Question

Principle 1:
A practice being followed by a community continuously since time immemorial is binding in nature even before it is recognized as a custom by law. A custom is binding on the people of that particular community and carries the force of law. A custom must satisfy a few preconditions to be deemed one. It must not be in contravention to any statute, must be reasonable and in accordance with public policy.
Principle 2:
No authority other than established by law, shall adjudicate any matters of law.
Principle 3:
AccoRding to the Hindu Marriage Act, marriage within the same gotra is a valid marriage.

Facts: Sheila is a resident of Raghavgarh. She has been living there since her birth and is well aware of all the customs of the place. She has been married for 15 years and has three children with her husband. Her father-in-law rapes her. The long-standing tradition of the village is to command the rapist to marry the victim. Following the tradition, the group of local elders directs Sheila to marry her father-in-law and divorce her husband. Sheila is horrified by the verdict and doesn’t consent to the marriage.
Decide:
a. As the tradition is a long standing one, it carries the force of law and is therefore binding.
b. It is in contravention with the law and is not a valid custom.
c. The body of elders does not have the authority to adjudicate the matter.
d. Both (b) and (c)

Answer 1

how colonial rule and African actions during the colonial period affected the resources and institutional settings for subsequent economic development south of the Sahara. The issue is seen from the perspective of the dynamics of development in what was in 1900 an overwhelmingly land-abundant region characterised by shortages of labour and capital, by perhaps surprisingly extensive indigenous market activities and by varying but often low levels of political centralisation. The differential impact of French and British rule is explored, but it is argued that a bigger determinant of the differential evolution of poverty, welfare and structural change was the contrast between “settler” and “peasant” economies.