UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre moves SC to stay Nicobar project hearings

Q1. With reference to the special leave jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India under Article 136, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Because the grant of special leave is discretionary, the Supreme Court may decline to entertain an appeal even when the petition raises a question of law.
  2. Special leave may be sought against a determination of a tribunal, and not only against a judgment of a court.
  3. A sentence passed by a court constituted under a law relating to the Armed Forces can be brought before the Supreme Court through special leave under Article 136.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. A retired civil servant, who is neither a member of the affected tribal communities nor an owner of land in the project area, files a writ petition in a High Court. The petition alleges that the rights of forest-dwelling tribes were violated in clearing an infrastructure project. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The petition is not barred merely because the petitioner's own legal rights have not been infringed.
  2. Once standing is relaxed in public-interest matters, the court is bound to decide every such petition on merits and cannot dismiss it as an abuse of process.
  3. Such a public-interest writ can be entertained by a High Court under Article 226 and need not be filed only before the Supreme Court under Article 32.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q3. With reference to the recognition of rights and the consent of forest-dwelling communities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Consent of affected communities remains valid even if it is obtained after project work has begun, provided it is recorded in writing.
  2. The gram sabha is the body that initiates the process of determining forest rights of its members.
  3. Only individual claims over cultivated land can be recognised under the Act; claims over community forest resources fall outside it.
  4. For consent to be meaningful, affected communities must have transparent access to information about the project before they decide.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 4 only

Q4. With reference to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. PVTGs are a category distinct from Scheduled Tribes that is separately specified in the Constitution.
  2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria used to identify a PVTG.
  3. A group classified as a PVTG remains eligible for the benefits of general schemes of the Union and State governments.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 3 only

Q5. With reference to the jurisdiction of High Courts over Union territories in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Parliament may by law extend the jurisdiction of a High Court to a Union territory or exclude it from one.
  2. Where a State's High Court has jurisdiction over a Union territory, the legislature of that State cannot increase, restrict or abolish that jurisdiction.
  3. The Calcutta High Court's jurisdiction over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands rests on an Act of Parliament.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only