UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre’s plan for Ladakh gives L-G final authority over laws

Q1. With reference to the power of the President to make regulations for certain Union Territories under Article 240 of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A regulation made under this power may repeal or amend an Act of Parliament in so far as that Act applies to the Union Territory concerned.
  2. Like an ordinance under Article 123, such a regulation lapses unless approved by Parliament within six weeks of its reassembly.
  3. This power extends to every Union Territory, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements in the context of Ladakh's 2025 rules on domicile, job reservation and official languages: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Protest groups in Ladakh regard the 2025 safeguards on domicile and job reservation as reversible, unlike Sixth Schedule protection.
  2. The safeguards were issued as presidential regulations under Article 240, and such regulations can themselves be amended or repealed by a later regulation without any constitutional amendment.
  • 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

Q3. Ladakh's civil society seeks inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. With reference to the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Autonomous District Councils under it derive their existence from the Constitution, so their basic framework cannot be dismantled by an executive regulation.
  2. As of 2026, it applies to tribal areas only in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
  3. Its District Councils exercise only executive functions, while law-making for these tribal areas rests solely with the State Legislature.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q4. With reference to the legislative design of Union Territories in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Article 239A itself fixes the strength of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly at thirty elected members.
  2. Article 239A allows the body functioning as Puducherry's legislature to be partly nominated and partly elected.
  3. The Administrator of a Union Territory is appointed by the President under Article 239, whether or not that territory has a legislature.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 only

Q5. Article 240 permits the President to make regulations for Puducherry. After a body created under Article 239A to function as Puducherry's legislature has held its first meeting, what is the position of this regulation-making power?

  • A. It survives only for subjects that the legislature has expressly delegated back to the President
  • B. It continues alongside the legislature, but each regulation must be laid before that body within six weeks
  • C. It remains suspended, reviving only while that legislature is dissolved or its functioning is suspended
  • D. It ends permanently and cannot be used again even if that legislature is later dissolved

Q6. The Centre's draft framework for Ladakh seeks views on whether delimitation for a proposed elected body should rest on population alone or on population and area together. With reference to delimitation in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The validity of a law relating to delimitation of constituencies, made under Article 327 or 328, cannot be called in question in any court.
  2. Giving weight to area alongside population would tend to create constituencies with fewer electors in thinly populated tracts.
  3. The Constitution bars courts from questioning delimitation laws only for Parliament and State Legislatures, with no comparable bar for Panchayats or Municipalities.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following statements in the context of the debate on delimitation for Ladakh's proposed U.T.-level elected body: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Delimitation based on population alone tends to give a vast, thinly populated region fewer constituencies than its geographical extent would suggest.
  2. The Constitution bars courts from questioning the validity of laws relating to the delimitation of constituencies for Parliament and State Legislatures.
  • 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. Consider the following facts about Ladakh: In 2026 the Centre revised the rules governing Ladakh's Autonomous Hill Development Councils so that the number of elected seats in each council is determined by the Ladakh administration, within a range of seven to twenty-four. The administration also plans to set up a hill council for each of the newly created districts. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. The composition of these hill councils is not entrenched in the Constitution of India.
  2. Ladakh's hill councils have thereby been brought within the Sixth Schedule.
  3. Every hill council will now have more elected members than it had before the revision.
  4. The number of elected seats may differ from one hill council to another.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only