UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC agrees to list another plea against Assam Chief Minister

Q1. In the jurisprudence on Article 19(2), the ground 'public order' as a basis for restricting free speech is best understood as denoting:

  • A. the ordinary maintenance of law and order that covers every minor breach of the peace
  • B. a state of public peace, safety and tranquillity, being narrower than 'law and order' but wider than 'security of the State'
  • C. only those disturbances that threaten the very existence or overthrow of the State
  • D. any expression that offends the moral or religious sensibilities of a community

Q2. In the Supreme Court's hate speech directions (Shaheen Abdullah v. Union of India), States and Union Territories were told to register cases 'suo motu'. In this context, 'suo motu' registration means the police must register a case:

  • A. only after a formal written complaint by an aggrieved person
  • B. on their own motion, without waiting for a formal complaint
  • C. only upon the prior order of a jurisdictional magistrate
  • D. solely on a written direction of the State government

Q3. In its directions on hate speech in Shaheen Abdullah v. Union of India (2023), which one of the following did the Supreme Court cast as the foremost/primary obligation on all States and Union Territories?

  • A. to enact a fresh anti-hate-speech statute within a fixed timeframe
  • B. to register cases against hate speech suo motu even in the absence of a complaint, with any delay treated as contempt of court
  • C. to constitute special fast-track courts exclusively for hate speech offences
  • D. to refer every hate speech complaint to the Election Commission of India

Q4. The Supreme Court asked the petitioners against the Assam Chief Minister to approach the Gauhati High Court under Article 226. The writ jurisdiction of a High Court under Article 226, compared with the Supreme Court's under Article 32, is:

  • A. confined only to the enforcement of Fundamental Rights
  • B. exercisable both for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights and 'for any other purpose'
  • C. available only against the Union Government and its authorities
  • D. itself a Fundamental Right that cannot be suspended except during an Emergency

Q5. Declining to entertain the pleas itself, the Supreme Court directed the petitioners to pursue their remedy before which forum exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226?

  • A. the National Human Rights Commission
  • B. the Gauhati High Court
  • C. a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court
  • D. the Election Commission of India

Q6. In the pleas heard by the Supreme Court in February 2026 against the Assam Chief Minister, the term 'Miya', alleged to have been used pejoratively, refers to:

  • A. indigenous Assamese-speaking Hindu communities of the Brahmaputra valley
  • B. Bengali-origin (Bengali-speaking) Muslims of Assam
  • C. tea-garden tribal labour communities of Assam
  • D. Gorkha-origin residents settled in Assam

Q7. Which one of the following correctly describes Justice Surya Kant, who heads the bench that agreed to list the pleas against the Assam Chief Minister?

  • A. He is the 52nd Chief Justice of India, having directly succeeded Justice Sanjiv Khanna
  • B. He is the 53rd Chief Justice of India and, as 'Master of the Roster', allocates cases and constitutes benches
  • C. He was elevated to Chief Justice of India directly from the office of Attorney General for India
  • D. He presides over a Constitution Bench that is finally hearing the Assam hate-speech matter

Q8. The Model Code of Conduct, invoked to judge campaign speech by holders of public office, derives its authority and enforcement from:

  • A. a specific statute enacted by Parliament that makes it legally binding on candidates
  • B. the Election Commission of India, tracing to its powers under Article 324, though the Code itself is not statutorily enforceable
  • C. Article 19(2) of the Constitution, as an enumerated reasonable restriction on free speech
  • D. a binding declaration of the Supreme Court under Article 141