested where the income is given meanwhile. As Rajes Kanta Roy holds, the question is decided by the transferor's intention from the whole deed, with a leaning towards vesting. Rukhamanbai shows the gift to children not yet born remaining contingent until the life tenant's death.
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