UPSC Mains 2020 GS2 Q4 — Comparative Constitution
The judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging in recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices. (Answer in 150 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Highlight
- Scope keywords
- judicial systems in India and UKconvergingdivergingrecent timesjudicial practices
- Implicit sub-parts
- Evolution of Parliamentary Sovereignty vs. Constitutional Supremacy in recent jurisprudence.
- Similarities in common law traditions, judicial review standards, and independence mechanisms.
- Recent departures such as the UK Supreme Court's role post-Brexit vs. India's Basic Structure Doctrine.
- Differences in the appointment processes and the role of the Executive in judicial selection.
- Common pitfalls
- Spending too much time on historical colonial origins instead of focusing on 'recent times'.
- Failing to mention the UK Supreme Court established in 2009, still assuming the House of Lords is the apex body.
- Ignoring the Divergence in 'Constitutional Supremacy' (India) versus 'Parliamentary Sovereignty' (UK).
- Generic descriptions of courts without specific comparison points like PILs or the NJAC/Collegium vs. JAC.
- Dimensions required
- ConstitutionalProceduralComparative PoliticsHistorical LegacyInstitutional
- Marks allocation hint
Spend 20 words on the shared Common Law heritage. Devote 60 words to convergence (Human Rights Act 1998 influence, judicial activism). Use 60 words for divergence (India's strike-down powers vs UK's declaration of incompatibility, appointment systems). Conclude with 10 words on the evolving nature of global constitutionalism.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 150 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →