UPSC Editorials Quiz : 4 March 2024

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).

What is a Zero FIR?

When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR and then transfers it to the relevant police station for further investigation.

This is called a Zero FIR. No regular FIR number is given. After receiving the Zero FIR, the revenant police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.

The provision of Zero FIR came up after the recommendation in the report of the Justice Verma Committee, which was constituted to suggest amendments to the Criminal Law in a bid to provide for faster trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women, according to a 2020 circular released by the Puducherry government. The committee was set up after the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case.

Solution: c)

The Clarion Clipperton Zone, or CCZ, in the eastern Pacific is the most studied area of commercial interest for deep sea mining. Situated at depths between 3,500 and 5,500 metres, this one zone contains more nickel, manganese and cobalt than all terrestrial resources combined.

CCZ falls outside national jurisdictions, and hence is regulated by the ISA.

Solution: c)

One of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) mentions that “in particular, the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.” While DPSPs are not in themselves legally enforceable, they set goals that the state should aspire towards to establish conditions under which citizens can lead a good life. Thus, alcohol is seen by the Constitution and by extension, the Indian state, as an undesirable evil that needs to be regulated.

However, according to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, alcohol is a state subject, i.e. state legislatures have the right and responsibility to draft laws regarding it, including “the production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase and sale of intoxicating liquors.” Thus, laws regarding alcohol differ from state to state, falling in the whole spectrum between prohibition and private sale.

Solution: c)

There are three important elements of an FIR: (1) the information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence, (2) it should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station and, (3) it must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.

Solution: c)

On Jan 8, 2014, a fireball from space blazed through Earth’s atmosphere and crashed into the sea, north of Manus Island off the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea.