UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — HC allows Gadkari to sue Meta, Google, X over ethanol posts

Q1. Leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent is sought in a High Court that exercises ordinary original civil jurisdiction. Which one of the following is the High Court for which Parliament's colonial-era legislature enacted a dedicated 'Letters Patent Act' in 1866?

  • A. The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
  • B. The High Court of Judicature at Bombay
  • C. The High Court of Judicature at Patna
  • D. The High Court of Judicature at Lahore

Q2. The Letters Patent that conferred ordinary original civil jurisdiction on the High Courts of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, Madras and Bombay bear which one of the following dates?

  • A. 15 August 1861, on the passing of the Indian High Courts Act by the Imperial Parliament
  • B. 1 July 1862, on the first sitting of the High Court at Fort William in Bengal
  • C. 28 December 1865, uniformly for all three of these High Courts
  • D. 1 November 1867, on the reconstitution of the Presidency Small Cause Courts

Q3. In the reporting of blending achievements under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, the 'Ethanol Supply Year' currently denotes which one of the following periods?

  • A. 1st April of a year to 31st March of the following year
  • B. 1st November of a year to 31st October of the following year
  • C. 1st December of a year to 30th November of the following year
  • D. 1st October of a year to 30th September of the following year

Q4. The advancement of the 20 per cent ethanol blending target from 2030 to Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26 was effected by a 2022 amendment to which one of the following?

  • A. The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018
  • B. The Auto Fuel Vision and Policy, 2025
  • C. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022
  • D. The Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25

Q5. E20 fuel was first launched at 84 retail outlets of public sector Oil Marketing Companies functioning under the nodal ministry for the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme. These outlets were spread across how many States/Union Territories?

  • A. 5
  • B. 9
  • C. 11
  • D. 15

Q6. Under the programme administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the specification marketed as 'E20' means which one of the following?

  • A. Petrol in which ethanol constitutes 20 per cent of the blend by volume
  • B. Petrol in which ethanol constitutes 20 per cent of the blend by weight
  • C. Petrol in which ethanol substitutes 20 per cent of the energy content of the fuel
  • D. High speed diesel in which ethanol constitutes 20 per cent of the blend by volume

Q7. The principal statutory 'safe harbour' relied on by platforms such as Google, Meta and X against liability for third-party information hosted by them is contained in which one of the following?

  • A. Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
  • B. Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
  • C. Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
  • D. Rule 4(2) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

Q8. Consider the following statements comparing the intermediary liability regime as it stood before, and as it stands after, the 2026 amendments to the IT Rules, 2021: 1. Safe harbour in respect of third-party information continues to be conditional on observance of due diligence under Rules 3 and 4 of the IT Rules, 2021, and these general due diligence obligations apply irrespective of whether the unlawful content is in text or visual form. 2. Where an intermediary's computer resource itself enables the creation or modification of synthetically generated information, the visible label on such content must cover at least ten per cent of the surface area of the visual display. 3. The obligation to obtain a user declaration on whether uploaded information is synthetically generated, and to verify it by reasonable measures, is cast on every intermediary, while the duty to label the output of generation tools is confined to significant social media intermediaries. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Safe harbour in respect of third-party information continues to be conditional on observance of due diligence under Rules 3 and 4 of the IT Rules, 2021, and these general due diligence obligations apply irrespective of whether the unlawful content is in text or visual form.
  2. Where an intermediary's computer resource itself enables the creation or modification of synthetically generated information, the visible label on such content must cover at least ten per cent of the surface area of the visual display.
  3. The obligation to obtain a user declaration on whether uploaded information is synthetically generated, and to verify it by reasonable measures, is cast on every intermediary, while the duty to label the output of generation tools is confined to significant social media intermediaries.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. Which one of the following correctly states the legal basis on which a public figure in India may pursue defamation?

  • A. Criminal defamation is punishable under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and a civil suit for damages lies independently of any such prosecution
  • B. Defamation is exclusively a civil wrong in India, all penal provisions on the subject having been omitted when the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force
  • C. Article 19(2) of the Constitution itself creates the offence of defamation and prescribes the punishment that courts must necessarily impose for it
  • D. A civil suit for damages for defamation is maintainable only after a criminal complaint on the same facts has been finally decided

Q10. The Letters Patent dated 28 December 1865, conferring ordinary original civil jurisdiction, were issued in respect of how many High Courts?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Six

Q11. Consider the following statements regarding India's regulatory response to deepfakes and synthetically generated content: 1. The amendment to the IT Rules, 2021 specifically addressing synthetically generated information was notified in October 2025 vide G.S.R. 120(E). 2. Where synthetically generated information is in audio form, the identifier is required to be audible during the initial ten per cent of its duration. 3. A Standard Operating Procedure on Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery, meant to guide victims, intermediaries and law enforcement agencies, was released in November 2025. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The amendment to the IT Rules, 2021 specifically addressing synthetically generated information was notified in October 2025 vide G.S.R. 120(E).
  2. Where synthetically generated information is in audio form, the identifier is required to be audible during the initial ten per cent of its duration.
  3. A Standard Operating Procedure on Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery, meant to guide victims, intermediaries and law enforcement agencies, was released in November 2025.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. The order of 27 July 2026 granting a Union Minister leave to institute a civil defamation suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp and Google LLC over AI-generated posts on ethanol-blended fuel was passed by which one of the following?

  • A. A single Judge of the Bombay High Court
  • B. A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court sitting at Nagpur
  • C. A single Judge of the Delhi High Court exercising ordinary original civil jurisdiction
  • D. A Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India hearing a transfer petition