UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The SIR verdict, serious constitutional questions

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

1. The preparation and revision of electoral rolls for Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies is governed by the Representation of the People Act, 1951, while the 1950 Act governs the conduct of elections and election disputes.
2. The Constitution vests in the Election Commission the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for elections to Parliament and State Legislatures.
3. Apart from the revision held before general elections and bye-elections, the Election Commission may direct a special revision of a roll at any time, provided it records its reasons for doing so.

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 1 and 2 only

Q2. With reference to Articles 325 and 326 of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. Article 325 rules out separate electoral rolls for different religious communities within the same territorial constituency.
2. Article 325 does not, by itself, prevent a person's exclusion from the roll on the ground that the person is not a citizen.
3. Article 326 allows the appropriate Legislature to disqualify a citizen from registration as a voter on the ground of non-residence.
4. Article 326 entitles every adult ordinarily resident in a constituency to be registered as a voter, whether or not that person is a citizen.

• A. 1, 2 and 3 only
• B. 1, 3 and 4 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 2 and 4 only

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

1. An Electoral Registration Officer may decline to enrol a person who is above eighteen years of age and ordinarily resident in the constituency, if the officer finds that the person is not a citizen of India.
2. The Constitution confines adult suffrage to citizens, and the Representation of the People Act, 1950 disqualifies a person who is not a citizen of India from registration in an electoral roll.

• 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. An inquiry into citizenship made by electoral registration machinery while revising the roll cannot, by itself, result in a person being declared a foreigner.
2. Article 326 of the Constitution makes citizenship one of the conditions for being registered as a voter at elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

• 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 revision of electoral rolls in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. An intensive revision, unlike a summary revision, does not treat the existing roll as the base on which the new roll is built.
2. In a summary revision, an elector already on the roll need not submit a fresh enumeration form to keep the entry, and changes are made through claims and objections.
3. The rules governing registration of electors permit the roll of a constituency to be revised partly intensively and partly summarily.

• A. 2 and 3 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 1, 2 and 3
• D. 1 only

Q6. An Electoral Registration Officer receives information that a person registered on the roll for several elections may not be eligible to remain on it, and proposes to delete the entry. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. The officer may start the process on the officer's own motion, without waiting for an application from any other elector.
2. Since the entry was originally made without a final determination of citizenship, the officer may delete it on the basis of suspicion alone.
3. Before the entry is deleted, the elector should be informed of the proposed action and given an opportunity to respond.

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1 and 2 only
• D. 1 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Deleting names from electoral rolls that have already been finalised and used in past elections, merely on suspicion, is constitutionally problematic. Which of the statements given below support/supports the above assertion?

1. The Constitution bars exclusion from the electoral roll on grounds only of religion, race, caste or sex.
2. An entry in a finalised roll is made only after the registration officer is satisfied, following inquiry, of the person's entitlement, and so carries a presumption of eligibility.
3. Registration on the roll is the means through which a qualified citizen exercises the constitutional entitlement to vote, so a wrongful deletion takes away that franchise.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1 only

Q8. Which one of the following best describes the relationship between the Election Commission's power under Article 324 and laws on electoral rolls made by Parliament under Article 327?

• A. The Commission's directions under Article 324 prevail over inconsistent provisions of laws made by Parliament
• B. The Commission must act in conformity with such laws, and its Article 324 power fills only the gaps they leave
• C. A law made by Parliament on electoral rolls takes effect only after the Commission gives its formal concurrence
• D. The Commission's Article 324 power operates only after Parliament has enacted a law on that specific matter