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CLAT Legal Reasoning Questions
Practise legal reasoning (legal aptitude) for the Common Law Admission Test: 10 multiple-choice questions, each with the correct answer and a worked explanation. Click an option to check it, or “New questions” for another set.
Legal Reasoning practice
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Q1.Principle: Self-defence permits reasonable force to repel an imminent attack. Facts: After an attacker has fled, the victim chases and injures him the next day. Is this self-defence?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: C — No
There was no imminent threat; force used later is retaliation, not self-defence.
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Q2.Principle: An offer must be communicated to be accepted. Facts: X finds a lost dog and returns it without knowing a reward was announced. Can X claim the reward?
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Answer: C — No
X could not accept an offer they did not know about (cf. Lalman Shukla v. Gauri Dutt).
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Q3.Principle: Consent obtained by coercion makes a contract voidable at the option of the coerced party. Facts: A signs a sale deed after B threatens to harm A’s family. The contract is:
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Answer: B — Voidable at A’s option
Coercion makes the contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.
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Q4.Principle: The burden of proof in a criminal case lies on the prosecution. This means:
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Answer: D — The prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
The accused is presumed innocent until the prosecution proves guilt.
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Q5.Principle: Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Facts: A tourist imports a banned item, saying he did not know it was banned. He is:
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Answer: B — Liable
Ignorantia juris non excusat — not knowing the law is no defence.
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Q6.Principle: Defamation requires a false statement harming reputation, published to a third party. Facts: A sends B a private letter calling B a thief; no one else reads it. Is it defamation?
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Answer: B — No — there is no publication to a third party
Without communication to a third person there is no publication.
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Q7.Principle: Trespass is unlawful entry onto another’s land. Facts: A enters B’s garden to save a child from drowning in B’s pond. The best defence is:
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Answer: D — Necessity
Entering to prevent serious harm can be justified by necessity.
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Q8.Principle: Acceptance must be absolute and unqualified. Facts: A offers to sell a car for ₹5 lakh; B replies, “I accept at ₹4.5 lakh.” There is:
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Answer: A — No contract — B made a counter-offer
A conditional or modified acceptance is a counter-offer, not acceptance.
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Q9.Principle: A person is liable for negligence if they owe a duty of care and breach it, causing damage. Facts: A shopkeeper leaves a wet floor unmarked; a customer slips and breaks an arm. Is the shopkeeper liable?
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Answer: B — Yes
The shopkeeper owes customers a duty of care, breached it by not marking the hazard, and caused the injury.
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Q10.Principle: A contract without consideration is void unless an exception applies. Which is an exception?
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Answer: B — A promise made out of natural love and affection in a registered written document between near relatives
Section 25 of the Indian Contract Act allows such registered promises between near relatives.
How to approach legal reasoning questions
Apply ONLY the principle given, even if real law differs. Identify the rule, match each fact to an element of the rule, and choose the option that follows strictly from the principle.
About CLAT
Common Law Admission Test — conducted by Consortium of National Law Universities. Admission to National Law Universities, with passage-based English, legal, logical and quantitative sections.
Original practice questions written for this site in the style and difficulty of each exam’s syllabus. They are not past papers and the site is not affiliated with any exam body. Exam patterns, marking schemes and syllabi change — always check the latest official notification.
CLAT practice topics
| Topic | Section | Question source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Reasoning | Legal aptitude | Question bank |
| English Grammar | English | Question bank |
| Vocabulary & Idioms | English | Question bank |
| Indian Polity, History & Geography | General awareness | Question bank |
| Logical Reasoning | Reasoning | Calculated (new numbers every set) |
| Percentages | Quantitative aptitude | Calculated (new numbers every set) |