UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SIR hearing notice issued to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen

Q1. The Election Commission of India orders a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Which one of the following is the primary constitutional provision under which the Commission derives the power to superintend, direct and control such revision of the rolls?

  • A. Article 324
  • B. Article 326
  • C. Article 325
  • D. Article 327

Q2. With reference to the functionaries associated with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision, consider the following pairings of official and function: Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Booth Level Officer (BLO) — conducts house-to-house enumeration and distributes/collects enumeration forms
  2. Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) — prepares and revises the roll and disposes of claims and objections
  3. District Election Officer (DEO) — supervises and coordinates the roll revision at the district level
  4. Returning Officer (RO) — statutory authority that prepares and finally revises the electoral roll of a constituency
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q3. In the constitutional scheme, the safeguard that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) 'shall not be removed from office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court' precisely means which one of the following?

  • A. The CEC can be removed only by an order of the President after an address supported by a special majority of both Houses of Parliament in the same session
  • B. The CEC can be removed by the President at any time on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India
  • C. The CEC can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Selection Committee that appointed the CEC
  • D. The CEC can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the other Election Commissioners acting jointly

Q4. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, the CEC and Election Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee. Who chairs this Selection Committee?

  • A. The Prime Minister
  • B. The President of India
  • C. The Chief Justice of India
  • D. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha

Q5. In the West Bengal SIR, hearing notices such as the one served in the Amartya Sen case were triggered by a 'logical discrepancy'. In this context, a 'logical discrepancy' most precisely refers to which one of the following?

  • A. An implausible inconsistency thrown up when an elector's enumeration form is linked with the 2002 reference roll, such as an unlikely parent–child age gap or a mismatch in a parent's name
  • B. A confirmed finding that the elector is a foreign national ineligible for citizenship
  • C. A record showing the same elector enrolled at more than one polling station in different constituencies
  • D. An entry retained in the roll for a person already recorded as deceased

Q6. In the West Bengal SIR's linkage of enumeration forms with the 2002 electoral roll, a parent–child age gap was flagged as a logical discrepancy when the age difference between an elector and a parent was less than how many years?

  • A. 15 years
  • B. 10 years
  • C. 18 years
  • D. 21 years

Q7. Amartya Sen is closely associated with the 'capability approach'. Which one of the following statements most precisely captures what the capability approach is?

  • A. A normative framework that evaluates individual well-being and social arrangements in terms of people's real freedoms (capabilities) to achieve valued functionings
  • B. A framework that measures a nation's development solely by its per-capita national income
  • C. A theory holding that well-being is determined exclusively by the quantity of goods and services a person consumes
  • D. A doctrine that human welfare can be assessed only through utility maximisation as revealed by market prices

Q8. Amartya Sen served as the Master (head) of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1998 until 2004. For how many years did he hold that office?

  • A. 6 years
  • B. 4 years
  • C. 8 years
  • D. 10 years

Q9. The Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal's electoral rolls was carried out ahead of the State's Assembly elections. In how many phases are those West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled to be held?

  • A. 2 phases
  • B. 1 phase
  • C. 3 phases
  • D. 7 phases

Q10. Consider the following statements comparing the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) with related electoral-roll processes: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The West Bengal SIR took the 2002 electoral roll — the last intensive revision in the State — as its reference base for verifying entries.
  2. Unlike the Special Summary Revision, which invites applications from electors with reference to qualifying dates, the SIR involves house-to-house re-verification by Booth Level Officers.
  3. The Supreme Court struck down the SIR as an unconstitutional infringement of the right to vote.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. Special Intensive Revision, Special Summary Revision and other revisions of electoral rolls in India are conducted and operationalised by which one of the following authorities?

  • A. The Election Commission of India, an independent constitutional body
  • B. The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India
  • C. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
  • D. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India

Q12. During the SIR, the Election Commission specified a list of eleven documents for establishing eligibility. As clarified in the Supreme Court proceedings, the correct legal character of this list is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. Illustrative and not exhaustive, so other documents such as Aadhaar, EPIC and ration cards may also be considered
  • B. Exhaustive and mandatory, so an elector must compulsorily produce at least one of exactly those eleven documents and nothing else
  • C. A list of documents that by themselves conclusively confer Indian citizenship on the holder
  • D. A list applicable only to first-time enrolments and irrelevant to electors already on the roll