Question

Principle : An interest created, dependent upon a condition fails, if the fulfillment of the condition is impossible.
Facts : A promises to pay Rs. Ten Lakh to B on condition that he shall marry A‘s daughter C. At the date on which A gave Rs. Ten Lac to B, C was dead.
This question consists of legal principle(s) (hereinafter referred to as ‘principle‘) and facts. Such proposition may or may not be true in the real and legal sense, yet you have to conclusively assume them to be true for the purposes of this section. Principles have to be applied to the given facts to arrive at the most reasonable conclusion. Only one of the alternatives, i.e., (A), (B), (C), or (D) is the most reasonable conclusion. In other words, in answering the following questions, you must not rely on any principle except the principles that are given herein below for every question. Further you must not assume any facts other than those stated in the question. The objective of this section is to test your ability in legal aptitude, study of law, research aptitude and problem solving ability even if the ’most reasonable conclusion‘ arrived at may be absurd or unacceptable for any other reason.

• A. B‘s interest fails
• B. B‘s interest fails because of immorality
• C. B‘s interest fails because of prohibition by law
• D. B‘s interest does not fail

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The correct option is (A): B‘s interest fails.

Answer 2

The principle says an interest created dependent on a condition fails if fulfilling that condition becomes impossible. A promised to pay B Rs. 10 lakh on condition that B marry A's daughter C, but by the time A actually handed over the money, C was already dead. Let's check each option.

1. Option A: B's interest fails: The condition attached to the promise was that B marry C. Since C had died before A gave B the money, that condition became impossible to fulfil. The principle says an interest dependent on an impossible condition fails, and that is exactly what has happened here.
2. Option B: B's interest fails because of immorality: Nothing about marrying C was immoral, the reason the interest fails is that C had died, making the condition impossible, not any moral objection to the arrangement.
3. Option C: B's interest fails because of prohibition by law: No law forbids the marriage described, the reason for failure is the plain physical impossibility of marrying someone who is no longer alive, not any legal prohibition.
4. Option D: B's interest does not fail: This contradicts the principle directly, since the marriage condition is now impossible to perform, the principle says the interest fails, not that it continues.

Because C had already died, the condition of marrying her could never be fulfilled, and the principle says an interest tied to an impossible condition fails.

Therefore, the correct answer is B's interest fails.

Answer 3

Break this into a short test: identify the condition attached to the interest, check whether fulfilling it is still possible, and if not, the interest fails for that reason of impossibility specifically, not for any other reason.

1. B's interest fails: The condition attached was that B marry C. By the time A handed over the money, C had already died, so marrying her is no longer possible in fact. Applying the test, an interest dependent on an impossible condition fails, and that is exactly the situation here.
2. B's interest fails because of immorality: This assigns the wrong reason, nothing about the proposed marriage was morally objectionable, the actual reason the interest fails is the plain factual impossibility of marrying someone no longer alive.
3. B's interest fails because of prohibition by law: This also assigns the wrong reason, no law forbids the marriage described, the failure comes from physical impossibility, not any legal bar.
4. B's interest does not fail: This contradicts the test outright, since the condition, marrying C, cannot be performed at all, the interest fails rather than continuing.

Testing the condition against possibility, C's death makes marrying her impossible, and an interest tied to an impossible condition fails under the principle.

Therefore, the correct answer is B's interest fails.