UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC orders status quo in Asaram Trust land case

Q1. The Sant Shri Asaram Trust land in Ahmedabad, now the subject of a Supreme Court status quo order, expanded over decades from its original grant. What was the extent of the land first allotted to the Trust in 1980?

  • A. 6,261 sq metres
  • B. 10,000 sq metres
  • C. 45,000 sq metres
  • D. 49,758 sq metres

Q2. The Supreme Court's interim relief to the Trust turned largely on a defective show-cause notice preceding the takeover. That notice, held to 'prima facie lack material particulars', was issued by which authority?

  • A. The municipal authorities of Ahmedabad
  • B. The Gujarat Cricket Association
  • C. The Commonwealth Games Federation
  • D. The Sports Authority of India

Q3. Consider the following statements comparing the Gujarat High Court order and the Supreme Court's subsequent order in the Asaram Trust land matter: 1. The Gujarat High Court had rejected the Trust's appeal and cleared the way for the State to reclaim the land. 2. The Supreme Court permanently set aside the High Court verdict and quashed the reclamation. 3. The Supreme Court bench that ordered status quo comprised Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Gujarat High Court had rejected the Trust's appeal and cleared the way for the State to reclaim the land.
  2. The Supreme Court permanently set aside the High Court verdict and quashed the reclamation.
  3. The Supreme Court bench that ordered status quo comprised Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. While the Trust's appeal remained pending, the principal interim direction the Supreme Court issued to the Gujarat government was to —

  • A. maintain status quo and refrain from coercive action on the disputed land
  • B. immediately hand over vacant possession of the land to the Trust
  • C. demolish the unauthorised structures under court supervision
  • D. pay interim compensation to the Trust for the disputed land

Q5. The Trust moved the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court's order by invoking the Court's discretionary power to grant special leave to appeal. This power flows from which Article of the Constitution?

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

Q6. In this dispute the Trust had first litigated before the Gujarat High Court under Article 226. A writ petition under Article 226 is best described as an exercise of the High Court's —

  • A. original jurisdiction to issue writs, orders and directions
  • B. appellate jurisdiction over subordinate criminal courts
  • C. advisory jurisdiction on questions referred by the Governor
  • D. discretionary appellate power identical to the Supreme Court's special leave

Q7. Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Sports Enclave is being developed as the primary venue for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. If India hosts in 2030, this would be how many times an Indian city has hosted the Commonwealth Games?

  • A. The first time
  • B. The second time
  • C. The third time
  • D. The fourth time

Q8. The Narendra Modi Stadium, the anchor venue within the Sardar Patel Sports Enclave planned for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, is owned by which body?

  • A. The Gujarat Cricket Association
  • B. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
  • C. The Sports Authority of India
  • D. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Q9. Which one of the following superlatives correctly applies to the Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, Ahmedabad?

  • A. World's largest cricket stadium by seating capacity
  • B. India's oldest international cricket venue
  • C. World's highest-altitude cricket stadium
  • D. India's first purpose-built football stadium

Q10. The Supreme Court's concern that the Trust may not have been properly heard before action invokes a principle of natural justice. The maxim 'audi alteram partem' most precisely means —

  • A. no one should be condemned unheard; hear the other side
  • B. no one shall be a judge in his own cause
  • C. the burden of proof lies on the one who asserts
  • D. a decision once given must be allowed to stand as final

Q11. The Asaram Trust matter is one of several disputes in India over religious or charitable property and its ownership or control. Consider the following: 1. Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid title dispute, resolved by the Supreme Court in 2019. 2. The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, affecting 'waqf by user' properties. 3. The Udai Pratap College, Varanasi, land claimed by a Waqf Board. 4. The Sabarimala matter, a dispute over acquisition of temple land for a national highway. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid title dispute, resolved by the Supreme Court in 2019.
  2. The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, affecting 'waqf by user' properties.
  3. The Udai Pratap College, Varanasi, land claimed by a Waqf Board.
  4. The Sabarimala matter, a dispute over acquisition of temple land for a national highway.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. The 2010 Delhi edition was the first Commonwealth Games held in a 'Commonwealth republic'. The Commonwealth Games themselves are governed by which body?

  • A. The Commonwealth Games Federation, based in London
  • B. The International Olympic Committee, based in Lausanne
  • C. The Commonwealth Secretariat, based in London
  • D. The Commonwealth Sports Council, based in New Delhi