1997 General Studies, all questions

UPSC Prelims 1997 · General Studies

Question 88: Polity and Governance

Assertion (A): Willful disobedience or non-compliance of Court Orders and use of derogatory language about judicial behaviour amounts to Contempt of Court. Reason (R): Judicial activism cannot be practised without arming the judiciary with punitive powers to punish contemptuous behaviour. In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?

aBoth A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
bBoth A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
cA is true, but R is false
dA is false, but R is true

AnswerThe answer is (b).

Contempt of Court covers wilful disobedience of a court's orders and also scandalising or lowering the authority of the court. Under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and Articles 129 and 215, the Supreme Court and the High Courts can punish it. So A is true. R is also true in that courts need power to punish contempt if their orders are to be obeyed, but the contempt power is not tied to judicial activism and long predates it, so R does not explain A.

  • A. Disobeying court orders and abusing judges are contempt of court.
  • R. Courts need power to punish contempt, though this does not explain A.

How you could have got this

If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (d) goes. Then judge the second statement; if it is correct too, decide whether it explains the first.

This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) R is true but is not the reason contempt is punishable; the power long predates judicial activism.
  • (b) Right: both are true, but R does not explain A.
  • (c) The key treats R as true, so A-true-R-false does not apply.
  • (d) A is true, so this option fails.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1997, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.