The All India Law Entrance Test consists of 5 sections i.e. English, General Knowledge, Legal Aptitude, Reasoning and Elementary Mathematics. AILET is essentially a speed based test as there are a total of 150 questions to be solved in a time span of 90 minutes.
The legal aptitude section carries a weightage of 35 marks and is extremely important since the aspirants have no prior exposure to this section. Hence, a strategy to score well in this section is a very important component for a good preparation.
The first step in this direction should be to get an idea about the kind of questions that appeared in the legal aptitude section of AILET 2018:
Distribution based on Question-type for the legal aptitude section of AILET 2018 is as under:
| Question Type |
No. of Questions |
| Assertion-Reason Questions |
7 |
| Principle-Fact Questions(Legal Reasoning) |
9 |
| Legal Fact Questions |
19 |
| Total |
35 |
Distribution based on subject area for the legal aptitude section of AILET 2018 is as under:
| Subject |
No. of Questions |
| Law of Torts |
5 |
| Legal GK |
14 |
| Law of Contract |
3 |
| Constitution |
10 |
| Legal Misc |
3 |
| Total |
35 |
However, it should be noted here that the AILET paper setters may or may not stick to this distribution scheme. Questions from the Indian Penal Code were given a complete miss. The Principle-fact questions were extremely lengthy and used multiple aspects of knowledge in the given area to form the principle. The section was dominated with questions from Indian Constitution and Current Legal GK. The Current Legal GK questions were related to proposed amendments in various laws, case laws and various other legal developments. Some of the questions stumped the AILET aspirants completely, like- youth bar association judgment, maternity benefit duration, public trust doctrine, legal personality awarded to river in New Zealand. Most of the questions were moderate to difficult and would require 25-30 minutes for a comfortable attempt. A good score in this section would be in the range of 25-27.
Following are the tips on how to prepare and attempt each of these question types:
Legal Reasoning:This section aims to judge a student's legal aptitude. As a candidate, you are expected to apply a legal principle to a factual situation; hence, this section tests your logical skills rather than testing your legal knowledge. This section helps in determining a student's clarity of thought. Let us look at a question that have been previously asked in AILET:
Legal Principle: Article 19(1) (d) of the Constitution of India guarantees to all citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of India. But at the same time, Article 19 (5) empowers the State to impose reasonable restrictions on the freedom of movement on the ground of interest of general public.
Factual Situation: Wearing of helmet is made compulsory for all two-wheeler riders by a law enacted by the State. The constitutionality of the law is questioned before the High Court on the ground that it violates Article 19(1)(d) of the petitioner. Will the petitioner succeed?
Decision:
- Yes, because the restriction is not reasonable and no interest of general public is protected by this law.
- No, because the restriction is reasonable as it intends to protect interest of general public by preventing loss of lives of citizen of India.
- Yes, because freedom of movement is a fundamental right of every citizen of India and the State cannot take it away by way of legislation but has to amend the Constitution to take away the fundamental rights.
- No, because the freedom of movement will not be violated by the impugned legislation
Answer: (b)
While attempting these questions the following pointers should be kept in mind:
- No assumptions should be made
- Principle is always right
- Strict application of the principle to the given facts
- Always pick the option that is closest to the principle
Legal Facts:
Here, direct law based questions are asked. The areas of focus for this section are preamble, fundamental rights and duties, directive principles, etc. under the Constitutional Law of India. A good knowledge of the landmark judgments and amendments will go a long way in ensuring an effective attempt. Let us look at a sample question from Legal Facts that was asked in AILET 2017:
Q. In Youth Bar Association v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India directed to upload copies of FIR within………….. hours of police website:
- 48
- 12
- 24
- 48-72
Answer: (c)
To attempt these questions with a good accuracy, make a list of the following:
- Important Fundamental rights and other articles under the Indian Constitution
- Important amendments
- Landmark Judgments
- Recommendations & Chairpersons of law commissions.
Legal G.K:
To attempt questions on legal G.K. with a good accuracy you must read a newspaper regularly and remain updated about recent judgments, new laws, etc. This will also be beneficial for the General Knowledge section which carries 35 marks. Let us look at the following question that was before:
Q. Which is the first country to allow voting through mobile phones?
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
Answer: (a)
While attempting these questions the following pointers may be kept in mind:
- Identify one newspaper for regular reading
- Identify the relevant news columns which require a complete reading
Time Management for AILET- Legal Aptitude Section:
- Total time allocation to the section: 20 to 25 minutes
- Direct questions: 20 to 30 seconds
- Reasoning questions: 40 seconds to a maximum of 1 minute