UPSC 2021: Nexus 81—90

Custody Rules, Sovereign Definitions, Federal Axioms & Liberty Protections. [Set A]

Question 81

Urban Rights & Human Geography

Consider the following statements:

'Right to the City' is an agreed human right and the UN-Habitat monitors the commitments made by each country in this regard.
'Right to the City' gives every occupant of the city the right to reclaim public spaces and public participation in the city.
'Right to the City' means that the State cannot deny any public service or facility to the unauthorized colonies in the city.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (d) 2 and 3

The Core Concept: The concept originated from philosopher Henri Lefebvre. In international human rights law, the 'Right to the City' is not an officially agreed, legally binding UN human right, nor is there a formal UN-Habitat monitoring treaty mechanism enforcing state commitments (Statement 1 is false). However, in progressive urban jurisprudence, it establishes that all inhabitants have the right to collective reclamation of public spaces and democratic civic participation (2 is true), and that municipal authorities must not disenfranchise dwellers of informal settlements or unauthorized colonies from fundamental amenities like water, sanitation, and electricity (3 is true).

Tethered to: REALM 50: Inclusive & Smart Cities

Question 82

Criminal Procedure Code

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in police station, not in jail.
During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: Criminal procedure strictly bifurcates custodies. In Police Custody, the accused is held in a police lockup under direct police surveillance. In Judicial Custody, the accused is committed to a judicial remand prison (jail) under the supervision of the Magistrate, completely outside police control (Statement 1 reverses this and is false). Because the accused is under the Magistrate's direct protective umbrella, investigating police cannot interrogate the suspect during judicial custody without obtaining explicit prior sanction from the court (Statement 2 is true).

Tethered to: REALM 34: Article 20

Question 83

Penal Jurisprudence

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that parole is a discretionary administrative concession or privilege granted to encourage good behavior; it is never an absolute or fundamental right of a convict (Statement 1 is false). Because 'Prisons and Persons Detained Therein' is Entry 4 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule, prison administration is decentralized, and State Governments formulate their own specific 'Prisoners Release on Parole Rules' under the Prisons Act (Statement 2 is true).

Tethered to: REALM 371: Prisoner Rights

Question 84

Tribal Rights & Administration

At the national level, which ministry is the nodal agency to ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006?

(a) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(b) Ministry of Panchayati Raj
(c) Ministry of Rural Development
(d) Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Official Verdict: (d) Ministry of Tribal Affairs

The Core Concept: Despite the word "Forest" dominating the title, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) was conceived to undo historic injustices committed against forest communities. Parliament explicitly designated the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) as the sole nodal administrative agency at the union level, intentionally bypassing the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to prevent bureaucratic forest department bias against tribal land patta claims.

Tethered to: REALM 55: Forest Rights in India

Question 85

Rule of Law & Equality

A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?

(a) Article 14
(b) Article 28
(c) Article 32
(d) Article 44

Official Verdict: (a) Article 14

The Core Concept: In Indian constitutional jurisprudence, Equality and Arbitrariness are sworn mortal enemies: "Where an act is arbitrary, it is implicit in it that it is unequal both according to political logic and constitutional law" (Justice P.N. Bhagwati in E.P. Royappa). A statute that grants naked, unguided, and uncontrolled discretion to an executive bureaucrat enables arbitrary discrimination between citizens, directly striking at the root of the Rule of Law and Equality before Law guaranteed under Article 14.

Tethered to: REALM 32: Right to Equality

Question 86

Federal Theory

Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential feature that indicates that it is federal in character?

(a) The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.
(b) The Union Legislature has elected representatives from constituent units.
(c) The Union Cabinet can have elected representatives from regional parties.
(d) The Fundamental Rights are enforceable by Courts of Law.

Official Verdict: (a) The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.

The Core Concept: A federal system is defined by a dual polity with a constitutional division of powers between the Union and the States. Because jurisdictional disputes over taxation, boundaries, and legislative competence are inevitable between the Centre and the constituent units, an independent, impartial judiciary is an indispensable requirement to interpret the Constitution and act as a neutral arbiter. Without an independent judiciary, the Union could arbitrarily infringe upon state legislative autonomy.

Tethered to: REALM 06: Federal Features

Question 87

Political Theory

Which one of the following best defines the term 'State'?

(a) A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government
(b) A politically organized people of a definite territory and possessing an authority to govern them, maintain law and order...
(c) A number of persons who have been living in a definite territory for a very long time with their own culture...
(d) A society permanently living in a definite territory with a central authority...

Official Verdict: (a)

The Core Concept: In classical political science (from J.W. Garner to the 1933 Montevideo Convention), a 'State' is defined strictly by the coexistence of four essential constitutive elements: Population (community of persons), Territory (permanently occupying a definite territory), Government (possessing an organized government), and Sovereignty (independent of external control). Option (a) is the only formulation that captures all four classic pillars, especially internal and external sovereignty.

Tethered to: REALM 31: Meaning of “State”

Question 88

Judicial Powers & Procedure

With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements:

Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (a) 1 only

The Core Concept: Statement 1 quotes verbatim from Article 128: The Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the prior consent of the President, request any retired Supreme Court judge to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Statement 2 is treated as incorrect in the official key because the Constitution explicitly grants review jurisdiction to the Supreme Court under Article 137, but incorporates no corresponding textual provision for the High Courts (High Courts review judgments inherently as courts of record under Article 215, but lack the explicit constitutional article possessed by the Supreme Court).

Tethered to: REALM 149: Supreme Court: Organisation

Question 89

Citizenship Law

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
A foreigner once granted the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (a) 1 only

The Core Concept: In Pradeep Jain vs. Union of India (1984), the Supreme Court unequivocally ruled that India has only one single citizenship and one single domicile—there is no separate state citizenship or state domicile in constitutional law (Statement 1 is true). Unlike the US where only a natural-born citizen can become President, in India, both a citizen by birth and a naturalized citizen are eligible to become President (2 is false). Under Section 10 of the Citizenship Act 1955, naturalized foreigners can be deprived of citizenship for fraud, disloyalty, or trading with enemy states (3 is false).

Tethered to: REALM 22: Constitutional Provisions

Question 90

Liberal Democratic Theory

Which one of the following factors constitutes the best safeguard of liberty in a liberal democracy?

(a) A committed judiciary
(b) Centralization of powers
(c) Elected government
(d) Separation of powers

Official Verdict: (d) Separation of powers

The Core Concept: As Baron de Montesquieu articulated in The Spirit of the Laws: "Constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it... To prevent this abuse, it is necessary that power should be a check to power." While an elected government can descend into majoritarian tyranny, and a "committed" judiciary implies one ideologically subservient to the ruling regime (destroying judicial independence), the structural Separation of Powers among Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary prevents the concentration of tyrannical power, securing individual citizen liberty.

Tethered to: REALM 68: Separation of Powers