Evidence Appreciation, Pleadings, Drafting, Judgment Writing, Legal Aptitude, Current Legal Developments and Telangana Laws
What the exam tests
This paper tests craft: whether a candidate can frame pleadings, assess evidence on record, write a reasoned judgment, and place the new criminal codes and Telangana statutes in context. Mains answers are judged on structure, not on volume.
Pleadings, drafting and judgment
- Order VI Rule 2 CPC requires material facts, not evidence; Rule 4 requires the pleader to state any condition precedent; Order VII Rule 1 lists the particulars of a plaint, and Order VIII Rules 1 to 5 govern the written statement and set-off.
- Order XIV requires framing of issues on points of law and fact; Order XX Rule 1 requires the judgment to state the case concisely, the points for determination, the decision with reasons, and the decree.
- Evidence appreciation follows the five golden principles of Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra for circumstantial evidence: fully proved circumstances, consistent only with guilt, conclusive and exclusive, and excluding every hypothesis of innocence.
Current legal developments
The three new criminal codes took effect on 1 July 2024, and questions now expect BNSS, BNS and BSA numbering alongside the older provisions. The Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Davinder Singh permits States to sub-classify Scheduled Castes for reservation, and the electoral bonds scheme was struck down as unconstitutional in 2024.
Telangana laws
Know the Telangana Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982, with its special courts and the burden placed on the alleged grabber to prove lawful title; the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 2020, which replaced the 1971 record of rights regime and underpins the Dharani portal; and the Telangana Court-fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1956, governing valuation of suits.
Traps
Narrating facts without stating the point for determination; reproducing the evidence without weighing it; and citing the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act for post-July 2024 conduct without noting the new statutes.