Mumbai University | Legal Language PYQ | April (2023)

Q1. Answer questions in one or two sentences: (Any Six) [Marks: 12]

1. The security Guard opens the door. (Change the voice)
2. Differentiate between Appeal and Review.
3. Explain the citation: Aruna Shanbaug. vs. Union of India AIR (2011) SC 1290
4. Explain Law Reports.
5. What is meant by retrospective effect of law?
6. He said, “I’m going out.” (Change into indirect speech)
7. Explain the term “Ex-parte”.
8. What is meant by Nemo est haeres viventis.

Q2. Write Short Notes on Any Two: [Marks: 12]

a) Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan – AIR 1997 SC 3011
b) Beneficial Construction
c) Describe the search of a case law on “whether contract by minor is void ab- initio”
d) Salus populi est suprema lex

Q3. Answer Any Two of the following: [Marks: 12]

1. A law was passed by the Central Government called the Prevention of growing Narcotic or Psychotropic plants Act 2023. The Act does not define the term Plant.

a) Explain what type of Aids can be used to ascertain the meaning of plant.
b) The Act is a Penal legislation. What rules of interpretation would generally be used to interpret statutes of such nature.

2. Section 11 of the Family Court Act 1984 read as under,

‘In every suit or proceeding to which this Act applies, the proceedings may be held in De Camera, if the family Court so desires and shall be so held if either party so desires”,

a) Identify the mandatory and directory portion of the above provision.
b) Explain the differences between mandatory and directory provisions.

3. Answer the following questions with respect to the legislative extract given below:

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 as Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.

Identify the following

i) Short title
ii) Long title
iii) Enacting formula
iii) Date of Accent

4. An Act was passed by the Parliament and it received Presidential assent. No provision was made in the said Act with respect to coming into operation.

a) When is such Act deemed to come into operation? b) Explain in brief presumption as to validity of statutes.

Q4. Answer Any Three in detail: [Marks: 39]

1. Discuss the different parts of a statute and their function in interpretation.
2. Explain with illustrations the Primary rules of Interpretation.
3. Briefly explain the objective and scheme of the General Clauses Act 1987. When can the provisions of this Act be used and cannot be used while interpreting Indian Statutes?
4. Write an essay on: “Education is a weapon that can change the world.”
5. Read the following passage and answer the following questions below:

Garbage cans are not magical portals. Trash does not disappear when you toss it in a can. If there are no magic garbage fairies, where does all that trash go? There are four methods to managing waste: recycling, landfilling, composting, and incinerating. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a quick look at each.

Recycling is the process of turning waste into new materials. For example, used paper can be turned into paperboard, which can be used to make book covers. Recycling can reduce pollution, save materials, and lower energy use. Yet, some argue that recycling wastes energy. They believe that collecting, processing, and converting waste uses more energy than it saves. Still, most people agree that recycling is better for the planet than landfilling.

Landfilling is the oldest method of managing waste. In its simplest form, landfilling is when people bury garbage in a hole. Over time the practice of landfilling has advanced. Garbage is compacted before it is thrown into the hole. In this way more garbage can fit in each landfill. Large liners are placed in the bottom of landfills so that toxic garbage juice doesn’t get into the ground water. Sadly, these liners don’t always work. Landfills may pollute the local water supply. Not to mention that all of that garbage stinks. Nobody wants to live next to a landfill. This makes it hard to find new locations for landfills. As landfill space increases, interest in composting grows.

Compositing is when people pile up organic matter, such as food waste, and allow it to decompose. The product of this decomposition is compost. Compost can be added to the soil to make the soil richer and better for growing crops. While composting is easy to do onsite somewhere, like home or school, it’s hard to do after the garbage gets all mixed up. This is because plastic and other inorganic materials must be removed from the compost pile or they will pollute the soil. One thing that is easier to do than composting, is burning garbage.

There are two main ways to incinerate waste. The first is to create or harvest a fuel from the waste, such as methane gas, and burn the fuel. The second is to burn the waste directly. The heat from the incineration process can boil water, which can power steam generators. Unfortunately, burning garbage pollutes the air. Also, some critics worry that incinerators destroy valuable resources that could be recycled. Usually, the community in which you live manages waste. Once you put your garbage in that can, what happens to it is beyond your control. But you can make choices while it is still in your possession. You can choose to recycle, you can choose to compost, or you can choose to let someone else deal with it. The choice is yours.

a) Why does the author state that “Garbage cans are not magical portals.”?
b) What is the drawback of disposing garbage through the landfilling method?
c) What are the criticisms present for disposing waste through incineration?
d) For inorganic waste which method of disposal would be preferred Composting or Recycling?
e) Explain the meaning of the terms ‘harvest’ and ‘compacted’.
f) Give an appropriate title to the Passage. In brief state what the author tries to explain to the readers with this essay.

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✨ 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.

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#LegalLanguage #LawExams #PYQ2023 #PreviousYearQuestions #JudicialInterpretation #StatutoryInterpretation #LatinMaxims #CaseLawStudy #MaternityBenefitAct #HumanRightsAct #IndiraSawhneyCase #EnvironmentProtection #GeneralClausesAct

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