UPSC Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I

Question 32: Polity and Governance

Consider the following statements :

Statement-IIn India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.
Statement-IIIn India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

aBoth Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I

bBoth Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I

cStatement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

dStatement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Statement I is correct: prisons are in the State List of the Seventh Schedule, so State governments run them under their own prison manuals and rules. Statement II is taken as correct: the Prisons Act, 1894, a colonial law that still governs prisons, left prison administration with the provincial (now State) governments. UPSC treats II as the reason for I. Remember prisons as a State subject, with the Centre issuing only model rules and advisories.

I. Prisons are a State subject run under State rules.
II. The Prisons Act, 1894 left prisons with provincial governments, which explains State control.

How you could have got this

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

What you needed to know: Prisons are a State subject run under State rules.

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) Correct: both are true and the 1894 Act's allocation to provincial governments explains State control.
(b) UPSC treats the Act as the explanation, so 'not the explanation' does not fit the key.
(c) Statement II is accepted as correct, so 'II incorrect' does not fit.
(d) Statement I is correct, so it cannot be called incorrect.

Worth knowing: Prisons are now a State subject by the Seventh Schedule rather than by the 1894 Act, so calling the Act the 'explanation' is loosely worded; this follows UPSC's key.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.