UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC defers hearing on Sonam Wangchuk’s detention by a day

Q1. In the context of the Supreme Court's hearing on the petition filed by Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo against the National Security Act detention of Sonam Wangchuk, the writ of habeas corpus is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A judicial order directing a public authority to perform a public duty that it has unlawfully refused to discharge
  • B. A judicial order requiring the body of a person under detention to be produced before the court so that the legality of the detention may be examined
  • C. A judicial order quashing the proceedings of a subordinate court or tribunal that has acted without or in excess of jurisdiction
  • D. A judicial order restraining a person from continuing to hold a public office to which he is not legally entitled

Q2. Under the National Security Act, 1980, under which Sonam Wangchuk was detained, what is the maximum period for which a person can be detained from the date of detention?

  • A. 3 months
  • B. 6 months
  • C. 12 months
  • D. 24 months

Q3. With reference to the safeguards available to a person arrested under ordinary criminal law as compared with one preventively detained under the National Security Act, 1980 (the law invoked against Sonam Wangchuk), consider the following statements: 1. The constitutional requirement of production before the nearest magistrate within twenty-four hours of arrest is available to a person under ordinary arrest but not to a person detained under the NSA. 2. The right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of one's choice is available to a person under ordinary arrest but is denied as a constitutional guarantee to a person detained under the NSA. 3. Under both ordinary arrest and detention under the NSA, the Advisory Board reviewing the detention must consist of sitting Judges of the Supreme Court. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The constitutional requirement of production before the nearest magistrate within twenty-four hours of arrest is available to a person under ordinary arrest but not to a person detained under the NSA.
  2. The right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of one's choice is available to a person under ordinary arrest but is denied as a constitutional guarantee to a person detained under the NSA.
  3. Under both ordinary arrest and detention under the NSA, the Advisory Board reviewing the detention must consist of sitting Judges of the Supreme Court.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. The habeas corpus petition filed by Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo before the Supreme Court of India, challenging the detention of Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act, 1980, was filed under which one of the following provisions of the Constitution of India?

  • A. Article 21
  • B. Article 32
  • C. Article 136
  • D. Article 226
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