LEGAL REASONING
LEGAL PRINCIPLE: An unlawful interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or some right over or in connection with it is a nuisance in tort. The fact that the plaintiff “came to the nuisance” by knowingly acquiring property in the vicinity of the defendant’s premises is not a defence to nuisance. However, an act cannot be a nuisance if it is imperatively demanded by public convenience. Thus, when the public welfare requires it, a nuisance may be permitted for special purposes.
FACTUAL SITUATION: D owned and occupied an estate about two miles from RAF Withering, an operational and training base for Harrier Jump Jets. D claimed that they suffered severe noise disturbance every time the Harrier pilots carried out training circuits: an average of 70 times a day. D alleged that the noise nuisance constituted a very serious interference with their enjoyment of their land. D instituted judicial proceedings against the defendants, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), damages amounting to Rs. 1,00,00,000. The MoD denied liability and raised the defence that the Harrier training was undertaken for public benefit and that they had prescriptive right over the land as D had bought their property at a time when RAF Withering was already established so he cannot claim compensation as he already knew about existence of RAF Withering near his property.
a) D is not entitled to compensation as the training of pilots is a public welfare activity
b) The Harrier training is not an ordinary use of land and that although there was a public benefit to the continued training of Harrier pilots, D should not be required to bear the cost of the public benefit
c) D is not entitled to compensation as his property is two miles away from the training base
d) D will not get compensation as the training activity does not amount to nuisance and D had full knowledge about the training activities when he purchased the land.
The answers (a).
LOGICAL REASONING
1. Mellifluous: Cacophony ::
a) Dulcet : Euphony
b) Florid : Embellishment
c) Thirty : Parsimony
d) Fragrant : Noisomeness
2. In three coloured boxes – Red, Green and Blue, 108 balls are placed. There are twice as many balls in the green and red boxes combined as there are in the blue box and twice as many in the blue box as there are in the red box. How many balls are there in the green box?
a) 18
b) 36
c) 45
d) None of these
3. In the following letter series, some of the letters are missing which are given in that order as one of the alternatives below it. Choose the correct alternative.
ac_ cab_baca_ aba_ acac
a) aacb
b) acbc
c) babb
d) bcbb
The answers are: 1. (d); 2. (d); 3. (a).
ANALYTICAL REASONING
The average life expectancy for the United States population as a whole is 73.9 years, but children born in Hawaii will live an average of 77 years, and those born in Louisiana, 71.7 years. If a newlywed couple from Louisiana were to begin their family in Hawaii, their children would be expected to live longer than would be the case if the family remained in Louisiana.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn in the passage?
a) Insurance company statisticians do not believe that moving to Hawaii will significantly lengthen the average Louisianan’s life.
b) The Governor of Louisiana has falsely alleged that statistics for his state are inaccurate.
c) The longevity ascribed to Hawaii’s current population is attributable mostly to genetically determined factors.
d) Thirty percent of all Louisianans can expect to live longer than 77 years.
The answer is (c).
