UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — On the Sabarimala temple entry case

Question 1

The 'Essential Religious Practices' doctrine, central to the Sabarimala reference, was first formulated by the Supreme Court in which one of the following cases?

Accepted Answer

Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Shri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Shri Shirur Mutt (1954)

Answer

S.P. Mittal v. Union of India (1983)

Answer

Sardar Syedna Taher Saifuddin v. State of Bombay (1962)

Answer

Ratilal Panachand Gandhi v. State of Bombay (1954)

Question 2

In the Sabarimala litigation, which one of the following is the primary judicially evolved threshold test that determines whether a religious custom qualifies for protection under Articles 25 and 26?

Accepted Answer

The Essential Religious Practices test

Answer

The doctrine of constitutional morality

Answer

The doctrine of proportionality

Answer

The anti-exclusion principle

Question 3

Under Article 25(2)(b), the power to make a law throwing open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus is vested in which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The State

Answer

The religious denomination concerned

Answer

The Supreme Court

Answer

The National Commission for Minorities

Question 4

Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees to every religious denomination how many distinct rights in the management of its religious affairs?

Accepted Answer

Four

Answer

Two

Answer

Three

Answer

Five

Question 5

In the 2018 five-judge Bench in Indian Young Lawyers' Association v. State of Kerala, who delivered the lone dissent?

Accepted Answer

Justice Indu Malhotra

Answer

Justice R.F. Nariman

Answer

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Answer

Justice A.M. Khanwilkar

Question 6

With reference to the 2018 Sabarimala judgment (Indian Young Lawyers' Association v. State of Kerala), consider the following statements:
1. It was decided by a 4:1 majority.
2. It held that Ayyappa devotees constitute a separate religious denomination.
3. It struck down Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965.
4. It was pronounced on 28 September 2018.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Question 7

With reference to the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) legal framework of 1965, consider the following statements:
1. It was brought into force as a President's Act (President's Act No. 7 of 1965).
2. Section 3 of the Act requires places of public worship to be open to all sections and classes of Hindus notwithstanding any custom to the contrary.
3. Rule 3(b) permitted exclusion of women who were not by custom and usage allowed to enter a place of public worship.
4. The 2018 Supreme Court judgment struck down the parent Act in its entirety.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

3 only

Question 8

Under Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, women could be barred from a place of public worship on which one of the following grounds?

Accepted Answer

That they were not, by custom and usage, allowed to enter that place of public worship

Answer

That they were within a specified menstruating age of 10 to 50 years, as fixed by the Rule itself

Answer

That their entry was contrary to public order, morality and health

Answer

That the deity was a 'Naishtik Brahmachari', a ground expressly written into the Rule

Question 9

The nine-judge Bench hearing the Sabarimala reference in 2026 was constituted under Article 145(3). What does this provision precisely require?

Accepted Answer

That the minimum number of judges to decide a case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution shall be five

Answer

That every appeal against a High Court verdict must be heard by at least nine judges

Answer

That any review of a Supreme Court judgment must be heard by a bench larger than the one that delivered it

Answer

That the Chief Justice alone may fix the strength of every Constitution Bench without any numerical floor

Question 10

According to the Supreme Court's test for a 'religious denomination' under Article 26, consider the following conditions:
1. A common faith or system of beliefs conducive to spiritual well-being.
2. A common organisation.
3. Designation by a distinctive name.
4. A minimum registered membership prescribed by statute.
Which of the above are correctly identified as conditions of the test?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 11

Cases such as Parsi women's access to fire temples after interfaith marriage and Dawoodi Bohra female genital cutting are being examined together with the 2026 nine-judge reference primarily because they are tagged to which lead matter?

Accepted Answer

The reference arising out of the Sabarimala temple-entry review

Answer

The Parsi excommunication case itself

Answer

The Muslim women's mosque-entry petition

Answer

The Dawoodi Bohra female genital cutting petition

Question 12

The seven broader questions on religious freedom versus gender equality, which led to the present nine-judge reference, were referred to a larger bench in which year and by a bench of what strength?

Accepted Answer

In November 2019, by a five-judge bench (3:2 majority)

Answer

In September 2018, by a five-judge bench (4:1 majority)

Answer

In November 2019, by a seven-judge bench (unanimous)

Answer

In April 2026, by a nine-judge bench (7:2 majority)

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — On the Sabarimala temple entry case

Q1. The 'Essential Religious Practices' doctrine, central to the Sabarimala reference, was first formulated by the Supreme Court in which one of the following cases?

Q2. In the Sabarimala litigation, which one of the following is the primary judicially evolved threshold test that determines whether a religious custom qualifies for protection under Articles 25 and 26?

Q3. Under Article 25(2)(b), the power to make a law throwing open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus is vested in which one of the following?

Q4. Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees to every religious denomination how many distinct rights in the management of its religious affairs?

Q5. In the 2018 five-judge Bench in Indian Young Lawyers' Association v. State of Kerala, who delivered the lone dissent?

Q8. Under Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, women could be barred from a place of public worship on which one of the following grounds?

Q9. The nine-judge Bench hearing the Sabarimala reference in 2026 was constituted under Article 145(3). What does this provision precisely require?

Q11. Cases such as Parsi women's access to fire temples after interfaith marriage and Dawoodi Bohra female genital cutting are being examined together with the 2026 nine-judge reference primarily because they are tagged to which lead matter?

Q12. The seven broader questions on religious freedom versus gender equality, which led to the present nine-judge reference, were referred to a larger bench in which year and by a bench of what strength?