UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Is SIR process about illegal immigration, asks top court

Q1. Which one of the following is the specific statutory provision that empowers the Election Commission of India to prepare and revise electoral rolls, and thereby to conduct a Special Intensive Revision?

  • A. Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950
  • B. Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
  • C. Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
  • D. Article 324 of the Constitution of India

Q2. Under the electoral registration framework applied in the Special Intensive Revision, how many qualifying dates are fixed in a calendar year with reference to which the electoral roll is prepared or revised?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Four
  • D. Twelve

Q3. Which one of the following is the principal feature that distinguishes a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) from a routine summary revision of electoral rolls?

  • A. House-to-house field enumeration through distribution of pre-filled enumeration forms
  • B. Publication of a draft roll inviting claims and objections from the public
  • C. Updating the roll with reference to the previously existing electoral roll
  • D. Appointment of Electoral Registration Officers for each constituency

Q4. During a Special Intensive Revision, the door-to-door distribution and collection of enumeration forms in each polling-booth area is carried out primarily by which of the following functionaries?

  • A. Booth Level Officers (BLOs)
  • B. Returning Officers (ROs)
  • C. Presiding Officers
  • D. Observers appointed by the Election Commission

Q5. In its judgment upholding the Special Intensive Revision, the Supreme Court held the Election Commission's power to conduct the exercise to flow from Article 324 read primarily with which one of the following statutes?

  • A. The Representation of the People Act, 1950
  • B. The Representation of the People Act, 1951
  • C. The Citizenship Act, 1955
  • D. The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939

Q6. Which one of the following best describes the Supreme Court's principal holding on the Election Commission's power to deal with citizenship while conducting the SIR?

  • A. The ECI may conduct only a limited scrutiny of citizenship for deciding inclusion in or exclusion from the rolls, but cannot make a final determination of citizenship
  • B. The ECI has plenary power to conclusively determine a person's citizenship for all purposes
  • C. The ECI cannot consider citizenship in any manner while revising electoral rolls
  • D. Only the Supreme Court itself can decide questions of citizenship arising during roll revision

Q7. In the SIR data for Bihar, the figure of about 47 lakh (as against the roughly 65 lakh initially proposed) is most precisely described as which one of the following?

  • A. The net number of names finally removed after claims, objections and corrections were processed
  • B. The gross number of names proposed for deletion in the draft roll before any objections
  • C. The total number of new electors added during the revision
  • D. The number of enumeration forms that were not returned to Booth Level Officers

Q8. The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across the various States and Union Territories was ordered and operationalised by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
  • D. The Ministry of Law and Justice

Q9. With reference to citizenship and eligibility for enrolment as an elector in India, consider the following statements: 1. Only a citizen of India is entitled to be registered as an elector in the electoral roll. 2. The Supreme Court has held that the Election Commission has the power to make a final and binding determination of a person's citizenship during roll revision. 3. A name proposed for deletion on grounds of doubtful citizenship is to be referred to the Central Government for adjudication under the citizenship law. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Only a citizen of India is entitled to be registered as an elector in the electoral roll.
  2. The Supreme Court has held that the Election Commission has the power to make a final and binding determination of a person's citizenship during roll revision.
  3. A name proposed for deletion on grounds of doubtful citizenship is to be referred to the Central Government for adjudication under the citizenship law.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. Under Article 326 read with the Representation of the People Act, a person may be denied registration as an elector on which of the following grounds? Consider the four items below: 1. Not being a citizen of India 2. Being of unsound mind, as so declared by a competent court 3. Illiteracy or lack of formal education 4. Non-residence in the constituency for which enrolment is sought Which of the above is/are correctly identified as grounds of disqualification?

  1. Not being a citizen of India
  2. Being of unsound mind, as so declared by a competent court
  3. Illiteracy or lack of formal education
  4. Non-residence in the constituency for which enrolment is sought
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q11. Under Article 324, which one of the following correctly describes the security of tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)?

  • A. The CEC can be removed from office only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court
  • B. The CEC can be removed by the President at any time purely at pleasure
  • C. The CEC can be removed by the Election Commission itself through a simple majority of Election Commissioners
  • D. The CEC can be removed only on the direction of the Chief Justice of India

Q12. Which one of the following statements about the right to vote in India, as reflected in the SIR litigation, is correct?

  • A. It is a constitutional right rooted in the adult-suffrage principle of Article 326 and given effect by statute, and is not an absolute fundamental right immune from all regulation
  • B. It is an absolute fundamental right under Article 21 that can never be regulated or restricted by any statute
  • C. It is a purely contractual entitlement created solely between the voter and the returning officer
  • D. It is guaranteed exclusively by Article 324 and has no connection with adult suffrage