Question:
Directions: The question consists of two statements, one labelled as 'Assertion' (A) and the other as 'Reason' (R). Examine these two statements carefully and select the correct answer.
Assertion (A): A void contract is not necessarily illegal.
Reason (R): Every illegal contract is void.
Directions: The question consists of two statements, one labelled as 'Assertion' (A) and the other as 'Reason' (R). Examine these two statements carefully and select the correct answer.
Assertion (A): A void contract is not necessarily illegal.
Reason (R): Every illegal contract is void.
Assertion (A): A void contract is not necessarily illegal.
Reason (R): Every illegal contract is void.
Show Hint
Both statements are correct. Ask whether "every illegal agreement is void" can by itself prove that some void agreements are perfectly lawful. It cannot, because that is the reverse direction.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
- Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A.
- Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
- A is true but R is false.
- A is false but R is true.
Show Solution
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
An assertion and reason question needs three separate checks. Is A true on its own? Is R true on its own? If both are true, does R actually explain why A is true?
The subject here is the relationship between void agreements and illegal agreements.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
A void agreement is one the law will not enforce. An illegal agreement is one whose object or consideration is forbidden by law, or is fraudulent, immoral or against public policy.
Illegality is the narrower idea. Every illegal agreement is void, but voidness has many other causes that have nothing to do with illegality.
Step 3: Testing statement A:
A says a void contract is not necessarily illegal. This is true.
An agreement with a minor is void, but nothing about it is illegal. An agreement that is uncertain in meaning is void, but it breaks no law. An agreement made under a shared mistake of fact is void, yet it is perfectly innocent.
So voidness does not carry illegality with it. A is true.
Step 4: Testing statement R:
R says every illegal contract is void. This is also true. Once the object or consideration of an agreement is unlawful, the agreement is void and the courts will not touch it. Illegality also taints any collateral transaction, which is a further consequence that voidness alone does not have. R is true.
Step 5: Does R explain A?
R states that illegal implies void. A states that void does not imply illegal.
The second is the converse question. Knowing that every illegal agreement is void tells you nothing about the many void agreements that were never illegal in the first place.
To prove A you need examples of void but lawful agreements, such as an agreement with a minor. R supplies none of that. So R does not explain A, although the two sit in the same area of law.
Step 6: Why the other options fail:
Option (A) claims R explains A, which fails for the reason just given.
Option (C) calls R false, but every illegal agreement really is void.
Option (D) calls A false, but plenty of void agreements are lawful.
Step 7: Final Answer:
Both statements are true, but the reason is about illegal agreements being void and does not prove that void agreements can be lawful.
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]
An assertion and reason question needs three separate checks. Is A true on its own? Is R true on its own? If both are true, does R actually explain why A is true?
The subject here is the relationship between void agreements and illegal agreements.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
A void agreement is one the law will not enforce. An illegal agreement is one whose object or consideration is forbidden by law, or is fraudulent, immoral or against public policy.
Illegality is the narrower idea. Every illegal agreement is void, but voidness has many other causes that have nothing to do with illegality.
Step 3: Testing statement A:
A says a void contract is not necessarily illegal. This is true.
An agreement with a minor is void, but nothing about it is illegal. An agreement that is uncertain in meaning is void, but it breaks no law. An agreement made under a shared mistake of fact is void, yet it is perfectly innocent.
So voidness does not carry illegality with it. A is true.
Step 4: Testing statement R:
R says every illegal contract is void. This is also true. Once the object or consideration of an agreement is unlawful, the agreement is void and the courts will not touch it. Illegality also taints any collateral transaction, which is a further consequence that voidness alone does not have. R is true.
Step 5: Does R explain A?
R states that illegal implies void. A states that void does not imply illegal.
The second is the converse question. Knowing that every illegal agreement is void tells you nothing about the many void agreements that were never illegal in the first place.
To prove A you need examples of void but lawful agreements, such as an agreement with a minor. R supplies none of that. So R does not explain A, although the two sit in the same area of law.
Step 6: Why the other options fail:
Option (A) claims R explains A, which fails for the reason just given.
Option (C) calls R false, but every illegal agreement really is void.
Option (D) calls A false, but plenty of void agreements are lawful.
Step 7: Final Answer:
Both statements are true, but the reason is about illegal agreements being void and does not prove that void agreements can be lawful.
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]
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Top CLAT Legal Studies Questions
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[Extracted, with edits and revisions from “Digital Personal Data Protection Law Raises Questions About Consistency with Right to Privacy Ruling” published in The Wire dated 22-08-2023] - The Supreme Court on September 1 held that a child born of a void or voidable marriage can inherit the parent’s share in a joint Hindu family property. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud however clarified that such a child would not be entitled to rights in or to the property of any other person in the family. A voidable marriage is one that is made invalid by the husband or wife through a decree. A void marriage is invalid at its very inception.
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“With changing social norms of legitimacy in every society, including ours, what was illegitimate in the past may be legitimate today. The concept of legitimacy stems from social consensus, in the shaping of which various social groups play a vital role,” Justice Ganguly, who authored the 2011 judgment, had observed.
During the hearings on the reference, Chief Justice Chandrachud had agreed with the Division Bench’s findings that children from void and voidable marriages had rights over the property, whether self-acquired or ancestral, of their parents
[Extracted with edits and revisions from “Children from void, voidable marriages entitled to parents’ share in ancestral property: Supreme Court”, by Krishnadas Rajagopal, The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/children-from-void-voidable-marriages-arelegitimate-can-claim-rights-in-parents-properties-sc/article67259229.ece ]
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Communication when complete - The communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made. The communication of an acceptance is complete, - as against the proposer, when it is put in a course of transmission to him so as to be out of the power of the acceptor; as against the acceptor, when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer.
Thus, the provision makes no difference in the position of the offeror. The offeror becomes bound when a properly addressed and adequately stamped letter of acceptance is posted. The acceptor does not become bound by merely posting his acceptance. He becomes bound only when his acceptance comes to the knowledge of the proposer. The contract is concluded at the place from where the proposal is accepted and communication of acceptance is dispatched, i.e., the address at which the proposal was sent. The court at that place would have jurisdiction to entertain a cause of action under the contract. This rule, that the communication of an acceptance is complete as against the proposer when the letter is posted, is probably intended to apply only when the parties are at a distance and they communicate by post. “Where, however, the parties are in each other’s presence or, though separated in space”, they are in direct communication, as, for example, by telephone, no contract will arise until the offeror receives the notification of acceptance - It is a well settled principle of contract law that parties cannot by contract exclude the jurisdiction of all courts. Such a contract would constitute an agreement in restraint of legal proceedings and contravene Section 28 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. However, where parties to a contract confer jurisdiction on one amongst multiple courts having proper jurisdiction, to the exclusion of all other courts, the parties cannot be said to have ousted the jurisdiction of all courts. Such a contract is valid and will bind the parties to a civil action. Section 28. Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings, void-Every agreement, -
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[Extracted, with edits, from “Justice and the Two Ideas of India”, by G. Mohan Gopal, Frontline] - Everything she wanted was here, at Carignano, in Kasauli. Here, on the ridge of the mountain, in this quiet house. It was the place, and the time of life, that she had wanted and prepared for all her life-as she realized on the first day at Carignano, with a great, cool flowering of relief - and at last she had it. She wanted no one and nothing else. Whatever else came, or happened here, would be an unwelcome intrusion and distraction. This she tried to convey to the plodding postman with a cold and piercing stare from the height of the ridge onto his honest bull back. Unfortunately, he did not look up at her on the hilltop but stared stolidly down at the dust piling onto his shoes as he plodded on. A bullock-man, an oafish ox, she thought bitterly. She stepped backwards into the garden and the wind suddenly billowed up and threw the pine branches about as though to curtain her. She was grey, tall and thin and her silk sari made a sweeping, shivering sound and she fancied she could merge with the pine trees and be mistaken for one. To be a tree, no more and no less, was all she was prepared to undertake.
What pleased and satisfied her so, here at Carignano, was its barrenness. This was the chief virtue of all Kasauli of course-its starkness. It had rocks, it had pines, it had light and air. In every direction there was a sweeping view - to the north, of the mountains, to the south, of the plains. Occasionally an eagle swam through this clear unobstructed mass of light and air, that was all. And Carignano, her home on the ridge, had no more than that. Why should it? The sun shone on its white walls. Its windows were open the ones facing north opened on to the blue waves of the Himalayas flowing out and up to the line of ice and snow sketched upon the sky, while those that faced south looked down the plunging cliff to the plain stretching out, flat and sere to the blurred horizon.
Yes, there were some apricot trees close to the house. There were clumps of iris that had finished blooming. There was the kitchen with a wing of smoke lifting out of its chimney and a stack of wood outside its door. But these were incidental, almost unimportant.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from “Fire on the Mountain” by Anita Desai] - English literature is a vast and diverse field that has left an indelible mark on the world of letters. From the eloquent plays of William Shakespeare to the complex novels of Jane Austen and the profound poetry of William Wordsworth, English literature offers a window into the human experience. One of the luminaries of English literature is William Shakespeare, often hailed as the greatest playwright in the history of English language. His works, including Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet, are celebrated for their exploration of human nature, love, ambition, and tragedy. His characters, such as the tormented Hamlet and the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, continue to captivate readers and audiences worldwide.
The 19th century ushered in a new era of literary giants. Jane Austen’s novels, such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, provide incisive social commentary through the lens of wit and romance. Austen’s heroines, like Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwood, remain beloved literary figures known for their intelligence and resilience. The Romantic era brought forth poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who celebrated * 8 UG the beauty of nature and the emotional intensity of the individual. Wordsworth’s ‘‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’’ and Coleridge’s ‘‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’’ are testament to the power of the written words to evoke profound emotions and imagery. Moving towards 20th century, English literature continued to evolve. Virginia Woolf’s ground-breaking novel Mrs. Dalloway explored the inner thoughts and lives of its characters with a modernist narrative style. Dystopian visions, as seen in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four provided stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarianism and the erosion of individual freedom.
Today, English literature is a global phenomenon, transcending borders and languages. Indian authors like Arundhati Roy, with her novel The God of Small Things, have won prestigious international literary awards. The book not only explores intricate family dynamics but also delves into the broader socio-political landscape of India. In summary, English literature is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the written word. It encompasses an array of authors, themes, and styles that continue to captivate and inspire readers across the world. - On the evening of the 10th, General Dyer arrived at Amritsar, and the Deputy-Commissioner handed over the civil power to him. He issued a proclamation by word of mouth that no meetings should be held. Two days later, after there had been no sort of riot, nor murder, General Dyer heard that a meeting was to be held at the Jallianwala Bagh. He proceeded there with about fifty troops, half British, half Indian, and a certain number of Ghurkas, armed with their kukris. The Jallianwala Bagh is an open space, half a mile square, which has one entry wide enough for three persons. The troops got in and lined up on a mound of debris. The walls, seven feet high, and the surrounding houses enclosed the people. There were, too, three alleys through which the people might have been able to pass. Within thirty seconds of the troops getting in, General Dyer gave orders to fire, and the crowd of people, estimated at anything from 5,000 to 20,000, who were sitting on the ground peacefully listening to the mob oratory, were fired on. The result of the troops’ fire into the mass of people we do not know. But we do know that Dyer’s own estimate of the casualties resulting from ten minutes continual individual firing, was 400 to 500 killed and 1,500 wounded. The people were not able to escape. They were people who had not offered any violence and who had not been warned. These people were shot down. After ten minutes, the ammunition was exhausted and the troops marched off, and they left 1,500 wounded there. There were men lying there for two days, dying of thirst, eating the ground, bleeding to death and nobody to look after them. Those who lived nearby came and carried away some of the wounded from the heap of dead and dying, but the unfortunate country people died there miserably of their wounds. This is what is done in 1919 in British India…
Centuries hence you will find Indian children brought up to this spot, just as they visit now the Cawnpore Well, and you can imagine the feelings of these Indians for generations over this terrible business.
[Col. Wedgwood, MP, speaking in the British Parliament, 22 December 1919]
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