UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — CJP protest: SC seeks reply on closure of Metro stations

Q1. The leading authority in which the Supreme Court laid down that an executive order restricting a freedom under Article 19 must satisfy a legitimate aim, a rational connection to that aim, and be the least intrusive means available, is:

  • A. Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), arising from the suspension of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir
  • B. K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), arising from a challenge to preventive detention orders passed by the Executive
  • C. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), arising from the suspension of telecommunication services during public disorder
  • D. Ramlila Maidan Incident v. Home Secretary (2012), arising from the closure of railway stations during a public agitation

Q2. In constitutional adjudication, 'judicial restraint', as distinguished from judicial review, is best described as:

  • A. the constitutional bar that prevents courts from inquiring into the internal proceedings and irregularities of a legislature
  • B. the practice by which a superior court suspends the operation of its own order while an appeal against it is pending before a larger Bench
  • C. an approach in which judges limit the exercise of their own power and defer to the elected branches unless a constitutional violation is clearly made out
  • D. the rule requiring a court to decide a dispute only on the pleadings placed before it and not on materials gathered on its own motion

Q3. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, invoked to control large gatherings, confers which one of the following powers?

  • A. The power of a police officer in charge of a station to disperse an assembly of five or more persons by use of force after a due command to disperse
  • B. The power of a specified executive magistrate to issue a written order prohibiting assemblies in a defined area in urgent cases of apprehended danger
  • C. The power of the appropriate government to declare an association unlawful and to refer the notification to a tribunal for adjudication
  • D. The power of a district administration to requisition and deploy the armed forces of the Union for the suppression of a serious public disturbance

Q4. The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety, who discharges the safety functions provided for under the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, works within the Commission of Railway Safety, which is under the administrative control of:

  • A. the Ministry of Railways, which owns and operates the national railway network
  • B. the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for urban metro projects
  • C. the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which houses the Commission of Railway Safety as a subordinate office
  • D. the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which handles surface transport safety regulation

Q5. During the CJP agitation in central Delhi in 2026, how many Delhi Metro stations were reopened when the DMRC announced that normal entry and exit had resumed at the end of the closures?

  • A. 15
  • B. 16
  • C. 17
  • D. 18

Q6. When central Delhi Metro stations, including the Supreme Court station, were shut during the CJP agitation, which one of the following bodies moved the Supreme Court on the ground that the closures were preventing lawyers and litigants from reaching the Court?

  • A. The Bar Council of India, the statutory body regulating the legal profession in the country
  • B. The Supreme Court Bar Association, the association of advocates practising in the apex court
  • C. The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association, the body of advocates entitled to file cases in the apex court
  • D. The Delhi High Court Bar Association, the association of advocates practising in the Delhi High Court

Q7. In its investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, the CBI identified the original source of the leaked question paper as:

  • A. a Physics teacher employed with a private coaching institute that ran residential batches for medical aspirants
  • B. a supervisor at the security printing press contracted to print and pack the question paper booklets
  • C. a Chemistry lecturer engaged in the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency, who had access to the papers
  • D. a centre superintendent of an examination centre who opened the sealed booklets ahead of the scheduled reporting time

Q8. The 'AGMUT cadre', whose management is handled by the Union Territories Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, refers to:

  • A. a pooled reserve of Central Armed Police Force battalions earmarked for deployment in the north-eastern States and the Union Territories
  • B. a joint cadre of the All India Services covering Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and the Union Territories
  • C. the body of executive magistrates appointed by Lieutenant Governors for the Union Territories having Legislative Assemblies
  • D. the group of senior police officers of the Union Territories placed on central deputation to the Intelligence Bureau and the CAPFs

Q9. Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the fact check unit of the Central Government for information relating to the business of the government was notified by:

  • A. the Ministry of Home Affairs, acting through its Cyber and Information Security Division
  • B. the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, acting through the Press Information Bureau
  • C. the Ministry of Law and Justice, acting through the Legislative Department
  • D. the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in consultation with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting