UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC issues guidelines for protecting survivors of human trafficking

Q1. The Supreme Court in Prajwala v. Union of India (2026) grounded its Victim Protection Plan in the 'Right against Exploitation.' How many Articles of the Constitution together constitute this cluster of fundamental rights?

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

Q2. With reference to the 2026 Prajwala v. Union of India judgment, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The judgment is cited as 2026 INSC 609.
  2. It was pronounced on 29 May 2026.
  3. Prajwala is a Hyderabad-based anti-trafficking NGO.
  4. The judgment established a statutory 'National Anti-Trafficking Bureau' as a permanent central body.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 4

Q3. With reference to the litigation timeline of the Prajwala case, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The writ petition was filed in 2004.
  2. An earlier order in the same matter was passed on 9 December 2015.
  3. The 2015 order was passed by a Bench that included Justice Madan B. Lokur.
  4. The final judgment was delivered in 2024, exactly twenty years after the petition was filed.
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1 and 3

Q4. The Supreme Court noted that the Prajwala matter had been pending before it for over two decades. Reckoned from its filing to the final 2026 judgment, the litigation spanned approximately how many years?

  • A. 16 years
  • B. 18 years
  • C. 22 years
  • D. 26 years

Q5. The Victim Protection Plan laid down by the Supreme Court follows a six-stage lifecycle for trafficking survivors. Which one of the following is the FIRST stage of this framework?

  • A. Rescue
  • B. Pre-rescue
  • C. Rehabilitation
  • D. Prosecution

Q6. The Supreme Court's Victim Protection Plan is expressly anchored in a fixed set of guiding principles (including non-criminalisation and informed consent). How many such guiding principles underpin the Plan?

  • A. Four
  • B. Five
  • C. Six
  • D. Eight

Q7. As per the institutional design reiterated in the judgment, an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) must be headed by a police officer of at least which one of the following ranks?

  • A. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)
  • B. Inspector of Police
  • C. Superintendent of Police (SP)
  • D. Sub-Inspector of Police

Q8. The scheme for setting up and strengthening Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) across States and Union Territories is operationalised at the Union level primarily by which one of the following ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • B. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • C. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • D. Ministry of Labour and Employment

Q9. Which one of the following is the principal (primary) statute in India dealing specifically with trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, which the 2026 judgment sought to supplement?

  • A. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
  • B. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
  • C. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
  • D. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Q10. The Prajwala case was pursued as a Public Interest Litigation before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's power to entertain such petitions for the enforcement of fundamental rights flows directly from which one of the following Articles of the Constitution?

  • A. Article 32
  • B. Article 226
  • C. Article 136
  • D. Article 143