UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why should Jantar Mantar be used as protest site, asks HC
Q1. Orders prohibiting the assembly of persons in a specified area, of the kind routinely invoked around central Delhi ahead of Independence Day, are issued under which provision and by which functionary?
- A. Section 129 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, exercised by the Commissioner of Police of the district concerned
- B. Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, exercised by a Deputy Commissioner of Police so empowered
- C. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, exercised by a District Magistrate or an Executive Magistrate so empowered
- D. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, exercised by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate so empowered
Q2. Under Article 19(3) of the Constitution, on how many distinct grounds may the State impose reasonable restrictions on the right to assemble peaceably and without arms?
- A. Three
- B. Two
- C. Six
- D. Eight
Q3. Under the regulatory guidelines framed by the Delhi Police for demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, what is the maximum number of persons permitted to be present at the site at any one time?
- A. 500
- B. 750
- C. 1,000
- D. 2,500
Q4. Before demonstrations were shifted to Jantar Mantar in the 1990s, which venue was the principal site for large protests and rallies in central Delhi?
- A. Ramlila Maidan, near Ajmeri Gate
- B. The Boat Club lawns, near India Gate
- C. Talkatora Garden, near Willingdon Crescent
- D. The Parliament Street ground, near Connaught Place
Q5. The Delhi Police guidelines issued after the Supreme Court lifted the blanket ban on demonstrations cap the number of buses carrying protesters permitted in the New Delhi district at:
Q6. With reference to the Supreme Court's ruling in Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India and the regulatory regime that followed it, consider the following:
1. The ruling holding that there cannot be an absolute ban on demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and the Boat Club was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2014.
2. The Court directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to frame guidelines regulating demonstrations at the site.
3. Under the resulting guidelines, protesters in excess of the permitted ceiling are to be diverted to Ramlila Maidan.
4. The guidelines permit the pitching of tents and temporary structures at Jantar Mantar for protests continuing beyond a single day.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The ruling holding that there cannot be an absolute ban on demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and the Boat Club was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2014.
- The Court directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to frame guidelines regulating demonstrations at the site.
- Under the resulting guidelines, protesters in excess of the permitted ceiling are to be diverted to Ramlila Maidan.
- The guidelines permit the pitching of tents and temporary structures at Jantar Mantar for protests continuing beyond a single day.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 3 and 4
Q7. In the Delhi High Court proceedings of August 2026 on the All India Dalit Christian Rights Protection Committee's proposed demonstration, which authority was directed by the Court to take and communicate a decision on the pending permission application?
- A. The New Delhi Municipal Council
- B. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi
- C. The Archaeological Survey of India
- D. The Delhi Police
Q8. The stationary demonstration for which permission was sought at Jantar Mantar for 10 August 2026 was proposed to be held with approximately how many participants?
Q9. Consider the following statements comparing the Jantar Mantar at Jaipur with the other masonry observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II:
1. The Jaipur observatory is the most comprehensive and best preserved of these observatories, comprising some twenty main fixed instruments.
2. The instruments at Jaipur are masonry constructions designed for observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, that is, they are pre-telescopic in conception.
3. Among these observatories it is the one at Delhi that stands inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Jaipur observatory being only a nationally protected monument.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Jaipur observatory is the most comprehensive and best preserved of these observatories, comprising some twenty main fixed instruments.
- The instruments at Jaipur are masonry constructions designed for observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, that is, they are pre-telescopic in conception.
- Among these observatories it is the one at Delhi that stands inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Jaipur observatory being only a nationally protected monument.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q10. Consider the following statements about the Jantar Mantar observatories:
1. The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur was built by Sawai Jai Singh II and completed in 1738.
2. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under cultural criteria (iii) and (iv).
3. The Rashivalaya Yantra at the site is a group of twelve instruments, one corresponding to each sign of the zodiac.
4. Sawai Jai Singh II built such masonry observatories at five places — Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Puri.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur was built by Sawai Jai Singh II and completed in 1738.
- It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under cultural criteria (iii) and (iv).
- The Rashivalaya Yantra at the site is a group of twelve instruments, one corresponding to each sign of the zodiac.
- Sawai Jai Singh II built such masonry observatories at five places — Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Puri.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q11. Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 — the provision at the heart of the demand for Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Christians — lays down which of the following?
- A. That a person who converts to a religion other than Hinduism retains Scheduled Caste status but forfeits reservation in public employment and legislatures
- B. That no person professing a religion different from the Hindu or the Sikh religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste, Buddhists being listed separately
- C. That no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste
- D. That Scheduled Caste status follows the caste of birth alone and is unaffected by the religion professed by the person at any later stage
Q12. Consider the following propositions relating to the judicial balancing of the right to assemble against competing public interests:
1. In Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020) the Supreme Court held that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely, and that demonstrations must be held in areas identified for the purpose rather than on a public road or park.
2. In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India the Court held that an absolute prohibition on demonstrations at Jantar Mantar cannot be sustained, while permitting regulation of the time, place and manner of protest.
3. In the Ramlila Maidan matter (2012) the Court affirmed that peaceful assembly is a feature of democracy entitled to constitutional protection.
4. In the Shaheen Bagh case the Court directed that the protest site be regularised and allotted as a permanent designated protest venue for the National Capital Territory.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- In Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020) the Supreme Court held that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely, and that demonstrations must be held in areas identified for the purpose rather than on a public road or park.
- In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India the Court held that an absolute prohibition on demonstrations at Jantar Mantar cannot be sustained, while permitting regulation of the time, place and manner of protest.
- In the Ramlila Maidan matter (2012) the Court affirmed that peaceful assembly is a feature of democracy entitled to constitutional protection.
- In the Shaheen Bagh case the Court directed that the protest site be regularised and allotted as a permanent designated protest venue for the National Capital Territory.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 3 and 4 only