How To Read Bare Acts Effectively For Judiciary

What is a Bare Act and How to Read It?

Bare Acts are essential texts that contain the exact wording of laws and statutes enacted by legislative bodies. The bare acts represent the authentic and original version of the laws, without any interpretation or commentary. Every law student must master the art of reading bare acts. Every statute contains hundreds of sections. Memorising all of them is a big challenge. It is next to impossible. Learning sections make you irritated, and you doubt your capability.

Why Bare Acts are Crucial for Judicial Examinations?

Candidates are expected to have a thorough understanding of the exact wording of laws, as these provide the basis for legal reasoning and decision-making. Studying the Bare Act helps in memorizing key provisions, understanding their precise interpretation, and applying them accurately during exams. It also aids in answering questions related to case laws, legal principles, and factual scenarios, ensuring candidates are well-prepared for the practical demands of judicial work. For those preparing for a judiciary exam or working in the legal field, the bare acts are crucial for understanding the law and its application in India.

These acts form the foundation of the legal system, and being familiar with them is essential. Procedural laws such as Civil Procedure Code, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, substantive laws such as Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Indian Contract Act, and the Constitution are the bare acts that are most common parts of the syllabus of different judicial examinations.

While reading any law it is important to understand the key words explained by way of an interpretation clause or the definition clause. Generally, important words and phrases are initially described by the interpretation or the definition clause which are present in either Section 2 or Section 3 of the Act, depicting these clauses.

However, specific terms may not be defined together with the interpretation or the definition clause. For example, under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, “domestic violence” is defined separately under Section 3. However, in cases of uncertainty, the meaning to a particular word or phrase is to be drawn from General Clauses Act, 1891 unless any other source is mentioned under the said legislation.

Complex Legal Language - Trouble in Bare Acts

When it comes to judicial examinations, most students even before beginning their preparation are very apprehensive to approach the bare acts directly as they feel that it will be too much to read, understand and remember. For quite a few students, reading bare acts seems too much rote learning and too less of places to understand things. As mentioned before, there is a general lack of familiarity with the ways a bare act is arranged and what each portion represents and how all of them come together to form comprehensive rules, substantial or procedural on a legal topic.

 For example, laws like Specific relief act seem very disorganised and too many topics covered under a single act which cannot be grouped together on the first read of the sections. But when one understands the history and objective of bringing this law, it becomes clear that specific relief is an equitable relief that is different from damages and compensation and is brought about to regulate the enforcement of contracts, be it that of businesses, or of property or any other civil process.

Judiciary aspirants approach the bare acts as a book to be remembered, but this extremely objective approach instead of being of help to the students, makes reading, understanding and remembering the act more difficult and finally makes them turn to improper strategies to understand them, such as giving too much time to theories or commentaries which usually do not turn out to be effective for students. Similarly laws like the Bharatiya Nagarik Sanhita, Constitution, Civil Procedure Code, 1908 simply drive the students away due to their bulk. Students start adding up the number of sections and feel that it might be too much and start looking for mind maps, short notes or other ‘smart techniques’ to help them get through the bare act. 

Analyzing and Understanding the Bare Acts in the Context of Judicial Examinations

The truth is that bare acts themselves are the solution to all the problems faced above such as the lack of understanding the context of laws, their technical nature, size and complexity. It is all about the way one approaches a bare act. Before starting to read the act one must become familiar with the need of the act. Why was a certain act brought and what need did it fulfil. Reading the origin of the act along with the preamble helps get a proper outline or silhouette of the act and its application.

Acts such as BNSS and CPC are procedural laws which talk about the procedure to be followed during the proceedings of the case. When one starts looking at the index of these laws as not merely successive sections, but a story of how a trial or proceeding starts, what steps are taken by various parties involved and how does one reach the end of it, one can see a clear outline of how the act proceeds and which steps are to be taken after what and in which circumstance, helping one remember the basic construction of the act.

Coming to the sections themselves, the problem of complex language can be solved by breaking the sections down into smaller understandable portions. Every section's marginal heading tells us what the section is trying to achieve. The language of the sections tries to cover all situations that might happen under that heading, making it complex to read. But distributing those sections into understandable parts can make what it wants to say very understandable and memorable. Make divisions in the language of bare act into phrases which can be understood. Relate them with the aim of the marginal heading and purpose of the enactment. And then one comes to certain words which can be found somewhere or the other in most acts such as ‘shall’, ‘may’, ‘notwithstanding’, etc. It is extremely important that students should remember the meaning of these words as they decide the interpretation of the section. Understanding what the bare act is saying is the bigger part of reading bare acts for exams as simple rote learning will only work in the short term and not in every situation.

Many laws are built on similar blueprints and once one identifies them, it helps one deduce answers when one does not know the accurate answer. For example, a lot of women related laws have similar blueprints of their bare acts which go like this - definitions, liabilities, adjudicating authorities and duties of different parties. Similarly most substantial laws that contain crimes have the territorial jurisdiction and definitions concerned in their first few sections and limitations at the end.

Importance of Auxiliary Materials Like Case Laws, Reference Books

Apart from that, having an annotated bare act, or an act with commentaries helps in understanding the language better. Sometimes one encounters words which have very different meanings in colloquial use. To avoid confusion in such words, reading the latest judgments on the interpretation of words clarifies as well as helps remember what the sections are trying to say by associating it with an example.

Solving or at least a familiarity with relevant questions while reading the bare acts helps one understand what sections are to be read. Usually when it comes to an exam, be it judicial or otherwise, a complete command over every word of the bare act is not necessary. The questions, be it previous years or mock tests help one point out which sections need to be focused on for maximum efficiency. Usually around 60-70% of total sections of a bare act are necessary to be focused upon. Reading sections along with question papers also helps one point out which keywords are regularly asked and which portions are more focused upon even in a section. This inclusion of keywords can also give one an edge in the mains examinations.

Reference books, case laws and breaking down a section can help one completely break down a section, understand its evolution and current interpretation.

After one understands how to read a bare act, one must not forget the basics of ingraining any subject, be it from law or otherwise, in one's own way of writing, speaking and general application. Consistency is, as they say, the key. The more familiarity one builds up with a bare act, the more one understands the story in it and how it is told. It also helps one get a command of the keywords of each act.

Apart from that the habit of regular reading also helps one relate different acts which cover the same topic or find provisions in different acts under the same topic. For example, the basics of contract law are not only contained in Contract act, but Specific Relief and Limitation act too. Similarly Negotiable Instruments act concerns certain kinds of contracts which have some specific application of laws than usual contracts.

Now we shall know how one should approach a bare act when an exam approaches. For that first of all one must go through the previous years questions and the syllabus of the exam to see which acts are more important for the exams. PYQs also help in focusing what portions of that bare act are more important and what can either be left out or simply read for understanding.

After the student has done that, one must create a simple schedule to cover reading the bare act according to their own pace of reading, understanding and other factors. Once such a schedule is made, one must stick to it and include portions for solving relevant questions, MCQs, and if necessary, time to refer to reference books, commentaries and case laws. This can be achieved with various types of study plans that suit one's own strengths and weaknesses.

Reference books and commentaries are not available to each and every one for clarity. If one lacks them, the help of case laws can substitute all of them. Case laws not only decide the interpretation, but a lot of judgements have the esteemed judges clarifying the objects of the act, and how any word concerned with any topic be interpreted. Apart from that, going through the facts of the case, the issues raised and how the issues came to be creates a story which is much easier to remember than the legal lexicons. Learning landmark judgements, becoming familiar with the language of the judges and reading the bare act with them helps in Mains examinations too as this shows that one has a deeper understanding of law.

Most sections have case laws associated with them for their interpretation. Going into understanding every word's interpretation is a very easy distraction which feels useful but is not. Case laws should be used in moderation and only according to what the questions have been and can be. One does not need to illustrate what ‘India' means when one is talking about the territorial extent in a certain question. Similarly talking about murder and homicide without illustrating it with examples or case laws would be a folly. With regular reading of questions, this understanding of when to and when not to include case laws would become better.

Common Mistakes Made By Judicial Aspirants in Bare Acts

Even though 60-70% of the bare act may be necessary for the relevant exam, skipping even reading the rest 30-40% is a big mistake. As mentioned, a bare act is like a story where different parts fit with each other. Even though 7 of 10 sections may be important for the exams, leaving out even reading the 3 makes the study incomplete and thus the understanding insufficient. Reading the complete bare act is a very necessary task which improves your research skills and helps you make coherent answers in mains. Focus on one part does not mean to leave the rest of the part out.

A lot of times, the aspirants try to read the bare act through and through and then come to read PYQs, case laws and such. This approach takes up too much time and can be inefficient for people who cannot take out enough time for revision. Apart from that, understanding the importance of interpretations while reading the bare act through case laws helps solve complex MCQs and situation based questions. Illustrations present in the bare act are asked as they are in exams. Apart from that, recent case law facts are often asked in problem based questions or judgement writing.

The importance of doctrines, maxims and theories too must be balanced with how much remembering or including them is necessary to form a comprehensive and complete answer. Availability of topper’s answer sheets can also help in clarifying that problem.

A Summary of Strategies to Remember

• Divide large sections into smaller, more manageable chunks. For example, if a section contains multiple parts, focus on each part individually before moving on to the next one.
• Group similar concepts or terms together. This way, your brain will associate related pieces of information and improve retention. Create acronyms or abbreviations from the first letter of each subsection to help remember the structure.
• Try to connect each section with a real-life example or a case study to make the concept more relevant. Use analogies to compare legal concepts with everyday situations to make them more relatable and easier to remember.
• Quiz yourself on the sections you’re trying to remember. Try to recall them without looking at the text. Use practice questions or create your own based on the sections you need to remember. Answering these questions will reinforce your memory.
• Repetition is key when it comes to memorization. Read sections repeatedly to reinforce the information. Writing sections by hand can help reinforce memory through muscle memory and deeper engagement. Teaching or explaining the sections to someone else can help solidify your understanding and memory. Recognize patterns or similarities between sections. Acts often follow structured or patterned frameworks, and seeing these connections can make it easier to remember sections.

By combining these techniques and practicing regularly, you can improve your ability to remember specific sections from legal acts more effectively.

Other Resources To Help With Bare Acts

Websites like indiacode.nic.in, advocatekhoj and other websites help us in getting the updated versions of the bare acts. Similarly casemine and advocatekhoj are websites where one can find and research the relevant case laws for your preparation. Having a good legal dictionary and reference books helps clear up a lot of problems one has in understanding in which sections of a bare act are related with which ones and how are they to be studied. Apart from that coaching institutes such as Judex tutorials provide excellent guidance at every level, from reading and understanding the bare acts, to how to use them in mains and preliminary examinations.

If one puts in enough time sincerely with proper strategy to read and remember bare acts and case laws, there is no need to run around looking for notes, reference materials and other assistance for not just understanding the law and its application, but to qualify examinations too.