Question

Principle : Damages the money recompense, as far as money can do, for the loss suffered by a person.
Facts : A, an Indian citizen, having a right to vote, was not allowed to cast his vote on the polling booth, by the returning officer. Name of A was mentioned in the voter‘s list. A has also reported at the polling booth in time. However, the candidate in whose favor A would have cast his vote won the election. A filed a suit claiming damages.
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. A will be entitled to damages
• B. A will not be entitled to damages
• C. A will be entitled to only nominal damages
• D. A will be entitled to exemplary damages

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The correct option is (A): A will be entitled to damages.

Answer 2

The principle says damages are money recompense, as far as money can do, for the loss suffered by a person. A had a right to vote, was listed as a voter, reported to the booth in time, and was still turned away by the returning officer, even though his preferred candidate won anyway. Let's check each option.

1. Option A: A will be entitled to damages: A had a valid, listed right to vote and was wrongfully denied the chance to cast it. That wrongful denial of his legal right is itself the loss the principle contemplates, so money recompense is available to him for it, regardless of who ultimately won the election.
2. Option B: A will not be entitled to damages: This treats the election outcome as if it erases the wrong done to A, but the wrong is the denial of A's own right to vote, which happened whatever the result turned out to be.
3. Option C: A will be entitled to only nominal damages: This narrows the remedy to a fixed, minimal amount, but the principle as stated simply says damages recompense the loss suffered, it does not itself set a nominal cap on the amount.
4. Option D: A will be entitled to exemplary damages: This raises the remedy to a punitive level, but the principle is about recompense for loss, not about punishing the returning officer, so this also goes beyond what the principle supports.

A suffered the loss of being wrongfully stopped from exercising his right to vote, and the principle entitles him to money recompense for that loss.

Therefore, the correct answer is A will be entitled to damages.

Answer 3

Break this into a short test: identify the actual loss suffered, check whether the principle's recompense function covers that loss, and only look at amount or category if the principle itself specifies one.

1. A will be entitled to damages: The loss here is the wrongful denial of A's right to vote itself, a loss that exists independently of who eventually won the election. Since the principle recompenses loss suffered, and this is a real loss A suffered, this option matches.
2. A will not be entitled to damages: This wrongly assumes that the winning candidate's success cancels out the loss, but the loss, being stopped from exercising a right A was entitled to, happened regardless of the election result.
3. A will be entitled to only nominal damages: The stated principle does not itself cap the recompense at a small, nominal figure, it simply speaks of recompense for loss suffered, so narrowing it to nominal damages adds a limit the principle does not contain.
4. A will be entitled to exemplary damages: This goes the opposite way, elevating the remedy to a punitive level, but the principle describes recompense for loss, not punishment of the wrongdoer, so this also goes beyond what the principle supports.

Testing the facts against loss and recompense alone, A suffered a real loss in being denied his vote, and the principle entitles him to money recompense for exactly that.

Therefore, the correct answer is A will be entitled to damages.