UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC judge defends Collegium system, hits back at Centre

Q1. The Memorandum of Procedure that governs the appointment and transfer of judges of the higher judiciary in India was prepared by which one of the following?

  • A. The Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice, which alone drafts every instrument issued under Articles 124 and 217
  • B. The Supreme Court Collegium, which frames and notifies it entirely on its own without any executive participation whatsoever
  • C. The Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law and Justice, following the interpretation of 'consultation' by the Judges Cases
  • D. The Department of Personnel and Training in the Ministry of Personnel, which without exception handles all Union appointments

Q2. With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following pairings of provisions and the matters they deal with: 1. Article 124(2) — appointment of judges of the Supreme Court by the President 2. Article 222(1) — transfer of a judge from one High Court to another by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India 3. Article 224 — appointment of an acting Chief Justice of India 4. Article 217(1) — removal of a judge of a High Court on the ground of proven misbehaviour or incapacity Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Article 124(2) — appointment of judges of the Supreme Court by the President
  2. Article 222(1) — transfer of a judge from one High Court to another by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India
  3. Article 224 — appointment of an acting Chief Justice of India
  4. Article 217(1) — removal of a judge of a High Court on the ground of proven misbehaviour or incapacity
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 2 and 4

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the judgments that shaped the collegium system: 1. S.P. Gupta (1981) held that the President was not bound to accept the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India in a judicial appointment. 2. The Second Judges Case (1993) confined the consultation to a collegium of three — the Chief Justice of India and the two judges next in seniority in the Supreme Court. 3. The Third Judges Case (1998) arose out of a Presidential Reference and enlarged the Supreme Court collegium to five judges. 4. The Third Judges Case laid down that recommendations for appointment to a High Court are to be made by the Chief Justice of India along with the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. S.P. Gupta (1981) held that the President was not bound to accept the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India in a judicial appointment.
  2. The Second Judges Case (1993) confined the consultation to a collegium of three — the Chief Justice of India and the two judges next in seniority in the Supreme Court.
  3. The Third Judges Case (1998) arose out of a Presidential Reference and enlarged the Supreme Court collegium to five judges.
  4. The Third Judges Case laid down that recommendations for appointment to a High Court are to be made by the Chief Justice of India along with the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q4. The enlargement of the body of judges whose opinion constitutes the Chief Justice of India's 'consultation' for Supreme Court appointments — from three judges to five — was effected by which one of the following?

  • A. The 1993 decision in Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India, rendered by a nine-judge Bench
  • B. The opinion in In re Special Reference No. 1 of 1998, given on a reference made under Article 143
  • C. The 1981 decision in S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, rendered by a seven-judge Bench
  • D. The Memorandum of Procedure framed by the Department of Justice after the 99th Amendment

Q5. In the National Judicial Appointments Commission as provided for by the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, the expression 'eminent persons' denoted which one of the following?

  • A. Two persons to be nominated by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
  • B. Two persons to be nominated by the President on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers, one of whom was to be a woman or from the SC/ST/OBC/minorities
  • C. Three persons to be nominated by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Union Minister of Law and Justice
  • D. Two persons to be chosen by the Full Court of the Supreme Court from outside the judiciary and the legal profession

Q6. Consider the following statements comparing the collegium with the National Judicial Appointments Commission as envisaged in 2014: 1. While the collegium for Supreme Court appointments consists of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, the judicial members of the NJAC would have been the Chief Justice of India and the four judges next in seniority. 2. Unlike the collegium, the NJAC would have included the Union Minister of Law and Justice as a member. 3. The NJAC was struck down in October 2015 on the ground that it took away the primacy of the judiciary in appointments, a facet of the basic structure. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. While the collegium for Supreme Court appointments consists of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, the judicial members of the NJAC would have been the Chief Justice of India and the four judges next in seniority.
  2. Unlike the collegium, the NJAC would have included the Union Minister of Law and Justice as a member.
  3. The NJAC was struck down in October 2015 on the ground that it took away the primacy of the judiciary in appointments, a facet of the basic structure.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Under the Memorandum of Procedure now in force, a proposal for the appointment of a judge of a High Court is initiated by which one of the following?

  • A. The Chief Justice of India, in consultation with the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, who then forwards it to the Governor
  • B. The Governor of the State concerned, acting on the advice of the Chief Minister, in consultation with the Chief Justice of that High Court
  • C. The Union Minister of Law and Justice, after obtaining the views of the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned
  • D. The Chief Justice of the High Court concerned, in consultation with the two senior-most judges of that High Court

Q8. The proposition that the Union Government is obliged to act on a recommendation for judicial appointment once the collegium reiterates it is traceable to which one of the following?

  • A. S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981)
  • B. In re Special Reference No. 1 of 1998
  • C. Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (1993)
  • D. Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (2015)

Q9. With reference to the separate opinion delivered by Justice Dipankar Datta in September 2026 in the challenge to the law on appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, consider the following statements: 1. He described the notion that 'judges appoint judges' as a myth and said the judiciary cannot always be at the receiving end of the Executive. 2. He said that through 'piecemeal approvals' the government has calibrated the system so as to override the collegium, with names gathering dust for years and even transfer recommendations not being acted upon. 3. He observed that the appointment process involves no input from the Executive or from intelligence and other agencies, the President's role being purely formal. 4. He accepted the Union Government's plea that the challenge to the 2023 law be referred to a larger Bench. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. He described the notion that 'judges appoint judges' as a myth and said the judiciary cannot always be at the receiving end of the Executive.
  2. He said that through 'piecemeal approvals' the government has calibrated the system so as to override the collegium, with names gathering dust for years and even transfer recommendations not being acted upon.
  3. He observed that the appointment process involves no input from the Executive or from intelligence and other agencies, the President's role being purely formal.
  4. He accepted the Union Government's plea that the challenge to the 2023 law be referred to a larger Bench.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 4 only

Q10. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, how large is the panel of names that the Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary places before the Selection Committee, and how far does it bind that Committee?

  • A. A panel of three persons, which is binding in its entirety on the Selection Committee
  • B. A panel of five persons, from which the Selection Committee must choose exclusively
  • C. A panel of seven persons, of which at least two must be serving Election Commissioners
  • D. A panel of five persons, though the Selection Committee may also consider persons outside it

Q11. Consider the following statements comparing the security of tenure of a judge of the Supreme Court with that of the Election Commission's functionaries: 1. A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by the President only after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, on the ground of proven misbehaviour or incapacity. 2. Under the law of 2023, an Election Commissioner is removable in the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court, while the Chief Election Commissioner is removable on the recommendation of the Election Commission. 3. A motion for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court requires a notice signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or at least 50 members of the Rajya Sabha. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by the President only after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, on the ground of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
  2. Under the law of 2023, an Election Commissioner is removable in the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court, while the Chief Election Commissioner is removable on the recommendation of the Election Commission.
  3. A motion for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court requires a notice signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or at least 50 members of the Rajya Sabha.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. Consider the following statements about how judges of the highest courts are appointed in certain countries: 1. In the United States, judges of the federal courts are nominated by the President and appointed with the confirmation of the Senate. 2. In the United Kingdom, a five-member selection commission that includes the President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court and representatives of the judicial appointments commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland selects Supreme Court judges. 3. In Canada, a selection panel of five Members of Parliament reviews nominees and submits three names to the Prime Minister, the appointment being made by the Governor in Council. 4. In Germany, all the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court are elected by the executive, the legislature having no role in their selection. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. In the United States, judges of the federal courts are nominated by the President and appointed with the confirmation of the Senate.
  2. In the United Kingdom, a five-member selection commission that includes the President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court and representatives of the judicial appointments commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland selects Supreme Court judges.
  3. In Canada, a selection panel of five Members of Parliament reviews nominees and submits three names to the Prime Minister, the appointment being made by the Governor in Council.
  4. In Germany, all the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court are elected by the executive, the legislature having no role in their selection.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 4 only