Question 1 OR (b)
Registered promise of maintenance after quarrels: natural love and affection
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
- Topic
- Consideration
- Notes
- Crux notes
Question
Question 1 OR (b) · 6 marksA husband executed, in favour of his wife, a registered document. After referring to the quarrels and disagreement between them, he promised that he would pay for her separate residence and maintenance. When he failed to pay, the wife sued him in a court of law. Will she succeed?
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- Will she succeed…?A case problem: state the rule and its section, apply it to these facts, then answer in one line (yes or no, and why).
Write it in this order
- Read the facts; underline who did what, and the exact question 1 min
- 1 Section 25 and the conditions of the natural-love-and-affection exception 3 marks 5 min
- 2 Application to the facts 2 marks 4 min
- 3 Decision 1 mark 1 min
- Check: section named, answer stated in one line 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks. End with step 3 in a line or two.
Try it first. About 12 minutes for 6 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Law. An agreement made without consideration is void (s. 25, Indian Contract Act, 1872). One exception is an agreement made on account of natural love and affection. Section 25(1) needs all four conditions: the promise must be made out “of natural love and affection, between parties standing in a near relation”, in writing, and registered. Illustration (b) to section 25: a father, for natural love and affection, promises in writing to give his son ₹1,000 and registers it; this is a contract.
Application. The husband and wife are near relatives, and the promise is in a registered document. But the document itself refers to the quarrels and disagreement between them, and the promise of separate maintenance and residence was made because of that discord. The promise was therefore not made out of natural love and affection, so the first condition of section 25(1) fails. There is no other consideration for it. This is the decision in the leading case of Rajlukhy Dabee v. Bhootnath Mookerjee (1900), on the same facts.
Decision. The agreement is void for want of consideration. The wife will not succeed.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 25 and the conditions of the natural-love-and-affection exception | 3 |
| 2 | Application to the facts | 2 |
| 3 | Decision | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
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