Bihar Judiciary — Prelims 2016

Correct answer: D

The Deccan Education Society was founded in 1884 by Bal Gangadhar Tilak along with Agarkar and Chiplunkar; it established Fergusson College, Pune.

Correct answer: B

The manuscript of Kautilya's Arthashastra was discovered and edited by R. Shamasastry (Shyama Shastri) in 1905 at the Mysore Oriental Library.

Correct answer: A

The Sanskrit political drama Mudrarakshasa was authored by Visakhadatta.

Correct answer: C

The First Buddhist Council was held at Rajgriha shortly after Buddha's death under the patronage of King Ajatasatru of Magadha.

Correct answer: C

Buddha delivered his first sermon (Dharmachakra Pravartana) at Sarnath, near Varanasi.

Correct answer: D

The remains of the Mauryan palace (the 80-pillared hall) were excavated at Kumrahar in Patna.

Correct answer: A

The Thirteenth (XIII) Major Rock Edict of Ashoka describes the Kalinga War and his consequent remorse and turn to Dhamma.

Correct answer: C

The Rajarajeshwara (Brihadeeswarar) Temple at Tanjore, built by Rajaraja I, is the finest example of Chola architecture.

Correct answer: B

The system of Dagh (branding of horses) and Huliya/Chehra (descriptive roll of soldiers) was introduced by Ala-ud-din Khilji.

Correct answer: D

William Hawkins of the English East India Company visited the court of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1608-1611).

Correct answer: B

The Iqta (Iqtadari) system in the Delhi Sultanate was introduced/organised by Iltutmish.

Correct answer: D

The Persian translation of the Mahabharata, prepared under Akbar, was titled Razmnama ('Book of War').

Correct answer: C

Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar (r. 1509-1529) was a contemporary of Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire.

Correct answer: A

The Baburnama (memoirs of Babur) was originally written in Chagatai Turkish.

Correct answer: A

The Servants of India Society was founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905.

Correct answer: C

The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 was passed during the Governor-Generalship of Lord Curzon.

Correct answer: A

'The History of British India' was authored by James Mill.

Correct answer: A

First newspaper in India was Hicky's Bengal Gazette (1780); options are OCR-garbled, but 'Gazette' (a) is the intended/closest match. Flagged due to broken option text.

Correct answer: D

The slogan 'Go back to the Vedas' was given by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj.

Correct answer: D

The Arya Samaj was established by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 (in Bombay).

Correct answer: B

The Great Famine of 1876-1878 was the worst famine under British rule, with an estimated 5.6-9.6 million deaths.

Correct answer: D

Options are OCR-corrupted (option 'a' is part of the stem); among the named women, Bhikaji Cama (d) was the revolutionary associated with the movement. Flagged for broken options.

Correct answer: B

The Simon Commission arrived in India in February 1928 (appointed 1927), met by 'Simon Go Back' protests.

Correct answer: B

Separate electorates for Muslims were introduced by the Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms).

Correct answer: B

Pandita Ramabai, the noted social reformer, was honoured with the title 'Pandit'.

Correct answer: C

The Indigo Revolt (Nil Bidroha) of 1859-60 took place in Bengal, centred in the Nadia district, against oppressive indigo planters.

Correct answer: C

Duplicate of Q26: the Indigo Revolt of 1859-60 occurred in Bengal.

Correct answer: C

V.D. Savarkar termed the Revolt of 1857 the 'First War of Independence' in his 1909 book 'The Indian War of Independence, 1857'.

Correct answer: A

Abhinav Bharat (Young India Society), founded by V.D. Savarkar and his brother in 1904, was a secret society engaged in revolutionary activities.

Correct answer: A

E.H. Carr, in 'What is History?' (1961), described history as 'a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present and the past.'

Correct answer: D

The Strachey Commission (First Famine Commission, 1880, chaired by Sir Richard Strachey) recommended the Famine Code, drafted as the provisional code in 1883.

Correct answer: B

B.R. Ambedkar founded and edited the Marathi fortnightly 'Mooknayak' (Leader of the Voiceless) in 1920.

Correct answer: D

Valentine Chirol called Bal Gangadhar Tilak the 'Father of Indian Unrest' in his book 'Indian Unrest' (1910).

Correct answer: C

Mahatma Gandhi regarded Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his political guru.

Correct answer: D

Annie Besant founded and published the newspapers 'New India' (daily) and 'Commonweal' (weekly) around 1914 to advance the Home Rule movement.

Correct answer: B

ITCZ stands for the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the low-pressure belt near the equator where the trade winds converge.

Correct answer: D

The Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is constructed on the Chambal River in Rajasthan (Chambal Valley Project).

Correct answer: A

Amarkantak plateau is the source of the Narmada, the Son, and (in the wider Maikal region) the Mahanadi rivers.

Correct answer: A

OCR-broken match-the-following; options/answer rows are garbled and the correct pairings cannot be reliably reconstructed. Correct ethnographic pairings: Gujjar–Himachal Pradesh/J&K, Gaddi–Himachal Pradesh, Dafla–Arunachal Pradesh, so no listed code can be verified.

Correct answer: B

The largest reserves of sal (Shorea robusta) forest in India are found in the Dun Valley (Doon valley) region of the Shivaliks/Uttarakhand.

Correct answer: C

Telangana is surrounded by Maharashtra (N), Chhattisgarh (NE), Karnataka (W) and Andhra Pradesh (S/E).

Correct answer: B

The Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) separates the Siwaliks (Outer Himalaya) from the Lesser/Lower Himalaya.

Correct answer: B

The Valley of Flowers National Park lies in the Garhwal Himalaya, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.

Correct answer: C

Most of India's coal occurs in the Gondwana rock system (e.g., Damodar, Son and Mahanadi valley coalfields).

Correct answer: C

The Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti valleys.

Correct answer: D

Winter rainfall in north-western India is caused by western disturbances - extratropical cyclonic storms originating over the Mediterranean.

Correct answer: A

Among the options, laterite soil is most extensively found in Karnataka (Western Ghats/Deccan), formed by intense leaching under high rainfall.

Correct answer: D

The incorrect pair is Nagarjuna Sagar Dam-Godavari; Nagarjuna Sagar is actually built on the Krishna River, not the Godavari.

Correct answer: B

The June 2013 Kedarnath/Uttarakhand disaster most severely affected the Mandakini river valley (Kedarnath lies on the Mandakini).

Correct answer: C

OCR-broken match-the-following with garbled code rows; best reconstruction of true pairings is Rawatbhata-Rajasthan, Kakrapar-Gujarat, Kaiga-Karnataka, so a code mapping Rawatbhata->Rajasthan (3) is most consistent, but the answer key cannot be reliably confirmed from the corrupt options.

Correct answer: D

The correct answer is Afghanistan, which became a WTO member (164th) on 29 July 2016, but Afghanistan is not among the listed options (OCR-mangled: option 'a' is the stem tail 'Organization (WTO)?', leaving Sudan/Bhutan/Ethiopia). None of the given options is correct; flagged as broken/incomplete, best of the bad lot is left blank-equivalent.

Correct answer: A

The World Bank approved a US$1.5 billion loan in December 2015 to support India's Swachh Bharat Mission (rural sanitation/SBM-Gramin).

Correct answer: A

The Supreme Court appointed Justice Virendra Singh as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh using its Article 142 powers after the state failed to recommend a name within the stipulated time.

Correct answer: B

PSLV-C29 (Dec 2015) successfully launched six satellites of Singapore, but Singapore is not among the listed options (OCR-mangled: option 'a' is the stem tail "ISRO's PSLV C29?", leaving Canada/Indonesia/Saudi Arabia). None of the given options is correct; flagged as broken.

Correct answer: B

As per the 2015 Human Development Report, India ranked 130 out of 188 countries on the HDI for 2014.

Correct answer: B

India's largest National Cancer Institute was set up at the AIIMS Jhajjar campus (Badhsa village) in Haryana.

Correct answer: C

Turkmenistan hosted the high-level International Conference on the Policy of Neutrality in Ashgabat in December 2015.

Correct answer: B

A one-man committee headed by Justice (Retd.) A.P. Shah was appointed in Dec 2015 to examine the ONGC-RIL KG-basin gas migration dispute.

Correct answer: B

ICICI Bank was the first bank to tie up with Indian Railways/IRCTC to sell rail tickets directly through its own website.

Correct answer: B

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has been the world's largest bank by total assets since 2012.

Correct answer: C

The stem refers to LISA Pathfinder (OCR 'USA Pathfinder'), launched on 3 December 2015 by the European Space Agency on a Vega rocket from Kourou.

Correct answer: B

India built and inaugurated (Dec 2015) the new Afghan Parliament (National Assembly) building in Kabul.

Correct answer: C

The Committee on Revisiting & Revitalising the PPP Model of Infrastructure Development was chaired by Dr. Vijay Kelkar (report submitted Nov 2015).

Correct answer: C

Gyanendra Badgaiyan was appointed Director-General of the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) (option 'a' is the OCR stem tail).

Correct answer: D

Kerala planned the country's first underwater road tunnel (Vypin-Fort Kochi) under its Coastal Highway project.

Correct answer: C

Zimbabwe announced in December 2015 that it would adopt the Chinese yuan as legal tender following China's cancellation of its debt.

Correct answer: C

The Salma Dam (Afghan-India Friendship Dam) on the Hari River was reconstructed by India in Afghanistan (inaugurated June 2016).

Correct answer: A

China launched the DAMPE (Dark Matter Particle Explorer / 'Wukong') satellite on 17 December 2015.

Correct answer: C

Mexico granted the world's first regulatory approval for a dengue vaccine (Sanofi's Dengvaxia) in December 2015.

Correct answer: B

The University of South Florida launched the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Postgraduate Fellowship for Indian students.

Correct answer: C

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) contains no oxygen, unlike nitric acid (HNO3) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4); it is a hydracid.

Correct answer: B

Synthetic lab detergents are non-biodegradable, whereas domestic sewage, soap and plant leaves are biodegradable.

Correct answer: A

Ernest Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus through his 1911 gold-foil (alpha-particle scattering) experiment.

Correct answer: C

Quantum Mechanics is the branch of physics dealing with the motion and behaviour of very small (subatomic) particles.

Correct answer: C

Cheese is protein-rich, and proteins are the body-building nutrients required for growth and repair of new tissues (fruits/vegetables/sweets are not primary protein sources here).

Correct answer: B

Carbon monoxide is the single largest air pollutant by mass/volume among primary pollutants, produced chiefly by incomplete combustion in vehicles; it is the standard textbook answer.

Correct answer: B

Decimal 7 = 4+2+1 = binary 111.

Correct answer: D

Options are OCR-garbled; standard definition: Anthophobia is the fear of flowers, but no such option appears here, so the listed choices (boss/fire/horse/dogs) do not match; best-guess left as (d) for completeness.

Correct answer: D

Clove is the dried, unopened flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum.

Correct answer: B

White Blood Cells (leucocytes) defend the body against infection.

Correct answer: C

The Green Revolution refers to the adoption of High-Yielding Variety (HYV) seed programmes with fertilisers/irrigation in the 1960s-70s.

Correct answer: B

Pedology is the branch of soil science dealing with the study of soils in their natural environment.

Correct answer: D

The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm.

Correct answer: C

The terminal respiratory (electron transport) chain / oxidative phosphorylation yields the largest number of ATP molecules in cellular respiration.

Correct answer: C

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

Correct answer: D

Red, blue and green are the additive primary colours; combined in equal intensity they produce white light.

Correct answer: B

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting the brain.

Correct answer: B

60 W x 5 h x 30 days = 9000 Wh = 9 units (kWh).

Correct answer: B

Stem and options are OCR-broken (soda water is mildly acidic carbonic acid, not basic; options c/d read 'Masoor/Paddy'). The question is corrupted; no clean correct option exists, best-guess (b).

Correct answer: B

Under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887, the State Government is empowered to establish and abolish Courts of Small Causes.

Correct answer: A

In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950) it was argued that the Preamble should be the guiding star and that any law under Article 21 offending natural justice should be void; the Court rejected the due-process/natural-justice reading.

Correct answer: B

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) held secularism to be a basic feature of the Constitution, before the word 'secular' was inserted in the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Correct answer: A

Waman Rao v. Union of India (1980) reaffirmed by majority that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be damaged or destroyed by amendments made under Article 368; Golak Nath did not endorse the basic-structure doctrine.

Correct answer: D

Article 5 of the Constitution confers citizenship at commencement on a person domiciled in India who has ordinarily resided in India for at least five years preceding commencement, even if neither he nor his parents were born in India.

Correct answer: A

Stem is OCR-garbled and the premise is legally inverted (the 24th Amendment's Art 13(4)/368 was upheld in Kesavananda Bharati, not struck down). The doctrine that an amendment is 'law' under Art 13 came from Golak Nath, which is the intended coaching-key answer, but it predates the 24th Amendment and cannot have voided it; answer contested.

Correct answer: A

Judicial review is an essential component of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, enabling courts to test the validity of executive and legislative action.

Correct answer: B

Per the Supreme Court, the test of reasonableness is not a wholly subjective test, and its contours are fairly indicated by the Constitution (the phrasing tracks the classic formulation that it is not 'wholly subjective').

Correct answer: A

Taxation is an inherent/independent power of the State, and there is no fundamental right to immunity from taxation.

Correct answer: C

Article 20 of the Constitution provides 'Protection in respect of conviction for offences' (ex post facto laws, double jeopardy, self-incrimination).

Correct answer: D

Article 25(1) makes freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion subject to public order, morality and health (and the other Part III provisions).

Correct answer: C

Article 75 of the Constitution deals with the appointment of the Prime Minister and other Ministers ('The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President...'), making it the Article that provides for the post of PM.

Correct answer: D

Under Article 102(2), a person is disqualified for membership of either House if he is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law); the option text is OCR-shifted but 'Tenth' is the correct schedule.

Correct answer: A

A Supreme Court Judge can be removed only by the process of impeachment (removal by Presidential order after an address by both Houses with special majority) under Article 124(4); the President alone or the Council of Ministers cannot remove a judge.

Correct answer: D

Whether a fact has been proved on properly received evidence, whether a statutory presumption is rebutted, and whether an endowment is private or public (no document misconstruction) are all classic questions of fact, so 'All of the above' is correct.

Correct answer: B

Under Article 164(1), the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor of the State (and other Ministers by the Governor on the CM's advice).

Correct answer: D

Absolutism encompasses being absolute, a government with unchecked public power, and unconditional sovereignty vested in a monarch/autocrat/oligarchy, so all the descriptions together ('All of the above') define it.

Correct answer: C

Mandamus ('we command') is a writ issued to compel a public authority to perform a duty of a public nature that it has failed to perform.

Correct answer: B

Under Article 321, an Act of the State Legislature may provide for the exercise of additional functions by the State Public Service Commission, so the State Legislature has the power to extend its functions.

Correct answer: C

During a Proclamation of Emergency, Article 353 extends the Union's executive power to give directions to States and extends Parliament's legislative power to matters not in the Union List (State List subjects), so both (I) and (II) are correct.

Correct answer: B

The observation that the Governor must remain conscious of his constitutional obligations and not sacrifice political responsibility or parliamentary conventions 'on the altar of political expediency' was made in B.R. Kapur v. State of Tamil Nadu (2001) regarding the Governor's appointment of a disqualified person as Chief Minister.

Correct answer: B

The definition 'Administrative law is the law relating to the administration; it determines the organisation, powers and duties of the administrative authorities' is Ivor Jennings's classic definition (from The Law and the Constitution).

Correct answer: D

Both constitutional law and administrative law are branches of public law (governing relations between the State and individuals/organs of government), which is the recognised similarity between them.

Correct answer: C

The privilege to withhold documents/information relating to affairs of State (Crown/State privilege) is enacted in Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Correct answer: D

Dicey's rule of law is discussed under three heads, of which the relevant principle here is 'equality before the law' (along with supremacy of law and the constitution being the result of ordinary law); 'equality before law' is the correct Diceyan formulation among the options.

Correct answer: C

K.C. Davis, in his Administrative Law, listed several meanings of 'rule of law' including law and order, fixed rules, and elimination/exclusion of discretion, so both 'fixed rules of law' and 'exclusion of discretion' are correct.

Correct answer: A

The doctrine of separation of powers means the same person should not form part of more than one of the three organs (legislature, executive, judiciary) of government, as classically stated by Montesquieu.

Correct answer: D

Flagged: the classification of executive function into quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, ministerial and purely administrative functions actually derives from Jayantilal Amritlal Shodhan v. F.N. Rana, which is not among the listed options; the question/options appear defective. Best guess given choices is 'All of the above'.

Correct answer: B

Re Delhi Laws Act, 1912 [AIR 1951 SC 332] was the first leading Supreme Court case settling the law on delegated legislation in the post-Constitution period; Queen v. Burah is a pre-constitution Privy Council case.

Correct answer: A

Among non-delegable legislative functions, the power to give retrospective effect cannot be delegated (it is an essential legislative function that the legislature alone may exercise), whereas appointing the commencement day, applying existing laws and suspending provisions are commonly delegated.

Correct answer: B

A key disadvantage of delegated legislation is the risk that powers granted under the parent Act may be misused, with the executive effectively wielding more power than Parliament; option (a) describes an advantage, so (a)+(b) together cannot both be disadvantages.

Correct answer: B

Conditional (contingent) legislation involves no exercise of rule-making discretion; the legislature lays down the law and leaves only the determination of a condition/contingency on which the law comes into operation to the executive, unlike delegated/subordinate legislation which does involve discretion.

Correct answer: A

The natural justice principle nemo judex in causa sua means no man should be a judge in his own cause; the contrary statement (all men judged in their own cause) is wrong, so only (a) is justified.

Correct answer: B

Courts test the validity of delegated legislation by the doctrine of ultra vires in both its forms: substantive ultra vires (substance/scope of power) and procedural ultra vires (non-compliance with prescribed procedure).

Correct answer: A

The rule against bias is discussed under heads of pecuniary, personal and subject-matter (official/policy) bias; Dimes v. Grand Junction Canal is the leading authority on pecuniary bias and is the apt illustration heading the discussion.

Correct answer: A

In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras, the habeas corpus petition challenging preventive detention failed and the writ was not issued, the detention under the Preventive Detention Act being upheld.

Correct answer: D

Audi alteram partem ('hear the other side') requires that a person be given notice of the action and an opportunity to be heard; notice is its foundational essential, the other options being negative/improper acts.

Correct answer: A

A writ of mandamus lies only where the petitioner has a legal right that is judicially enforceable and the public authority has a corresponding public duty which it has failed to perform after demand.

Correct answer: A

Under Article 299 of the Constitution, a government contract is valid only if expressed to be made in the name of (and executed on behalf of) the President or the Governor; contracts made by officers on their own authority are not binding on the State.

Correct answer: D

Tribunals are not bound by the strict CPC or the Evidence Act and need not be presided over by a judge/magistrate, so none of options (a)-(c) correctly describes them; 'None of the above' is correct.

Correct answer: A

A Lokpal/Ombudsman must not hold any office of profit, must not be a Member of Parliament/Legislature, and must not carry on any business or profession; the only correct qualifying condition listed is that he shall not hold any office of profit.

Correct answer: B

Hindu Law is a body of personal law governing Hindus in matters of marriage, succession, adoption, etc., and is classified as personal law.

Correct answer: D

The recognised sources of Hindu law are Sruti, Smriti, digests/commentaries and custom; all of these are ancient sources, so 'All of the above' is correct.

Correct answer: A

Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 mandates that neither party has a spouse living at the time of marriage, thereby establishing monogamy.

Correct answer: B

Judicial separation is provided under Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Section 9 = restitution of conjugal rights; Section 11 = void marriages; Section 13 = divorce).

Correct answer: C

Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages is governed by Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; the answer covering both void and voidable marriages is correct (the stem's 'Section 18' appears to be a typographical error).

Correct answer: D

Under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a marriage may be solemnised in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto.

Correct answer: B

In Class I of the Schedule to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, 'son' includes adopted and (through related entries) illegitimate sons in certain contexts but does not include a stepson.

Correct answer: A

Under Rule 2 of Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the surviving sons and daughters and the mother of the male intestate shall each take one share.

Correct answer: E

Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 converts any property possessed by a female Hindu, whether acquired before or after the Act, into her absolute property, making her the full owner thereof and not a limited owner.

Correct answer: C

Reason: The statutory definition of 'minor' under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 is a person who has not completed eighteen years, which is not among the options; the keyed answer (c) 15 corresponds instead to the Section 10(iv) age-limit for the person to be adopted, so the question is internally flawed.

Correct answer: D

Under Section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (pre-2010 form), a female Hindu of sound mind and majority may adopt if she is a widow/divorcee, unmarried, or her husband has renounced the world/ceased to be a Hindu/been declared of unsound mind; hence 'All of the above'.

Correct answer: C

Ordinarily the senior-most male is the Karta; a junior male member can act as Karta of a Hindu undivided family only with the consent of the other coparceners.

Correct answer: D

The primary (formal) sources of Muslim law are the Quran, Sunna/Hadees, Ijma and Qiyas; all of these are main sources, so 'All of the above' is correct.

Correct answer: B

A Muslim woman can validly marry only a Muslim man; her marriage with a non-Muslim (including a Kitabia/non-Muslim) is irregular or void under Muslim law.

Correct answer: D

A Shia male may contract a muta (temporary) marriage with a Muslim, a Kitabia (Christian or Jewish) woman, or a fire-worshipping woman; hence any of the women stated above.

Correct answer: A

Under Sunni (Hanafi) law a talaq pronounced under compulsion or in a state of voluntary intoxication is valid, whereas Shia law treats such a talaq as void.

Correct answer: A

In Talaq-e-Hasan the divorce becomes irrevocable and effective on the third pronouncement made in three successive tuhrs (Talaq-e-Ahsan is a single pronouncement).

Correct answer: A

Under Muslim law, an acknowledgement of paternity (iqrar), once validly made, is irrevocable and cannot be retracted.

Correct answer: B

Custody (hizanat) of an illegitimate child under Muslim law belongs to the mother and her relations, as such a child is treated as related only to the mother.

Correct answer: D

Under Muslim law a hiba (gift) of a thing to come into existence in future, a conditional gift, and a gift based on a wagering or contingent contract are all invalid; hence 'All of the above'.