Delhi Judicial Service (DJS) flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Res judicata

Section 11 CPC bars a later suit on a matter directly and substantially in issue in a former suit decided by a competent court between the same parties or their privies.

Order VII Rule 11

Grounds for rejection of a plaint: no cause of action, relief undervalued, insufficient court fee, suit barred by law, or plaint not filed in duplicate as required.

Condonation of delay

Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 permits a court to admit an appeal or application after the prescribed period if sufficient cause for delay is shown.

Temporary injunction

Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC: a court may restrain a party where a prima facie case, irreparable injury, and balance of convenience favour interim protection.

Section 9 CPC

Civil courts have jurisdiction over all suits of a civil nature unless expressly or impliedly barred; suits concerning purely religious rites are excluded.

Written statement

Order VIII CPC pleading by the defendant responding to the plaint; it must be filed within thirty days, extendable to ninety days on sufficient cause.

Culpable homicide

Section 299 IPC: causing death by an act with intention to cause death, or with knowledge that the act is likely to cause death.

Murder

Section 300 IPC: culpable homicide falling within any of the four clauses, such as intention to cause death or knowledge of imminently dangerous act, unless covered by an exception.

Grave and sudden provocation

Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC: provocation must be grave and sudden, must not be sought by the accused, and must deprive him of self-control.

Theft

Section 378 IPC: dishonest taking of movable property out of another's possession without that person's consent, with intention to take it dishonestly.

Cheating

Section 415 IPC: deceiving a person to deliver property or consent to retention of property, where the deception causes damage or harm.

Dowry death

Section 304B IPC: death of a woman within seven years of marriage from burns, bodily injury, or unnatural circumstances, preceded by dowry-related cruelty or harassment.

Zero FIR

An FIR registered at any police station regardless of territorial jurisdiction, later transferred to the competent station; retained under the BNSS, 2023.

Section 161 CrPC

Police examination of witnesses during investigation; statements are recorded in writing, not signed, and cannot be used as substantive evidence except as permitted by Section 162.

Anticipatory bail

Section 438 CrPC: direction that a person apprehending arrest in a non-bailable offence be released on bail if arrested, granted by a Sessions Court or High Court.

Subject-verb agreement

A verb must agree with its subject in number and person; intervening phrases do not change the subject, as in 'the list of items is long'.

Dangling modifier

A participle or modifier whose intended subject is missing or different from the sentence's grammatical subject, producing ambiguity or unintended meaning.

Active voice

A construction where the grammatical subject performs the action, such as 'the court dismissed the appeal', preferred for clarity in legal drafting.

Who versus whom

'Who' is used as a subject pronoun and 'whom' as an object pronoun; 'whose' is possessive and modifies a noun indicating ownership.

Parallel structure

Items in a list or series joined by conjunctions must share the same grammatical form, such as all infinitives or all nouns.

Comprise versus compose

'Comprise' means to include and takes a direct object; 'compose' means to make up and is used with 'of', as in 'composed of'.

Article 32

Constitutional remedy empowering the Supreme Court to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and quo warranto for enforcement of fundamental rights.

Article 226

Empowers High Courts to issue writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other legal right, wider in scope than Article 32.

Drafting Committee

Committee of the Constituent Assembly chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar that prepared the draft Constitution, adopted on 26 November 1949.

Delhi High Court

Established on 31 October 1966 under the Delhi High Court Act, 1966; it conducts the Delhi Judicial Service Examination through its committee.

Part IVA

Inserted by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, Article 51A lists eleven Fundamental Duties of citizens, including respect for the Constitution and national symbols.

Article 39A

Directive Principle requiring the State to secure equal justice and free legal aid, implemented through the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Criminal statute enacted in 2023 replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, effective from 1 July 2024, with renumbered offences and new provisions.

BNSS, 2023

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, from 1 July 2024, adding electronic evidence and trial timeline provisions.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

Evidence statute of 2023 replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, effective 1 July 2024, with expanded recognition of electronic and digital records.

Mediation Act, 2023

Provides for pre-litigation and voluntary mediation, establishes the Mediation Council of India, and gives mediated settlement agreements enforceability as court decrees.

DPDP Act, 2023

Digital Personal Data Protection Act governs processing of digital personal data, creates a Data Protection Board, and imposes consent and purpose-limitation obligations.

National Judicial Data Grid

Online platform of the e-Courts project publishing aggregate data on pending and disposed cases in district and High Courts across India.