UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC quashes case against Rahul over Savarkar remarks

Question 1

Consider the following statements regarding the requirement of prior government sanction for prosecuting speech-related offences under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and its successor law:
1. The bar created by Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 operates at the stage of a court taking cognizance of the offence, and not at the stage of registration of a case or its investigation by the police.
2. The corresponding provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is Section 217, titled 'Prosecution for offences against State and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence'.
3. While Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 requires previous sanction for offences under Sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code, it expressly leaves out sub-section (1) of Section 505, cognizance of which may be taken without any sanction.
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 2

In the scheme of Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, what does the expression 'previous sanction' of the appropriate Government precisely denote?

Accepted Answer

An order of the appropriate Government that must exist before a court takes cognizance, though the police may register and investigate the offence even in its absence

Answer

An approval of the appropriate Government that is a condition precedent to registration of the First Information Report itself, so that no investigation whatsoever can lawfully commence without it

Answer

An order of the District Magistrate that is invariably required in every such case, no other authority in the State being competent to accord it at any stage

Answer

A concurrence of the Advocate General of the State, necessarily obtained after the magistrate has taken cognizance but before charges are framed against the accused

Question 3

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the offence of making statements conducing to public mischief is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to how many years?

Accepted Answer

Five years, where the offence is committed in a place of worship or in an assembly engaged in religious worship or ceremonies

Answer

Three years in every case, irrespective of the place at which the offence is committed

Answer

Two years, unless the statement is circulated through electronic means, in which case no term of imprisonment at all is prescribed

Answer

Seven years, this being the term invariably prescribed for all offences against public tranquillity under the Sanhita

Question 4

With reference to the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 dealing with promoting enmity and public mischief, consider the following:
1. Section 196 is the successor to Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and covers promotion of disharmony by spoken or written words, signs, visible representations or electronic communication, punishable with imprisonment up to three years.
2. Section 353 is the successor to Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code and covers making, publishing or circulating any statement or report containing false information, rumour or alarming news, including through electronic means.
3. Section 196 also penalises organising or participating in any movement, drill or exercise in which the participants are trained or intended to be trained to use criminal force against any group.
4. Under Section 196, an act becomes punishable only where actual violence or a breach of the peace has in fact resulted; a mere likelihood of disharmony being created is not sufficient.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4

Question 5

The provision saving the inherent powers of the High Court — Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, now Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — enumerates how many distinct purposes for which such orders may be made?

Accepted Answer

Three

Answer

Two

Answer

Four

Answer

Five

Question 6

Consider the following pairings of a legal provision with the power it confers or saves:
1. Section 528, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — saving of the inherent powers of the High Court, including the power to quash criminal proceedings.
2. Article 136 of the Constitution — discretionary power of the Supreme Court to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order of any court or tribunal in India.
3. Article 142 of the Constitution — power of the Supreme Court to pass such decree or order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.
4. Section 528, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — a newly created statutory power vested in the Supreme Court to quash criminal complaints pending before any High Court.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

1, 2 and 4

Question 7

V.D. Savarkar served as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha for a period of how many years?

Accepted Answer

Seven years

Answer

Four years

Answer

Nine years

Answer

Twelve years

Question 8

Consider the following statements about V.D. Savarkar:
1. Essentials of Hindutva, published in 1923, was written by him while he was undergoing imprisonment.
2. He was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands during 1911–21, having been transported there after conviction.
3. He resided at Ratnagiri until 1937, in which year he joined the Hindu Mahasabha.
4. He was tried along with Nathuram Godse after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, and both were acquitted for want of sufficient evidence.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 9

The Supreme Court's August 2026 order quashing the criminal complaint and the Magistrate's summons issued to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha over remarks on V.D. Savarkar turned on the non-fulfilment of a mandatory requirement traceable to which one of the following provisions?

Accepted Answer

Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — previous sanction of the State Government for taking cognizance of an offence under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code

Answer

Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — previous sanction for prosecution of judges and public servants for acts done in the discharge of official duty

Answer

Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — bar on cognizance of the offence of defamation except upon a complaint made by the person aggrieved by the offence

Answer

Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — bar on cognizance of contempt of the lawful authority of public servants except upon a written complaint by the public servant concerned

Question 10

With reference to the Supreme Court's August 2026 decision in the criminal case arising out of remarks on V.D. Savarkar, consider the following statements:
1. The private complaint that led to the proceedings had invoked Sections 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code.
2. The Court quashed both the private complaint and the Magistrate's order summoning the accused.
3. The Court examined the content of the remarks on merits, held that they did not have the tendency to promote enmity between groups, and quashed the proceedings on that finding.
4. The State of Uttar Pradesh informed the Court that sanction to prosecute had in fact been granted, but that it suffered from a defect of form.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

4 only

Question 11

Consider the following statements regarding the office of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament:
1. Under the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength, recognised as such by the Speaker in the House of the People and by the Chairman in the Council of States.
2. The requirement that such a party must command at least one-tenth of the total membership of the House is laid down by the Act of 1977 itself, and not by any direction issued by the presiding officer.
3. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member of the selection committees concerned with the appointment of the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Chairperson of the Lokpal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 12

Consider the following statements comparing Article 19(2) of the Constitution as originally enacted with its present form:
1. 'Public order' and 'friendly relations with foreign States' did not figure among the grounds of restriction in Article 19(2) as originally enacted; both were inserted by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951.
2. 'Sovereignty and integrity of India' was added as a ground of restriction on the freedom of speech and expression by the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963.
3. Restrictions on the grounds of defamation and contempt of court are permissible under Article 19(2), but a restriction on the ground of incitement to an offence is available only under Article 19(4), which concerns the freedom to form associations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC quashes case against Rahul over Savarkar remarks

Q2. In the scheme of Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, what does the expression 'previous sanction' of the appropriate Government precisely denote?

Q3. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the offence of making statements conducing to public mischief is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to how many years?

Q5. The provision saving the inherent powers of the High Court — Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, now Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — enumerates how many distinct purposes for which such orders may be made?

Q7. V.D. Savarkar served as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha for a period of how many years?

Q9. The Supreme Court's August 2026 order quashing the criminal complaint and the Magistrate's summons issued to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha over remarks on V.D. Savarkar turned on the non-fulfilment of a mandatory requirement traceable to which one of the following provisions?