Topics of Law

About this unit

This unit introduces four major branches of substantive law that touch everyday life: property, contracts, torts and criminal law. It explains how ownership is acquired and transferred, how agreements become legally binding, what remedies exist when someone causes civil harm, and how the State defines and punishes crimes. It also introduces India's new criminal laws, which replaced the colonial-era codes from 1 July 2024.

Key ideas

• Property may be movable or immovable, tangible or intangible; ownership and possession are different ideas.
• A contract is an agreement enforceable by law, governed by the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, remedied mainly by damages.
• Strict and absolute liability make defendants liable even without fault.
• Criminal law is now found in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (all 2023).
• A crime generally needs both a guilty act and a guilty mind.

How to prepare

Learn definitions precisely and the essentials of a valid contract. Remember landmark cases such as Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball, Mohori Bibee, Donoghue v. Stevenson, Rylands v. Fletcher and M.C. Mehta. Practise applying rules to short fact situations.