MID-SEMESTER SYLLABUS

1. Constitutional Law
History of making of the Indian constitution
Preamble
Basic Structure Doctrine
Citizenship & Nationality
Articles 12, 18 & 13 (Definition of state and Law)
Related case laws & illustrations
Procedure established by Law (Under article 21 & due process of Law under American
constitution in the context of Menaka Gandhi vs UOI

2. IPC
Constituent elements of crime
Stages of crime
Basic principles of general criminal law
Substantive criminal law / procedural criminal law
Extra-territoriality & Extradition
Consequences of a Crime- presence and absence of knowledge, Motive & Intention
Sentencing & Punishment policy in India- Death Penalty/ Reduction of sentence / Life
imprisonment

Questions For IPC

3. Explain mens rea and the concept of mens rea in Statutory offences

Points for answer- Definition and Concept of mens rea, Importance of Actus rea and Mens Rea in the
commission of a crime, Elements of Mens Rea, Degrees Of mens rea, Exceptions to the presence of
mens rea, Mens rea in Tort Law and Statutory Criminal Law

4. Discuss the basic elements of crime and criminal law

Points for answer- Definition, nature and concept of actus reus and mens rea, Constituent elements of
Actus reus and mens rea, Prohibition of retrospective operation of criminal law, Differences between
crime and tort, factors leading to the variation of liability in criminal law

5. Discuss the various stages of crime

Points for answer- Elements of crime (Actus reus and mens rea), Elements of intention, Preparation to
commit an offence- Punishable and non-punishable with examples, Attempt to commit an offence- Tests
to differentiate between preparation and attempt, Cases and illustrations, Commission of an offence-
Successful attempt and the last act legally necessary to complete the offence.

Punishable preparations under IPC

1. Sec 122 &126

 2. Sec 233-235, 245, 243, 257,259, 256, 399

Distinction between attempt to commit a possible act and an impossible act

1. This distinction can be made on the basis of circumstantial evidence, for instance the
circumstances that an offender finds himself in and whether the last act that was legally
necessary to commit the offence was committed or not
2. A crime might consist of a series of act compiled together leading to the final commission. For
instance, the offence of criminal conspiracy which requires the common intention among all
offenders and the necessary background preparation to make the final attempt
3. In all cases of criminal conspiracy, no offender can be charged with attempt to commit the
offence unless the offence itself is a possible one
4. At the stages of intention and preparation, an impossible act may become possible or vice-versa.
In case of an impossible act becoming possible, offender can be charged with either preparation
or attempt depending on the circumstances
5. In case of a possible act becoming impossible, emphasis is always on change of surrounding
circumstances at a later stage and the subsequent charge of preparation or attempt being put
on the offender
6. An act continuous to be identified as a preparation when in a series of acts the stage of
commission of last act is not reached

Discuss the concept of extra-territoriality under IPC

Points for answer- Definition and concept of intra and extra territorial jurisdiction, Sec 3& 4 of IPC, Cases
and illustrations, Extradition of offenders and extradition laws in India, as per Indian extradition act
1962, Punishment of foreigners in India, Extension of IPC into territories beyond the territorial waters of
India, Admiralty jurisdiction of Indian courts- Jurisdiction in territorial waters and high seas.

6. Discuss the various types of punishments prescribed by the IPC (or) Explain the sentencing and
punishment policy that is followed in India

Various types of punishments under IPC- Punishments imposed in the pre-independence era & Post-
independence era, Life imprisonment and periodic imprisonment, Simple and rigorous imprisonment,
remission and commutation of sentences, death penalty and the debate surrounding death penalty.

Questions for Constitution

1. Discuss the salient features of the Indian constitution

Partly unitary and partly federal, Partly rigid and partly flexible, lengthiest written constitution,
Fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy, Judicial review, Rule of Law and supremacy
of law, basic structure doctrine.

2. Discuss the historical background of Indian constitution

Definition, concept and nature of constitutional and constitutional law, Rajanand Kumar case,
Government of India act 1919, government of India act 1935, Adoption of constitution in 1949, Debates
in constituent assembly, entry into the force in 1950
 3. Explain the concept of right to life and personal liberty and procedure established by law under
article 21 of Indian Constitution

Definition, nature & concept of right to life, Personal liberty, origin, and development of procedure
established by law under article 21, due process (substantive and procedural) and procedure established
by law as a reasonable restriction on article 21, Fundamental rights vs reasonable restrictions debate,
Modern dimensions of article 21 with illustrations and cases.

Substantive due process comes from substantive law which defines rights and duties with also lays down
the remedy in case of violation of rights and duties. Procedural due process comes from procedural law
which lays down the procedure of enforcement of substantive law and also lays down the procedures to
be followed to enforce rights and duties in case of a violation. This form of due process describes the
procedures to be followed at the pre-trial stage to recover evidence, at the trial stage to give guidelines
to judges and advocates and at post trial stage for the execution of the judgement and the sentence.

In India we have taken the procedural due process from the American constitution (due process clause
found in the 5th and 14th amendments) and included it in procedural laws such as the code of civil
procedure and criminal procedure to incorporate principles of natural justice to ensure a fair trial, fair
investigation, speedy execution of judgements and sentences and therefore ensure speedy justice

4. Discuss the salient features of preamble

Preamble is an introduction to any constitution and it reflects all the basic ideologies and principles that
appear in the mother law of the land. Preamble also lays down the aims and objectives and goals that
any democratic nation wants to achieve over a period of time

Basic principles found in the preamble, objectives of preamble as a provision, whether preamble is part
of constitution or not- decided cases, whether the preamble is a part of basic structure of the
constitution or not.

5. Explain the freedoms guaranteed under article-19 and the restrictions imposed on those
freedoms

Various types of freedoms under article 19, right to property converted from fundamental right to
constitutional right, reasonable restrictions under article 19 clauses (2-6), fundamental freedoms vs
reasonable restrictions debate.

Process of writing a case law?

What was held

Principle

Reasons for becoming a land mark case

Definition of Law under Indian constitution

Article 13,