Judiciary

Answer: (b) 1, 2 और 4

The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was enacted on the Sanyal Committee's 1963 report, under Parliament's power in Entry 77 of List I and Entry 14 of List III. Articles 129 and 215 give the Supreme Court and High Courts power to punish contempt of themselves, but the definitions of civil and criminal contempt are in Section 2 of the Act, not the Constitution.

• ✓ 1. A committee under H.N. Sanyal, then Additional Solicitor General, was set up in 1961 and reported in 1963; the 1971 Act was enacted to give effect to its recommendations.
• ✓ 2. Article 129 (Supreme Court) and Article 215 (High Courts) make them courts of record with the power to punish for contempt of themselves.
• ✗ 3. The Constitution does not define the two kinds of contempt. Section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 defines 'civil contempt' and 'criminal contempt'.
• ✓ 4. Entry 77 of the Union List (contempt of the Supreme Court) and Entry 14 of the Concurrent List (contempt of other courts) let Parliament legislate on contempt; the 1971 Act is such a law.

Remember · Contempt: power from Articles 129 and 215 (courts of record); definitions from the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (Sanyal Committee, 1963); legislative entries — List I Entry 77, List III Entry 14.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) केवल 2

Under the Advocates Act, 1961 an advocate is an individual enrolled on a State Bar Council's roll; a law firm is not an advocate, and corporate lawyers or patent attorneys are not excluded as a class. The Bar Council of India does have statutory functions over legal education and recognition of law degrees.

• ✗ 1. The Act's definition of advocate does not extend to law firms, partnerships or companies, so 'legal firms' are not recognised as advocates. Recognition turns on an individual's enrolment, not on whether one works for government, a company or in patent practice.
• ✓ 2. Section 7 of the Advocates Act gives the Bar Council of India legal-education functions, including recognising universities whose law degree qualifies a person for enrolment, and inspecting them for that purpose.

Remember · Advocates Act, 1961: advocates are enrolled individuals (firms are not); the Bar Council of India sets legal-education standards and recognises law degrees for enrolment.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 1, 2 और 3

Mandamus commands the performance of a statutory or public duty, so it reaches a private body only when the law entrusts it with a public duty, and not a company registered under the Companies Act merely because the government owns it: in Praga Tools Corporation (1969) the Supreme Court refused mandamus against a company in which the Union and Andhra Pradesh governments held 88 per cent of the shares. Quo warranto tests a person's title to a public office, and any member of the public may seek it.

• ✓ 1. Mandamus is a command to do a thing that is in the nature of a public duty. The Supreme Court in Praga Tools said it can issue to companies or corporations to carry out duties placed on them by the statutes authorising their undertakings, so a private body is reached only when a statute entrusts it with a public duty.
• ✓ 2. In Praga Tools the company was a government company in substance (56 per cent Union and 32 per cent Andhra Pradesh shareholding), yet the Court held that, being a non-statutory body incorporated under the Companies Act, it bore no statutory or public duty enforceable by mandamus. Government ownership alone does not expose a company to the writ.
• ✓ 3. Quo warranto asks by what authority a person holds a public office. Because the aim is to stop usurpation of public office, the petitioner need not be personally affected — any public-minded person may apply.

Remember · Mandamus: enforces a statutory or public duty; not against a private body without one, nor against a company merely because the government owns it (Praga Tools, 1969). Quo warranto: challenges title to a public office; any public-minded person can file.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error