UP PCS-J Substantive Civil Law Syllabus

Substantive Civil Law syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Substantive Civil Law in UP PCS-J, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Indian Contract Act, 1872

   5 topics

   • Formation and Essentials of a Valid Contract
     • Offer, acceptance, and communication of proposals
     • Consideration and exceptions to 'no consideration, no contract'
     • Capacity to contract and minor's agreements
     • Free consent: coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, mistake
   • Void, Voidable and Contingent Agreements
     • Unlawful consideration and object
     • Agreements in restraint of trade, marriage, and legal proceedings
     • Wagering agreements and contingent contracts
   • Performance and Discharge of Contracts
     • Performance, tender, and appropriation of payments
     • Discharge by frustration and doctrine of supervening impossibility (Section 56)
     • Novation, rescission, and alteration
   • Breach of Contract and Remedies
     • Damages: Hadley v. Baxendale and Section 73
     • Liquidated damages and penalty (Section 74)
     • Quasi-contracts and quantum meruit
   • Special Contracts
     • Indemnity and guarantee
     • Bailment and pledge
     • Agency: creation, authority, and termination
2. 2

   Transfer of Property Act, 1882

   4 topics

   • General Principles of Transfer
     • Movable vs immovable property and 'transfer of property'
     • Persons competent to transfer
     • Doctrine of part performance (Section 53A)
   • Conditions and Restrictions on Transfer
     • Rule against perpetuity
     • Vested and contingent interests
     • Conditional transfers and restraints on alienation
   • Doctrines under the Act
     • Doctrine of election
     • Doctrine of lis pendens
     • Fraudulent transfer and feeding the grant by estoppel
   • Specific Transfers
     • Sale of immovable property
     • Mortgage: kinds, rights and liabilities
     • Lease, exchange, and gift
     • Actionable claims
3. 3

   Indian Partnership Act, 1932 and Sale of Goods Act, 1930

   4 topics

   • Nature and Formation of Partnership
     • Definition, essentials, and 'true test' of partnership
     • Partnership distinguished from co-ownership and HUF
     • Registration of firms and effects of non-registration
   • Relations of Partners and Dissolution
     • Mutual rights, duties, and authority of partners
     • Rights of incoming, outgoing, and minor partners
     • Modes of dissolution and settlement of accounts
   • Sale of Goods: Contract and Conditions
     • Sale and agreement to sell
     • Conditions and warranties; caveat emptor
     • Transfer of property and risk; nemo dat quod non habet
   • Performance and Remedies under Sale of Goods
     • Rights of an unpaid seller
     • Delivery and acceptance of goods
     • Remedies for breach by buyer and seller
4. 4

   Specific Relief Act, 1963 and Limitation Act, 1963

   5 topics

   • Recovery of Possession
     • Recovery of specific immovable property (Sections 5-6)
     • Recovery of specific movable property
   • Specific Performance of Contracts
     • Contracts specifically enforceable post-2018 Amendment
     • Persons for and against whom enforcement available
     • Substituted performance
   • Rectification, Rescission, Cancellation and Declaratory Decrees
     • Rectification and rescission of instruments
     • Cancellation of instruments
     • Declaratory decrees (Section 34)
   • Injunctions
     • Temporary and perpetual injunctions
     • Mandatory injunctions
     • Grounds for refusing injunctions
   • Limitation: Principles and Computation
     • Bar of limitation and condonation of delay (Section 5)
     • Legal disability and continuous running of time
     • Acknowledgement and effect of fraud; acquisition of ownership by possession

Substantive Civil Law flashcards for UP PCS-J

22 of 50 cards from the Substantive Civil Law deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Under Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, what are the essentials of a valid contract?

   Free consent of parties competent to contract, lawful consideration, lawful object, and the agreement is not expressly declared void. (Agreement + enforceability by law = contract.)

2. How does the Indian Contract Act define 'consideration' (Section 2(d))?

   When, at the desire of the promisor, the promisee or any other person has done/abstained from doing, does/abstains from doing, or promises to do/abstain from doing something, such act, abstinence or promise is the consideration. (Note: consideration may move from a third person.)

3. What is the legal effect of an agreement made without consideration (Section 25, Contract Act)?

   It is void, except: (1) natural love and affection between near relations, in writing and registered; (2) compensation for a past voluntary act; (3) a written promise to pay a time-barred debt. Also, gifts actually made and agency need no consideration.

4. When is consent said to be 'free' under Section 14 of the Contract Act?

   Consent is free when not caused by coercion (s.15), undue influence (s.16), fraud (s.17), misrepresentation (s.18), or mistake (ss.20-22).

5. Distinguish coercion from undue influence under the Contract Act.

   Coercion (s.15) is committing/threatening a forbidden act under the IPC, or unlawfully detaining property, to obtain consent; physical force/threat. Undue influence (s.16) is where one party dominates the will of another due to a relationship and uses it to gain unfair advantage; moral/mental pressure.

6. What is the difference between fraud and misrepresentation under the Contract Act?

   Fraud (s.17) involves intent to deceive (false statement known to be untrue or made recklessly). Misrepresentation (s.18) is an innocent false statement believed to be true, without intent to deceive. Both make the contract voidable at the option of the aggrieved party.

7. What is the effect of a bilateral mistake of fact under Section 20 of the Contract Act?

   An agreement is void where both parties are under a mistake as to a matter of fact essential to the agreement. (A mistake of one party only, s.22, does not make a contract voidable; mistake of Indian law, s.21, has no effect.)

8. Who is competent to contract under Section 11 of the Contract Act?

   A person who (1) is of the age of majority (18 years), (2) is of sound mind, and (3) is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject.

9. What is the legal status of a minor's agreement in India (Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose)?

   A minor's agreement is void ab initio (absolutely void), not merely voidable. A minor can be a beneficiary/promisee but cannot be bound; the doctrine of estoppel does not apply against a minor.

10. Define a 'void agreement' and a 'voidable contract' under Sections 2(g) and 2(i) of the Contract Act.

    Void agreement (2(g)): an agreement not enforceable by law (void from the start). Voidable contract (2(i)): an agreement enforceable at the option of one or more parties but not at the option of the other(s).

11. List the categories of agreements expressly declared void under the Contract Act.

    Agreements in restraint of marriage (s.26), restraint of trade (s.27), restraint of legal proceedings (s.28), uncertain agreements (s.29), wagering agreements (s.30), and agreements to do impossible acts (s.56). Also agreements without consideration (s.25).

12. What is a contingent contract under Section 31 of the Contract Act?

    A contract to do or not to do something if some collateral event, which is collateral to the contract, does or does not happen. (Example: a contract of insurance or indemnity.)

13. When can a contingent contract dependent on a future uncertain event be enforced, and when does it become void?

    It can be enforced only when that event happens (s.32); it becomes void if the event becomes impossible. If contingent on the non-happening of an event (s.33), it is enforced when the event becomes impossible.

14. What is the rule for performance of reciprocal promises under Section 51 of the Contract Act?

    When a contract consists of reciprocal promises to be simultaneously performed, no promisor needs to perform unless the promisee is ready and willing to perform his reciprocal promise.

15. Who must perform a contract, and can a third party perform it (Sections 37-40, Contract Act)?

    Parties must perform or offer to perform their promises (s.37). If a contract involves personal skill it must be performed personally (s.40); otherwise the promisor may employ another to perform, and a third party's performance, if accepted by the promisee, discharges the promisor (s.41).

16. What constitutes a valid tender (attempted performance) under Section 38 of the Contract Act?

    A valid tender must be unconditional, made at a proper time and place, give the promisee a reasonable opportunity to inspect, and be of the whole obligation. If a valid tender is refused, the promisor is not responsible for non-performance and does not lose his rights under the contract.

17. List the modes by which a contract may be discharged.

    By performance, by agreement/consent (novation, rescission, alteration, remission - s.62/63), by impossibility/frustration (s.56), by lapse of time (limitation), by operation of law (death, insolvency, merger), and by breach.

18. Explain novation, rescission, and alteration under Section 62 of the Contract Act.

    Novation: substituting a new contract for the old (or new parties). Rescission: cancelling the contract by mutual consent. Alteration: changing one or more terms of the contract by mutual consent. In each case, the original contract need not be performed.

19. State the doctrine of frustration / supervening impossibility under Section 56 of the Contract Act.

    An agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void. A contract to do a lawful act becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful by an event the promisor could not prevent, after the contract is made (e.g., Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur).

20. What is the meaning of 'breach of contract' and its two types?

    Breach is failure of a party to perform its obligation. Types: (1) Actual breach - failure to perform on the due date or during performance; (2) Anticipatory breach - repudiation before performance is due, giving the aggrieved party an immediate right to sue or wait.

21. What remedies are available to an aggrieved party for breach of contract?

    (1) Rescission of the contract; (2) Damages (s.73); (3) Quantum meruit; (4) Specific performance (under the Specific Relief Act); (5) Injunction.

22. State the rule in Hadley v. Baxendale as embodied in Section 73 of the Contract Act.

    Compensation is recoverable for loss/damage that naturally arose in the usual course of things from the breach (general damages), and for loss the parties knew at the time of contracting was likely to result (special damages). Remote and indirect losses are not recoverable.

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