Question

Principle : Everyone shall be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong.
Facts : A legatee was heavily drunk and driving his car at a speed of 100 Km/per hour in a crowded market. All of a sudden his testator came on the road. There were other people on the road at that time. The car driven by legatee hit the testator and four other persons. All the five persons hit by the car died.
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. The legatee can take the benefit under the will
• B. The legatee cannot take the benefit under the will
• C. The legatee will be punished
• D. The property of the testator will go to his heirs

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The correct option is (A): The legatee can take the benefit under the will.

Answer 2

The principle for this question is stated as everyone shall be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong. The legatee, drunk and driving at speed through a crowded market, killed the testator and four other people. Let's apply this stated principle exactly as written to each option.

1. Option A: The legatee can take the benefit under the will: The legatee's drunk driving, which caused the testator's death, is his own wrong. Applying the principle exactly as written, being permitted to take advantage of one's own wrong, that wrong does not stop him from taking the benefit the will gives him.
2. Option B: The legatee cannot take the benefit under the will: This reflects the more familiar rule that a wrongdoer should not profit from his own wrong, but that is not the principle given for this question, and the instructions require applying only the stated principle to these facts.
3. Option C: The legatee will be punished: The stated principle says nothing about criminal punishment, it only addresses whether he may take advantage of his own wrong, not whether he faces punishment for the deaths he caused.
4. Option D: The property of the testator will go to his heirs: This assumes the legatee is excluded from the will's benefit, which conflicts with the principle's direct statement that a person is permitted to take advantage of his own wrong.

Reading the stated principle literally, the legatee's own wrong does not prevent him from taking the benefit left to him under the will.

Therefore, the correct answer is The legatee can take the benefit under the will.

Answer 3

Break this into a short test: identify the wrong actually committed, then apply the principle exactly as it is worded for this question, without substituting the more familiar contrary rule that is not the one given here.

1. The legatee can take the benefit under the will: The legatee's drunk, reckless driving, which caused the testator's death, is his own wrong. The principle for this question states plainly that a person is permitted to take advantage of his own wrong, so applying it literally, that wrong does not stop him from taking the benefit.
2. The legatee cannot take the benefit under the will: This reflects the more commonly known rule that a wrongdoer should not profit from his own wrong, but that is a different rule from the one actually given for this question, and the instructions require applying only the stated principle.
3. The legatee will be punished: The stated principle addresses only whether he may take advantage of his own wrong, it says nothing about criminal punishment for the deaths he caused, so this option answers a question the principle does not raise.
4. The property of the testator will go to his heirs: This assumes the legatee is excluded from the will's benefit, which conflicts with the principle's direct statement permitting him to take advantage of his own wrong.

Applying the stated principle literally, the legatee's own wrong does not prevent him from taking the benefit left to him under the will.

Therefore, the correct answer is The legatee can take the benefit under the will.