UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC advocate seeks to file contempt plea against CEC

Q1. The provision that the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix, is contained in which one of the following clauses of the Constitution of India?

  • A. Article 324(1), which deals with the vesting of electoral functions
  • B. Article 324(2), which deals with the makeup of the Commission
  • C. Article 324(3), which deals with who presides over the Commission
  • D. Article 324(5), which deals with service conditions and tenure

Q2. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, which one of the following is the only category of election functionaries that the President may himself appoint, after consultation with the Election Commission, before each general election to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of each State?

  • A. Regional Commissioners, to assist the Election Commission in its functions
  • B. Chief Electoral Officers, to supervise election work in each State
  • C. District Election Officers, to supervise election work in each district
  • D. Returning Officers, to conduct the poll in each parliamentary constituency

Q3. In the scheme of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, what exactly is the 'Search Committee'?

  • A. A body headed by the Cabinet Secretary that shortlists names for the Selection Committee's consideration
  • B. A body headed by the Union Law Secretary that vets the Selection Committee's recommendation before it goes to the President
  • C. A body headed by the Chief Election Commissioner that fills vacancies in the Commission's own secretariat and field establishment
  • D. A body headed by the Attorney-General for India that examines complaints of misconduct against serving Election Commissioners

Q4. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the Search Committee is required to prepare a panel of how many persons for the consideration of the Selection Committee?

  • A. Three
  • B. Five
  • C. Seven
  • D. Ten

Q5. In Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023), the Supreme Court directed that, until Parliament made a law on the subject, the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of which one of the following?

  • A. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India
  • B. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister
  • C. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India
  • D. The Vice-President, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India

Q6. The gazette notification appointing the first Chief Election Commissioner to be selected under the 2023 Act, issued in February 2025, was issued by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Law and Justice, which administers the country's election laws
  • B. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which handles internal security during elections
  • C. The Department of Personnel and Training, which handles senior civil service postings
  • D. The Cabinet Secretariat, which services the Union Council of Ministers

Q7. Under Article 324(5) of the Constitution, an Election Commissioner other than the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office by the President only on the recommendation of which one of the following?

  • A. The Chief Election Commissioner, the senior-most member of the Commission
  • B. The Chief Justice of India, as the head of the judicial branch
  • C. The Selection Committee that recommended the appointment to the President
  • D. The Attorney-General for India, as the highest law officer of the Union

Q8. The description of the Chief Election Commissioner as primus inter pares within the Election Commission is best understood to mean which one of the following?

  • A. His authority over every decision of the Commission is exclusive and final, the other Commissioners being purely advisory
  • B. He and the other Commissioners have an equal voice, and a difference of opinion is resolved by the majority opinion
  • C. He alone speaks for the Commission in all litigation, every other function being permanently delegated to the Commissioners
  • D. His view necessarily prevails whenever the Commissioners differ, since he is the chairman of the Commission

Q9. Under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, a private person who wishes to move the Supreme Court for criminal contempt requires the consent in writing of which one of the following?

  • A. The Attorney-General for India or the Solicitor-General of India
  • B. The Attorney-General for India or the Advocate-General of the State concerned
  • C. The Union Minister of Law and Justice or the Union Law Secretary
  • D. The Chief Justice of India or the senior-most puisne Judge of the Supreme Court

Q10. The September 2026 media report that set off the controversy over the internal functioning of the Election Commission, and that was relied on in the request for the Attorney-General's consent to contempt proceedings, claimed that the two Election Commissioners had placed objections on record at least how many times over roughly ten months?

  • A. Four times
  • B. Nine times
  • C. Fourteen times
  • D. Twenty-one times

Q11. Which one of the following correctly describes the machinery by which the Chief Election Commissioner of India can be removed from office?

  • A. By the President at any time, since the Chief Election Commissioner holds office during the pleasure of the President
  • B. By an order of the President after an address by both Houses of Parliament supported by the prescribed special majority
  • C. By the President acting solely on a report of an inquiry conducted by the Supreme Court under its advisory jurisdiction
  • D. By the President acting exclusively on the recommendation of the Selection Committee that had recommended the appointment

Q12. The registration of an association or body of individual citizens of India as a political party with the Election Commission is provided for under which one of the following?

  • A. Part IVA of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
  • B. Part IIA of the Representation of the People Act, 1950
  • C. The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, framed by the Central Government
  • D. The Delimitation Act, 2002, as amended from time to time