Error Detection

 1.The rigours of the law and the tribulations of politics/(a) has come together to bedevil /(b)Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. An election-time jibe he had made in 2019 —/(c) ‘how come all of these thieves have Modi in their names?’/ (d)— has been declared by a court in Surat to be defamatory./ (e)

Ans. b. Have

 

2.Mr. Gandhi has been sentencing/(a) to two years in prison,/(b) the maximum sentence for criminal defamation, /(c)and disqualified from his membership in the Lok Sabha(d). Both the conviction and sentence raise legal questions. /e/ Does the remark amount to defaming anyone in particular, or to people with the surname ‘Modi’ as a group?

Ans. a. Sentenced

3.Case law indicates that /(a)the expression ‘collection of persons’ used /(b)in Section 499 of the IPC, /(c)with reference to those who can be defamed, /(d) has to be an identifiable class or group/(e) and that the particular member who initiate criminal proceedings for defamation/ (f)must demonstrate personal harm /(g)or injury by the alleged defamatory statement. (h)

Ans. F. Initiates

 

4.It is difficult to sustain the argument /(a)that all those with the surname, /(b)and not merely the three individuals /(c)including Prime Minister Narendra Modi /who was referred to, / (d)can be aggrieved persons. /( e)Also, it is not clear if the complainant, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, had shown that he was aggrieved/ (f)by the alleged slur either personally or as a member of the ‘Modi’ group./(g)

Ans. d. were

5.The maximum sentence is also troubling. /(a)Statutes prescribe maximum jail terms so that/ (b)trial courts use their discretion to award punishments/(c) in proportion to the gravity of the crime. /(d)It is questionable whether attacking an/ indeterminate set of people with a general remark /(e) will amount to defamation, and even if it did, /(f)whether it is so grave as to warrant the maximum sentence. /(g)

Ans. No Error

 

6.The correctness of the judgment will be decided on appeal, / (a)but the political cost to Mr. Gandhi in the form/ (b)of disqualification from the House and/(c) from electoral contest will /(d)have a lasting impact, unless he obtains /( e) a stay on the conviction rather than /(f)mere suspension of sentence./(g)

Ans. No Error

 

7. In a country that often frets over criminalization of politics, corruption and hate speeches, /(a) it is ironic that criminal defamation /(b)should overwhelm the political career of a prominent leader. /(c) A modern democracy should not/(d) treated defamation as a criminal offence at all. /(e)

Ans. E. Treat

 

8.It is a legacy of an era in which questioning authority/(A) were considered a grave crime. /(B)In contemporary times, criminal defamation mainly acts /(C)as a tool to suppress criticism /(D)of public servants and corporate misdeeds. /(E)

Ans. B. Was

 

9.In 2016, the Supreme Court upheld criminal defamation/(A) without adequate regard to the chilling effect/ (B)it has on free speech, and to that, one must now add, / (C)political opposition and dissent. /(D)Opposition parties expressing dismay/ (E)at the verdict against Mr. Gandhi /(F)should include abolishing criminal defamation in its agenda. /(G)

Ans. G. Their