CLAT PG Property Law And Family Law Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Property Law And Family Law deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is a coparcenary under Mitakshara law, and how does it differ from a joint Hindu family?

   A coparcenary is a narrower body within the joint family consisting of those who acquire by birth an interest in ancestral/joint family property (the propositus and three lineal male descendants, and after the 2005 amendment, daughters). A joint Hindu family is wider, including all members by birth/marriage, not all of whom are coparceners.

2. What change did the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 make to coparcenary rights?

   It made daughters coparceners by birth in their own right, with the same rights and liabilities as sons in Mitakshara coparcenary property. (Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, 2020, held this right accrues by birth and applies whether or not the father was alive on 9 Sept 2005.)

3. Who are the Class I heirs under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (for a male dying intestate)?

   Class I heirs include: son, daughter, widow, mother, son/daughter of a predeceased son, son/daughter of a predeceased daughter, widow of a predeceased son, and further specified descendants. They inherit simultaneously and to the exclusion of all others; property devolves first on Class I heirs.

4. State the essential conditions for a valid adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

   (1) The person adopting has capacity and right to adopt; (2) the person giving in adoption has capacity to do so; (3) the person adopted is capable of being adopted; (4) the adoption is made in compliance with the Act (including actual giving and taking; consent of spouse; no two children of same sex; age gap of 21 years for adopting opposite sex).

5. What are the kinds of guardians of a Hindu minor under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956?

   (1) Natural guardian (father, then mother; for illegitimate child the mother first); (2) Testamentary guardian (appointed by will); (3) Guardian appointed/declared by court (de jure); and de facto guardian. The welfare of the minor is the paramount consideration.

6. What is the scope of maintenance under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 and Section 125 CrPC/BNSS?

   Under HAMA, a Hindu is bound to maintain wife, minor children, aged/infirm parents, and a widowed daughter-in-law. Section 125 CrPC (now BNSS S.144) is a secular, summary remedy entitling a wife, children and parents who cannot maintain themselves to claim maintenance regardless of religion.

7. What are the primary sources of Muslim law in India?

   Primary: (1) Quran; (2) Sunna/Hadith (traditions of the Prophet); (3) Ijma (consensus of jurists); (4) Qiyas (analogical deduction). Secondary: customs, judicial precedent, legislation, and equity (Istihsan/Istislah).

8. What are the two major schools (sects) of Muslim law and their main sub-schools?

   Sunni and Shia. Sunni sub-schools: Hanafi (predominant in India), Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali. Shia sub-schools: Ithna Ashari (Twelvers), Ismaili, Zaidi.

9. What are the essential requisites of a valid Muslim marriage (nikah)?

   (1) Proposal (ijab) and acceptance (qubool) in one meeting; (2) competent parties (majority and sound mind); (3) free consent; (4) no legal disability/prohibited relationship; (5) presence of witnesses (two males or one male and two females—required under Sunni, not Shia law); (6) dower (mahr).

10. Distinguish among valid (sahih), void (batil) and irregular (fasid) marriages in Muslim law.

    Sahih (valid): all legal requirements fulfilled. Batil (void): unlawful from inception due to permanent/absolute prohibition (e.g., marriage within prohibited degrees)—no legal effect. Fasid (irregular): suffers from a curable/temporary defect (e.g., absence of witnesses, marriage with 5th wife)—can be regularised; recognised only in Sunni law (Shia treats such marriages as void).

11. What is 'dower' (mahr) in Muslim law and what are its main kinds?

    Mahr is a sum of money or property the wife is entitled to receive from the husband as a consideration/obligation of marriage. Kinds: (1) Specified dower (mahr-i-musamma)—prompt (mu'ajjal) or deferred (mu'wajjal); (2) Proper/customary dower (mahr-i-misl) where amount is not fixed.

12. What are the principal modes of dissolution of a Muslim marriage?

    By the husband: Talaq (talaq-ul-sunnat: ahsan/hasan; talaq-ul-biddat—now void/criminal); Ila; Zihar. By the wife: Talaq-e-tafweez (delegated divorce); Khula and Mubarat (by mutual consent); Lian. By judicial decree: Faskh under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939.

13. What did the Shayara Bano case and the 2019 Act do to triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat)?

    In Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017) the Supreme Court held instantaneous triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) unconstitutional and void. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 declared it void and illegal and made its pronouncement a punishable (cognizable) offence.

14. What are the two main systems of inheritance under Sunni (Hanafi) Muslim law of inheritance?

    Heirs are classified as: (1) Sharers (Zawil-furud)—entitled to fixed shares prescribed by the Quran (e.g., wife, husband, daughter, mother); (2) Residuaries (Asabat)—take the residue after sharers; (3) Distant Kindred (Zawil-arham)—relatives who are neither sharers nor residuaries, inherit in absence of the first two.

15. What is a key distinguishing feature of Muslim inheritance law compared to Hindu succession?

    There is no birthright (no concept of coparcenary/survivorship); the right to inherit arises only on the death of the propositus. Also, the doctrine of representation is not recognised in Sunni law, and there is no distinction between movable/immovable or ancestral/self-acquired property for inheritance.

16. State the essential conditions of a valid gift (Hiba) under Muslim law.

    Three essentials: (1) Declaration of gift by the donor (ijab); (2) Acceptance by the donee (qubool); (3) Delivery of possession (qabza) of the subject of the gift. No writing or registration is strictly required; possession is the key element (Hiba is exempt from S.123 TPA requirements).

17. What is a Hiba-bil-iwaz in Muslim law?

    Hiba-bil-iwaz is a gift made in return for consideration (iwaz)—effectively a gift coupled with an exchange/sale. Once the consideration is paid, it becomes irrevocable, and delivery of possession is not essential as it partakes of the nature of a sale.

18. Define 'Waqf' under Muslim law and the Waqf Act.

    Waqf is the permanent dedication by a person professing Islam of any movable or immovable property for purposes recognised by Muslim law as religious, pious or charitable. Once dedicated, ownership is detained/tied up (extinguished in the waqif and vested notionally in God); the usufruct goes to the beneficiaries, managed by a mutawalli.

19. What is the difference between a 'mutawalli' and the dedicated property in a waqf?

    A mutawalli is the manager/superintendent of the waqf property; he is not the owner—ownership is regarded as vesting in God (Almighty). The mutawalli merely administers the property and applies its usufruct to the objects of the waqf; he cannot alienate it without court/proper sanction.

20. What is the constitutional mandate behind a Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?

    Article 44 of the Constitution (a Directive Principle of State Policy) directs the State to endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India, aiming to replace personal laws based on religion with a common set of secular laws governing marriage, divorce, succession, etc.

21. Name key secular family law statutes in India that apply across religions.

    The Special Marriage Act, 1954 (civil/inter-religious marriages); the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (general succession, esp. for Christians/Parsis and those married under SMA); the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890; the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; and Section 125 CrPC/BNSS S.144 (maintenance).

22. What does the Special Marriage Act, 1954 provide?

    It is a secular statute enabling any two persons (irrespective of religion, caste or nationality) to marry through a civil ceremony with prior notice and registration. It governs the conditions, registration, succession (Indian Succession Act applies), and grounds for divorce/nullity for such marriages.

23. What did the Supreme Court hold in the Shah Bano case (1985) regarding Muslim women's maintenance?

    In Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, the Court held that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC (a secular provision) even after the iddat period, as it overrides personal law. This led to enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.

24. In Hindu law, distinguish 'ancestral property' from 'self-acquired property'.

    Ancestral property is property inherited by a Hindu male from his father, father's father, or father's father's father (up to three generations), in which his sons/descendants acquire an interest by birth (coparcenary). Self-acquired property is acquired by one's own efforts/means, over which the holder has absolute disposing power and in which no one has a birthright.

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