UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Swear words are uncivil, but not obscene by law, says SC

Question 1

The judgment holding that swear words are uncivil but not obscene carries the neutral citation "2026 INSC 719". In this citation, the abbreviation "INSC" denotes which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The neutral citation assigned by the Supreme Court of India to its own judgments

Answer

A private law-report series published by the Indian National Society of Criminology

Answer

The internal case-numbering system of the National Company Law Tribunal

Answer

A neutral citation used exclusively by the High Courts for constitutional matters

Question 2

The 2026 ruling that mere profanity does not amount to statutory obscenity was delivered exclusively by a Bench comprising which of the following Judges of the Supreme Court?

Accepted Answer

Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi

Answer

Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant

Answer

Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S. Ravindra Bhat

Answer

Justices Sanjay Karol and Bela M. Trivedi

Question 3

The offence of "obscene acts and songs" at issue in this case was contained in Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (in force from 1 July 2024), this offence now corresponds to which provision?

Accepted Answer

Section 296 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Answer

Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Answer

Section 354 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Answer

Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Question 4

With reference to the ingredients that must be satisfied to constitute an offence under Section 294(b) IPC, consider the following:
1. The words sung, recited or uttered must be obscene.
2. The act must occur in or near a public place.
3. The utterance must cause annoyance to others.
4. The offender must have used a dangerous weapon while uttering the words.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1, 2 and 4

Question 5

Consider the following statements comparing the IPC provisions involved in Mani @ Subramaniyam v. State:
1. Section 294(b) prescribes a maximum imprisonment of three months, whereas Section 326 can extend to imprisonment for life.
2. Aggravated criminal intimidation under Section 506 (Part II) is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, which exceeds the maximum term under Section 294(b).
3. Section 326 deals with criminal intimidation, while Section 506 penalises voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 6

Section 326 IPC, the only charge whose conviction the Supreme Court upheld against the petitioner, penalises which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by means of dangerous weapons or means

Answer

Threatening a person with injury to compel or deter an act (criminal intimidation)

Answer

Uttering obscene words to the annoyance of others in a public place

Answer

Doing an act with intent to cause death amounting to attempt to murder

Question 7

Of the three IPC convictions that the petitioner carried when the matter reached the Supreme Court, how many did the Court set aside in its 2026 judgment?

Accepted Answer

Two

Answer

One

Answer

Three

Answer

None

Question 8

In Mani @ Subramaniyam v. State (2026), the Supreme Court left intact the petitioner's conviction under only one provision. Which single provision was it?

Accepted Answer

Section 326 IPC

Answer

Section 294(b) IPC

Answer

Section 506(ii) IPC

Answer

Section 292 IPC

Question 9

Which one of the following best describes the "community standards test" reaffirmed by Indian courts for judging obscenity?

Accepted Answer

Material is judged by contemporary community and national standards taken as a whole, not by the standard of a hypersensitive person

Answer

Material is judged by its tendency to deprave and corrupt the most susceptible minds, on the basis of isolated passages

Answer

Material is obscene only if it is expressly prohibited by a specific statutory schedule

Answer

Material is judged solely by the subjective reaction of the complainant who was annoyed

Question 10

With reference to judicial tests for obscenity in India, consider the following statements:
1. The Hicklin test originated in the English case Regina v. Hicklin (1868).
2. In Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014), the Supreme Court discarded the Hicklin test in favour of the community standards test.
3. The community standards test judges obscene material by its impact on the most vulnerable and impressionable minds.
4. The Hicklin test permitted a work to be judged on the basis of isolated passages rather than as a whole.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 only

Question 11

Under the Constitution of India, "decency or morality" is best described as which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

A ground under Article 19(2) on which the State may impose reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression

Answer

A Fundamental Duty of citizens enumerated under Article 51A

Answer

A Directive Principle of State Policy directing the State to preserve public morals

Answer

An absolute and non-restrictable component of Article 19(1)(a)

Question 12

The debate over what legally counts as "obscene" language was sharpened by a July 2026 courtroom episode in which a petitioner abused the sitting Chief Justice of India and addressed the Bench as "judicial servants". Who was the Chief Justice of India targeted in that July 2026 incident?

Accepted Answer

Justice Surya Kant

Answer

Justice B.R. Gavai

Answer

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Answer

Justice Sanjay Karol

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Swear words are uncivil, but not obscene by law, says SC

Q1. The judgment holding that swear words are uncivil but not obscene carries the neutral citation "2026 INSC 719". In this citation, the abbreviation "INSC" denotes which one of the following?

Q2. The 2026 ruling that mere profanity does not amount to statutory obscenity was delivered exclusively by a Bench comprising which of the following Judges of the Supreme Court?

Q3. The offence of "obscene acts and songs" at issue in this case was contained in Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (in force from 1 July 2024), this offence now corresponds to which provision?

Q6. Section 326 IPC, the only charge whose conviction the Supreme Court upheld against the petitioner, penalises which one of the following?

Q7. Of the three IPC convictions that the petitioner carried when the matter reached the Supreme Court, how many did the Court set aside in its 2026 judgment?

Q8. In Mani @ Subramaniyam v. State (2026), the Supreme Court left intact the petitioner's conviction under only one provision. Which single provision was it?

Q9. Which one of the following best describes the "community standards test" reaffirmed by Indian courts for judging obscenity?

Q11. Under the Constitution of India, "decency or morality" is best described as which one of the following?

Q12. The debate over what legally counts as "obscene" language was sharpened by a July 2026 courtroom episode in which a petitioner abused the sitting Chief Justice of India and addressed the Bench as "judicial servants". Who was the Chief Justice of India targeted in that July 2026 incident?