Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): A gentlemen died leaving a young widow. The relatives of the deceased threatened the widow to adopt a boy otherwise they would not allow her to remove the dead body of her husband for cremation. The widow adopted the boy.
Reason (R): The widow subsequently cancelled the adoption. The court held her consent was not free due to coercion.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Question

Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).

Assertion (A): A gentlemen died leaving a young widow. The relatives of the deceased threatened the widow to adopt a boy otherwise they would not allow her to remove the dead body of her husband for cremation. The widow adopted the boy.

Reason (R): The widow subsequently cancelled the adoption. The court held her consent was not free due to coercion.

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Prepp Team · Accepted Answer

Legal Analysis of Assertion and Reason

The question involves evaluating two statements regarding a legal scenario about adoption and consent.

Assertion (A) Analysis

Assertion (A) describes a situation where a widow adopts a boy under threat from the deceased husband's relatives. The threat is to withhold the body for cremation unless she adopts. This situation clearly indicates that the widow's consent is not freely given; it is obtained under duress or coercion.

Reason (R) Analysis

Reason (R) states that the widow later cancelled the adoption because the court found her consent was not free due to coercion. This is consistent with legal principles where consent obtained under coercion or undue influence is considered invalid and makes the agreement voidable. The act of cancelling the adoption and the court's finding directly stem from the coercive circumstances described in (A).

Relationship Between Assertion and Reason

The scenario presented in Assertion (A) establishes the factual basis for coercion. Reason (R) provides the legal consequence and justification (the court's ruling based on lack of free consent due to coercion) that directly explains why the adoption based on such consent is legally challengeable. Therefore, (R) serves as the correct explanation for (A).

Conclusion

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are factually and legally correct statements.

(A) describes a situation where coercion was applied.
(R) explains the legal outcome of such coercion, stating consent was not free and the adoption was voidable.
(R) directly explains the legal implication of the events in (A).

Thus, both (A) and (R) are correct, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).