UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC refuses to stay HC order on fraud trial against Anil Ambani

Q1. Which one of the following is the landmark Supreme Court judgment that first held that banks must give a borrower an opportunity of being heard, consistent with the principle of audi alteram partem, before classifying the borrower's account as 'fraud' under the RBI Master Directions?

  • A. State Bank of India v. Rajesh Agarwal (2023)
  • B. Central Bank of India v. Ravindra (2002)
  • C. Swiss Ribbons Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (2019)
  • D. Innoventive Industries Ltd. v. ICICI Bank (2017)

Q2. Which one of the following bodies is the lead professional institution currently framing compulsory qualification standards for forensic audit professionals in India?

  • A. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
  • B. National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)
  • C. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
  • D. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

Q3. Under which provision of the Companies Act, 2013 is a company's statutory auditor required to report a suspected offence of fraud against the company to the Audit Committee/Board and, above the prescribed threshold, to the Central Government?

  • A. Section 143(12)
  • B. Section 138
  • C. Section 177
  • D. Section 447

Q4. The Supreme Court Bench that on April 16, 2026 declined to interfere with the Bombay High Court order allowing fraud-classification proceedings against Anil Ambani to continue comprised how many judges?

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

Q5. The February 23, 2026 order that set aside the stay and allowed fraud-classification proceedings against Anil Ambani to continue was passed by which one of the following judicial forums?

  • A. A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court
  • B. A Single Judge of the Bombay High Court
  • C. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai
  • D. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)

Q6. The BDO India LLP forensic audit that flagged alleged irregularities of about ₹31,580 crore examined how many Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) entities?

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

Q7. Which one of the following is the adjudicating authority before which the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of Reliance Communications is conducted?

  • A. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
  • B. National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)
  • C. Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT)
  • D. Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)

Q8. In High Court practice, a 'Letters Patent Appeal' (intra-court appeal) most precisely refers to:

  • A. An appeal from the order of a Single Judge to a Division Bench of the same High Court
  • B. An appeal from a Division Bench of a High Court to the Supreme Court
  • C. An appeal from a District Court to the High Court
  • D. A review petition heard afresh by the same Single Judge who passed the order

Q9. The writ jurisdiction under which the Bombay High Court single judge stayed, and the Division Bench then heard the appeal in, the Anil Ambani fraud-classification matter is exercised by a High Court under which Article of the Constitution?

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

Q10. Which one of the following is the RBI-maintained central database that specifically serves as the repository of reported bank frauds involving amounts above ₹1 lakh?

  • A. Central Fraud Registry (CFR)
  • B. Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC)
  • C. Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR)
  • D. Special Mention Account (SMA) database