Maharashtra Civil Judge (JD) & JMFC flashcards

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

Res judicata

Under Section 11 CPC, a matter directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties, decided by a competent court, cannot be re-agitated in a subsequent suit.

Amendment of pleadings

Order VI Rule 17 CPC allows amendment at any stage; after trial has commenced, no amendment is permitted unless the court concludes that it cannot decide the real question in controversy without it.

Caveat under Section 148A

A caveat is a notice filed by a person who may be affected by an ex parte order; the court must serve the caveator with the application, and the caveat lapses after ninety days unless extended.

Default bail

If investigation is not completed and the charge-sheet is not filed within sixty days, for offences punishable up to ten years, or ninety days in other cases, the accused becomes entitled to bail under Section 167(2) CrPC.

Section 161 CrPC statements

Statements made to a police officer during investigation are not signed by the maker and, under Section 162, cannot be used as evidence except to contradict a prosecution witness as the Code permits.

Cognizance under Section 190

A Magistrate may take cognizance of an offence upon receiving a complaint, a police report, or information relating to the commission of an offence from a person other than a police officer.

Common intention Section 34

Section 34 IPC creates joint liability when two or more persons act in furtherance of a common intention; a prior meeting of minds, presence and participation in the criminal act are required.

Culpable homicide and murder

Murder under Section 300 IPC is culpable homicide falling within any of four clauses and not covered by the five exceptions; culpable homicide in Section 299 is the wider offence without those clauses.

Insanity defence Section 84

Section 84 IPC exempts a person who, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it is wrong or contrary to law; the accused bears that burden.

Dying declaration

A statement of a relevant fact made by a person who is dead or cannot be produced, concerning the cause of his death or the circumstances of the transaction resulting in death, admissible under Section 32.

Burden of proving exceptions

Section 105 of the Evidence Act places on the accused the burden of proving the existence of circumstances bringing his case within a general exception or a special exception in the penal law.

Discovery under Section 27

So much of the information given by an accused in police custody as distinctly relates to a fact thereby discovered may be proved, notwithstanding the bars in Sections 25 and 26 on confessions to the police.

Frustration under Section 56

A contract becomes void when performance becomes impossible or unlawful by reason of an event the promisor could not prevent; commercial hardship or increased cost does not amount to frustration.

Lis pendens Section 52

During the pendency of a suit affecting immovable property, a transfer of that property by a party cannot affect the rights of the other party under the decree that may be passed in the suit.

Part performance Section 53A

Where a contract to transfer immovable property is in writing and the transferee takes possession and performs his part, the transferor is barred from enforcing his rights against the transferee.

Easement by prescription

Under Section 15 of the Indian Easements Act, 1882, a right of way or other easement is acquired by peaceable, open and continuous enjoyment as of right for a period of twenty years.

Daughter as coparcener

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 substituted Section 6, making a daughter a coparcener by birth in joint family property with the same rights and liabilities as a son.

Mahr in Muslim marriage

Mahr, or dower, is a sum of money or property payable by the husband to the wife as a mark of respect; it is a legal consequence of a valid Muslim marriage, not a condition of its validity.

Will under Section 63

Under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a will, other than a privileged will, must be in writing, signed by the testator and attested by at least two witnesses.

Writ of mandamus

A command issued to a public authority to perform a legal duty that it has failed or refused to perform; it lies against public bodies and does not issue to enforce a private obligation.

Protection under Article 311

A civil servant cannot be dismissed, removed or reduced in rank without an inquiry in which he is informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard against them.

Bona fide need under Section 16

Section 16 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 lists the grounds for recovery of possession, including premises reasonably and bona fide required by the landlord for his own occupation or that of his family.

Instruments not duly stamped

Section 34 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 makes an insufficiently stamped instrument inadmissible in evidence until it is impounded and the deficient duty together with penalty is paid.

Res ipsa loquitur

Where the accident is of a kind that ordinarily does not occur without negligence and the thing causing it was under the defendant's exclusive control, negligence may be inferred without direct evidence.

Grundnorm

In Kelsen's pure theory of law, the grundnorm is the basic norm presupposed as valid, from which all lower norms in the legal order derive their validity through a hierarchy of norms.

Rule of recognition

Hart's secondary rule specifying the criteria by which a rule is identified as a valid legal rule of the system; in India it is generally traced to the Constitution itself.

Unpaid seller's lien

Section 46 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 entitles an unpaid seller in possession of the goods to retain them until payment, where property has passed and the buyer defaults or becomes insolvent.

Section 138 NI Act

Dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds is an offence where a demand notice is served within thirty days and payment is not made within fifteen days of receipt of the notice.

Suit by unregistered firm

Section 69 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 bars a suit to enforce a right arising from a contract by or on behalf of an unregistered firm until the firm is registered.

Material facts in pleadings

Order VI Rule 2 CPC requires every pleading to state only the material facts on which the party relies, and not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved at trial.

Contents of a judgment

Order XX Rule 1 CPC requires a judgment to contain a concise statement of the case, the points for determination, the decision on each point, and the reasons for that decision.

Civil and criminal contempt

Under Section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, civil contempt is wilful disobedience of a court order, while criminal contempt is scandalising the court or prejudicing judicial proceedings.