UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Supreme Court questions ED’s rule of law breach claim in West Bengal
Q1. The imposition of President's Rule in a State on the ground of failure of constitutional machinery is provided for under which Article of the Constitution of India?
- A. Article 355
- B. Article 356
- C. Article 352
- D. Article 360
Q2. Under Article 356, a proclamation of President's Rule is issued by the President strictly on the advice of which body?
- A. The Union Council of Ministers
- B. The Inter-State Council alone
- C. The Governor of the State concerned acting independently
- D. The National Development Council
Q3. Under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, 'provisional attachment' by an authorised ED officer most precisely means:
- A. A temporary prohibition on transfer or disposal of property suspected to be proceeds of crime, for a period not exceeding 180 days pending adjudication
- B. The permanent confiscation and vesting of the property in the Central Government
- C. The arrest of the accused pending the filing of a prosecution complaint
- D. The freezing of a bank account ordered by the Reserve Bank of India
Q4. The power of an authorised Enforcement Directorate officer to arrest a person accused of money laundering is derived from which Section of the PMLA, 2002?
- A. Section 5
- B. Section 19
- C. Section 45
- D. Section 50
Q5. The Supreme Court Bench that heard the ED's plea alleging interference in the I-PAC search and stayed the FIRs against ED officers comprised how many judges?
- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Three
- D. Five
Q6. With reference to the Supreme Court's January 2026 order in the I-PAC raids matter, consider the following statements:
1. The Court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal police against ED officers.
2. Notice was issued to the State Director General of Police, Rajeev Kumar.
3. The Bench hearing the ED's plea was headed by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.
4. The ED's plea related to a coal smuggling case dating back to 2015.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal police against ED officers.
- Notice was issued to the State Director General of Police, Rajeev Kumar.
- The Bench hearing the ED's plea was headed by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.
- The ED's plea related to a coal smuggling case dating back to 2015.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q7. On 2 April 2026, the ED carried out fresh searches on premises linked to I-PAC executives in the West Bengal coal smuggling probe in how many cities, other than Kolkata?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q8. In the West Bengal coal smuggling money-laundering probe, the entity 'I-PAC' is best described as:
- A. A political consultancy firm managing campaign and media operations
- B. A coal-mining subsidiary of Coal India Limited
- C. A specialised investigative wing of the Enforcement Directorate
- D. A statutory inter-state coordination council
Q9. With reference to the requirement of State consent for CBI investigations, consider the following statements:
1. The consent requirement flows from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
2. Section 6 of that Act deals with the consent of the State Government.
3. After a State withdraws general consent, the CBI can no longer register an FIR even against a Central Government employee under a Central Act in that State.
4. Even without a State's consent, constitutional courts can direct the CBI to investigate a case.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The consent requirement flows from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
- Section 6 of that Act deals with the consent of the State Government.
- After a State withdraws general consent, the CBI can no longer register an FIR even against a Central Government employee under a Central Act in that State.
- Even without a State's consent, constitutional courts can direct the CBI to investigate a case.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q10. Under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 — one of the statutes enforced by the ED — a person may be declared a fugitive economic offender only if the total value involved in the scheduled offence is at least how many crore rupees?
- A. Rs 1 crore
- B. Rs 50 crore
- C. Rs 100 crore
- D. Rs 500 crore
Q11. A petition invoking writ jurisdiction under Article 226 — the route the ED first took before escalating to the Supreme Court in this matter — is filed before which forum?
- A. The concerned High Court (here, the Calcutta High Court)
- B. The Supreme Court under Article 32
- C. A PMLA Special Court
- D. The Debts Recovery Tribunal
Q12. The fresh multi-city ED searches on I-PAC executives in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi in the coal smuggling probe were carried out in which month and year?
- A. January 2026
- B. February 2026
- C. April 2025
- D. April 2026