Insta_Legal 2.

Rankers’ Study Material

Part of the most Comprehensive Classroom Training, Prep Content & Test Series across the Nation.
From the producers of A.I.R. 2, 3 and 5 in CLAT 2019.

MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR LEGAL REASONING AND THEIR LUCID EXPLANATIONS

IMPORTANCE OF INSTA_LEGAL 2.0

 We have prepared a list of around 150 topics (90 of these were shared with you earlier). There is a good possibility
that the passages in the upcoming CLAT will be around these topics. So to boost your preparation, we have
prepared a summary of each topic and will be sharing with you on our telegram channel.

 Insta_Legal 2.0 will contain the summary of not just 90 topics that we have shared earlier but also many new topics
which we have added recently.

 Those of you who have already gone through the Insta_Legal before should not skip Insta_Legal 2.0. owing to the
relevance Insta_Legal 2.0 Holds, reading it multiple times before your exam will help you in understanding the
passage with much more clarity and efficiency.

HAPPY READING 😊

PREVENTIVE DETENTION
1. Preventive detention means to detain a person so that to prevent that person from commenting on any possible crime
or in other words preventive detention is an action taken by the administration on the grounds of the suspicion that
some wrong actions may be done by the person concerned which will be prejudicial to the state.
2. Preventive detention is also used when the release of the accused is felt to be detrimental to the state’s ability to carry
out its investigation. In some countries the practice has been attacked as a denial of certain fundamental rights of the
accused.
3. Preventive Detention is the most contentious part of the scheme fundamental rights in the Indian constitutions Article
22(3) provides that if the person who has been arrested or detained under preventive detention laws then the
protection against arrest and detention provided under article22 (1) and22 (2) shall not be available to that person.
4. The object of Preventive Detention is not to Punish but to prevent the detenu from doing something which is prejudicial
to the State. The satisfaction of the concerned authority is a subjective satisfaction in such a manner. It comes within
any of the grounds specified like
Security of the State,
Public Order,
Foreign affairs,
Services essential to the community.
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5. To prevent reckless use of Preventive Detention, certain safeguards are provided in the constitution-
Firstly, a person may be taken to preventive custody only for 3 months at the first instance. If the period
of detention is extended beyond 3 months, the case must be referred to an Advisory Board consisting of
persons with qualifications for appointment as judges of High Courts. It is implicit, that the period of
detention may be extended beyond 3 months, only on approval by the Advisory Board.
Secondly, the detainee is entitled to know the grounds of his detention. The state, however, may refuse to
divulge the grounds of detention if it is in the public interest to do so. Needless to say, this power conferred on
the state leaves scope for arbitrary action on the part of the authorities.
Thirdly, the detaining authorities must give the detainee earliest opportunities for making representation
against the detention.
These safeguards are designed to minimize the misuse of preventive detention. It is because of these safeguards
that preventive detention, basically a denial of liberty, finds a place on the chapter on fundamental rights. These
safeguards are not available to enemy aliens.

PRIVITY OF CONTRACT (DONOGHUE V. STEVENSON)

1. The principle of privity of contract as a common law principle provides that a contract cannot confer rights or impose
obligations on a person who is not party to the contract. However, there are certain exceptions to the applicability of
the principle.
2. One such exception is with respect to the tort of negligence as was established in the case of Donoghue v
Stevenson.
In this case, the plaintiff went to one Wellmeadow cafe in Glasgow wherein she ordered for a bottle of ginger
beer. While drinking it was discovered that the drink had a dead snail. The plaintiff fell sick after that and sued the
manufacturer of the ginger beer for negligence.
It was held by the House of Lords that although the consumer did not enter into any direct contract with the
manufacturer while buying the bottle at the cafe, the duty of exercise of care through proper inspection during
manufacture and sale prevail over the requirement of direct contract.
Thus, liability towards consumer arises during manufacturing and not necessarily through direct sale. The right
not be injured by other's property is an individual undertaking independent of any contractual obligation.
3. A third party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not
having originally been a party to the contract.
This right arises where the third party is the intended beneficiary of the contract, as opposed to an incidental
beneficiary.
It vests when the third party relies on or assents to the relationship, and gives the third party the right to sue either
the promisor or the promisee of the contract, depending on the circumstances under which the relationship was
created.
4. An intended beneficiary is that one party - called the promisee - makes an agreement to provide some consideration
to a second party - called the promisor - in exchange for the promisor's agreement to provide some product, service,
or support to the third-party beneficiary named in the contract.
5. A third party even though an intended beneficiary can over come the doctrine of privity of contract only when-
The parties to the contract have not otherwise agreed;
Recognition of a right to performance in the beneficiary is appropriate to effectuate the intention of the parties;
and
The terms of the contract or the circumstances surrounding performance indicate that either-
the performance of the promise will satisfy an obligation or discharge a duty owed by the promisee to the
beneficiary; or
the promisee intends to give the beneficiary the benefit of the promised performance."
6. Under Indian Contract Act, 1872 exceptions to the doctrine of privity of contract are contracts executed-
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for natural love and affection

marriage partition and family disputes
time barred debt
trust, and
agency.

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2019

1. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the
Minister of Women and Child Development, Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani on July 18, 2019. The Bill amends the Protection
of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The Act seeks to protect children from offences such as sexual assault,
sexual harassment, and pornography.
2. Penetrative sexual assault: Under the Act, a person commits “penetrative sexual assault” if he:
penetrates his penis into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child, or
makes a child do the same, or
inserts any other object into the child’s body, or
applies his mouth to a child’s body parts.
3. The punishment for such offence is imprisonment between seven years to life, and a fine. The Bill increases the
minimum punishment from seven years to ten years. It further adds that if a person commits penetrative sexual
assault on a child below the age of 16 years, he will be punishable with imprisonment between 20 years to life, with
a fine.
4. Aggravated penetrative sexual assault: The Act defines certain actions as “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”.
These include cases when a police officer, a member of the armed forces, or a public servant commits penetrative
sexual assault on a child. It also covers cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the
sexual organs of the child or the child becomes pregnant, among others.
The Bill adds two more grounds to the definition of aggravated penetrative sexual assault. These include:
assault resulting in death of child, and
assault committed during a natural calamity, or in any similar situations of violence. Currently, the punishment
for aggravated penetrative sexual assault is imprisonment between 10 years to life, and a fine.
5. The Bill increases the minimum punishment from ten years to 20 years, and the maximum punishment to death
penalty.
6. Aggravated sexual assault: Under the Act, “sexual assault” includes actions where a person touches the vagina,
penis, anus or breast of a child with sexual intent without penetration. “Aggravated sexual assault” includes cases
where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child, among others. The
Bill adds two more offences to the definition of aggravated sexual assault. These include:
assault committed during a natural calamity, and
administrating or help in administering any hormone or any chemical substance, to a child for the purpose of
attaining early sexual maturity.
7. Pornographic purposes: Under the Act, a person is guilty of using a child for pornographic purposes if he uses a
child in any form of media for the purpose of sexual gratification. The Act also penalises persons who use children for
pornographic purposes resulting in sexual assault. The Bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of
sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photograph, video, digital or computer-generated image
indistinguishable from an actual child.
8. Storage of pornographic material: The Act penalises storage of pornographic material for commercial purposes
with a punishment of up to three years, or a fine, or both. The Bill amends this to provide that the punishment can be
imprisonment between three to five years, or a fine, or both. In addition, the Bill adds two other offences for storage
of pornographic material involving children. These include:
failing to destroy, or delete, or report pornographic material involving a child, and

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transmitting, displaying, distributing such material except for the purpose of reporting it.

PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION MISUSE (J. BOBDE'S REMARKS)

1. Public interest litigation is a highly effective weapon in the armory of law for reaching social justice to the common
man . It is a unique phenomenon in the Indian Constitutional Jurisprudence that has no parallel in the world and has
acquired a big significance in the modern legal concerns.
2. This technique is concerned with the protection of the interest of a class or group of persons who are either the victims
of governmental lawlessness, or social oppression or denied their constitutional or legal rights and who are not in a
position to approach the court for the redressal of their grievances due to lack of resources or ignorance or their
disadvantaged social and economic position.
3. However, with the passage of time, petitions have been filed which attempted to appropriate PIL for corporate gain,
political advantage or personal interest. It is an undemocratic, unrealistic and dangerous tendency which is to be
impeded by our judicial attitude.
4. In public interest litigations, misuse comes in various forms. Publicity, private interest, political rivalry, or other oblique
motives can be a motive for its misuse. The tragedy is that it retards the flow of justice delivery system. A spirit of
moderation is needed but a consistent jurisprudence is not at all easily possible to evolve for retarding abuse.
5. In PIL cases, the most crucial question for the court is to measure the seriousness of the petitioner, and to see
whether he is actually the champion of the cause of the persons or groups he is representing.
6. In a recent case, during the hearing of a PIL filed by BJP against the alleged political killings in West Bengal, Chief
Justice SA Bobde rapped the lawyers of both BJP and Bengal government and asked them to not use to court to
settle political scores.
7. A vexatious(frivolous) litigation under the colour of public interest litigation brought before the court for vindicating any
personal grievances, deserves rejection at the threshold. It is necessary to take note of the fact that a writ petitioner
who comes to the Court for relief in public interest must come not only with clean hands like any other write petitioner
but also with clean heart, clean mind and clean objective.
8. The great strength of the judiciary must be utilized for public good and always in public interest in the service of the
people. In order to curb frivolous litigation by proper check at entry and quick disposal is the main remedy.

QUASI-JUDICIAL BODIES
1. A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitrator or tribunal
board, generally of a public administrative agency, which has powers and procedures resembling those of a court of
law or judge, and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the
basis of an official action.
2. Such bodies usually have powers of adjudication in such matters as:
breach of discipline
conduct rules
trust in the matters of money or otherwise
3. There are some key differences between judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, in that:
Judicial decisions are bound by precedent in common law, whereas quasi-judicial decisions usually are not so
bound;
In the absence of precedent in common law, judicial decisions may create new law, whereas quasi-judicial
decisions must be based on conclusions of existing law.
Quasi-judicial bodies need not follow strict judicial rules of evidence and procedure;

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Quasi-judicial bodies must hold formal hearings only if mandated to do so under their governing laws or
regulations.
Quasi-judicial bodies, unlike courts, may be a party in a matter and issue a decision thereon at the same time.
4. In general, decisions of a quasi-judicial body require findings of facts to reach conclusions of law that justify the
decision. They usually depend on a pre-determined set of guidelines or criteria to assess the nature and gravity of
the permission or relief sought, or of the offense committed. Decisions of a quasi-judicial body are often legally
enforceable under the laws of a jurisdiction; they can be challenged in a court of law, which is the final decisive
authority.
5. Some examples of quasi-judicial bodies are:-
National Human Rights Commission
State Human Rights Commission (established at each state)
Central Information Commission
State Information Commission (established at each state)
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
StateConsumer Disputes Redressal Commission (established at each state)
Competition Commission of India

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