DU B.Com (Hons) Business Laws: Most Repeated Questions in Sem 1 PYQs

Business Laws (UPC 2412081102) is the Semester 1 paper most B.Com (Hons) students find hardest to predict. The syllabus is wide — Indian Contract Act, Sale of Goods Act and the LLP Act — and it all looks equally important.

So we did the obvious thing: we put the three NEP/UGCF question papers side by side and marked every topic that came back.

All three papers are free on the B.Com (Hons) Business Laws PYQ page. Open them alongside this post.

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Came in all 3 papers

These nine topics appeared in every NEP Business Laws paper so far. If you only have a week, start here.

Two more LLP topics are close behind: changing the name of an LLP (a long question in 2023, a short note in Dec 2023 and 2024), and LLP vs partnership/company (2023: "combines the advantages of both"; Dec 2023: firm vs LLP; 2024: "removes the drawbacks of traditional partnership").

Came in 2 of 3 papers

• Bailment vs pledge (2023, 2024)

• Surety's liability is co-extensive with the principal debtor (2023, and twice in 2024)

• Finder of goods (2023: "Anish finds jewellery in his office corridor"; 2024: "status of finder is like a bailee")

• Mere mental acceptance is no acceptance (2023, 2024)

• Restraint of trade / void agreements (2023: sale of a jewellery business with a two-year restraint; Dec 2023: void agreements and restraint of trade)

• Sale vs agreement to sell (Dec 2023, 2024)

• Modes of discharge of a contract (Dec 2023, 2024)

• Misrepresentation vs fraud (Dec 2023 directly; 2024 through a forged horse-fitness certificate)

• Agency (2023: sub-agent, ratification; Dec 2023: agency by estoppel and necessity, termination of agency)

• Whistle-blowing under the LLP Act (Dec 2023, 2024)

One more pattern worth knowing: the Dec 2024 paper repeated "surety's liability" in both the main question and its OR. Examiners clearly like it.

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Answer pointers for the "all 3 papers" topics

These are revision prompts, not full answers. Write the full answer from your textbook.

Minor's agreements. Section 11 makes a minor incompetent to contract, and Mohori Bibee v Dharmodas Ghose (1903) holds the agreement void ab initio. A minor can't ratify it on attaining majority, so a fresh promise to repay a loan taken during minority is unenforceable (the old loan is no consideration for the new promise). For necessaries (Section 68), the supplier is reimbursed from the minor's property; the minor isn't personally liable. Luxury clothes are necessaries only if suited to the minor's condition in life, so in the Dec 2023 case the trader is unlikely to recover.

Consideration. Section 2(d): consideration may move from the promisee or any other person, so a stranger to consideration can sue if he is party to the contract. Inadequacy doesn't matter (Section 25, Explanation 2). Exceptions to "no consideration, no contract" (Section 25): natural love and affection in a registered writing, past voluntary service, and a written promise to pay a time-barred debt. Add completed gifts and agency (no consideration needed to create an agency).

Impossibility. Section 56: a contract to do an act that later becomes impossible or unlawful becomes void (doctrine of frustration, Taylor v Caldwell). Mere difficulty, higher cost or commercial hardship does not discharge a contract.

Damages. Section 73 and Hadley v Baxendale: you get damages that arise naturally or that both parties knew of when contracting. In the Dec 2023 tailor case, the urgency was never told to the railway, so the tailor can't claim the lost profit. Damages vs penalty: Section 74 allows only reasonable compensation up to the stipulated amount.

Indemnity vs guarantee. Indemnity (Section 124) has two parties and the indemnifier's liability is primary. Guarantee (Section 126) has three parties (creditor, principal debtor, surety) and the surety's liability is secondary. Under Section 128 it is co-extensive with the principal debtor's.

Caveat emptor. Section 16, Sale of Goods Act: there's no implied condition as to quality or fitness, so the buyer must take care. Exceptions: the buyer relies on the seller's skill for a known purpose, goods bought by description from a dealer must be of merchantable quality, sale by sample, trade usage, and fraud. For the 2024 hidden-defect case, argue the merchantable-quality exception: the defect couldn't be found on reasonable examination and the buyer relied on the seller.

Unpaid seller. Section 45 defines the unpaid seller. Rights against the goods: lien (Section 47), stoppage in transit (Section 50) and resale (Section 54). Where property hasn't passed, the seller can withhold delivery. Stoppage in transit "extends" lien because it applies after the goods have left the seller's possession and the buyer is insolvent.

Firm → LLP conversion. Section 55 and the Second Schedule of the LLP Act, 2008: all partners of the firm must become the LLP's partners, file the conversion documents, and get a certificate of registration. Effect: all property, liabilities, rights and obligations of the firm vest in the LLP, and the firm is dissolved.

Designated partners. Section 7: every LLP needs at least two designated partners who are individuals, at least one of them resident in India. They are responsible for compliance and filings and are personally liable for penalties for non-compliance. A resignation has to be filed with the Registrar, which is the point the 2024 question was testing.

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How to use this for your exam

1. Write one strong answer per "all 3 papers" topic. That's 9 answers, and they cover most of what has actually been asked.

2. Practise the case questions. Every paper has short problems (the March 2023 paper had five: the minor's loan, the jewellery business, the found jewellery, the TV sold twice, the juice tins). Answer them in four steps: law → facts → application → conclusion.

3. Don't skip the LLP Act. At least a fifth of every paper's marks came from it, and its questions are the most predictable.

4. Time yourself on one full paper. You have 3 hours for 90 marks, so 18 marks needs about 35 minutes.

Past repetition doesn't guarantee what comes next. Cover the whole syllabus and use this list to decide what to revise first.

Get the papers: B.Com (Hons) Business Laws PYQs · all Semester 1 B.Com (Hons) papers · B.Com (Hons) — all semesters

Also read: How to write high-scoring answers in DU exams · DU Semester 1 exam guide for freshers