UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC questions U.P. police over journalist’s digital data

Q1. Under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 — the executive machinery through which state access to information in a computer resource is authorised — approval of each such case at the Union level rests with which one of the following as the 'competent authority'?

  • A. The Cabinet Secretary, Government of India
  • B. The Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • C. The Union Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. The Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications

Q2. With reference to Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017), consider the following: 1. The reference on the existence of a fundamental right to privacy was answered by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court. 2. The Bench overruled M. P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) to the extent that those decisions held privacy was not a constitutionally protected right. 3. Privacy was located by the Bench principally in Article 19(1)(g), the freedom to practise any profession or carry on any trade or business. 4. The reference arose out of petitions challenging the Aadhaar programme of unique identification. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The reference on the existence of a fundamental right to privacy was answered by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
  2. The Bench overruled M. P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) to the extent that those decisions held privacy was not a constitutionally protected right.
  3. Privacy was located by the Bench principally in Article 19(1)(g), the freedom to practise any profession or carry on any trade or business.
  4. The reference arose out of petitions challenging the Aadhaar programme of unique identification.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q3. In debates on protection of journalistic sources in India, Section 15(2) of the Press Council Act, 1978 is frequently invoked. It provides which one of the following?

  • A. That a newspaper, news agency, editor or journalist shall not be compelled to disclose the source of any news or information published or reported by them
  • B. That proceedings of the Council are held in camera and its records stand exempted from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005
  • C. That a person summoned by the Council may claim exemption from personal appearance and respond instead through written submissions
  • D. That news published in good faith on a matter of public interest is immune from proceedings for defamation before the Council

Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the regulatory arrangements for the print press and for digital news publishers in India: 1. The Press Council of India is a statutory quasi-judicial authority constituted under the Press Council Act, 1978, whereas publishers of news and current affairs content on digital media are brought within a code of ethics framework by the Information Technology Rules of 2021. 2. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were framed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in exercise of powers conferred by Section 15 of the Press Council Act, 1978. 3. The Chairperson of the Press Council of India is drawn from among retired Judges of the Supreme Court of India, and representatives of Parliament are among the Council's members. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Press Council of India is a statutory quasi-judicial authority constituted under the Press Council Act, 1978, whereas publishers of news and current affairs content on digital media are brought within a code of ethics framework by the Information Technology Rules of 2021.
  2. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were framed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in exercise of powers conferred by Section 15 of the Press Council Act, 1978.
  3. The Chairperson of the Press Council of India is drawn from among retired Judges of the Supreme Court of India, and representatives of Parliament are among the Council's members.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Justice Surya Kant, who assumed the office of Chief Justice of India in November 2025, headed which High Court immediately before his elevation to the Supreme Court in May 2019?

  • A. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he had earlier served as Advocate General of the State of Haryana
  • B. The Uttarakhand High Court, where he had earlier served as a judge before his elevation as Chief Justice
  • C. The Rajasthan High Court, having earlier practised principally before the Supreme Court of India
  • D. The Himachal Pradesh High Court, having earlier served as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court

Q6. A person aggrieved by an alleged infringement of privacy by a State agency approaches the Supreme Court directly under Article 32 of the Constitution. That Article provides for which one of the following?

  • A. The discretionary power of the Supreme Court to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree or order passed by any court or tribunal in India
  • B. The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III, the right itself being guaranteed as a fundamental right
  • C. The power of every High Court to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of Part III rights and for any other purpose within its territorial jurisdiction
  • D. The power of the President to refer to the Supreme Court, for its opinion, a question of law or fact of public importance that has arisen or is likely to arise

Q7. With reference to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, consider the following: 1. It permits the production of electronic communication devices likely to contain digital evidence for the purposes of investigation, inquiry or trial. 2. It replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as the general law of criminal procedure. 3. It permits trials, inquiries and proceedings to be held in electronic mode. 4. It replaces the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and now itself governs the admissibility of electronic records as evidence. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. It permits the production of electronic communication devices likely to contain digital evidence for the purposes of investigation, inquiry or trial.
  2. It replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as the general law of criminal procedure.
  3. It permits trials, inquiries and proceedings to be held in electronic mode.
  4. It replaces the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and now itself governs the admissibility of electronic records as evidence.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the power to compel production of documents and things in criminal procedure: 1. The power to issue a summons or written order requiring production of a document or other thing, contained in Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is carried forward in Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. 2. Unlike the Code it replaced, the Sanhita expressly extends such compelled production to electronic communication devices likely to contain digital evidence. 3. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 45 of 2023, while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 46 of 2023. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The power to issue a summons or written order requiring production of a document or other thing, contained in Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is carried forward in Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
  2. Unlike the Code it replaced, the Sanhita expressly extends such compelled production to electronic communication devices likely to contain digital evidence.
  3. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 45 of 2023, while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is Act No. 46 of 2023.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court proceedings on the Uttar Pradesh Police's request for a journalist's data from the platform X: 1. The first information report that triggered the request arose from an alleged road-rage incident in Ghaziabad in August 2026, whereas the data sought from the platform covered a period beginning in June 2026, that is, before the alleged incident. 2. The Bench directed the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner to place on record, by affidavit, exactly what information had been sought from the platform. 3. The Bench declined to entertain the petition and relegated the journalist to the Allahabad High Court for relief under Article 226. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The first information report that triggered the request arose from an alleged road-rage incident in Ghaziabad in August 2026, whereas the data sought from the platform covered a period beginning in June 2026, that is, before the alleged incident.
  2. The Bench directed the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner to place on record, by affidavit, exactly what information had been sought from the platform.
  3. The Bench declined to entertain the petition and relegated the journalist to the Allahabad High Court for relief under Article 226.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. In the proceedings before the Supreme Court, the 'digital footprint' that the Uttar Pradesh Police had sought from the platform is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. Account registration records, login and logout IP addresses, alternate email and mobile details, and device and location particulars of the account
  • B. The full text of the account holder's direct messages and deleted posts, retrieved in decrypted form from the platform's servers
  • C. Engagement analytics of the account, including reach, impressions and follower demographics maintained by the platform for advertisers
  • D. Payment and subscription records of the account, including billing addresses and transaction identifiers held by the platform

Q11. Which one of the following statements regarding the statutory basis of the regulatory framework governing social media intermediaries in India is correct?

  • A. Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 confers on intermediaries an absolute and unconditional exemption from liability for all third-party information hosted by them.
  • B. Directions for interception or monitoring under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 can be issued exclusively by the Central Government, State Governments having no such power.
  • C. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were framed in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 87(2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • D. The Rules of 2021 apply only to significant social media intermediaries, every other intermediary being entirely outside their due diligence obligations.

Q12. Under the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, a public interest disclosure concerning corruption, wilful misuse of power or a criminal offence by a public servant of the Union is to be made, in the first instance, to which one of the following?

  • A. The Central Bureau of Investigation, functioning under the Department of Personnel and Training
  • B. The Lokpal of India, constituted under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
  • C. The Central Information Commission, constituted under the Right to Information Act, 2005
  • D. The Central Vigilance Commission, designated as the competent authority for such disclosures