AP Civil Judge Exam cheat sheet

Order II Rule 2 CPC: every suit must include the whole of the claim arising from the same cause of action; omission bars a later suit for the omitted portion, but permits it with leave of court.

Section 9 CPC: civil courts try all civil suits unless barred expressly or by necessary implication; suits of a civil nature involving no right to office or religious rites are triable.

Res judicata (Section 11 CPC) requires a former suit decided by a competent court, same parties or privies, same matter directly and substantially in issue, and final decision.

Order VII Rule 11: plaint rejected for no cause of action, undervaluation of relief, insufficient court fee, or bar by law; rejection is a decree appealable under Section 96.

Limitation: Article 113 residuary period is three years from when the right to sue accrues; Article 54 for specific performance is three years from the date fixed for performance.

Section 34 CPC: interest pendente lite and future interest are discretionary; interest prior to suit is granted only if covered by agreement or notice under Section 80.

Order XXXIX Rules 1-2: temporary injunction requires prima facie case, irreparable injury, and balance of convenience; Rule 3 requires reasons in writing for ex parte grant.

Section 151 CPC preserves inherent power to make orders necessary for the ends of justice, but cannot override express statutory provisions.

Section 300 IPC (murder) exceptions: grave and sudden provocation, exceeding right of private defence, public servant exceeding lawful powers, sudden fight without premeditation, and consent of a person above 18.

Section 302 IPC punishment is death or life imprisonment plus fine; Section 304 Part I (intention, no premeditation) carries life or up to 10 years; Part II (knowledge) up to 10 years.

Section 154 CrPC: information relating to a cognizable offence is recorded in writing, read over to the informant, and signed; a refusal to register is remediable under Section 156(3) before the Magistrate.

Section 161 CrPC statements to police are not signed and are inadmissible as evidence; they may be used under Section 145 of the Evidence Act to contradict a witness.

Section 167 CrPC: detention without charge sheet beyond 24 hours requires Magistrate's authorisation; default bail accrues if investigation is not completed in 60 or 90 days as applicable.

Section 437 CrPC governs bail in non-bailable offences by a Magistrate; Section 439 empowers the High Court and Sessions Court to grant bail or set aside conditions.

Section 125 CrPC provides maintenance to wife, children, and parents unable to maintain themselves, regardless of religion; the remedy is summary and not final adjudication of civil rights.

Section 482 CrPC preserves the High Court's inherent power to quash proceedings to prevent abuse of process or to secure the ends of justice.

Section 3 of the Evidence Act defines 'proved' as when the court believes the fact to exist, 'disproved' when it believes it does not exist, and 'not proved' when it is neither.

Section 25: no confession made to a police officer shall be proved against the accused; Section 26 excludes confessions in police custody unless made in the immediate presence of a Magistrate.

Section 27 permits so much of the information received from an accused in custody as relates distinctly to the discovery of a fact, and that fact only, to be proved.

Section 32(1) dying declaration is admissible when the statement relates to the cause of death or circumstances of the transaction resulting in death, whatever the proceeding.

Section 45 permits expert opinion where the court must form an opinion on foreign law, science, art, identity of handwriting, or finger impressions; the expert is not a conclusive witness.

Section 65 allows secondary evidence of a document only on proof of specified grounds, such as the original being in the possession of an opponent after notice, or being lost or destroyed.

Section 114 permits presumptions of existence of probable facts from the ordinary course of nature, business, and human conduct; Illustrations include the presumption that a person in possession of stolen goods shortly after theft knew they were stolen.

Section 141 defines a leading question as one suggesting the answer; Section 142 permits leading questions in cross-examination and, with leave, in examination-in-chief on matters not disputed.

Article 13 makes laws inconsistent with Part III void; 'law' includes ordinances, orders, bye-laws, rules, regulations, notifications, and custom or usage having the force of law.

Article 14 forbids denial of equality before the law and equal protection of the laws; reasonable classification is permitted if based on intelligible differentia with a rational nexus to the object.

Article 21 protects life and personal liberty; the Supreme Court in Maneka Gandhi read in a procedure that must be fair, just, and reasonable, and later decisions added privacy, dignity, and a clean environment.

Article 32 and Article 226: Article 32 lies only for Part III violations before the Supreme Court, while Article 226 lies before a High Court for Part III and other legal rights; Article 32 is itself a fundamental right.

Article 356 permits President's Rule on failure of constitutional machinery in a State; the Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai held the proclamation is subject to judicial review and the floor test is the proper test.

Article 368: constitutional amendment requires a special majority in each House; amendments affecting federal features, representation of States, or the Supreme Court require ratification by half the State Legislatures.

Basic structure doctrine (Kesavananda Bharati) limits the amending power; Parliament cannot destroy features such as supremacy of the Constitution, secularism, separation of powers, or judicial review.

Article 44 directs the State to secure a uniform civil code; Article 44 is a Directive Principle, is non-justiciable, and cannot override fundamental rights.

Austin's command theory: law is a command of the sovereign backed by sanction; Hart criticised it for failing to account for power-conferring rules and the rule of recognition.

Kelsen's pure theory treats law as a hierarchy of norms validated by a grundnorm; every norm derives validity from a higher norm, not from morality or fact.

Salmond defines law as the body of principles recognised and applied by the State in the administration of justice; he distinguishes law from morality and from custom.

Natural law theories (Aquinas, Fuller) link law to morality; Fuller's eight desiderata include generality, promulgation, prospectivity, clarity, non-contradiction, and constancy.

Literal rule: words are given their ordinary, natural meaning even if the result appears harsh; the court cannot add words unless the statute is ambiguous.

Golden rule: the literal meaning is adopted unless it produces absurdity or repugnancy, in which case the court modifies the meaning to avoid the absurdity.

Mischief rule (Heydon's Case): consider the common law before the Act, the defect or mischief, the remedy Parliament provided, and the true reason of the remedy.

Purposive interpretation and the rule in Heydon's Case are applied by Indian courts along with Article 39 and Article 141; marginal notes and headings may be used as aids but cannot override clear text.

Section 2(h) defines a contract as an agreement enforceable by law; Section 10 requires free consent, capacity, lawful consideration, lawful object, and no express bar.

Section 2(d) defines consideration as an act or abstinence at the desire of the promisor; consideration may move from a third party, but it must be real and lawful.

Section 11: a person is competent to contract if of the age of majority, of sound mind, and not disqualified by law; a minor's agreement is void ab initio under Mohori Bibee.

Section 14 defines free consent as consent not caused by coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, or mistake; Section 15 defines coercion as committing or threatening an act forbidden by the Penal Code.

Section 23 makes agreements void if consideration or object is unlawful, immoral, or opposed to public policy; agreements in restraint of marriage, trade, or legal proceedings are void under Sections 26-28.

Section 56: an agreement becomes void when performance becomes impossible by an event the promisor could not prevent; the doctrine of frustration is codified here and is narrower than English law.

Section 73: damages for breach are compensation for loss naturally arising or likely to have been in contemplation; remote and indirect losses are not recoverable.

Section 74: where a sum is named as penalty or liquidated damages, the court awards reasonable compensation not exceeding the sum named, regardless of actual loss.

Section 4 of the Negotiable Instruments Act defines a promissory note as an unconditional undertaking to pay a certain sum to a specified person or bearer; a note with a contingency is not a promissory note.

Section 138 NI Act: dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds is an offence if demand notice is given within 30 days of dishonour and payment is not made within 15 days of receipt.

Section 118 NI Act presumes consideration and the date of a negotiable instrument; the burden of proving absence of consideration lies on the party alleging it.

Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 defines a company as a body corporate registered under the Act; limited liability, perpetual succession, and separate legal personality follow from Salomon v Salomon.

Section 2(87) of the Companies Act defines a subsidiary by control of the composition of the board or exercise of more than half the total voting power; Section 2(46) defines a holding company.

Sale of Goods Act Section 4: a contract of sale transfers or agrees to transfer property in goods for a price; Section 2(7) defines goods as every kind of movable property other than actionable claims and money.

Indian Partnership Act Section 4: partnership is the relation between persons who have agreed to share profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all; Section 25 makes liability joint and several.

Arbitration and Conciliation Act Section 7 requires an arbitration agreement in writing; Section 11 provides for appointment of arbitrators, and the Supreme Court or High Court or an institution designated by it makes the appointment.

Negligence requires a duty of care owed by the defendant, breach of that duty, causation, and resulting damage; the standard is that of a reasonable person and foreseeability of harm.

Rylands v Fletcher imposes strict liability for escape of a dangerous thing brought onto land in the course of a non-natural use; the rule of absolute liability in M.C. Mehta applies to hazardous industries without exceptions.

Vicarious liability: a master is liable for a servant's torts committed in the course of employment, but not for acts outside the scope of employment or acts of an independent contractor.

Defamation requires a defamatory statement, publication to a third party, and reference to the plaintiff; defences include truth, fair comment, and privilege.

Nuisance is unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land; private nuisance is actionable by the affected occupier, while public nuisance affects a class and is generally actionable by the State.

Consumer Protection Act 2019 defines a consumer as one who buys goods or hires services for consideration, including online transactions; Section 2(11) includes any person who avails services under a contract of service.

Section 2(47) of the 2019 Act defines unfair trade practice to include false representation about quality, quantity, or standard of goods and services; misleading advertisements are expressly covered.

Consumer commissions: District Commission has jurisdiction up to ₹50 lakh, State Commission above ₹50 lakh up to ₹2 crore, and National Commission above ₹2 crore, as under the 2019 Act.

Hindu Marriage Act Section 5: a valid Hindu marriage requires neither party to have a living spouse, neither to be of unsound mind, neither below the prescribed age, and parties not within prohibited degrees unless custom permits.

Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act lists fault grounds for divorce, including adultery, cruelty, desertion for two years, conversion, and mental disorder; Section 13B provides mutual consent divorce.

Section 125 CrPC and Section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act provide maintenance; a wife may claim maintenance under either, but cannot recover the same amount twice.

Muslim personal law: talaq must be pronounced in accordance with the law; the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 criminalises instant triple talaq and provides for maintenance and custody.

Special Marriage Act Section 4 permits marriage between any two persons regardless of religion, subject to conditions of age and consent; notice under Section 5 and registration under Section 6 apply.

Hindu Succession Act Section 6, as amended in 2005, gives a daughter equal coparcenary rights by birth in joint family property, including rights to seek partition.

Guardians and Wards Act Section 7: the court appoints a guardian considering the welfare of the minor; the welfare principle overrides the personal law preference of the father.

Section 13 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act makes the father the natural guardian of a legitimate child, but the welfare of the child is paramount and the mother may act in the father's absence.

Industrial Disputes Act Section 2(k) defines an industrial dispute as a dispute between employers and workmen, or between workmen, connected with employment or non-employment or terms of employment.

Section 2(s) defines a workman; supervisory employees drawing wages above the statutory ceiling are excluded, and the burden of proving exclusion lies on the employer.

Section 25F requires one month's notice or wages in lieu, and retrenchment compensation of 15 days' average pay for each completed year of service, before retrenchment.

Section 25N requires prior permission of the appropriate Government for lay-off or retrenchment in industrial establishments employing 100 or more workmen, as amended.

Section 2A makes dismissal, discharge, or termination of an individual workman an industrial dispute; the workman may raise it directly after the statutory period.

Factories Act Section 2(m) defines a factory as premises where a manufacturing process is carried on with 10 or more workers with power, or 20 or more without power.

Employees' Compensation Act (now the Employees' Compensation Act 1923) provides compensation for injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment; the amount depends on the extent of disablement.

Code on Wages 2019 consolidates minimum wages, payment of wages, and bonus; the definition of 'wages' excludes bonus and house rent allowance, subject to the 50% ceiling.

Article 48A directs the State to protect and improve the environment; Article 51A(g) makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to protect the natural environment.

The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 is an umbrella statute; Section 3 empowers the Central Government to take measures to protect and improve the environment, and Section 5 allows directions to any person or authority.

The Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981 establish Pollution Control Boards; consent under Section 25 of the Water Act and Section 21 of the Air Act is mandatory before establishing or operating an industry.

The National Green Tribunal Act 2010 gives the NGT jurisdiction over environmental matters listed in Schedule I; Section 15 provides relief and compensation, and appeals lie to the Supreme Court under Section 22.

Public trust doctrine (M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath) holds that the State holds natural resources in trust for the public and cannot transfer them to private parties for private use.

Polluter pays principle and precautionary principle are part of Indian environmental jurisprudence, applied in Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v Union of India.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 protects scheduled animals and establishes sanctuaries and national parks; Section 9 prohibits hunting of specified animals, and Section 27 restricts entry into sanctuaries.

The Biological Diversity Act 2002 regulates access to biological resources; Section 3 requires prior approval of the National Biodiversity Authority for access by foreign entities.

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950; it originally contained 395 Articles, 22 Parts, and 8 Schedules.

The Supreme Court of India was established on 28 January 1950; its sanctioned judge strength is 34 including the Chief Justice, under Article 124.

The first woman judge of the Supreme Court was Justice Fathima Beevi, appointed in 1989; the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court was Justice Leila Seth.

Percentages: a 20% increase followed by a 20% decrease results in a net 4% decrease; successive percentage changes multiply as (1+a)(1+b)-1.

Simple interest = P × R × T / 100; compound interest = P[(1+R/100)^T - 1], where compounding is annual unless stated otherwise.

Ratio and proportion: if a:b = c:d, then ad = bc; in a mixture problem, the ratio of components is preserved when the same amount is added to both.

Time and work: if A completes work in x days and B in y days, together they complete it in xy/(x+y) days; the reciprocal of days gives the one-day work rate.

Reasoning: in a series with alternating additions and multiplications, identify the pattern by checking differences first, then ratios; syllogisms follow from the premises only, not from real-world knowledge.

For a legal-reasoning fact pattern, identify the governing provision first, then apply the elements to the facts; state the conclusion with the element that fails or is satisfied.

When a question asks for the 'most appropriate' remedy, prefer the remedy expressly provided by the statute over a general or equitable remedy.

In principle-based questions, the principle overrides personal notions of justice; apply the principle as stated even if the outcome seems harsh.

For constitutional challenges, test the law against the specific Article invoked; Article 14 requires classification, Article 19 requires reasonable restriction grounds, and Article 21 requires fair procedure.

In contract questions, check offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, free consent, and legality in that order; the first failed element determines the outcome.

In criminal questions, distinguish intention (Section 300) from knowledge (Section 304 Part II); the presence of premeditation or a deadly weapon shifts the finding toward murder.

In evidence questions, ask whether the statement is an admission, a confession, or a dying declaration; Section 25 bars confessions to police, while Section 32(1) admits dying declarations.

For limitation and jurisdiction questions, compute the period from the accrual of the cause of action and confirm the forum's pecuniary and territorial limits before deciding maintainability.