UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — A disturbing step for rights, dignity and mental health

Q1. With reference to the evolution of legal gender recognition for transgender persons in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. NALSA v. Union of India (2014) held that insistence on Sex Reassignment Surgery as a precondition for legal gender recognition is impermissible, affirming self-identification.
  2. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 mandated a District Screening Committee to certify a person's transgender identity.
  3. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 requires a medical board's recommendation before the District Magistrate issues the identity certificate.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. In NALSA v. Union of India (2014), the 'right to self-identification' of gender was interpreted to mean which one of the following?

  • A. A person may determine their gender as male, female or third gender without proof of surgery or medical intervention
  • B. A person's gender must be certified by a District Screening Committee after psychological evaluation
  • C. A person may alter their legal gender only after Sex Reassignment Surgery certified by a medical board
  • D. A person's gender is to be recorded solely as per the sex assigned at birth

Q3. As originally enacted, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 defined a 'transgender person' to include which one of the following?

  • A. A person whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth, including trans-men and trans-women, whether or not they have undergone sex reassignment surgery or hormone therapy
  • B. Only persons with intersex variations recognised by a medical board
  • C. Only the socio-cultural communities of kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta
  • D. Any person merely on the basis of a different sexual orientation

Q4. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 is administered by which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • B. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • C. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • D. Ministry of Home Affairs

Q5. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 amends which one of the following parent statutes?

  • A. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
  • B. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
  • C. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
  • D. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

Q6. Under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, kidnapping or causing grievous hurt to force an adult to assume a transgender identity attracts imprisonment of a minimum of how many years (extendable to imprisonment for life)?

  • A. 10 years
  • B. 3 years
  • C. 5 years
  • D. 7 years

Q7. While issuing notice in May 2026 on the pleas challenging the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, the Supreme Court directed that the matter be placed before a bench of how many judges?

  • A. Three judges
  • B. Two judges
  • C. Five judges
  • D. Seven judges

Q8. In the May 2026 proceedings on the challenge to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, the Supreme Court 'issued notice' to the respondents. In this context, 'issuing notice' meant which one of the following?

  • A. The Court formally called upon the Centre, all States and Union Territories to file their responses to the petitions
  • B. The Court stayed the operation of the Amendment Act pending final hearing
  • C. The Court struck down the Amendment Act as unconstitutional
  • D. The Court issued binding guidelines to be followed until Parliament reconsidered the law

Q9. Among the socio-cultural identities recognised within the statutory definition of a 'transgender person', which one is the most widely used, broadly pan-Indian designation (rather than a primarily regional term)?

  • A. Hijra
  • B. Aravani
  • C. Jogta
  • D. Kinner

Q10. Consider the following pairs of socio-cultural transgender identities and the regions with which they are traditionally associated: Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Aravani — Tamil Nadu
  2. Jogta — Maharashtra
  3. Hijra — confined only to North-East India
  4. Kinner — northern India
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q11. In NALSA v. Union of India (2014), the Supreme Court grounded the recognition of the gender identity and dignity of transgender persons in which of the following constitutional provisions? Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Article 14 — equality before the law
  2. Article 15 — prohibition of discrimination on grounds including sex
  3. Article 19(1)(a) — freedom of speech and expression
  4. Article 25 — freedom of conscience and free profession of religion
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. The National Council for Transgender Persons, constituted under Section 16 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, is chaired ex officio by which one of the following?

  • A. The Union Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • B. The Prime Minister of India
  • C. The Chief Justice of India
  • D. The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission