UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC calls for law to safeguard multi-crore court deposits

Q1. In its 2026 ruling on money lying with courts and tribunals in pending appeals, the Supreme Court referred the task of examining a uniform framework to a body which conveys its views to the Government through which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice
  • B. The Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice
  • C. The National Legal Services Authority, constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
  • D. The Secretary-General's Secretariat of the Supreme Court of India

Q2. With reference to the Supreme Court's decision reported as 2026 INSC 1017 concerning money deposited in court by a judgment-debtor during the pendency of an appeal, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. It held that such a deposit does not amount to payment, and therefore does not by itself halt the running of interest
  • B. It held that a deposit made in court invariably discharges the decretal liability from the date on which it is made
  • C. It laid down binding all-India rules permanently governing the deposit percentage for every court and tribunal in the country
  • D. It held that such sums must necessarily be kept only with nationalised banks at a rate fixed exclusively by the Reserve Bank of India

Q3. Who headed the first Law Commission constituted in India after Independence?

  • A. Sir M.C. Setalvad, the country's first Attorney-General
  • B. Lord Macaulay, who presided over the Commission set up under the Charter Act of 1833
  • C. Sir B.N. Rau, the constitutional adviser to the Constituent Assembly
  • D. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the first Law Minister of independent India

Q4. Consider the following statements about the 23rd Law Commission of India as compared with its predecessors: 1. It was constituted for a three-year term beginning 1 September 2024, and its Chairperson and Members assumed charge in April 2025. 2. Unlike all earlier Law Commissions, it has been conferred statutory status by an Act of Parliament and its recommendations are binding on the Central Government. 3. The Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs and the Secretary, Legislative Department are ex officio Members of the Commission. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was constituted for a three-year term beginning 1 September 2024, and its Chairperson and Members assumed charge in April 2025.
  2. Unlike all earlier Law Commissions, it has been conferred statutory status by an Act of Parliament and its recommendations are binding on the Central Government.
  3. The Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs and the Secretary, Legislative Department are ex officio Members of the Commission.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. As the position stands today, the bank in which a litigant's court deposit is kept, the instrument chosen and the rate it earns are determined by which one of the following?

  • A. The directions passed by the court or tribunal in the particular case, there being no central statute on the subject
  • B. A uniform schedule of rates prescribed under Order XXIV of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
  • C. Directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 for court-attached accounts
  • D. Guidelines framed by the National Legal Services Authority under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

Q6. In appellate practice, the expression 'conditional stay' is most accurately described as which one of the following?

  • A. An order staying execution of the decree subject to the appellant depositing or securing a specified part of the amount decreed
  • B. An order of the court which passed the decree, operative only until the appellate court is moved and disposes of the stay application
  • C. An order staying the hearing of the appeal itself until a connected proceeding arising from the same transaction is decided
  • D. An order staying execution which lapses automatically once the respondent enters appearance before the appellate court

Q7. Consider the following statements regarding pendency in Indian courts and the measures taken to address it: 1. As on 31 December 2025, more than 92,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court of India. 2. As on 31 December 2025, more than 700 Fast Track Special Courts were functional, of which a substantial number were exclusive e-POCSO courts. 3. Under the eCourts Mission Mode Project, every case pending for more than ten years is necessarily transferred to a Fast Track Special Court for disposal. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. As on 31 December 2025, more than 92,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court of India.
  2. As on 31 December 2025, more than 700 Fast Track Special Courts were functional, of which a substantial number were exclusive e-POCSO courts.
  3. Under the eCourts Mission Mode Project, every case pending for more than ten years is necessarily transferred to a Fast Track Special Court for disposal.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3