All questions of Passage Based for Practice for CLAT Exam

Passage - 2

Europe's top court said on Thursday that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts, photographs and videos not only in their own countries but elsewhere, in a ruling that extends the reach of the region's internet-related laws beyond its own borders. The European Court of Justice said Facebook could be forced to remove a post globally by a national court in the European Union's 28-member bloc if the content was determined to be defamatory or otherwise illegal. Its decision cannot be appealed.

The decision sets a new benchmark for the purview of European laws that govern the internet, giving European countries the power to apply takedown requests internationally. That foreshadows future disputes over Europe's role in setting rules on the internet, especially as other nations increasingly pass their own laws to deal with privacy, hate speech and disinformation. "There is this impulse in Europe that is trying to set global regulatory standards," said Ben Wagner, director of the Privacy and Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University. The effort, he said, is a "pushback against the self-regulatory impulses of these platforms." Facebook said in a statement that the European court's decision "undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country." It added that the judgment raised questions about freedom of expression and "the role that internet companies should play in monitoring, interpreting and removing speech that might be illegal in any particular country." The court said on Thursday that while Facebook wasn't liable for the disparaging comments posted the company had an obligation to take them down after an Austrian court found them defamatory. Facebook, the court said, "did not act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that information." The court left to national court systems in each European Union country to decide what cases merit forcing an internet company to take down content in foreign countries. That raised questions about what other laws Facebook and other internet platforms can be forced to comply with by governments in Europe.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

India has signed two separate agreements with the USA and the EC.

This brings to a satisfactory conclusion the Market Access Conciliations in textiles which had been in progress for some time. These discussions were held with a view to facilitating trade in textile products between India and the USA and EU countries. At present, more than two-thirds of India’s total textile exports go to these countries. These agreements which came into force from Dec. 31, 1994, prior to the establishment of the WTO, provide very significant additional market access in these two major markets (USA and EU) for Indian textile products. In particular, the agreements are expected to provide a fillip to handloom and powerloom production and exports which are of high priority because of their direct linkage with employment generation.

India will have to abide by certain quality standards to continue getting export orders from these countries.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Passage - 2

Europe's top court said on Thursday that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts, photographs and videos not only in their own countries but elsewhere, in a ruling that extends the reach of the region's internet-related laws beyond its own borders. The European Court of Justice said Facebook could be forced to remove a post globally by a national court in the European Union's 28-member bloc if the content was determined to be defamatory or otherwise illegal. Its decision cannot be appealed.

The decision sets a new benchmark for the purview of European laws that govern the internet, giving European countries the power to apply takedown requests internationally. That foreshadows future disputes over Europe's role in setting rules on the internet, especially as other nations increasingly pass their own laws to deal with privacy, hate speech and disinformation. "There is this impulse in Europe that is trying to set global regulatory standards," said Ben Wagner, director of the Privacy and Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University. The effort, he said, is a "pushback against the self-regulatory impulses of these platforms." Facebook said in a statement that the European court's decision "undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country." It added that the judgment raised questions about freedom of expression and "the role that internet companies should play in monitoring, interpreting and removing speech that might be illegal in any particular country." The court said on Thursday that while Facebook wasn't liable for the disparaging comments posted the company had an obligation to take them down after an Austrian court found them defamatory. Facebook, the court said, "did not act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that information." The court left to national court systems in each European Union country to decide what cases merit forcing an internet company to take down content in foreign countries. That raised questions about what other laws Facebook and other internet platforms can be forced to comply with by governments in Europe.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Passage - 2

Europe's top court said on Thursday that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts, photographs and videos not only in their own countries but elsewhere, in a ruling that extends the reach of the region's internet-related laws beyond its own borders. The European Court of Justice said Facebook could be forced to remove a post globally by a national court in the European Union's 28-member bloc if the content was determined to be defamatory or otherwise illegal. Its decision cannot be appealed.

The decision sets a new benchmark for the purview of European laws that govern the internet, giving European countries the power to apply takedown requests internationally. That foreshadows future disputes over Europe's role in setting rules on the internet, especially as other nations increasingly pass their own laws to deal with privacy, hate speech and disinformation. "There is this impulse in Europe that is trying to set global regulatory standards," said Ben Wagner, director of the Privacy and Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University. The effort, he said, is a "pushback against the self-regulatory impulses of these platforms." Facebook said in a statement that the European court's decision "undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country." It added that the judgment raised questions about freedom of expression and "the role that internet companies should play in monitoring, interpreting and removing speech that might be illegal in any particular country." The court said on Thursday that while Facebook wasn't liable for the disparaging comments posted the company had an obligation to take them down after an Austrian court found them defamatory. Facebook, the court said, "did not act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that information." The court left to national court systems in each European Union country to decide what cases merit forcing an internet company to take down content in foreign countries. That raised questions about what other laws Facebook and other internet platforms can be forced to comply with by governments in Europe.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

Even after allowing for the inclusion of the unavoidable chillies, on the whole the Indian diet seems to be more protective than carcinogenic. The per capita fat intake is only 14-20 g daily, far below even the per capita consumption of 35 g daily recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research. In practice, most of the population is essentially vegetarian, as even the so-called non-vegetarians eat meat only once or twice a week, meat being expensive.

The incidence of cancer in India, with the age standardised rate of 115 per 100,000, is one of the lowest in Asia; and is only about one-third the incidence in the West. The Indian diet may be one of the factors responsible.

Indian diet is the main reason behind the low incidence of cancer.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

Asia has become the growth centre of the world economy in recent years.

Within the region, India and South Korea are the third and fourth largest economies after China and Japan. Though the Asian growth stories mainly revolve around India and China, South Korea has remained a key player for these countries as one of their major trading and investment partners. South Korea adopted outward-oriented economic policies with the beginning of its first five-year economic development plan in 1962, which resulted in high growth and the integration of the Korean economy with the rest of the world. Subsequently, high and consistent economic growth made South Korea one of the high-income economies in Asia. Korea is still growing at a faster rate compared to other developed economies. India on the other hand adopted an import substitution policy since its Independence until the early 1990s. Since then India has introduced wide-ranging economic policy reforms and is moving towards a market-driven economy. This has resulted in consistent high economic growth over the last one-and-a-half decades.

India and China together are considered to be the driving force of the Asian economy.

Passage - 2

Europe's top court said on Thursday that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts, photographs and videos not only in their own countries but elsewhere, in a ruling that extends the reach of the region's internet-related laws beyond its own borders. The European Court of Justice said Facebook could be forced to remove a post globally by a national court in the European Union's 28-member bloc if the content was determined to be defamatory or otherwise illegal. Its decision cannot be appealed.

The decision sets a new benchmark for the purview of European laws that govern the internet, giving European countries the power to apply takedown requests internationally. That foreshadows future disputes over Europe's role in setting rules on the internet, especially as other nations increasingly pass their own laws to deal with privacy, hate speech and disinformation. "There is this impulse in Europe that is trying to set global regulatory standards," said Ben Wagner, director of the Privacy and Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University. The effort, he said, is a "pushback against the self-regulatory impulses of these platforms." Facebook said in a statement that the European court's decision "undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country." It added that the judgment raised questions about freedom of expression and "the role that internet companies should play in monitoring, interpreting and removing speech that might be illegal in any particular country." The court said on Thursday that while Facebook wasn't liable for the disparaging comments posted the company had an obligation to take them down after an Austrian court found them defamatory. Facebook, the court said, "did not act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that information." The court left to national court systems in each European Union country to decide what cases merit forcing an internet company to take down content in foreign countries. That raised questions about what other laws Facebook and other internet platforms can be forced to comply with by governments in Europe.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

The Product Certification Marks Scheme (PCMS) was introduced in 1956. It provides the consumer an assurance of quality conforming to national standards.

It is a voluntary scheme in general wherein producers claiming conformity to standards apply for licence. The scheme is, however, compulsory for items of mass consumption which affect the safety and health of consumers. To date, over 11,750 licences are in operation covering 1438 products, out of which about 129 are under compulsory certification.

The PCMS also tries to give assurance of international standards on selected items.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

The country has taken a major initiative by introducing convertibility of the Rupee on the current account. It has also been declared that the ultimate goal is to make the Rupee fully convertible. These are signs of the country’s achieving economic maturity. India is now ready to welcome foreign capital. It is preparing to reduce import tariffs to levels which are currently the norm in other developing countries. All these measures show that India is today mature and strong enough to face international competition and to integrate itself successfully with the global economy. The country is ready to shed its ideological inhibitions and ready to evaluate the international economic environment in a pragmatic spirit.

Socialistic ideals prevented India from evaluating the international economic environment in a pragmatic spirit.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Passage - 4

Over the years, mediation has been recognised as the fastest growing method to resolve disputes worldwide. Mediation allows parties to relook at mutual interests and rights of each other, and to come up with amicable and innovative solutions. This helps in maintaining cordial relations between the parties.
The role of courts or arbitrators is adjudicative and more formal in nature. In contrast, the nature of mediators or the process of mediation is very practical and flexible. Many a time, it can prove to be speedier, more effective and economical than the other adjudicative processes.
Mediation needs to be promoted as a mechanism that complements the judicial process. To achieve acceptance and popularity of Mediation as the first step before approaching the court or any other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method, it is crucial to develop confidence in the process of Mediation. Court-annexed mediation, to a certain extent, has been adopted as a measure of docket management and must go hand in hand with promotion of mediation as a successful, revolutionary, economical and time-saving method for all the stakeholders.
From the websites of several High Courts, it can be ascertained that most High Courts have their separate set of rules governing Mediation and Conciliation. Barring for a few High Courts, there is no data available to show the status of mediation cases referred, successes/failure of matters, and number of settlements arrived at and effectively implemented.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Passage - 2

Europe's top court said on Thursday that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts, photographs and videos not only in their own countries but elsewhere, in a ruling that extends the reach of the region's internet-related laws beyond its own borders. The European Court of Justice said Facebook could be forced to remove a post globally by a national court in the European Union's 28-member bloc if the content was determined to be defamatory or otherwise illegal. Its decision cannot be appealed.

The decision sets a new benchmark for the purview of European laws that govern the internet, giving European countries the power to apply takedown requests internationally. That foreshadows future disputes over Europe's role in setting rules on the internet, especially as other nations increasingly pass their own laws to deal with privacy, hate speech and disinformation. "There is this impulse in Europe that is trying to set global regulatory standards," said Ben Wagner, director of the Privacy and Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University. The effort, he said, is a "pushback against the self-regulatory impulses of these platforms." Facebook said in a statement that the European court's decision "undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country." It added that the judgment raised questions about freedom of expression and "the role that internet companies should play in monitoring, interpreting and removing speech that might be illegal in any particular country." The court said on Thursday that while Facebook wasn't liable for the disparaging comments posted the company had an obligation to take them down after an Austrian court found them defamatory. Facebook, the court said, "did not act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that information." The court left to national court systems in each European Union country to decide what cases merit forcing an internet company to take down content in foreign countries. That raised questions about what other laws Facebook and other internet platforms can be forced to comply with by governments in Europe.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Passage - 4

Over the years, mediation has been recognised as the fastest growing method to resolve disputes worldwide. Mediation allows parties to relook at mutual interests and rights of each other, and to come up with amicable and innovative solutions. This helps in maintaining cordial relations between the parties.
The role of courts or arbitrators is adjudicative and more formal in nature. In contrast, the nature of mediators or the process of mediation is very practical and flexible. Many a time, it can prove to be speedier, more effective and economical than the other adjudicative processes.
Mediation needs to be promoted as a mechanism that complements the judicial process. To achieve acceptance and popularity of Mediation as the first step before approaching the court or any other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method, it is crucial to develop confidence in the process of Mediation. Court-annexed mediation, to a certain extent, has been adopted as a measure of docket management and must go hand in hand with promotion of mediation as a successful, revolutionary, economical and time-saving method for all the stakeholders.
From the websites of several High Courts, it can be ascertained that most High Courts have their separate set of rules governing Mediation and Conciliation. Barring for a few High Courts, there is no data available to show the status of mediation cases referred, successes/failure of matters, and number of settlements arrived at and effectively implemented.

Passage - 4

Over the years, mediation has been recognised as the fastest growing method to resolve disputes worldwide. Mediation allows parties to relook at mutual interests and rights of each other, and to come up with amicable and innovative solutions. This helps in maintaining cordial relations between the parties.
The role of courts or arbitrators is adjudicative and more formal in nature. In contrast, the nature of mediators or the process of mediation is very practical and flexible. Many a time, it can prove to be speedier, more effective and economical than the other adjudicative processes.
Mediation needs to be promoted as a mechanism that complements the judicial process. To achieve acceptance and popularity of Mediation as the first step before approaching the court or any other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method, it is crucial to develop confidence in the process of Mediation. Court-annexed mediation, to a certain extent, has been adopted as a measure of docket management and must go hand in hand with promotion of mediation as a successful, revolutionary, economical and time-saving method for all the stakeholders.
From the websites of several High Courts, it can be ascertained that most High Courts have their separate set of rules governing Mediation and Conciliation. Barring for a few High Courts, there is no data available to show the status of mediation cases referred, successes/failure of matters, and number of settlements arrived at and effectively implemented.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

The rights of the child in broad parameters is not a new concept in the country as it was enshrined in our Constitution in its directive principles. But a chasm lies agape between practice and precept. The government adopted a National Policy For Children in 1974 and started the ambitious Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme the next year but the progress was slow. However, the situation is now poised for a big take-off with the political will backing it up with enhanced funds.

The political will to realise the children’s rights was lacking initially.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

In a fast-moving world, the attitude towards children has undergone a seachange from the draconian “spare the rod and spoil the child” to a growing awareness of the rights of the child. In our society, even fifty years back, the elders would have frowned at any mention of the rights of the child and would have dismissed it as an absurd proposition and a futile intellectual aberration. But times have changed and people have come to realise that if due attention and proper thought are not given to the children of today to ensure their healthy growth, we are bound to invite doom for our citizens of tomorrow. And who can deny that improvement in the condition of children is the primary concern of a nation?

The world has shown very little change in attitude in areas other than that of children’s rights.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

The first time I saw The Wizard of Oz, the story bewitched me. The second time I saw The Wizard of Oz, the special effects amazed me. The third time I saw The Wizard of Oz, the photography dazzled me. Have you ever seen a movie twice, three times? You notice subtleties and hear sounds you completely missed the first time around.

It’s the same on the phone. Because your business conversations are more consequential than movies, you should listen to them two, maybe three times, Often, we have no clear idea of what really happened in our phone conversation until we hear it again. You’ll find shadings more significant than the colour of Toto’s collar- and more scarecrows than you imagined who ‘haven’t got a brain!’ How do you listen to your important business conversa- tions again?

Simply legally and ethically tape-record them. I call the technique of recording and analysing your business conversations for subtleties Instant Replay.

The advice is being given to the sales team.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

Although studies have shown that India’s performance in health (level as well as speed) is poor (UNDP, 1992), the health status, in general, has improved.

Life expectancy and infant survival conditions are better than what is predicted for a country with India’s level of income. Between 1951 and 1992, life expectancy at birth (LEB) increased from 32.1 years to 60.3 years, the death rate fell from 27.4 to 10 per thousand and IMR fell from 139 per thousand live births in 1972 to 79 in 1992. But, the improvement has not been even across regions and between genders. An attempt is made here to look at the inter-regional disparities in health development.

India has surpassed many countries in forms of health improvement from 1951 to 1992.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

The complexion of the world economy has changed beyond recognition.

A few years ago, the Soviet Union and its friends used to accuse the World Bank, IMF and other international institutions as the promoters of economic imperialism of USA and its allies and in the same breath as the bloodsuckers of the poorer member-countries. GATT, for them, was a rich man’s club. In their views, transnational corporations were worse than the dreaded buccaneers.

These corporations worked exclusively for the benefit of parent countries and exploited the host countries thoroughly. Economic relations of communist countries remained chiefly confined within the four walls of communism. However, it crossed over to some third world countries as well.

GATT has stopped exploiting its host countries.

The finance minister’s promise of a structural adjustment programme with a human face remains a pipedream. When the reforms started, he had assured that priorities of public spending would focus more sharply on welfare programmes, once the fiscal imbalances were controlled. This assurance is yet to be materialised. Recently, he said that “only when the growth momentum picks up, the resources needed for these programmes can be mobilised.” Such excessive emphasis on economic growth will hamper social welfare and indefinitely postpone the promise of a reform with a human face thus leaving out in the cold a substantial section of the society.

Economic growth will pick up momentum quickly.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

India and other developing countries, while expressing their commitment to the upgradation of labour standards, have been resisting the move to link international trade, not only with labour standards, but also with environmental concerns and human rights. The move was set afoot on the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations with a proposal for the inclusion of a social clause in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which succeeds GATT. Later, on stiff opposition to the move on the ground that the matter did not fall in the area of trade, a proposal was mooted for the inclusion of a social clause in ILO.

India claims that environmental issue and trade are uncorrelated.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

There has been considerable debate in India regarding the privatisation of higher education. In this debate, there is generally an implicit assumption that privatisation is essentially the same as corporatisation, ie private investment comes due to the potential of returns. In the higher education field, privatisation and corporatisation are actually quite different. Privatisation is regarding who controls the educational institute and the role of government in the management and funding of the institute, while corporatisation is about making profits. In India, there is no doubt that private not-for-profit universities need to be encouraged to increase education opportunities, and for the fact that there is no other alternative as the government simply cannot create enough public universities to satisfy the demand. However, guidelines for private not-for profit universities should be made clear, simple and transparent to ensure that they are truly not for profit and offer a level playing field to all those who might want to set up a private university.

India does not have any extant guidelines for setting up higher educational institutions by private entities.

Passage - 4

Over the years, mediation has been recognised as the fastest growing method to resolve disputes worldwide. Mediation allows parties to relook at mutual interests and rights of each other, and to come up with amicable and innovative solutions. This helps in maintaining cordial relations between the parties.
The role of courts or arbitrators is adjudicative and more formal in nature. In contrast, the nature of mediators or the process of mediation is very practical and flexible. Many a time, it can prove to be speedier, more effective and economical than the other adjudicative processes.
Mediation needs to be promoted as a mechanism that complements the judicial process. To achieve acceptance and popularity of Mediation as the first step before approaching the court or any other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method, it is crucial to develop confidence in the process of Mediation. Court-annexed mediation, to a certain extent, has been adopted as a measure of docket management and must go hand in hand with promotion of mediation as a successful, revolutionary, economical and time-saving method for all the stakeholders.
From the websites of several High Courts, it can be ascertained that most High Courts have their separate set of rules governing Mediation and Conciliation. Barring for a few High Courts, there is no data available to show the status of mediation cases referred, successes/failure of matters, and number of settlements arrived at and effectively implemented.

Passage - 5

The Union government has called upon the Supreme Court to form a seven-judge Bench to reconsider the formulation in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006) that it should be applied to the SC and ST communities. This verdict was a reality check to the concept of reservation. Even while upholding Constitution amendments meant to preserve reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority; it contained an exposition of the equality principle that hedged reservation against a set of constitutional requirements, without which the structure of equal opportunity would collapse. These were 'quantifiable data' to show the backwardness of a community, the inadequacy of its representation in service, and the lack of adverse impact on "the overall efficiency of administration". In Jarnail Singh (2018), another Constitution Bench reaffirmed the applicability of creamy layer norms to SC/STs. However, it ruled that Nagaraj was wrong to require a demonstration of backwardness for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, as it was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench judgment in Indra Sawhney (1992).

It is curious that Jarnail Singh accepted the presumption of the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but favoured applying the 'means test' to exclude from the purview of SC/ST reservation those who had achieved some level of economic advancement. While the Centre has accepted that the 'creamy layer' norm is needed to ensure that only those genuinely backward get reservation benefits, it is justifiably upset that this principle has been extended to Dalits, who have been acknowledged to be the most backward among the backward sections. Another problem is the question whether the exclusion of the advanced sections among SC/ST candidates can be disallowed only for promotions. Most of them may not fall under the 'creamy layer' category at the entry level, but after some years of service and promotions, they may reach an income level at which they fall under the 'creamy layer'. This may result in the defeat of the object of the Constitution amendments that the court itself had upheld to protect reservation in promotions as well as consequential seniority. Another landmark verdict in the history of affirmative action jurisprudence may be needed to settle these questions.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

Independent testing of certified products is an essential feature of the BIS Certification Marks Scheme. For this purpose, BIS has a network of eight laboratories in the country, which are in a position to issue around 42000 test reports in a year. These laboratories are being constantly expanded and their testing facilities augmented and modernised. BIS has also recognised around 280 laboratories belonging to public and private sectors for testing products under its certification scheme.

Certification is a process that needs to be constantly modernised.

Passage - 3

One of the reasons for recusal of a Judge is that litigants/ the public might entertain a reasonable apprehension about his impartiality. As Lord Chief Justice Hewart said:
"It is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." And therefore, in order to uphold the credibility of the integrity institution, the Judge recuses from hearing the case.
A Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, while assuming Office, takes an oath as prescribed under Schedule III to the Constitution of India, that:
"... I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."
Called upon to discharge the duties of the Office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, it is only desirable, if not proper, that a Judge, for any unavoidable reason like some pecuniary interest, affinity or adversity with the parties in the case, direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the litigation, family directly involved in litigation on the same issue elsewhere, the Judge being aware that he or someone in his immediate family has an interest, financial or otherwise that could have a substantial bearing as a consequence of the decision in the litigation, etc., to recuse himself from the adjudication of a particular matter. No doubt, these examples are not exhaustive.
The simple question is, whether the adjudication by the Judge concerned, would cause a reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonably informed litigant and fair-minded public as to his impartiality. Being an institution whose hallmark is transparency, it is only proper that the Judge discharging high and noble duties, at least broadly indicate the reasons for recusing from the case so that the litigants or the well-meaning public may not entertain any misunderstanding.
Once reasons for recusal are indicated, there will not be any room for attributing any motive for the recusal. To put it differently, it is part of his duty to be accountable to the Constitution by upholding it without fear or favour, affection or ill- will. Therefore, I am of the view that it is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one's oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a Judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case.

Passage - 1

The law of torts has been evolving throughout its existence. There are certain principles which are used to counter claims for compensation. These counterclaims or defences are used to evict those citizens from tortious liability who have been unfairly been implicated with wrong claims imposed on them. These defences have been formulated from time to time to keep up with the basis of imposition of tortious liability on a person.
INEVITABLE ACCIDENT
Inevitable Accidents are, as evident from the name, events which could not have been prevented by the parties through the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. An inevitable accident is one which could not be possibly prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill and hence it does not apply to anything which either of the parties might have avoided. Sir Frederick Pollock defined an inevitable accident as an accident which is not avoidable by any precautions, a reasonable man could have expected to take.
In the past cases, the defence of inevitable accident used to be very relevant in actions for trespass when the older rule was that even an innocent trespass was actionable unless the defendant could prove that the accident was caused due to it being inevitable in nature. The term "inevitable accident" is used in instances where the accidents occur by chance and in the absence of human error. Both of these are similar in terms of negligence, if it is proved by the plaintiff that there was negligence on the part of the defendant then the defendant will not be able to escape liability by using these defenses. The plea of an inevitable accident has lost its practicality in today's day and age, as it has lost its utility since the principle of absolute liability, applies even in the absence of defendant's negligence and with the growth in the dimension of science the number of accidents which were considered to be inevitable is fastly diminishing.
To sum it all up, an inevitable accident is an event which happens not only without the concurrence of the will of a man but in spite of all the efforts that a man may put on his part to prevent it from happening i.e. an accident which is physically unavoidable and can't be prevented by human skill or foresight.

Directions: In this question below is given a passage followed by several inferences. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

Then come the Tehri Dam evacuees. The Forest Department recently decided to acquire about 46 hectares of land in the Patri division of Haridwar district and rehabilitate these 33 families there. Besides, as compensation for uprooting them once more, the department is willing to distribute Rs 26 lakh among them. In addition, the department also plans to acquire 63 hectares from the Raiwallah cantonment, including the army ammunition dump. The lure of the army to move is the 220 hectares of land and the fact that the tab of building a new ammunition dump will be picked up. “These proposals are being pursued by us,” says M. Ahsan, chief conservator of Rajaji National Park.

Mr M Ahsan has introduced a set of forestry reforms in India.