Which of the following statement is incorrect?

Correct option is C

The correct answer is: (c) Animals are subjects of rights and duties just like human beings.

Explanation

• Option A – Child in the womb is a legal person (Correct in limited sense)
  Indian law grants an unborn child certain recognised legal rights, especially in matters of inheritance and property, provided the child is subsequently born alive (for example, under Section 20 of the Hindu Succession Act and related principles in transfer of property and succession law).​
  Hence, treating a child in the mother’s womb as a “legal person” for specific purposes is broadly accepted.

• Option B – Dead person regulating property after death (Correct in effect)
  A person ceases to be a legal person at death, but can regulate the devolution of property after death through a will; the Indian Succession Act and personal succession laws allow a person’s wishes (expressed in a valid will) to operate posthumously.​
  Thus, in a practical legal sense, a dead person’s previously expressed wishes govern property distribution, so the statement is acceptable in exam context.

• Option C – Animals are subjects of rights and duties just like human beings (Incorrect)
  Courts and statutes increasingly recognise rights and protections for animals, and some High Courts have even described animals as “legal persons” for welfare purposes.​
  However, animals are not subjects of legal duties like human beings, nor are they treated “just like” humans in the full sense of rights-and-duties-bearing legal persons. This overbroad equivalence makes the statement incorrect.

• Option D – Partnership firm not a legal person; cannot sue or be sued in its name (Correct in substance)
  Under the Indian Partnership Act, a firm is not a separate legal entity distinct from its partners; it is only a collective name for all partners.​
  Order XXX CPC and related provisions are only enabling mechanisms allowing suits in the firm name, but the underlying legal personality lies with the partners; hence, the exam statement captures the orthodox juristic position that the firm itself is not a true legal person.