Mumbai University | Legal Language PYQ | August (2023)

---

Subject Code: 75712
Maximum Marks: 75
Time Allowed: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

---

Note: Answers must be written in English only. All questions are compulsory.

🔹 Question 1 – Do As Directed (Answer any Six) (12 Marks – Two sentences each)

i) They are decorating the Auditorium (Change into Passive Voice).
ii) Reading and drawing notes is better than any other learning activity (Change into Superlative Degree).
iii) Banti said, “He may join for law degree education.” (Change into Indirect Speech).
iv) How exciting law syllabus is! (Change into Assertive Sentence).
v) He was so ill that he could not appear for examination (Change into Simple Sentence).
vi) What is the difference between ‘Appeal’ and ‘Review’?

🔹 Question 2 – Short Notes (Answer any Two) (12 Marks)

i) Nemo est haeres viventis
ii) Ignorantia facti excusat, ignorantia juris non excusat
iii) Describe the case on “Whether contract without lawful consideration is void.”
iv) Temporary Injunction and Permanent Injunction

🔹 Question 3 – Statutory Extracts & Identification (Answer any Two) (12 Marks)

I) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

(Act No. 53 of 1961)
[12th December, 1961]

An Act to regulate the employment of women in certain establishments for certain periods before and after child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits, Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.

Identify the following:

• Short Title
• Long Title
• Enacting Formula
• Date of Assent

II) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

(Act No. 34 of 1971)
[10th August, 1971]

An Act to provide for termination of certain pregnancies by registered medical practitioners and for matters connected or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by the Parliament in the Twenty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Identify the following:

• Short Title
• Long Title
• Official Citation
• Date of Assent

III) The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

(No. 10 of 1994)
[8th January, 1994]

An Act to provide for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commissions in States and Human Rights Courts for better protection of Human Rights and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
Provided that it shall apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir only in so far as it pertains to the matters relatable to any of the entries enumerated in List I or List III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution as applicable to that State.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 28th day of September, 1993.

Identify the following:

• Marginal Note in the extract
• Long Title of the Act
• Why is this Act deemed to have come into force in September 1993, when the date of assent is January 1994?

IV) Indira Sawhney v. Union of India (Mandal Commission Case)

The question before the Hon’ble Supreme Court was the interpretation of the expression “backward class of citizens”. The Court relied upon the speech of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to give meaning to the expression.

Answer the following:

• Explain the role played by the speech of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in the above case.
• State the nature of speeches and debates as aids to interpretation.

🔹 Question 4 – Descriptive Questions (Answer any Three) (39 Marks)

i) “Judiciary is propagated in the legal system.” Discuss.

ii) Write an essay on the utility of the Uniform Civil Code in India

iii) Discuss at length the facts, issues, arguments and guidelines laid down in:

• D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (AIR 1997 SC 610)
• Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan (AIR 1997 SC 3011)

iv) Discuss the importance of internal aids to the interpretation of a statute.

v) Discuss external aids to the interpretation of a statute, namely:

• Dictionaries
• Translations
• Statutes in pari materia

---

✨ Why This PYQ Matters

This paper blends legal linguistics (voice, speech, sentence transformation) with jurisprudential analysis (case law, statutory extracts, Latin maxims). It’s a crucial resource for law students preparing for exams in Legal Language & Interpretation, ensuring practice in both language precision and legal reasoning.

---

#LegalLanguage #LawExams #PYQ2023 #PreviousYearQuestions #LegalEducation #LawStudents #JudicialInterpretation #StatutoryInterpretation #LatinMaxims #CaseLawStudy #MaternityBenefitAct #MedicalTerminationOfPregnancyAct #HumanRightsAct #IndiraSawhneyCase #VishakhaCase