UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Listen to Gen Z, don’t repress them, says SC on NEET-UG protests

Q1. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — under which prohibitory orders were invoked in New Delhi during the July 2026 protests — is administered by which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. The Ministry of Law and Justice, through its Legislative Department
  • B. The Ministry of Home Affairs, through its Centre-State and internal security divisions
  • C. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, through the Department of Justice
  • D. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, through its legislation and coordination wing

Q2. With reference to an order of the kind issued in New Delhi in July 2026 under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. It is a power exercisable by a District Magistrate or other empowered Executive Magistrate in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, and remains in force for not more than two months from the date of issue
  • B. It is a power exercisable by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class on a police report of apprehended breach of peace, and remains in force until the trial of the connected case is concluded
  • C. It is a power exercisable by the Commissioner of Police in urgent cases of apprehended danger to public tranquillity, and remains in force for not more than two months from the date of issue
  • D. It is a power exercisable by a District Magistrate on a written complaint of apprehended nuisance, and remains in force indefinitely until it is expressly rescinded by the State Government

Q3. In the Supreme Court proceedings arising out of the July 2026 police action against NEET-UG protesters in the capital, which mechanism did the Court signal for inquiring into the alleged police excesses?

  • A. A reference to the National Human Rights Commission for a statutory inquiry into custodial and crowd-control violations
  • B. A judicial commission of inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court under the Commissions of Inquiry Act
  • C. A Special Investigation Team to probe the police action taken against the students
  • D. A departmental inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the conduct of the officers deployed

Q4. The Chief Justice's statements during the August 2026 hearing — that youngsters should be counselled and pacified and that listening is the most powerful tool — are best described as 'oral observations'. In Indian law, the term denotes:

  • A. Remarks made by judges in the course of a hearing which do not form part of the recorded order and carry no binding force as precedent
  • B. Preliminary findings recorded by the court before notice is issued, which bind the parties until the final judgment is delivered
  • C. Directions dictated in open court which take effect immediately and are treated as an interim order until formally recalled
  • D. Concurring opinions expressed by a judge separately from the majority, which are reported and cited as persuasive precedent

Q5. Which one of the following examinations was the first to be entrusted to and conducted by the National Testing Agency after its creation?

  • A. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), for admission to MBBS and BDS courses
  • B. The University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test, for lectureship and junior research fellowship
  • C. The Joint Entrance Examination (Main), for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes
  • D. The Common University Entrance Test, for admission to central university undergraduate programmes

Q6. Consider the following statements regarding the conduct of NEET-UG and the legal framework against examination malpractice: 1. The National Testing Agency is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and functions as an autonomous testing organisation. 2. NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to MBBS and BDS courses under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 3. The NEET-UG 2026 examination held on 3rd May, 2026 was allowed to stand, and its results were declared without any re-examination being held. 4. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, offences are cognisable but bailable, and leakage of a question paper attracts imprisonment of up to three years. Which of the statements given above are NOT correct?

  1. The National Testing Agency is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and functions as an autonomous testing organisation.
  2. NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to MBBS and BDS courses under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  3. The NEET-UG 2026 examination held on 3rd May, 2026 was allowed to stand, and its results were declared without any re-examination being held.
  4. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, offences are cognisable but bailable, and leakage of a question paper attracts imprisonment of up to three years.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q7. Which one of the following is the leading Supreme Court authority for the proposition that, while peaceful protest is protected, public ways and roads cannot be occupied indefinitely by demonstrators?

  • A. Anita Thakur v. State of Jammu & Kashmir (2016)
  • B. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India (2018)
  • C. Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020)
  • D. Ramlila Maidan Incident, In Re (2012)

Q8. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the dispersal of an assembly by the use of civil force — the power invoked when batons were used against demonstrators — is provided for in which one of the following sections?

  • A. Section 148, which deals with the dispersal of an assembly by use of civil force
  • B. Section 150, which deals with the power of certain armed force officers to disperse an assembly
  • C. Section 151, which deals with protection against prosecution for acts done under the preceding provisions
  • D. Section 163, which deals with orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger

Q9. Under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, which office does the Act place at the head of the police force of the National Capital Territory?

  • A. The Inspector-General of Police, Delhi, appointed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
  • B. The Commissioner of Police, in whom the superintendence of the force is vested
  • C. The Director General of Police, Delhi, appointed on the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor
  • D. The Additional Commissioner of Police, who exercises the powers of the head of the force

Q10. The continued use of Jantar Mantar for demonstrations in New Delhi, subject to regulation of the time, place and manner of protest, rests on which one of the following Supreme Court decisions?

  • A. Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020)
  • B. Ramlila Maidan Incident, In Re (2012)
  • C. Anita Thakur v. State of Jammu & Kashmir (2016)
  • D. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India (2018)

Q11. The National Testing Agency, whose NEET-UG arrangements the Union Education Minister reviewed in 2026, functions under the administrative control of which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
  • B. The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education
  • C. The Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • D. The Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions