UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Gauhati HC quashes detention of Assam activist under NSA

Q1. With reference to the constitutional safeguards available to a person detained under a law providing for preventive detention in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The requirement of production before the nearest magistrate within twenty-four hours does not apply to such a person.
  2. The detaining authority is bound to disclose every fact on which the order rests, since withholding any fact would defeat the right of representation.
  3. The detaining authority must afford such a person the earliest opportunity of making a representation against the order.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Two people are in custody: one was arrested under the ordinary criminal law, and the other is held under a preventive detention law. Which one of the following safeguards under Article 22 is available to the first person but NOT to the second?

  • A. Consulting, and being defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice
  • B. Being informed of the grounds on which he is being held in custody
  • C. Being given the earliest opportunity to represent against the custody order
  • D. Having continued custody beyond three months examined by an Advisory Board

Q3. With reference to Advisory Boards under the National Security Act, 1980, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Board is made up of persons who are, or have been, or are qualified to be appointed as, Judges of a High Court.
  2. If the Board reports that there is no sufficient cause for detention, the government may still continue the detention after recording its reasons.
  3. If the Board reports that there is sufficient cause, the government is obliged to continue the detention for the maximum period the Act permits.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A preventive detention order can be made against a person who has not been charged with, or tried for, any offence.
  2. Preventive detention is meant to stop a person from acting prejudicially in the future, not to punish him for an offence proved against him.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. An activist was arrested after leading a protest, and a local court granted him bail. The next day, the State government detained him under the National Security Act, 1980, citing alleged violations of the foreign-contribution law. Some months later, the High Court quashed the detention, holding that the grounds lacked the required proximity, and he was released. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. The activist must have been tried and convicted for violating the foreign-contribution law before the detention order was made.
  2. The quashing of the detention is not, by itself, a finding that the activist did not commit the alleged foreign-contribution violations.
  3. The activist's release shows that the Advisory Board had reported that there was no sufficient cause for his detention.
  4. The grant of bail in a criminal case did not prevent the State from making a preventive detention order against the same person.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q6. With reference to the distribution of legislative power over preventive detention in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Parliament can enact a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with the maintenance of public order.
  2. A central law of preventive detention does not by itself take away the power of State Legislatures to enact their own preventive detention laws for the maintenance of public order.
  3. Preventive detention for reasons connected with the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community is a matter on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q7. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A person held under a preventive detention order can seek a writ of habeas corpus from a High Court under Article 226.
  2. The power of a High Court under Article 226 is not in derogation of the power of the Supreme Court under Article 32.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q8. A person is held in a jail in Assam under a preventive detention order issued by an authority whose seat is outside Assam. Which one of the following is correct regarding a habeas corpus petition filed in the Gauhati High Court?

  • A. It is not maintainable, as a High Court may issue writs only to authorities seated within its territory.
  • B. It is maintainable only after the Advisory Board has reported on the detention within its territory.
  • C. It is not maintainable, as an order of an authority seated outside the State is reviewable only by the Supreme Court.
  • D. It is maintainable, as a High Court may act where the cause of action arises wholly or partly within its territory.