UPSC Editorials Quiz : 6 January 2024

Solution: c)

Certiorari is basically a tool for judicial control and restraint. As mentioned above, it is issued by the Supreme Court or the High Court to quash an order passed by an inferior court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial authority, whenever the authority has acted in excess of its power, or without requisite jurisdiction, or has violated the principles of natural justice. It is corrective in nature and is aimed at preventing overstepping by the judicial authorities.

For the issuance of the writ of certiorari, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

• The existence of an officer or a tribunal having the judicial authority as per the law to decide on the cases affecting the rights of people.
• Such an officer or the tribunal must have acted-
  • in excess of judicial power, or
  • without requisite jurisdiction, or
  • in violation of the principles of natural justice.

Solution: a)

Only Statement 1 is correct.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Retail Direct Scheme. The scheme provides investors an opportunity to invest in government securities in a safe and hassle-free way, in the primary and secondary market. Government securities under this scheme, includes Government of India Treasury Bills (T-Bills), Government of India dated securities (dated G-Sec), State Development Loans (SDLs), Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB). Retail Direct Scheme offers retail investors the opportunity to buy securities directly and free of charges. Individual retailers can open a Gilt Securities Account, called a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account with RBI to participate in the buying and selling of government securities.

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

The World Environment Day, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has been held annually on June 5, since 1973. The date was chosen by the UN General Assembly during the historic 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment – considered to be the first world conference to make the environment a major issue.

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

Suspended from the ceiling of the Central Foyer of India’s new Parliament building, inaugurated on Sunday (May 29), is a Foucault pendulum that all but touches the floor as it rotates on its axis. The pendulum hangs from a skylight at the top of the Constitution Hall, and signifies the “integration of the idea of India with the idea of the cosmos”.

Created by the National Council of Science Museum (NCSM) in Kolkata, the pendulum is being dubbed as the largest such piece in India, 22 metre in height, and weighing a staggering 36 kg.

On the ground, a circular installation has been created to allow the pendulum’s movement, with a short grill around it, allowing the visitors to stand around. At the latitude of the Parliament, it takes 49 hours, 59 minutes, and 18 seconds for the pendulum to complete one rotation, as per the details displayed at the installation.

This Foucault’s Pendulum is not something new … the first one was installed in 1991 at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. 

What is a Foucault’s pendulum?

The original Foucault’s pendulum, named after 19th century French scientist Leon Foucault, is a simple experiment to demonstrate the earth’s rotation.

The experimental set-up involves a heavy object hung from a height with a string, free to swing in any direction. Once set in to-and-fro motion, the pendulum is seen to change its orientation slowly over time. For example, if the initial motion imparted to it was in the north-south direction, after a few hours it could be seen moving in the east-west direction.

Actually, it is not the pendulum that changes its plane of motion, but the ground beneath it. Observers standing on the ground do not notice the earth’s rotation, because they too are rotating with the earth, but can notice the change in orientation of the pendulum.

At the north and south poles, when the pendulum is aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth, the pendulum’s back-and-forth motion comes back to its original plane in exactly 24 hours. That is, if it starts swinging in the north-south direction, it then slowly turns in the northeast-southwest direction, then in the east-west direction. It keeps on changing its orientation, till it is back in its original orientation after 24 hours.

At other latitudes, it takes longer for the pendulum to return to its original orientation of swinging. That is because the pendulum is not aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth. At the equator, the pendulum is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and hence it never changes its orientation of the swing. Meaning, a Foucault’s pendulum at the equator would not show any deviation from its original course. At other latitudes it will, and would return to the original course after fixed time periods.

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

A judgment of the Supreme Court becomes the law of the land, according to the Constitution. However, the Constitution, under Article 137, gives the Supreme Court the power to review any of its judgments or orders. This departure from the Supreme Court’s final authority is entertained under specific, narrow grounds. So, when a review takes place, the law is that it is allowed not to take fresh stock of the case but to correct grave errors that have resulted in the miscarriage of justice.

Who can file a review petition?

It is not necessary that only parties to a case can seek a review of the judgment on it. As per the Civil Procedure Code and the Supreme Court Rules, any person aggrieved by a ruling can seek a review. However, the court does not entertain every review petition filed. It exercises its discretion to allow a review petition only when it shows the grounds for seeking the review.