Question:

Principle : Whoever by words publishes any imputation concerning any person is said to defame that person.
Facts : During a marriage ceremony, A circulated a pamphlet saying sister of the bride 'S‘ is a thief, she has stolen the shoes of the bridegroom.
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.

Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
  • A defamed S
  • A did not defame S
  • A defamed the bridegroom
  • A defamed the bride
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The Correct Option is A

Approach Solution - 1

The correct option is (A): A defamed S.
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Approach Solution -2

The principle says that whoever, by words, publishes an imputation concerning any person defames that person. A circulated a pamphlet saying the bride's sister, S, is a thief who stole the bridegroom's shoes. Let's check each option.

  1. Option A: A defamed S: The imputation, calling someone a thief who stole the shoes, was made concerning S by name. Since the principle defines defamation as an imputation concerning a person, and this one concerns S, A defamed S.
  2. Option B: A did not defame S: This contradicts the plain fact that the pamphlet's accusation was directed at S specifically, naming her as the thief.
  3. Option C: A defamed the bridegroom: The bridegroom is mentioned only as the owner of the stolen shoes, the imputation of theft was made about S's conduct, not about the bridegroom.
  4. Option D: A defamed the bride: The bride is mentioned only to identify who S is, as her sister, the accusation itself is about S, not about the bride's own character or conduct.

The pamphlet's imputation of theft was made concerning S, so the person defamed under the principle is S.

Therefore, the correct answer is A defamed S.

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Approach Solution -3

Break this into a short test: identify the specific person the imputation is actually directed at, then match that person to the option that names them.

  1. A defamed S: The imputation itself, calling someone a thief who stole the shoes, is directed at S by name in the pamphlet. Since the test asks who the words concern, and that is S, this option matches directly.
  2. A did not defame S: This is contradicted directly by the test, the accusation names S as its subject, so this option does not hold.
  3. A defamed the bridegroom: The bridegroom appears in the facts only as the owner of the stolen shoes, the imputation of theft is not directed at his conduct, so the test does not point to him.
  4. A defamed the bride: The bride appears only to identify who S is, as her sister, the accusation itself is about S's conduct, not the bride's, so the test does not point to her either.

Matching the imputation to the person it is actually about places it squarely on S, since she is the one named as the thief.

Therefore, the correct answer is A defamed S.

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