UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC mulls pan-India safety norms for hostels
Q1. In public interest proceedings such as the Supreme Court's ongoing monitoring of building bye-law and land-use violations, the expression 'continuing mandamus' is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A single final writ which permanently divests the executive of all discretion over the subject matter and vests it wholly in a court-appointed commissioner
- B. An order by which the Court withdraws to itself every connected proceeding pending in all High Courts and disposes of each of them without ever returning any case
- C. A device by which the Court keeps the petition pending and issues successive interim directions, calling for periodic status reports and affidavits from the executive agencies concerned
- D. A direction which, once issued, binds every authority in the country automatically and dispenses entirely with the need to hear the affected authority
Q2. While widening the scope of a Tamil Nadu land-use and building bye-law violation matter in March 2026, the Supreme Court sought status reports on enforcement action against similar violations from the civic bodies of how many State capitals, apart from Delhi?
- A. Two
- B. Four
- C. Three
- D. Six
Q3. With reference to the September 2026 Supreme Court proceedings on safety of paying-guest accommodations and hostels, consider the following as elements of the scrutiny the Court indicated it proposed to undertake:
1. Conformity of the actual construction with the sanctioned building plan, including the number of floors and alterations to basements
2. Fire-safety compliance and the adequacy of entry and exit arrangements in the premises
3. Fixing of statutory rent ceilings for paying-guest accommodations situated near universities
4. The permissible land use of the plot, and identification of premises that are ruinous or dangerous
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Conformity of the actual construction with the sanctioned building plan, including the number of floors and alterations to basements
- Fire-safety compliance and the adequacy of entry and exit arrangements in the premises
- Fixing of statutory rent ceilings for paying-guest accommodations situated near universities
- The permissible land use of the plot, and identification of premises that are ruinous or dangerous
- A. 2 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 3
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q4. The authority of a State Legislature to confer on municipalities such powers and responsibilities as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government flows from which one of the following provisions?
- A. Article 243Q, which requires the constitution of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations in every State
- B. Article 243S, which requires Wards Committees within municipalities having a population of three lakh or more
- C. Article 243Y, which requires the State Finance Commission to review the financial position of municipalities
- D. Article 243W, which is read with the Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution
Q5. With reference to the distribution of legislative powers under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, consider the following:
1. 'Local government, that is to say, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations' is an entry in the State List.
2. 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' is an entry in the State List.
3. 'Land, that is to say, rights in or over land' is an entry in the Concurrent List.
4. 'Fire services' is expressly enumerated as an entry in the Union List.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- 'Local government, that is to say, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations' is an entry in the State List.
- 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' is an entry in the State List.
- 'Land, that is to say, rights in or over land' is an entry in the Concurrent List.
- 'Fire services' is expressly enumerated as an entry in the Union List.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q6. Consider the following statements about the institutional and legislative architecture governing building and fire safety in Indian cities:
1. 'Police' and 'public order' are subjects in the State List of the Seventh Schedule.
2. The National Disaster Management Authority, set up under a central Act of 2005, is headed by the Prime Minister.
3. The Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 were issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the guidance of State Governments, urban local bodies and urban development authorities.
4. Since urban development is a Union subject, building bye-laws are notified by the Central Government and applied uniformly in all States.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 'Police' and 'public order' are subjects in the State List of the Seventh Schedule.
- The National Disaster Management Authority, set up under a central Act of 2005, is headed by the Prime Minister.
- The Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 were issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the guidance of State Governments, urban local bodies and urban development authorities.
- Since urban development is a Union subject, building bye-laws are notified by the Central Government and applied uniformly in all States.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. The National Building Code of India, 2016, whose Part 4 lays down requirements for fire prevention, life safety and fire protection in buildings, is formulated and published by which one of the following?
- A. The National Disaster Management Authority, functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs
- B. The Central Public Works Department, functioning under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- C. The Town and Country Planning Organisation, functioning under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- D. The Bureau of Indian Standards, functioning under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Q8. Which one of the following statements best describes the legal status of the National Building Code of India, 2016?
- A. It is a statutory regulation framed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and is therefore directly binding on all municipal bodies in the country
- B. It is a schedule to the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 and is enforced by the Bureau through a compulsory certification regime for buildings
- C. It is a recommendatory national standard which acquires the force of law only to the extent that its provisions are adopted into the building bye-laws of States and urban local bodies
- D. It is subordinate legislation made under Part IXA of the Constitution and hence binds every municipality automatically from the date of its publication
Q9. Consequent upon the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026, what is the sanctioned strength of judges of the Supreme Court of India, inclusive of the Chief Justice of India?
Q10. Article 32(2) and Article 226(1) of the Constitution each expressly name the writs which the Supreme Court and the High Courts respectively may issue. How many writs are so named in each of these two provisions?
- A. Five in Article 32(2) and five in Article 226(1)
- B. Three in Article 32(2) and five in Article 226(1)
- C. Four in Article 32(2) and four in Article 226(1)
- D. Five in Article 32(2) and three in Article 226(1)