UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Infanticide law in Ceylon

Question 1

In the reform process that culminated in England's Infanticide Act 1922, which department of the British Government was chiefly responsible for administering the criminal law on infanticide and for processing the reprieves and commutations that preceded the Act?

Accepted Answer

The Home Office

Answer

The Colonial Office

Answer

The Lord Chancellor's Department

Answer

The Board of Trade

Question 2

England's Infanticide Act 1922 was superseded by a later Infanticide Act that extended the partial defence to mental disturbance caused by lactation. After how many years was the 1922 Act replaced by this later statute?

Accepted Answer

16 years

Answer

14 years

Answer

20 years

Answer

26 years

Question 3

In the context of women convicted of infanticide in Ceylon whose death sentences were reduced by the Governor to 15-20 years' imprisonment, the term 'commutation' is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

The substitution by executive authority of a lighter punishment for the one imposed by the court

Answer

The complete cancellation of a conviction so that the accused is treated as never having been tried

Answer

The suspension of a sentence conditional on the offender's future good behaviour

Answer

The postponement of an execution to allow an appeal to a higher court

Question 4

Under the arrangements described for Ceylon, in whom was the power vested to commute the death sentences passed on women convicted of infanticide to terms of 15-20 years' imprisonment?

Accepted Answer

The Governor of Ceylon

Answer

The Chief Justice of Ceylon

Answer

The Attorney-General of Ceylon

Answer

The Legislative Council of Ceylon

Question 5

The spread of an England-style infanticide statute to jurisdictions such as Canada, Ireland and Hong Kong is an instance of 'legal transplantation'. In this context, legal transplantation is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

The adoption by one jurisdiction of a legal rule or statute developed in another jurisdiction

Answer

The codification of long-standing local customary practices into a written statute

Answer

The transfer of a pending court case from one country's courts to another's

Answer

The harmonisation of laws by an international treaty binding on all signatories

Question 6

With reference to jurisdictions that enacted infanticide-specific statutes modelled on the English legislation, consider the following:
1. Canada
2. Ireland
3. Hong Kong
4. The United States (as a federal Infanticide Act)
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as having adopted such a statute?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 7

With reference to the campaign that pressed the British Home Office for infanticide law reform after 1921, consider the following persons:
1. Margaret Lloyd George
2. Marion Philips
3. Gertrude Tuckwell
4. Edith Roberts
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as campaigners/activists (rather than the accused woman) in this reform effort?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 8

The trial that is credited with galvanising English public opinion in favour of a distinct infanticide law — that of a young woman accused of killing her newborn — took place in which year?

Accepted Answer

1921

Answer

1919

Answer

1922

Answer

1926

Question 9

Arthur Henderson, the Labour MP associated with the early infanticide reform bill, is described as having introduced a measure that, once passed by Parliament, received 'Royal Assent'. In this context, Royal Assent is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

The formal approval by the Crown that turns a parliamentary bill into an Act of Parliament

Answer

The permission of the monarch required before a bill may be introduced in Parliament

Answer

A statement of the Crown's policy priorities read out at the opening of a session

Answer

The monarch's power to dissolve Parliament and order fresh elections

Question 10

The body that formally recommended to the Government of Ceylon the release of women then imprisoned for infanticide was:

Accepted Answer

The Board of Jail Visitors

Answer

The Legislative Council of Ceylon

Answer

The Executive Council of Ceylon

Answer

The Prisons Reform Committee

Question 11

In April 2026 The Hindu carried the 1926 Colombo dispatch on the Ceylon infanticide proposal under its 'Today's Paper' heritage reprint feature. In this context, such an archival republication is best described as:

Accepted Answer

The verbatim reproduction of a report that appeared in the newspaper's own edition of a century earlier

Answer

A fresh investigative report commissioned to mark a legal centenary

Answer

A reader-contributed historical essay published in the opinion pages

Answer

An official government press release reissued by the newspaper

Question 12

With reference to the colonial and constitutional history of Ceylon, consider the following statements:
1. Ceylon was made a British crown colony in 1802.
2. The Colebrook-Cameron Commission (1829-32) recommended a uniform judicial system for Ceylon.
3. Ceylon attained independence as a dominion on 4 February 1948.
4. Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka in the same year as it attained independence.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 only

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Infanticide law in Ceylon

Q1. In the reform process that culminated in England's Infanticide Act 1922, which department of the British Government was chiefly responsible for administering the criminal law on infanticide and for processing the reprieves and commutations that preceded the Act?

Q2. England's Infanticide Act 1922 was superseded by a later Infanticide Act that extended the partial defence to mental disturbance caused by lactation. After how many years was the 1922 Act replaced by this later statute?

Q3. In the context of women convicted of infanticide in Ceylon whose death sentences were reduced by the Governor to 15-20 years' imprisonment, the term 'commutation' is best defined as:

Q4. Under the arrangements described for Ceylon, in whom was the power vested to commute the death sentences passed on women convicted of infanticide to terms of 15-20 years' imprisonment?

Q5. The spread of an England-style infanticide statute to jurisdictions such as Canada, Ireland and Hong Kong is an instance of 'legal transplantation'. In this context, legal transplantation is best defined as:

Q8. The trial that is credited with galvanising English public opinion in favour of a distinct infanticide law — that of a young woman accused of killing her newborn — took place in which year?

Q9. Arthur Henderson, the Labour MP associated with the early infanticide reform bill, is described as having introduced a measure that, once passed by Parliament, received 'Royal Assent'. In this context, Royal Assent is best defined as:

Q10. The body that formally recommended to the Government of Ceylon the release of women then imprisoned for infanticide was:

Q11. In April 2026 The Hindu carried the 1926 Colombo dispatch on the Ceylon infanticide proposal under its 'Today's Paper' heritage reprint feature. In this context, such an archival republication is best described as: