UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — No excessive force used; ‘trapped’ constable fired AK-47: Bihar Police to SC

Question 1

Consider the following pairings of provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 with their subject matter:
1. Section 148 — Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force
2. Section 149 — Use of armed forces to disperse assembly
3. Section 150 — Security for keeping the peace in cases of apprehended breach
4. Section 151 — Protection against prosecution for acts done under the preceding dispersal provisions
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 3 only

Question 2

In the graded scheme of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for breaking up an assembly that has been commanded to disperse, which one of the following provisions stands first — that is, is the one resorted to before armed forces may be called in aid?

Accepted Answer

Section 148 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Answer

Section 149 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Answer

Section 150 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Answer

Section 151 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Question 3

In the proportionality enquiry applied by the Supreme Court of India to State action restricting a fundamental right, what exactly does the third stage — the 'necessity' stage — require the State to establish?

Accepted Answer

That no alternative measure, less intrusive of the right but equally capable of achieving the aim, was available to the State

Answer

That the aim which the State set out to achieve by the impugned measure is itself a constitutionally legitimate one

Answer

That the measure adopted bears a rational connection with, and is suitable for achieving, the aim pursued

Answer

That the good secured by the measure outweighs the extent of the injury caused to the right holder

Question 4

Consider the following statements about the application of the proportionality standard by the Supreme Court of India:
1. In K.S. Puttaswamy (2017) the Court held that an invasion of privacy must rest on the authority of law, pursue a legitimate State aim, and satisfy proportionality.
2. In Anuradha Bhasin (2020) the Court held that an order suspending internet services must itself satisfy the test of proportionality.
3. In its 2023 decision on the 2016 demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the Court found the measure to have failed the test of proportionality and set the notification aside.
4. Hearing pleas arising out of the 2026 student protests, the Court held that the mere existence of an agitation cannot by itself justify police excess.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4 only

Question 5

Consider the following statements regarding the AK-47 rifle:
1. It was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and taken into service by the Soviet military in 1949.
2. It is chambered for a 7.62 mm round and is normally fed from a curved box magazine holding 30 rounds.
3. It is exclusively an automatic weapon and cannot be fired in the semi-automatic mode under any circumstances.
4. Its cyclic rate of fire is of the order of 600 rounds per minute.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 6

The AK-47 was formally taken on the strength of which armed force, and in which year, marking its transition from prototype to issued service weapon?

Accepted Answer

The armed forces of the Soviet Union, in the year 1949

Answer

The armed forces of the Soviet Union, in the year 1947

Answer

The combined armed forces of the Warsaw Treaty states, in the year 1955

Answer

The Red Army of the Soviet Union, in the year 1943

Question 7

The NEET-UG examination whose conduct was challenged before the Supreme Court in 2024 was held simultaneously across how many cities?

Accepted Answer

571

Answer

371

Answer

1,571

Answer

4,750

Question 8

Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court's 2024 decision on the NEET-UG paper leak:
1. The Court held that the material on record was not indicative of a systemic leak of the question paper.
2. The Court directed that the entire examination be cancelled and that every candidate without exception sit a fresh test.
3. The Bench that decided the matter was headed by the then Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud.
4. In arriving at its conclusion the Court relied, among other material, on data furnished by the National Testing Agency and on a report of IIT Madras.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 9

While shielding student protesters from coercive action in 2026, the Supreme Court carved out an exception for persons with 'criminal antecedents'. On the Court's own subsequent clarification, that expression was confined to which category of persons?

Accepted Answer

Those shown to be involved in offences of a grave and heinous character

Answer

Those named in any first information report registered in the course of the protests themselves

Answer

Those against whom a first information report of any description was pending before the protests began

Answer

Those previously convicted by a competent criminal court of an offence of any description

Question 10

In its judgment of 22 September 2006 in Prakash Singh v. Union of India, the Supreme Court laid down how many binding directives on police reform?

Accepted Answer

Seven

Answer

Five

Answer

Six

Answer

Nine

Question 11

Consider the following statements regarding the two weapons discharged during the Siwan protest incident, as set out in the Bihar Police affidavit before the Supreme Court:
1. The constable who found himself surrounded by the crowd fired four rounds from an AK-47 into the air, and no injuries resulted from those rounds.
2. The three protesters who sustained minor firearm injuries were struck by rounds from the AK-47 rather than from the 9 mm pistol discharged by the other officer.
3. Bihar Police itself characterised the AK-47 as a platoon-level weapon meant for special operations rather than for routine law-and-order duty.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — No excessive force used; ‘trapped’ constable fired AK-47: Bihar Police to SC

Q2. In the graded scheme of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for breaking up an assembly that has been commanded to disperse, which one of the following provisions stands first — that is, is the one resorted to before armed forces may be called in aid?

Q3. In the proportionality enquiry applied by the Supreme Court of India to State action restricting a fundamental right, what exactly does the third stage — the 'necessity' stage — require the State to establish?

Q6. The AK-47 was formally taken on the strength of which armed force, and in which year, marking its transition from prototype to issued service weapon?

Q7. The NEET-UG examination whose conduct was challenged before the Supreme Court in 2024 was held simultaneously across how many cities?

Q9. While shielding student protesters from coercive action in 2026, the Supreme Court carved out an exception for persons with 'criminal antecedents'. On the Court's own subsequent clarification, that expression was confined to which category of persons?

Q10. In its judgment of 22 September 2006 in Prakash Singh v. Union of India, the Supreme Court laid down how many binding directives on police reform?