UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC must ensure consistency in its decisions: senior advocate

Q1. Flowing from the authority of Supreme Court precedent, what is the minimum number of judges that must sit to decide a case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution (a Constitution Bench)?

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

Q2. Under the doctrine of stare decisis as applied in India, when benches of differing strength of the Supreme Court have ruled on the same question of law, the ruling that prevails is that of the:

  • A. Most recent Division Bench to decide the issue
  • B. Bench of the largest strength
  • C. Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India
  • D. Bench that first decided the issue

Q3. The doctrine of stare decisis in India draws its binding constitutional force from Article 141, which makes precedent binding chiefly the decisions of which institution?

  • A. The High Courts, whose rulings bind all courts across India
  • B. The Supreme Court of India
  • C. The Law Commission of India
  • D. Parliament through its resolutions

Q4. Consider the following norms of judicial discipline concerning conflicting bench rulings, as laid down in Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community v. State of Maharashtra (2004). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Bench of lesser quorum cannot dissent from the view of law taken by a Bench of larger quorum.
  2. A coordinate Bench that disagrees with an earlier coordinate Bench may itself overrule that earlier decision.
  3. In case of doubt, a Bench of lesser quorum may request the Chief Justice to place the matter before a larger Bench.
  4. A judgment may be overruled only by a Bench larger than the one that delivered it.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q5. Consider the following propositions about the practice of referring doubted precedents to a larger Bench. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. A two-judge Bench that doubts a three-judge Bench ruling must refer the matter to a larger Bench rather than overrule it.
  2. The law laid down by a Bench of larger strength binds subsequent Benches of smaller or equal strength.
  3. The 'Larger Bench Rule' is a self-imposed norm of judicial discipline rather than an express provision of the Constitution.
  4. A High Court Division Bench may itself refer a doubted Supreme Court precedent to a larger Bench of the Supreme Court.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q6. The relaxation of the traditional rule of locus standi that opened the door to Public Interest Litigation — the principal vehicle of judicial activism in India — is most closely associated with which case?

  • A. S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981)
  • B. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973)
  • C. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978)
  • D. A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950)

Q7. The basic structure doctrine — a key judicial restraint on Parliament's amending power — was propounded in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) by a bench of how many judges, the largest ever constituted by the Supreme Court?

  • A. Eleven
  • B. Thirteen
  • C. Fifteen
  • D. Nine

Q8. In his 2026 critique on the need for consistency, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan pointed to divergent rulings by different benches of a single institution. Which institution's internal inconsistency was the subject of this critique?

  • A. The various High Courts of India
  • B. The Supreme Court of India
  • C. The National Green Tribunal
  • D. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal

Q9. Under Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961, the distinction of 'Senior Advocate' is conferred on an advocate (with his consent) by which authority?

  • A. The Bar Council of India
  • B. The Supreme Court or a High Court
  • C. The concerned State Bar Council
  • D. The Ministry of Law and Justice

Q10. For the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court, the Constitution specifies a particular ground on which alone a judge may be removed. This ground is:

  • A. Proved misbehaviour or incapacity
  • B. Loss of confidence of a majority in Parliament
  • C. Violation of the oath of office
  • D. Any misconduct or corruption established by a court

Q11. In 2025–26, faced with conflicting rulings of its own benches on whether the grounds of arrest must mandatorily be furnished in writing, the Supreme Court indicated it would resolve the inconsistency chiefly through which mechanism?

  • A. A Presidential Reference under Article 143
  • B. Reference of the issue to a larger Bench
  • C. A review petition under Article 137
  • D. A curative petition