UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Muslims disproportionately flagged in Delhi SIR

Q1. With reference to the legal framework for electoral rolls in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Article 324 vests in the Election Commission the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls, and not merely of the conduct of elections.
  2. The statutory power to direct a special revision of the electoral roll of a constituency is contained in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with the conduct of elections.
  3. Article 324 also vests in the Election Commission of India the control of preparing electoral rolls for Panchayat and Municipal elections.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. With reference to the right to be registered as a voter for elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A foreign national who has been ordinarily resident in a constituency for many years cannot be registered as a voter there, however long the residence.
  2. The minimum age for registration under the Constitution was originally twenty-one years and was lowered to eighteen years by a constitutional amendment.
  3. Parliament may by law disqualify a citizen from registration on the ground that the citizen does not possess a minimum educational qualification.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Separate electoral rolls for different religious communities cannot be prepared for elections to the Lok Sabha.
  2. The Constitution provides that elections to the Lok Sabha shall be held on the basis of adult suffrage.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The deletion of a person's name from the electoral roll during a special intensive revision on grounds of doubtful citizenship does not amount to a declaration that the person is not a citizen of India.
  2. The Election Commission's inquiry into citizenship while revising rolls is confined to deciding inclusion in or exclusion from the roll, while the person's citizenship status is determined by the authority under the Citizenship Act.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to the intensive and summary modes of revising electoral rolls, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. In a summary revision, every elector already on the roll must submit a fresh enumeration form in order to be retained on it.
  2. An intensive revision prepares the roll afresh through house-to-house enumeration, whereas a summary revision updates the existing roll by inviting claims and objections on a draft.
  3. In both modes of revision, a draft roll is published and claims and objections on it are disposed of before the final roll is published.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Consider the following facts: In State P, a revision of electoral rolls had no automated rule-based flagging; a community formed 18.4% of deleted electors and 17.7% of the population. In State Q, a revision used automated 'logical discrepancy' rules; the same community formed 13.6% of electors but 20.3% of those flagged under these rules, and 30% of those flagged under the subset of rules linked to household size. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from the above?

  1. Electors from the community in State Q are more likely than other electors to be ineligible to remain on the roll.
  2. The rule-based flagging step is a plausible source of the disproportion observed in State Q.
  3. The rules linked to household size had a more uneven impact on the community than the flagging rules taken together.
  4. The figures establish that the flagging rules were framed with the intention of targeting the community.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Automated flagging of electors for notices can lead to the wrongful exclusion of eligible voters even though deletion of a name requires notice and an opportunity of being heard. Which of the statements given above support/supports the assertion?

  1. Electors with weaker documentation may be unable to establish their eligibility at the hearing even though they are in fact eligible.
  2. The decision to delete a name after the hearing rests with the Electoral Registration Officer and not with the software.
  3. An elector who does not receive a notice, or cannot respond to it in time, may lose the opportunity to be heard.
  4. Uniformly applied rules can flag eligible electors whose records are merely inconsistent, for instance through spelling variations or data-entry errors.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only