Civil Law (II)

LAHORE HIGH COURT, LAHORE Competitive Examination for the Post of Civil Judges-cum-Magistrates - Spring 2026 PAPER-II CIVIL LAW (II) [Subjective-Questions] TIME ALLOWED: 02 hours 30 minutes MARKS: 75 Instructions: • Subjective question paper comprises of Part-II & Part-III. • Part-II contains six questions and only three must be attempted – each question has 20 marks. • Part-III contains two questions and only one must be attempted – each question has 15 marks. Part-II 1. A owned agricultural land in District Kasur. In 2020, A filed suit against his neighbour, B, for permanent injunction against interference / encroachment. Suit was dismissed in 2022 in exercise of jurisdiction under Order XVII Rule (3) of CPC. No appeal was filed. In 2025, A files a fresh suit in same court for seeking declaration of title, permanent injunction and mesne profits. B objects suit on the ground of res judicata. Trial court decides preliminary objection and dismisses the suit. A prefers appeal and there following issues arise. Discuss: a) Examine essential conditions for application of res judicata and determine whether dismissal for want of prosecution meets those conditions. b) Distinguish between res judicata and constructive res judicata. Could any of these doctrine(s) bar second suit on given facts. c) Is trial court's order legal or illegal. You, being the presiding officer of the Appellate court, write an operative order of approximately 100 -120- words, with reasons. 2. ABC Enterprises, a construction company, enters into a contract with a Local Authority (Authority) for construction of a commercial plaza on the land vested in the Authority. In the course of construction interim payment of Rs.10.00 million was demanded by ABC but not released by the Authority. ABC files suit for recovery of amount and ask for injunction under Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 of CPC to restrain the Authority from awarding construction works to any other contractor till the decision of the suit. The Authority opposes injunction on the ground that requisite ingredients for grant of injunction are missing. Court still grants injunction. The Authority prefers appeal. Analyse and elucidate following issues. Answers shall be supported by case laws. a) What are requisite conditions for grant of temporary injunction(s). b) Critically examine principle of adequacy of damages in the context of grant of temporary injunctions and comment on its application to aforesaid facts. c) How should a court balance a private interest when considering if to grant injunction affecting public body engaged in public projects. Is public interest a relevant consideration under Order XXXIX CPC. d) Explain interplay of equitable doctrine of clean hands and statutory framework of Order XXXIX CPC. 3. An arbitral award concerning title and possession of immovable property is filed before Civil court under the Arbitration Act 1940 (the 'Act'). One party files objection alleging misconduct of the arbitrator and invalidity of the award. During pendency of the objections, a third person purchases the disputed property from award-debtor claiming to be a bona fide purchaser without notice who seeks impleadment and contends that the award cannot affect his independent rights. Decide the controversy by addressing following questions, with reasons: a) Whether validity of the Award can only be challenged through proceedings contemplated under sections 30, 32 and 33 of the Act. 5. A suit for recovery of Rs.20,000,000/-, based on written agreement was filed on 15th March 2024. Agreement was executed on 10th January 2020, and payment was due on 10th July 2020. The defendant contends that suit is barred by limitation. The Plaintiff however argued that; (a) the defendant made partial payment on 1st June 2022, duly acknowledged in writing; and (b) the courts remained closed due to unforeseen circumstances from 5th July 2023 to 20th July 2023. • Determine starting point of limitation and cite relevant articles of the Limitation Act. • Examine whether suit is within limitation, giving detailed reasons. • Discuss the legal effect of o Acknowledgment / part payment under the Limitation act. o Closure of courts on the computation of limitation. • Would your findings change if the acknowledgment was oral instead of written? Give reasons with reference to the provisions of law. 6. "Limitation Act 1908 is not an instrument of discretion but a discipline of finality – and that the highest judicial virtue in applying it is not compassion, but fidelity to the law" Analyse aforesaid statement with scenario-based illustrations and cite case laws. Part-III 1. The Guardian & Wards Act 1890 (Act) declares the welfare of the minor to be the paramount consideration in custody proceedings. Yet the Act provides no definition of welfare, no structured framework for its assessment, and no institutional mechanism – such as child welfare officer or guardian ad-litem – for independent representations of the child's interests. Critically examine this structural gap and its consequences for custody adjudication in Pakistan and explain that how judicial pronouncements have abridged this gap over the years. Cite case laws to substantiate your view-point. 2. The Family Courts Act 1964 was enacted to provide an informal, speedy and conciliatory mechanism. Identify, specific provisions of the Act that were designed to serve this purpose and examine, with reasons, why these provisions have failed in practice. Your answer must address the mandatory conciliation mechanism, the role of the Judges as conciliator, and the structural impediments to genuine reconciliation within the adversarial model.