UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — HC quashes case on offering namaz at restricted site

Q1. In the context of Article 25 of the Constitution, the expression 'propagate' has been judicially interpreted to mean which one of the following?

  • A. The right to transmit or disseminate the tenets of one's religion, but not a right to forcibly convert another person
  • B. The right of every religious denomination to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes
  • C. The right to acquire, own and administer movable and immovable property of a religious denomination
  • D. The right of a denomination to manage its own affairs in matters of religion free of State regulation

Q2. Prohibitory orders restricting assembly at a public place, of the kind that gave rise to the namaz case quashed by the Allahabad High Court, are ordinarily promulgated by which one of the following authorities?

  • A. A District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate or other Executive Magistrate specially empowered under Section 163 of the BNSS
  • B. The Superintendent of Police of the district in exercise of police powers
  • C. The Judicial Magistrate of the First Class having territorial jurisdiction
  • D. The State Home Department by a notification in the Official Gazette

Q3. In State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992), the Supreme Court set out an illustrative list of categories of cases in which the inherent power to quash an FIR or criminal proceedings may properly be exercised. How many such categories were enumerated?

  • A. Five
  • B. Six
  • C. Seven
  • D. Nine

Q4. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which came into force on 1 July 2024, is the statute that replaced which one of the following?

  • A. The Indian Penal Code, 1860
  • B. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
  • C. The Indian Evidence Act, 1872
  • D. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

Q5. The February 2026 order quashing criminal proceedings against two students for offering namaz at a site declared restricted in Sant Kabir Nagar was delivered by which one of the following High Courts?

  • A. Allahabad High Court
  • B. Madhya Pradesh High Court
  • C. Patna High Court
  • D. Rajasthan High Court

Q6. In quashing the FIR and the summoning order in the Sant Kabir Nagar namaz case, the Allahabad High Court exercised its inherent power traceable to which one of the following provisions?

  • A. Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (formerly Section 482 CrPC)
  • B. Article 32 of the Constitution
  • C. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (formerly Section 144 CrPC)
  • D. Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (disobedience to an order of a public servant)

Q7. The right to assemble peaceably and without arms is guaranteed specifically under which one of the following clauses of Article 19(1)?

  • A. Article 19(1)(a)
  • B. Article 19(1)(b)
  • C. Article 19(1)(c)
  • D. Article 19(1)(d)

Q8. The power of a High Court to issue writs not only for the enforcement of fundamental rights but also 'for any other purpose' is derived from which one of the following Articles?

  • A. Article 32
  • B. Article 226
  • C. Article 227
  • D. Article 136

Q9. The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), which provides near real-time data on case pendency across Indian courts, was developed as part of which one of the following initiatives?

  • A. The eCourts Integrated Mission Mode Project, under the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India
  • B. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme
  • D. The National e-Governance Plan implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj