Free Mock Paper: CLAT 2023

My childhood and Amir’s mirrored each other in many ways, so I have long known how life can inform and shape fiction, but in time since completing ‘The Kite Runner’, I have become even more aware ,perhaps, of how fiction can affect life-in its readers, and even in its authors.

Although the first two-thirds of The Kite Runner were informed by my own family’s experiences, first in Afghanistan, then in California, I had written this Afghan homecoming trip for my protagonist before ever actually taking it myself. I had left Afghanistan as an eleven-year-old, thin framed seventh grader; I was going back as a thirty-eight- year old physician, writer, husband and father of two.

Given this unusual context, my two week stay in Kabul took on a decidedly surreal quality because every day, I saw places and things I had already seen with my mind’s eyes, with Amir’s eyes. The old adage in writing is you write about what you have experienced. I was going to experience what I had already written about.

Soon, the line between Amir’s memories and my own began to blur. Amir had lived out my memories on the pages of The ‘Kite Runner’, and now I strangely found myself living out his. But perhaps nowhere did fiction and life collide more dizzyingly than when I found my father’s old house in Wazir Akbar Khan, the house where I grew up, just as Amir rediscovered his Baba’s old house in that same neighbourhood.

It took me three days of searching –I had no address and the neighbourhood changed drastically-but I kept looking until I spotted the familiar arch over the gates. I got to walk through my old house-the Panjshiri soldiers who lived there were gracious enough to grant me this nostalgic tour. I found that, like Amir’s Childhood house, the paint had faded, the grass had withered, the trees were gone, and the walls were crumbling.

I too was struck by how much smaller the house was in reality than the version that had for so long lived in my memories. And-I swear to this- when I stepped through the front gates, I saw a Rorscharch blot-shaped oil stain on the driveway, just as Amir had on his father’s driveway.

As I said goodbyes and thanks to the soldiers, I realized something else: The emotional impact of finding my father’s house would have been even more intense if i hadn’t written ‘The Kite Runner’. After all, I had already been through this. I had stood beside Amir at the gates of his father’s house and felt his loss. I had watched him set his hands on the rusty wrought-iron bars, and together we had gazed at the sagging roof and crumbling front steps.

Having written that scene took some edge off my own experience. Call it Art stealing Life’s thunder.-Khaled Hosseini(The Kite Runner)

a. The author’s homecoming
b. The impact of fiction on lives.
c. The impact of life on fiction
d. The childhood of Amir and the Author

a. Writers write about  what they have experienced
b. Writers experience what they have already written
c. both a) and b)
d. neither a) nor b)

a. The protagonist of the book written by the author is Amir.
b. The author went to California before writing the book
c. The author was later destined to experience and relive what he had written in ‘The
Kite Runner’.
d. All of the above

a. Resembling a dream
b. original
c. confusing
d. both a) and c)

a. Amir and Author had the same life
b. The author had experienced his homecoming first off while writing the book.
c. The emotional intensity of home coming was pacified by the same incidents he
had previously written for the character of Amir.
d. both b) and c)

a. Finding his father’s house where he grew up
b. Panjshiri soldiers living in his old house
c. The old oak tree infront of his house
d. All of the above

7. Which among the following were common to Amir’s and author’s houses and
homecoming trips?

1.Rediscovering the house where they grew up.
2.Panjshiri soldiers living in their old houses
3.spotting a Rorscharch blot-shaped oil stain on the driveway of the home
4.The trees that lined the boundary of the driveway.

a. 1 2 and 4.
b. 2 and 3.
c. 1 and  3.
d. 1 ,3 and 4.

a. to depart
b. To remove
c. To flourish
d. All of the above

a. Shrivelled
b. Drooped
c. Thrive
d. Flunked

a. Rorscharch oil stain on the driveway
b. Rusty wrought iron bars
c. The arch over the gate
d. None of the above

Journalist _ (1) _ has been honoured with the 2019 _ (2) _ — the highest honour given to Asian individuals and organisations. “In electing _ (1) _ to receive the 2019 _ (2) _, the board of trustees recognizes his unfaltering commitment to a professional, ethical journalism of the highest standards; his moral courage in standing up for truth, integrity and independence; and his principled belief that it is in giving full and respectful voice to the voiceless, in speaking truth bravely yet soberly to power, that journalism fulfills its noblest aims to advance democracy,” _ (1) _ citation stated.

a. Ravish Kumar
b. Barkha Dutt
c. Nidhi Razdan
d. Sumit Upadhyay

a. Stockholm Water Prize
b. Ramon Magsaysay Award
c. Ramnath Goenka Award
d. Padma Shri

a. Ramnath Goenka
b. Amitabh Chowdhury
c. Arun Shourie
d. Ravi Shankar

a. Thailand
b. Singapore
c. Myanmar
d. Laos

a. Greta Thunberg
b. Abiy Ahmed
c. Jacinda Ardern
d. Reporters without Borders

16. The COVAX facility that was seen in the news recently, is an initiative of which
international organisation?

a. World Bank
b. World Health Organisation
c. International Monetary Fund
d. Doctors without Borders

A group of students set up a stall serving lemonades to passersby’s and were selling each glass at a profit of 10%. Each cylindrical glass in which the lemonade was served was of a diameter of 10cm. the serving per glass was approximately 10% less than the total volume the glass. By selling 10 glasses amounting to 6L, the students were able to collect Rs 240 as profits. Out of the total money collected, they donated 40% to the nearby animal shelter. Solve the following:

a. 630cm3
b. 660cm3
c. 600 cm3
d. 650 cm3

a. Rs. 240, Rs. 2400
b. Rs. 240, Rs. 2640
c. Rs. 264, Rs 2400
d. Rs. 264, Rs. 2640

a. Profit 34%
b. Loss 34%
c. Profit 40%
d. Loss 40%

a. 176
b. 178
c. 180
d. 182

a. Rs. 1800000
b. Rs. 1850000
c. Rs. 3830000
d. Rs. 4536527

a. 350
b. 450
c. 280
d. 400

a. 140 m
b. 180 m
c. 165 m
d. 172 m

In light of the recent National Law School (Amendment) Bill passed by the Karnataka Assembly, a very important point of debate comes into consideration. “Whether reservation policies in the law schools serve as a serious impediment to the unreserved candidates seeking to secure a position in such institutions ?”

The basic design for the establishment of law schools’ purports to inculcate basic knowledge of legal principles and promotion of legal education to help meet the ends of justice. Reservation policies based on state domicile and prevailing caste system tends to apprehend a deserving candidate’s position based on relaxed cut-offs for the former.

It is important to note at this juncture that reservations based on State domicile seems unreasonable since they might not be handicapped with the financial needs, still would anyway gain place in reputed NLUs, providing for an unintelligible differentia between residents and non-residents of a State. Instead they should be granted aid at primary school level to make them self-sufficient to compete with other
candidates.

The author of this write- up does not seem to question the credibility of such domiciled students but would agree to some extent that there is a percentage of such students who took over unreserved deserving candidates under the garb of State domicile reservations. The top NLUs in our country graduating top-notch lawyers, judges, corporates provide for state domiciled reservations thereby discouraging the unreserved ones since the former has an upper hand to gain entry into such institutions.

The reservation policies based on the caste system seems reasonable to some extent (though debatable) but providing seats to domiciled candidates seems to be prejudiced, unacceptable and unwarranted.

Top-notch NLUs and other law schools should instill an atmosphere of healthy competition where all the like candidates are equally placed on a pedestal who works hard to grab a seat in such institution. It is to be noted that the State domicile reservations goes upto 50% in National Law Universities, thus leaving only half the seats for the unreserved ones, let alone some percentage for the SC/ST categories.

Now, consider a situation where an unreserved has under 700 All-India mark, still couldn’t make it to top NLUs since a reserved State domiciled candidate takes him over with their 1000 All India mark but 50 domiciled rank. This tends to discourage the candidates who deserved the seat because of their higher rank but have to settle for a middle tier or a lower NLU. The educational institutions should not put an embargo on such residential grounds.

It is to be pointed out that such deprivation of domicile reservation to the students residing in that particular state should not be looked down upon as the need of the hour or taking hold of opportunity to introduce such quota as NLUs are creature of a State by the educational institutions since they have a bigger picture to paint I.e. to do what is good for the community.The legal fraternity needs the deserving ones, not the reserved ones.

a. Concession given to resident citizens is at par with Article 14 of the Constitution
of India.
b. Justifications for domicile reservation are to be found in the compelling interest
for a particular State or Union Territory to provide an opportunity to the weaker
and backward section of the state.
c. Its national impact of depriving opportunity to backward states of the country and
compromising with the diversity of the students in the institutions of national
importance are pertinent factors to provide a workable objective.
d. State government provides a considerable financial assistance to the universities
within its borders and this money is derived from the taxes paid by the people
domiciled in that particular state. Hence there exists a legitimate state interest to
promote education within its borders by incentivizing them through relaxed cut-
offs.

25. Which, of the following, is the most likely effect of providing State domicile
concessions?

a. It would result in over-inclusiveness of people not falling within the backward
class blanket of the State.
b. If most of the States which have institutions of national importance adopt the
policies of domicile reservation, then a national effect of ghettoization would be
observable restricting the students from other states (which lack high-ranked
educational institutions) to seek education in metropolitan areas for better
academic pursuits.
c. The backward classes of a State would get a platform to further nurture their
talents.
d. The state domicile reservation will further dismantle the current system and put a
halt to providing any workable solution.

a. Avoidance of the fragmentary approach within our country and focus on merit-
based selection constitutes definite advantage of this approach.
b. Emphasis should be given to uniform primary and secondary education so that
groups under- represented in higher education institutes and workplaces become
natural competitors.
c. Government should announce a long-term plan to phase out regional reservation.
d. The number of seats or number of colleges can be increased in the prestigious
higher education institutes.

Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

We all make ethical choices, often without being conscious of doing so. Too often we assume that ethics is about obeying the rules that begin with “You must not…” If that were all there is to living ethically, then as long as we were not violating one of those rules, whatever we were doing would be ethical. That view of ethics, however, is incomplete. It fails to consider the good we can do for others less fortunate than ourselves, not only in our own community, but anywhere within the reach of our help.

We ought also to extend our concern to future generations, and beyond our own species to nonhuman animals. Another important ethical responsibility applies to citizens of democratic society: to be an educated citizen and a participant in the decisions our society makes. Many of these decisions involve ethical choices. In public discussions of these ethical issues, people with training in ethics can play a valuable role. In the 1960s, philosophers used to proclaim that it was a mistake to think that they have any expertise that would qualify them to address substantive ethical issues.

They said that philosophy is concerned with the analysis of words and concepts, and so is neutral on substantive ethical questions.

(a) Because ethics is not about doing anything; it only requires thinking about things.
(b)Because ethics requires that one poses questions to other people.
(c) Because ethics also requires that one does good for those who are not as fortunate as us.
(d) Because ethics requires that one follows rules that direct one to do certain things.

(a) Understanding one’s fundamental rights and participating in debates about how these
rights may have to change with the times.
(b) Closely tracking the performance of the national cricket team and commenting on
individual players’ performances.
(c) Finding out about the candidates in local elections and casting one’s vote.
(d) Staying abreast of news about legal matters and talking to other people about one’s
opinions on those laws.

(a) Athletes are concerned with improving their physical performance, and so are qualified
to help others improve their physical abilities.
b) Engineers are experts in construction, and so should not build bridges.
(c) Lawyers are experts in understanding and explaining the law, and are not capable of
advising others on the law.
(d) Doctors are concerned with understanding how the chemistry of the body works, and so are not qualified to advise patients on how to improve their health.

31. Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s description of ethics and living ethically?

(a) The author thinks polluting the environment is bad as this may affect people who have not been born yet.
(b) The author thinks hunting wild animals is bad as it is cruel and unnecessary.
(c) Neither of the above.
(d) Both (a) and (b).

32. Who amongst the following would be ‘living ethically’ if all there were to ethics was following the rule “You must not kill other humans”?

(a) An alcoholic husband who beats his wife, causing her injuries.
(b) A factory owner who releases massive quantities of lethal pollutants in a town’s
drinking-water supply.
(c) A rash and negligent driver who causes the death of other people.
(d) Someone who adulterates life-saving medicines, rendering them ineffective.

In 1968, the United States Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, intended to counter discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the sale and leasing of housing. In Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman (1982), the United States Supreme Court attempted to define for the Fair Housing Act those persons who fulfil the “standing” requirement, which holds that only those parties having a personal stake in the outcome of a controversy are warranted to bring suit.

Specifically, the Court was asked to decide whether a “tester” (an individual who, without an intent to rent or purchase a dwelling, poses as a renter or purchaser for the purpose of investigating rental/sales practices) has standing. The Court was also asked whether an organization has standing to sue on its own behalf. Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman originated in a class action suit filed in a local court in 1979.

The plaintiffs were two testers—a black woman named Sylvia Coleman and a white man named R. Kent Willis—and HOME, a non-profit fair housing organization. The plaintiffs alleged that Havens Realty had engaged in discriminatory practices such as showing each tester apartments only in buildings occupied primarily by that person’s racial group and telling the plaintiffs conflicting stories regarding the availability of individual apartments.

The Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims, holding that they lacked the required standing
under the act. According to the court, only a person who actually intended to rent would meet the act’s requirements. The case eventually came before the United States Supreme Court, which held that Coleman and Willis, as testers, did have standing to sue.

In deciding the case, the Court looked to the appropriate sections of the Fair Housing Act. Section 804(d) states that it is unlawful “to represent to any person because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex that any dwelling is not available … when such dwelling is in fact so available.” The Court reasoned that the act “conferred on all persons a legal right to truthful information about available housing.” The testers had therefore suffered the exact injury made unlawful by the statute and thus it is irrelevant whether the tester intended to either rent or buy the dwelling.

The Court also had to resolve whether HOME had a right to sue as an organization. The
Court held that, like the individual plaintiffs, HOME had to show a direct or threatened injury caused by the defendant. HOME averred that it had been frustrated by the defendant’s discriminatory practices in its effort to assist equal access to housing, and had been forced to devote significant resources to identifying and counteracting the said discriminatory practices.

The Court agreed that the injury alleged by HOME was concrete and decided that
the organization did have standing in this case.

a. Before the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Havens Realty Corp. v.
Coleman the Fair Housing Act was not an effective weapon against discriminatory
housing practices.
b. The decision of the United States Supreme Court in Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman served to highlight certain omissions in the Fair Housing Act.
c. The decision of the United States Supreme Court in Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman inadvertently diluted the effectiveness of the Fair Housing Act.
d. The decision of the United States Supreme Court in Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman helped to clarify who had a right to bring suit under the Fair Housing Act.

a. Refusing to respond to one of the testers’ explicit requests for information regarding a certain apartment
b. Providing the two testers with contradictory information regarding which apartments were available
c. Misrepresenting the ethnic makeup of certain apartment complexes to the testers
d. Refusing to rent a specific apartment to one of the testers

a. She was not personally affected by the defendant’s practices.
b. She did not accurately report the defendant’s practices.
c. She unintentionally abetted the defendant’s practices.
d. She devoted significant resources to identifying the defendant’s practices.

a. Legislators’ statements explaining the original intent of the law that allegedly had been violated
b. The precedent established by other cases that had been decided based on the law that allegedly had been violated
c. The exact wording of the law that allegedly had been violated
d. The arguments presented by the defendant’s attorneys

a. A government agent poses as a potential buyer of drugs in order to build a case
against a known drug dealer.
b. The manager of a store hires an actor to pose as a customer in order to decide which
employee should be awarded the monthly service bonus.
c. A teenager poses as a college student in order to be granted entry to a college campus event.
d. A consumer advocate poses as a tourist in order to identify taxicab companies that
overcharge their passengers.

a. Havens Realty showed many of the same apartments to both testers.
b. Havens Realty claimed that some apartments were not available when in fact they
were available.
c. Havens Realty showed the testers apartments concentrated within a relatively small
locality.
d. Havens Realty was presented with different requirements by each tester regarding the
kind of apartment that he or she wanted to see.

a. A piece of legislation is described and then the effect of the legislation on certain
social practices is analysed.
b. A certain legal case with relevance to a piece of legislation is broadly introduced and
then the history and resolution of the case is presented in greater detail.
c. A legal problem related to a piece of legislation is posed and then several ways of
solving that problem are examined in some detail.
d. An illegal practice is described and legal safeguards against that practice are outlined
and advocated.

a. the hiring and training of security experts to protect HOME’s offices
b. the hiring of attorneys to fight off frivolous lawsuits filed against HOME by realty companies
c. the hiring and training of testers to investigate the rental practices of realty companies
d. the expansion of HOME’s mission to combat a wider variety of civil rights abuses

1. b
2. a
3. d
4. a
5. d
6. a
7. c
8. b
9. c
10. c
11. a
12. b
13. b
14. c
15. b
16. b
17. b
18. b
19. b
20. d
21. b
22. a
23. a
24. c
25. b
26. a
27. b
28. c
29. b
30. d
31. d
32. a
33. d
34. b
35. a
36. c
37. d
38. b
39. b
40. c