UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC stays Rajasthan HC order to move 1,102 liquor outlets

Q1. How many liquor outlets in Rajasthan were directed to be relocated by the Rajasthan High Court order of November 2025, which the Supreme Court stayed in January 2026?

  • A. 812
  • B. 1,102
  • C. 1,540
  • D. 2,016

Q2. Which is the lead Supreme Court judgment that originally imposed the 500-metre exclusion zone for liquor outlets along national and state highways, and forms the doctrinal basis of the present Rajasthan controversy?

  • A. State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Balu (2016)
  • B. Kerala Bar Hotels Association v. State of Kerala (2015)
  • C. Khoday Distilleries Ltd. v. State of Karnataka (1995)
  • D. State of Punjab v. Devans Modern Breweries (2004)

Q3. Under which entry of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution does the State of Rajasthan derive its primary legislative competence to license and regulate the 1,102 liquor outlets in question?

  • A. Entry 51 of List II
  • B. Entry 8 of List II
  • C. Entry 6 of List III
  • D. Entry 84 of List I

Q4. Which State-level department is the operational licensing and enforcement authority for the liquor vends covered by the Rajasthan High Court's November 2025 order?

  • A. State Excise Department
  • B. State Transport Department
  • C. State Home (Police) Department
  • D. State Public Works Department

Q5. In the context of the 2017 Supreme Court clarification to its highway liquor ban, what does the '220-metre rule' precisely denote?

  • A. Minimum distance between two adjoining liquor vends in any urban area
  • B. Reduced exclusion-zone distance from highways applicable in municipal/town areas with population below 20,000
  • C. Mandatory setback of liquor vends from educational institutions in all States
  • D. Distance within which excise officers must conduct mandatory breath-analyser checks on highways