CLAT UG question bank

Legal Reasoning MCQs for CLAT UG, Page 8

CLAT UG Legal Reasoning questions 167-190 of 310, with answer keys and explanations covering self-contained legal principles, factual application, changes in outcome, rights, duties, liability, and remedies.

310 questions61 topics167-190 on this page
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Practice passage-based CLAT UG questions with answers for English, current affairs, legal reasoning, logical reasoning, and quantitative techniques.

  • Agency and Authority10
  • Agreements in Restraint of Trade5
  • Anticipatory Breach of Contract5
  • Appropriation of Payments5
  • Assault and Battery5
  • Assignment of Contractual Rights5
  • Authority of an Agent and Ratification5
  • Bailment and Duty of Care5
  • Breach of Condition and Warranty5
  • Caveat Emptor and Quality of Goods5
  • Coercion in Contracts5
  • Communication and Revocation of Proposals5
  • Contingent Contracts5
  • Contract of Guarantee and Surety5
  • Contract of Indemnity5
  • Contractual Misrepresentation5
  • Contributory Negligence and Apportionment5
  • Defamation and Defences5
  • Defamation and Responsible Publication5
  • Doctrine of Election in Property Transfers5
  • Doctrine of Part Performance5
  • False Imprisonment5
  • Fraud and Contractual Consent5
  • Frustration of Contract5
  • Fundamental Rights and Proportionality5
  • Guarantee Obtained by Misrepresentation5
  • Informed Consent to Medical Treatment5
  • Intervening Acts and Causation5
  • Joint Promisors and Contribution5
  • Malicious Prosecution5
  • Mistake and Restitution5
  • Necessaries Supplied to an Incapable Person5
  • Negligence and Standard of Care5
  • Non-Gratuitous Acts and Restitution5
  • Novation and Alteration of Contract5
  • Occupier Liability to Visitors5
  • Offer, Acceptance, and Revocation5
  • Pledge and Rights of the Pawnee5
  • Preparation and Criminal Attempt5
  • Private Defence of the Person5
  • Private Necessity and Property Damage5
  • Privity and Third-Party Rights5
  • Promissory Estoppel and Public Interest5
  • Public Nuisance and Special Damage5
  • Remission and Waiver of Contractual Performance5
  • Remoteness of Contractual Damages5
  • Res Ipsa Loquitur5
  • Right of Private Defence5
  • Rights and Duties of a Finder of Goods5
  • Rights of an Unpaid Seller5
  • Sale and Agreement to Sell5
  • Sale by a Non-Owner5
  • Sale by Sample and Description5
  • Stipulated Damages and Reasonable Compensation5
  • Strict Liability and Escape5
  • Time as the Essence of Contract5
  • Trespass to Goods and Conversion5
  • Trespass to Land and Necessity5
  • Undue Influence in Contracts5
  • Unlawful Object and Severability5
  • Vicarious Liability5
Passage or principleOriginal legal principle and fact scenarios

A seller is unpaid when the whole price has not been paid or tendered. While the seller lawfully possesses the goods, the seller may retain them by exercising a lien where the sale was without credit, the credit period has expired, or the buyer has become insolvent. If the buyer becomes insolvent after the seller has parted with possession, the seller may stop goods while they are in transit and resume possession. Transit ends when the buyer or the buyer's agent obtains delivery. A seller who has exercised lien or stoppage does not automatically rescind the contract. Resale is permitted in the circumstances stated by law, including where the goods are perishable or where notice of intended resale is given and the buyer still fails to pay within a reasonable time. Apply only these principles.

Question 167HardRights of an Unpaid Seller

S still possesses goods sold on credit, but the credit period has expired without payment. May S retain them?

  1. A

    No, credit prevents lien forever.

  2. B

    Only if the goods are perishable

  3. C

    Only after delivering them to B

  4. D

    Yes, the expired credit period permits lien under the passage.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. Yes, the expired credit period permits lien under the passage.

D applies one of the stated grounds for lien.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 17, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 168MediumRights of an Unpaid Seller

After S dispatches goods, B becomes insolvent while the goods remain with the carrier. What may S do?

  1. A

    Treat the price as paid

  2. B

    Demand delivery to B

  3. C

    Stop the goods in transit and resume possession

  4. D

    Destroy the goods immediately

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. Stop the goods in transit and resume possession

C applies the rule of stoppage in transit.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 17, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 169HardRights of an Unpaid Seller

The goods have been delivered to B's authorised agent. Can S thereafter claim they are still in transit?

  1. A

    No, transit ended upon delivery to B's agent.

  2. B

    Yes, transit ends only after resale.

  3. C

    Yes, insolvency prevents delivery.

  4. D

    No, but only if the carrier agrees.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. No, transit ended upon delivery to B's agent.

A applies the stated rule on the end of transit.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 17, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 170MediumRights of an Unpaid Seller

S possesses perishable unpaid goods. Does the passage permit resale in that circumstance?

  1. A

    No, resale is never permitted.

  2. B

    Yes, perishability is a stated ground for resale.

  3. C

    Only after the buyer becomes owner of S's shop

  4. D

    Only if the price has already been paid.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. Yes, perishability is a stated ground for resale.

B follows from the final paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 17, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Passage or principleOriginal legal principle and fact scenarios

Coercion means committing or threatening to commit an act forbidden by criminal law, or unlawfully detaining or threatening to detain property, with the intention of causing a person to enter an agreement. It is immaterial whether the criminal law is in force at the place where the coercion occurs. When consent to an agreement is caused by coercion, the contract is voidable at the option of the person whose consent was so caused. That person may affirm the contract instead of avoiding it. If a party rightfully rescinds a voidable contract after receiving a benefit under it, the party must restore that benefit, so far as possible, to the person from whom it was received. Apply only these principles.

Question 171MediumCoercion in Contracts

P threatens to commit an act forbidden by criminal law to make Q sign an agreement. Is this coercion?

  1. A

    No, threats are irrelevant.

  2. B

    Only if property is transferred first

  3. C

    Only if P later performs the act

  4. D

    Yes, the threat is used to cause agreement.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. Yes, the threat is used to cause agreement.

D applies the definition of coercion.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 172HardCoercion in Contracts

P unlawfully detains Q's goods intending to make Q agree to new terms. Does this fall within coercion?

  1. A

    Yes, unlawful detention of property for that purpose is covered.

  2. B

    No, coercion concerns physical injury only.

  3. C

    No, because goods cannot influence consent.

  4. D

    Only if the goods belong to P.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. Yes, unlawful detention of property for that purpose is covered.

A follows from the express property rule.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 173MediumCoercion in Contracts

The threatened act is forbidden by Indian criminal law, but the threat occurs where that law is not in force. Is location decisive under the passage?

  1. A

    Yes, coercion is impossible abroad.

  2. B

    No, the place where the coercion occurs is immaterial.

  3. C

    Yes, unless property is involved.

  4. D

    No, but only for written agreements.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. No, the place where the coercion occurs is immaterial.

B applies the stated territorial rule.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 174HardCoercion in Contracts

Q's consent was caused by coercion. Who may choose to avoid the contract?

  1. A

    Only the person who applied coercion

  2. B

    Any unrelated observer

  3. C

    Q, whose consent was caused by coercion

  4. D

    No one, because the contract is automatically void

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. Q, whose consent was caused by coercion

C follows from the rule of voidability.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 175MediumCoercion in Contracts

Q rightfully rescinds the contract after receiving a benefit from P. What must Q do?

  1. A

    Keep the benefit in every case

  2. B

    Transfer it to the State

  3. C

    Destroy it immediately

  4. D

    Restore the benefit to P so far as possible.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. Restore the benefit to P so far as possible.

D applies the restoration requirement.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Passage or principleOriginal legal principle and fact scenarios

As a general rule, when goods are sold by a person who is not their owner and lacks the owner's authority or consent, the buyer acquires no better title than the seller had. An exception applies when a mercantile agent possesses the goods or their documents with the owner's consent, sells in the ordinary course of business, and the buyer acts in good faith without notice of the lack of authority. An exception also applies where one co-owner has sole possession with the permission of the other co-owners and a buyer purchases in good faith without notice of restricted authority. If a seller, after selling goods, remains in possession and transfers them to a later good-faith recipient without notice of the earlier sale, the later transfer is treated as effective. Apply only these principles.

Question 176MediumSale by a Non-Owner

X, who neither owns goods nor has authority, sells them to B. No exception applies. What title does B obtain?

  1. A

    Perfect title in every case

  2. B

    No better title than X had

  3. C

    Title directly from the State

  4. D

    Ownership only if X disappears

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. No better title than X had

B applies the general rule.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 177HardSale by a Non-Owner

An owner voluntarily gives goods to a mercantile agent. The agent sells them in the ordinary course to B, who acts in good faith without notice. Is B protected?

  1. A

    No, agents can never transfer title.

  2. B

    Only if B already owned the goods

  3. C

    Only if the owner attends the sale

  4. D

    Yes, the stated mercantile-agent exception applies.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. Yes, the stated mercantile-agent exception applies.

D applies every requirement of the exception.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 178MediumSale by a Non-Owner

B knows that the mercantile agent lacks authority but buys anyway. Can B rely on the exception?

  1. A

    Yes, knowledge strengthens title.

  2. B

    Yes, ordinary course is the only requirement.

  3. C

    No, B lacks good faith without notice.

  4. D

    No, because agents cannot possess goods.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. No, B lacks good faith without notice.

C applies the good-faith and notice requirement.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 179HardSale by a Non-Owner

Co-owner C has sole possession with the other co-owners' permission and sells to B, who has no notice of any restriction. Is B protected?

  1. A

    Yes, the co-owner exception applies.

  2. B

    No, co-owned goods can never be sold.

  3. C

    Only if B becomes a co-owner first

  4. D

    Only if every co-owner later objects

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. Yes, the co-owner exception applies.

A applies the stated co-owner exception.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 180MediumSale by a Non-Owner

S sells goods to A but remains in possession and later transfers them to B, who acts in good faith without notice of A's purchase. What follows?

  1. A

    A's purchase is treated as a crime.

  2. B

    B automatically becomes S's agent.

  3. C

    The later transfer to B is treated as effective.

  4. D

    No transfer can ever be effective.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. The later transfer to B is treated as effective.

C follows from the final paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 18, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Passage or principleOriginal legal principle and fact scenarios

If parties to a contract agree to substitute a new contract for it, or to rescind or alter it, the original contract need not be performed. Substitution of a new contract is called novation. Novation requires agreement of all necessary parties. It may replace an obligation or replace a party with consent. A mere unilateral declaration does not alter the contract. Where parties only extend time or modify a term while preserving the basic contractual relationship, the result may be alteration rather than novation. The effect depends on what the parties agreed. When a valid new contract is substituted, rights are ordinarily governed by the new contract and the displaced contract is no longer enforceable. Apply only these principles.

Question 181MediumNovation and Alteration of Contract

A and B mutually substitute a valid new contract for their existing contract. Must the original contract still be performed?

  1. A

    No, the substituted contract displaces it.

  2. B

    Yes, both must always be performed.

  3. C

    Only if a stranger approves

  4. D

    Only after a criminal proceeding

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. No, the substituted contract displaces it.

A applies the rule of novation.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 182HardNovation and Alteration of Contract

A alone announces that C will replace A under a contract with B, but B and C do not agree. Is there novation?

  1. A

    Yes, one party can bind everyone.

  2. B

    No, agreement of necessary parties is absent.

  3. C

    Yes, if A sends a message.

  4. D

    No, because parties can never be replaced.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. No, agreement of necessary parties is absent.

B applies the consent requirement.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 183MediumNovation and Alteration of Contract

A and B agree only to extend the performance date while preserving their basic relationship. What may this be?

  1. A

    A criminal penalty

  2. B

    Automatic termination

  3. C

    An alteration of the original contract

  4. D

    A transfer of property to the State

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. An alteration of the original contract

C follows from the third paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 184HardNovation and Alteration of Contract

A changes the payment term without B's agreement. Is the contract altered under the passage?

  1. A

    Yes, every written change is binding.

  2. B

    Yes, if A benefits.

  3. C

    Only if C objects

  4. D

    No, a unilateral declaration is insufficient.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. No, a unilateral declaration is insufficient.

D applies the mutual-agreement requirement.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 185MediumNovation and Alteration of Contract

After valid novation, which contract ordinarily governs the parties' rights?

  1. A

    The valid substituted contract

  2. B

    Both contracts regardless of inconsistency

  3. C

    Only the older contract

  4. D

    No contract can govern

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. The valid substituted contract

A follows from the final paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Passage or principleOriginal legal principle and fact scenarios

The general rule of caveat emptor means that a buyer must examine goods and choose whether they are suitable. The seller is not automatically responsible merely because the goods do not serve the buyer's undisclosed purpose. An exception applies where the buyer makes a particular purpose known, relies on the seller's skill or judgment, and the seller deals in goods of that description. There is then an implied condition that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose. Where goods are bought by description from a seller dealing in such goods, there is an implied condition of merchantable quality. This does not cover defects that a reasonable examination should have revealed when the buyer actually examined the goods. Fraud or active concealment by the seller cannot be protected by caveat emptor. Apply only these principles.

Question 186MediumCaveat Emptor and Quality of Goods

B buys goods without disclosing a special purpose and they do not suit that purpose. Does the seller automatically breach the passage's fitness exception?

  1. A

    Yes, every purpose is implied.

  2. B

    No, the undisclosed purpose does not trigger the exception.

  3. C

    Yes, if B later explains the purpose.

  4. D

    No, because quality never matters.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. No, the undisclosed purpose does not trigger the exception.

B applies the general rule and the disclosure requirement.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 187HardCaveat Emptor and Quality of Goods

B tells a specialist seller the required purpose and relies on the seller's judgment. The goods are unfit for it. Is the seller protected by caveat emptor?

  1. A

    Yes, specialist sellers have no duty.

  2. B

    Only if B paid cash

  3. C

    No, the stated fitness exception applies.

  4. D

    Yes, because purpose is irrelevant.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. No, the stated fitness exception applies.

C applies all elements of the fitness exception.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 188MediumCaveat Emptor and Quality of Goods

B examines described goods, but ignores an obvious defect that reasonable examination would reveal. Can B rely on merchantable quality for that defect?

  1. A

    Yes, examination has no effect.

  2. B

    Only if the seller is absent

  3. C

    Yes, every defect remains covered.

  4. D

    No, the stated limitation applies.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. No, the stated limitation applies.

D applies the examination qualification.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 189HardCaveat Emptor and Quality of Goods

S actively conceals a serious defect before selling goods to B. Can S rely on caveat emptor?

  1. A

    No, active concealment is not protected.

  2. B

    Yes, in every sale.

  3. C

    Only if B discovers it later

  4. D

    Yes, if the goods were inexpensive.

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. No, active concealment is not protected.

A follows from the final paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

Question 190MediumCaveat Emptor and Quality of Goods

Goods are bought by description from a dealer in those goods. What condition is ordinarily implied?

  1. A

    That the buyer will resell them

  2. B

    That the goods are of merchantable quality

  3. C

    That price can never change

  4. D

    That every hidden preference is satisfied

View answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. That the goods are of merchantable quality

B states the implied condition in the third paragraph.

Source note: Original LexMentor CLAT UG Batch 19, prepared in the official passage-based format.

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