CG Civil Judge Exam cheat sheet

Section 9 CPC: Civil courts have jurisdiction to try all civil suits unless expressly or impliedly barred; suits of a civil nature exclude those involving only caste/religious rites.

Order II Rule 2 CPC: A plaintiff must include the whole claim in one suit; relinquishing a portion bars a subsequent suit for the omitted part, and omitting a claim without leave bars it.

Order VI Rule 17 CPC: Amendment of pleadings may be allowed at any stage if it does not cause injustice; after trial begins, no amendment unless due diligence shown.

Section 11 CPC: Res judicata bars a subsequent suit on the same matter between the same parties where the prior court was competent and the matter was heard and finally decided.

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

Section 96 CPC: Appeal lies from every decree except consent decrees; Section 100 provides second appeal only on a substantial question of law.

Order XXI CPC: Execution of decrees; Section 47 CPC questions relating to execution are determined by the executing court, not by separate suit.

Section 34 CPC: Interest may be awarded on principal sum at reasonable rate from date of suit to date of decree, and future interest at 6% unless reduced.

Limitation Act, 1963: Suits for recovery of money run from three years from when the money became due; Article 113 residuary three years from right to sue accrues.

Section 300 IPC: Culpable homicide is murder if the act is done with intention to cause death, or knowledge that it is likely to cause death, absent exceptions.

Section 302 IPC prescribes death or imprisonment for life for murder; Section 304 punishes culpable homicide not amounting to murder with life or up to ten years.

Section 299 IPC: Culpable homicide requires an act causing death done with intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with knowledge.

Section 154 CrPC: Every information relating to a cognizable offence shall be reduced to writing, read over to the informant, and entered in a book; copy given free of cost.

Section 161 CrPC: Police may examine witnesses orally; Section 162 bars use of such statements except to contradict a witness under Section 145 of the Evidence Act.

Section 167 CrPC: Detention beyond 24 hours requires a special order; maximum 15 days police custody, then judicial custody up to 60 or 90 days depending on offence.

Section 437 CrPC: Bail in non-bailable offences; Section 439 gives High Court and Sessions Court power to grant bail, impose conditions, or cancel bail.

Section 125 CrPC: Maintenance for wife, children, and parents unable to maintain themselves; applies irrespective of religion.

Section 84 IPC: Act of a person of unsound mind is not an offence if the person is incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it is wrong or contrary to law.

Section 3 Indian Evidence Act: 'Proved' means the court believes it to exist; 'disproved' means it believes it does not exist; 'not proved' means neither proved nor disproved.

Section 101: Burden of proof lies on the person who asserts a fact; Section 102: burden shifts to the party who would fail if no evidence were given.

Section 45: Expert opinion is relevant when the court needs special knowledge on foreign law, science, art, or identity of handwriting or finger impressions.

Section 32: Statements of a dying person are relevant as to cause of death or circumstances of the transaction resulting in death.

Section 65: Secondary evidence of a document is admissible only when the original is shown to be in possession of the opposite party, lost, or not easily movable.

Section 114: The court may presume existence of facts likely to have happened in the ordinary course of nature; illustrations include presumption that a person in possession of stolen goods soon after theft is either thief or receiver.

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

Section 65B: Electronic records are admissible as evidence if accompanied by a certificate identifying the record and the device used to produce it.

Section 118: All persons are competent to testify unless the court considers they are prevented by tender years, extreme old age, disease, or mental incapacity from understanding the questions.

Article 12: 'State' includes Parliament, Government of India, State legislatures, State governments, and all local or other authorities within India or under Government control.

Article 13: Laws inconsistent with fundamental rights are void; 'law' includes ordinances, orders, bye-laws, rules, regulations, and custom having force of law.

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

Article 19(1): Six freedoms-speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession; reasonable restrictions under clauses (2) to (6).

Article 21: No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law; includes right to fair trial, privacy, and dignity.

Article 32: Right to constitutional remedies; Supreme Court may issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, and certiorari for enforcement of fundamental rights.

Article 226: High Courts may issue writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other purpose; wider than Article 32.

Article 368: Amendment procedure requires special majority in each House; basic structure doctrine (Kesavananda Bharati) limits amendments that destroy essential features.

Article 44: Directive Principle directing the State to endeavour to secure a uniform civil code throughout India.

Austin's command theory: Law is a command of the sovereign backed by sanction; sovereign is habitually obeyed and does not obey anyone.

Kelsen's pure theory: Law is a hierarchy of norms, each deriving validity from a higher norm, culminating in the Grundnorm (basic norm).

Hart's concept of law: Law is a union of primary rules (duties) and secondary rules (recognition, change, adjudication); rule of recognition validates laws.

Natural law: There are universal moral principles inherent in nature that law ought to reflect; unjust laws are not true laws (lex injusta non est lex).

Legal positivism: Law is what is posited by the sovereign or recognized by the rule of recognition, separate from morality.

Realism: Law is what courts actually do; legal rules are predictions of judicial behaviour; focus on the 'law in action' rather than 'law in books'.

Salmond: Law consists of principles recognized and applied by the State in the administration of justice; distinguishes law from morality and custom.

Legal rights: A right is an interest recognized and protected by law; correlative to duty; Hohfeld's analysis includes right, duty, privilege, no-right, power, liability, immunity, disability.

Sources of law: Custom, legislation, precedent, and personal law; custom must be ancient, reasonable, certain, continuous, and not opposed to public policy.

विधिक हिंदी में अनुवाद करते समय 'shall' के लिए 'करेगा' या 'करना होगा' का प्रयोग करें; 'may' के लिए 'कर सकेगा'।

अभिवचन (pleading) में वादकारण (cause of action) स्पष्ट रूप से लिखा जाना चाहिए; अस्पष्ट अभिवचन पर आपत्ति की जा सकती है।

शपथपत्र (affidavit) में शपथ लेने वाले का नाम, पता, और तथ्यों का सत्यापन अनिवार्य है; झूठा शपथपत्र दंडनीय है।

न्यायालयीन भाषा में 'प्रतिवादी' (defendant), 'वादी' (plaintiff), 'अभियुक्त' (accused), 'अभियोजन' (prosecution) जैसे पारिभाषिक शब्दों का सही प्रयोग करें।

विधिक दस्तावेज में तिथि, पक्षकारों के नाम, और हस्ताक्षर अनिवार्य हैं; साक्षी (witness) के हस्ताक्षर से प्रामाणिकता बढ़ती है।

अनुवाद में कानूनी वाक्यांशों का शाब्दिक अनुवाद न करें; उदाहरण के लिए 'res judicata' के लिए 'पूर्वन्याय' का प्रयोग करें।

हिंदी में विधिक पत्राचार में 'महोदय' का प्रयोग करें और अंत में 'भवदीय' लिखें; औपचारिकता बनाए रखें।

संविधान के अनुच्छेदों का उल्लेख हिंदी में 'अनुच्छेद' और धाराओं के लिए 'धारा' शब्द का प्रयोग करें।

विधिक हिंदी में संधि और समास का प्रयोग सावधानी से करें; अस्पष्टता से बचने के लिए सरल वाक्य संरचना अपनाएं।

Use 'shall' for mandatory obligations and 'may' for discretionary powers; avoid ambiguity in legal drafting.

A plaint must contain a concise statement of material facts, cause of action, jurisdiction, and relief claimed (Order VII Rule 1 CPC).

In legal writing, avoid legalese and redundancy; prefer 'if' over 'in the event that' and 'because' over 'due to the fact that'.

An affidavit must be sworn before a competent authority and contain a verification clause stating that the contents are true to the knowledge of the deponent.

Use defined terms consistently; define a term at first use and use the defined term thereafter to avoid ambiguity.

Legal correspondence should include date, reference number, subject line, salutation, body, and signature block.

In drafting contracts, use clear conditions precedent, warranties, indemnities, and termination clauses; avoid vague terms like 'reasonable endeavours' without definition.

Citation format: Party names (year) volume reporter page; for statutes, cite section and Act name with year.

Active voice is preferred in legal drafting for clarity; passive voice may be used when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

A judgment should contain: title, date, facts, issues, arguments, evidence analysis, findings, and decree/order.

Order XX Rule 1 CPC: The court shall pronounce judgment in open court either at once or within 30 days from the conclusion of the trial.

Order XX Rule 4 CPC: Judgments of Small Cause Courts and courts of limited jurisdiction must contain concise statement of facts and points for determination.

Section 33 CPC: The court, after hearing the case, shall pronounce judgment and on such judgment a decree shall follow.

A decree must contain the number of the suit, names of parties, particulars of the claim, relief granted, and costs (Order XX Rule 6 CPC).

In criminal trials, Section 354 CrPC: Judgment shall contain the point or points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for the decision.

Section 353 CrPC: Judgment shall be pronounced in open court by delivering the whole judgment or by reading out the operative part and explaining the substance.

Court practice: Maintain a cause list, call cases in order, record evidence, and ensure fair opportunity of hearing to both parties.

Use of precedents: Ratio decidendi of a higher court is binding; obiter dicta is persuasive but not binding.