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Polity – Yearwise Questions – Judiciary And Landmark Cases – W.B.C.S. Mains Examination.
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WBCS Main Question Paper – 2019
- In which of the following cases the doctrine against arbitrariness was
incorporated into equality before law by Justice Bhagwati?
(A) Air India v. Nargesh Mirza
(B) D. K. Bakshi v. Union of India
(C) E. P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu
(D) Pradeep Jain v. Union of India - When a Court declares certain provisions of an Act invalid, it does not
affect the validity of the entire Act, according to
(A) Doctrine of eclipse
(B) Doctrine of prospective overruling
(C) Doctrine of severability
(D) None of the above - In which of the following cases was it observed that Articles 14, 19 and
21 are not mutually exclusive and they jointly aim at reasonableness and fairness?
(A) Golaknath v. State of Punjab
(B) Jagannath v. Union of India
(C) Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
(D) Ram Swarup v. Delhi Administration - In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court hold that an
amendment of the Constitution under Article 368 was ‘law’ within the
meaning of Article 13?
(A) Shankari Prasad v. Union of India
(B) Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan
(C) Golaknath v. State of Punjab
(D) Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala
- “Excessive reservation would be fraud on the Constitution of India” was
observed by the Supreme Court in
(A) Ajit Singh v. State of Punjab
(B) Balaji v. State of Mysore
(C) Devdasan v. Union of India
(D) Indira Sawhney v. Union of India - “What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly”. This statement
epitomizes the doctrine of
(A) ancillary powers
(B) colourable legislation
(C) implied powers
(D) pith and substance - Disputes between the Government of India and one or more States can
be heard by the Supreme Court of India under its
(A) original jurisdiction
(B) appellate jurisdiction
(C) writ jurisdiction
(D) advisory jurisdiction - The salaries of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India
(A) are fixed by the President of India.
(B) can never be reduced under any circumstances.
(C) can be reduced during their term of office.
(D) cannot be reduced during the term of their office except during
financial emergency. - “Preamble of our Constitution is of extreme importance and the
Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and
noble vision expressed in the Preamble.” Justice Sikri expressed the above
opinion in the case of
(A) In re Kerala Education Bill
(B) A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras
(C) In re Berubari Union
(D) Keshavananda Bharti v. State Kerala - Article 227 of the Indian Constitution deals with
(A) High Court’s power of superintendence
(B) Judicial review
(C) powers of the Speaker
(D) election of the Vice President - The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be enlarged by
(Article 138)
(A) the Parliament by law
(B) the Parliament by resolution
(C) the President
(D) the President in consultation with Chief Justice of India - In which of the following cases has the Supreme Court ruled that the
reasons have to be communicated to the Legislature by the Government if
the advice of the Public Service Commission has not been accepted ?
(A) Asha Kaul v. State of Jammu & Kashmir
(B) H. Mukherjee v. Union of India
(C) Jai Shankar Prasad v. State of Bihar
(D) Jagtar Sing v. Director, Central Bureau of Investigation - Which Article lays down that the laws declared by the Supreme Court
would be binding on all Courts in India?
(A) Article 131
(B) Article 141
(C) Article 142
(D) Article 143 - A retired judge of a High Court cannot practise
(A) in any High Court in India
(B) in the High Court from where he has retired
(C) in the Supreme Court
(D) All of the above - The doctrine of prospective overruling was first evolved by Justice Subba Rao in
(A) Golaknath v. State of Punjab
(B) Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala
(C) SaJJanSingh v. State of Rajasthan
(D) Shankari Prasad v. Union of India - Who among the following can establish additional courts for better
administration of any respect to a matter concerned in the Union List
(A) Chief Justice of India
(B) Concerned State Legislature
(C) High Court of the concerned State
(D) Parliament - ‘Doctrine of pleasure‘ was introduced in
(A) Article 310
(B) Article 312
(C) Article 317
(D) Article 318 - Any sum required to satisfy any judgment, decree or award of any court
or arbitral tribunal shall be charged on
charged expenditure – Article 112(3)
(A) Consolidated Fund of India
(B) Fund of Ministry of Law & Justice
(C) Fund of Ministry of Home Affairs
(D) Prime Minister’s Relief Fund
WBCS Main Question Paper – 2018
- “What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly”. The doctrine
relates to
a) implied powers
b) ancillary power
c) pith and substance
d) Colourable legislation - Disputes between States in India comes to the Supreme Court under Its
(Article 131)
(A) advisory Jurisdiction
(B) appellate jurisdiction
(C) original jurisdiction
(D) None of the above - When the Supreme Court sits to determine any question involving a
substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution or for
tendering its advise, the minimum number of judges to constitute the Bench
should be
a) 3
b) 5
c) 7
d) 13 - Every judge of the Supreme Court of India shall hold office until he
attains the age of
a) 58 years
b) 60 years
c) 62 years
d) 65 years - Disputes between States comes to the Supreme Court under
a) original jurisdiction
b) advisory jurisdiction
c) appellate jurisdiction
d) None of these - In which case, it was held by the Supreme Court that ‘Preamble is the
basic feature of the Constitution’?
a) In re Keshwananda Bharti
b) In re Golaknath case
c) In re Swarn Singh
d) In re Maneka Gandhi - In which of the following cases has the Supreme Court held that primacy
should be given to the opinion of other constitutional functions in the matter
of appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges
a) Keshvananda Bharti case
b) Special Courts Bills case
c) Transfer of Judges case - d) Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association v. Union of India
The doctrine of prospective overruling was first evolved by Chief Justice
Subha Rao in
a) Sankari Prasad v. Union of India
b) Keshvananda Bharti v. State of Kerala
c) Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan
d) Golaknath v. State of Punjab - Democracy and federalism are essential features of our Constitution
and basic feature of its structure. This observation was made in S. R.
Bommai case by
a) J. S. Verma,
b) S. R. Pandian,
c) P. B. Sawant,J
d) A. M. Ahmadi, - In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court hold that an
amendment of the Constitution under Article 368 was ‘law’ within the
meaning of Article 13?
a) Shankari Prasad v. Union of India
b) Keshvananda Bharti v. State of Kerala
c) Golaknath v. State of Punjab
d) Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan - In which of the following cases, was it held that Articles 14, 19 and 21
are not mutually exclusive and joinly aim at reasonableness and fairness?
a) Jagan Nath v. Union of India
b) Golaknath v. State of Punjab
c) Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
d) Ram Swarup v. Delhi Administration - In which of the following cases was the new concept of equality under
Article 14, i.e. protection against arbitrariness, propagated by Justice
Bhagwati?
a) D. K. Bakshi v. Union of India
b) E. P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu
c) Pradeep Jain : Union of India
d) Air India v. Nargeesh Mirza - In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court rule that the
principle of sovereign immunity will not apply to a proceeding for award of
compensation for violation of fundamental rights? - a) Rudal Sah v. State of Bihar
b) Kasturi Lal v. State of U.P.
c) Bhim Singh v. State of Punjab
d) Nilabeti Behera v. State of Orissa - Which section of Preventive Detention Act, 1950, was declared ultra
vires by the Supreme Court in case of A. K. Gopalan v. State of Madras?
a) Section 11
b) Section 14
c) Section 17
d) Section 19 - In which one of the following judgments, the Supreme Court found that
“morality and law cannot be equated with each other”?
a) P. V. Narsimha Rao v. State
b) Common Cause v. Union of India
c) Bennett & Coleman Ltd v. Union of India
d) V. V. Shiva Prasad v. K. Venkateswarlu - Which one of the following judgement is not related to the ‘doctrine of
separation of powers’?
a) State of Rajasthan v. Union of India
b) Golak Nath v. State of Punjab
c) Union of India v. Sankalchand
d) Asif Hameed v. State of Jammu & Kashmir - “Article 74(1) is mandatory and therefore, the President cannot exercise
the executive power without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers”,
was observed by the Supreme Court in:
a) Samshar Singh v. State of Punjab
b) U. N. R. Rao v. Indira Gandhi
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None of these - ‘The power of the President to grant pardon is an independent power
distinct from judicial power. It is not judiciable on its merits. Only the area and scope of President’s power under Article 72 can be examined by the court.”
This was held by the Supreme Court in
a) Kehar Singh v. Union of India
b) State of Punjab v. Joginder Singh
c) Maru Ram v. Union of India
d) All of the above - Arrange the decisions of the Supreme Court on Fundamental Right to
personal liberty in the correct chronological sequence:
(1) Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
(2) A.D.M. Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla
(3) A. K. Gopalan v. State of Madras
Codes:
a) 1, 2, 3
b) 3, 2, 1
c) 2, 3, 1
d) 2, 1, 3 - Which one of the following authorities is competent to seek the advisory
opinion of the Supreme Court of India?
(Article 143)
a) The President of India
b) The Prime Minister of India
c) The Government of a State
d) The Parliament of India
WBCS Main Question Paper – 2017
- The concept of ‘Judicial Activism’ has gained currency in India in
(A) 1960’s
(B) 1980’s
(C) 1990’s
(D) 1970’s - The first Constitutional Amendment was challenged in the case
(A) Sankari Prasad v. UOI
(B) Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan
(C) A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras
(D) Golaknath v. State of Punjab - The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It is preserved by
(A) The Cabinet
(B) The Supreme Court
(C) The Constituent Assembly
(D) The Parliament - The present strength of the Judges of the Supreme Court was fixed by
(Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act.)
(A) The original Constitution
(B) Parliament in 1958
(C) Parliament in 1977
(D) Parliament in 1986 - Who expressed the view that ‘Supreme Court of India has more powers
than any other Supreme Court in any part of the world’ ?
(A) Justice Khanna
(B) Dr. B.M. Rao
(C) K. M. Munshi
(D) A. Krishna Iyer - The Supreme Court struck down a part of the Preventive detention Act
in the
(A) Gopalan case
(B) Golaknath case
(C) Ramesh Thappar case
(D) Kochumni case - Provision of Article 73 i.e. extent of executive power of the union
confers upon the union which of the following phenomenon ?
(A) Power, jurisdiction and authority.
(B) Jurisdiction, constituent authority and power.
(C) Right, authority and jurisdiction.
(D) Inherent power, authority and jurisdiction. - High Court judges in India are appointed
(A) exclusively by the Collegium of the Supreme Court of India
(B) by National Judicial Appointment Commission
(C) Prime Minister in consultation with the Supreme Court of India
(D) by Parliament in consultation with the Chief Justice of India - A jurist can be appointed in which of the Court below
(Article 124(3))
(A) Supreme Court
(B) High Court
(C) In the District Court
(D) Special Court - Who is to decide whether any matter is a matter where the Governor
has to act in his discretion ?
(A) The Prime Minister
(B) The Supreme Court of India
(C) The High Court of the concerned state
(D) The Governor - After the judgment of Minerva Mills v. UOI, the provision of Article 31C
means :
(A) All Directive Principles supersede fundamental rights
(B) No Directive Principles can supersede the fundamental rights
(C) The Directive Principles contained in Article 39(a) supersede the
fundamental rights
(D) The Directive Principles contained in Article 39(b), (c) supersede the fundamental rights - Which of the following section of Indian Penal Code has been declared
unconstitutional by The Supreme Court of India ?
(A) Section 121
(B) Section 303
(C) Section 307
(D) Section 366 - The power to issue appropriate writs for enforcement of rights
conferred by PART – III of the Constitution of India may be given to any other court to exercise within the local limits of its jurisdiction by
(A) exercise of legislative power of the Parliament
(B) promulgation of an Ordinance
(C) passing a resolution in both the Houses
(D) parliament in consultation with the Supreme Court of India - ‘Provisions relating to fundamental duties cannot be enforced by writs. They can be only promoted by constitutional methods. But they can be used for interpreting ambiguous statutes. In which of the cases was this principle enunciated
(A) Motilal v. State of UP
(B) Civil Rights Committee v. UOI
(C) Head Masters v. UOI
(D) Magan Bhai v. UOI
WBCS Main Question Paper – 2016
- Which one of the following amendments of the Constitution abolished the Privy Purses and privileges of the Indian princes ?
(A) 26th Amendment
(B) 28th Amendment
(C) 30th Amendment
(D) 32nd Amendment - The concept of the basic structure of the constitution propounded in the Keshavanand Bharati case was further elaborated and strengthened in-
(A) Indira Gandhi Vs Raj Narain case
(B) Minerva Mills case
(C) Both (A) And (B)
(D) None of the Above - Judicial Review power of the Supreme Court means the power to-
(A) review its own judgment
(B) review the functioning of judiciary in the country
(C) examine the constitutional validity of the laws
(D) undertake periodic review of the constitution.
- Supreme Court of India has given a landmark guideline spelled out the
restrictions on the Union Government’s power to dismiss a state government
as per the Article 356 of the Indian Constitution in which of the following case ?
(A) Minerva Mills Case
(B) S. R. Bommai Case
(C) Sajjan Singh Case
(D) Golaknath Case
- Which among the following statement is correct ?
(Article 128)
(A) There are provisions that a retired judge of Supreme Court only can sit and act as judge of Supreme Court.
(B) There are provisions that a retired judge of Supreme Court and
High Courts can sit and act as judge of Supreme Court.
(C) There are provisions that a retired judge of High Courts only can sit and act as judge of Supreme Court.
(D) None of the above. - Article 13 of Indian constitution uses the words “to the extent of such
inconsistency be void” – which of the following doctrines is coherent to this ?
(A) Doctrine of Eclipse
(B) Doctrine of Waiver
(C) Doctrine of Severability
(D) Doctrine of Lapse
WBCS Main Question Paper – 2015
- The minimum number of judges to sit on the Constitution Bench or on
Bench which gives its advisory opinion on the reference by the President must be
(A) One half of the total strength of the Supreme Court
(B) Seven
(C) Three
(D) One-third of the total strength of the Court - The Supreme Court of India
(Article 129)
(A) Is a Court of record and has a power to punish for its contempt
(B) Is the only highest Court of Appeal
(C) Is like House of Lords on its Judicial side
(D) Is in all respects like Supreme Court of USA - The Supreme Court at present consists of
(Article 124(1))
(A) 26 Judges
(B) 26 Judges including the Chief Justice of India
(C) Chief Justice of India and 20 other Judges
(D) Chief Justice of India and 16 other Judges - Doctrine of pleasure was introduced in :
(A) Article 310
(B) Article 312
(C) Article 317
(D) None of the above - The Supreme Court retains its jurisdiction over the Administrative
Tribunals under :
(A) Article 356
(B) Article 132
(C) Article 134
(D) Article 136 - High Courts are instituted as Constitutional Courts by
(A) Part IX Chapter 2
(B) Part VII Chapter 6
(C) Part V Chapter 3
(D) Part VI Chapter 5 - Currently how many High Courts are there in India ?
(A) 22
(B) 24
(C) 25 (in 2019)
(D) 29 - Who is appointed as the Chief Justice of India ?
(A) The President appoints the Chief Justice of India upon the advice of the Union Cabinet
(B) The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as the
Chief Justice of India
(C) The panel of judges of Supreme Court elect a Chief Justice from
among themselves
(D) The Chief Justice of India is elected by the Lok Sabha - To be eligible to be a judge of the Supreme Court which among the
following is not a criteria for eligibility ?
(A) Judge of one High Court or more continuously for at least 5 years
(B) An advocate of High Court for at least 10 years
(C) Above 40 years of age
(D) A distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President - In which case did the Supreme Court of India hold in a majority
judgment that the Fundamental Rights could not by their very nature be subject to amendment by Parliament ?
(A) Minerva Mills Case 1980
(B) Golaknath Case 1967
(C) Keshavananda Bharati Case 1973
(D) Champakam Dorairajan Case 1951 - To reduce the mounting arrears in High Courts and to secure the
speedy disposal of service matters, revenue matters and certain other
matters of special importance in the context of the socio-economic
development and progress which amendment to the Constitution of India provides for administrative and other tribunals for dealing with the above matter ?
(A) 41st Amendment
(B) 42nd Amendment
(C) 43rd Amendment
(D) 44th Amendment
WBCS Main Question Paper – 2014
- The verdict by the Supreme Court that the original (basic) structure of
the Constitution cannot be amended was given in which case ?
(A) Sajjan Singh case
(B) Minerva Mills case
(C) Golak Nath’s case
(D) Keshvananda Bharati case - Which one of the following High Courts has the territorial jurisdiction
over Andaman and Nicobar Islands ?
(A) Andhra Pradesh
(B) Kolkata
(C) Chennai
(D) Odisha - The guardian of the Indian Constitution is :
(A) The President of India
(B) The Parliament of India
(C) The Supreme Court of India
(D The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers
- Identify the correct chronological order of the following landmark
judgments by the Supreme Court :
(i) Minerva Mills case
(ii) Golak Nath case
(iii) A. K. Gopalan case
(iv) Ninth Schedule of the Constitution case
(A) (iv), (ii), (iii), (i)
(B) (iii), (iv), (i), (ii)
(C) (iii), (i), (ii), (iv)
(D) (iii), (ii), (i), (iv) - District Judges in a state are appointed by the :
(A) Governor
(B) Chief Justice of High Court
(C) Council of Ministers of the State
(D) Advocate General of the State - Arrange the following in chronological order and use the codes given
below :
(i) Keshavananda Bharati case
(ii) Golaknath case
(iii) Minerva Mills case
(iv) Sajjan Singh case Codes
(A) (iii), (ii), (iv), (i)
(B) (i), (iv), (iii), (ii)
(C) (iv), (ii), (i), (iii)
(D) (ii), (iv), (iii), (i)
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