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TNPSC Indian judiciary practice questions

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

The judiciary is a compact chapter in the Indian Polity unit of the TNPSC General Studies paper, and the questions are usually about appointments, retirement ages, jurisdiction and writs. Tamil Nadu candidates also meet one local fact, the Madras High Court. The five questions below cover these areas. For the unit as a whole, see the TNPSC Indian Polity guide.

What this topic covers

• The Supreme Court: appointment of judges, retirement age, and its original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction.
• High Courts: appointment, retirement age, power to issue writs under Article 226, and the courts that serve each state.
• Writs: the five kinds and what each does.
• Subordinate courts and alternative forums: district courts, Lok Adalats and similar bodies.

Sample questions

Question 1

Judges of the Supreme Court of India retire at the age of:

• A. 60 years
• B. 62 years
• C. 65 years
• D. 70 years

Question 2

Judges of the Supreme Court are formally appointed by the:

• A. Prime Minister
• B. Parliament
• C. Law Minister
• D. President

Question 3

The writ of habeas corpus is issued to:

• A. quash the order of a lower court
• B. produce a detained person before the court so that the lawfulness of the detention can be examined
• C. direct a public official to perform a public duty
• D. question the right of a person to hold a public office

Question 4

Disputes between the Union and a State, or between two States, are decided by the Supreme Court under its:

• A. original jurisdiction
• B. appellate jurisdiction
• C. advisory jurisdiction
• D. review jurisdiction

Question 5

The Madras High Court was established in:

• A. 1857
• B. 1950
• C. 1862
• D. 1947

Answers and explanations

1. C. Supreme Court judges retire at 65. High Court judges retire at 62, which is a common companion question.
2. D. The President appoints Supreme Court judges. In practice the appointment follows the recommendation of the collegium, which is headed by the Chief Justice of India.
3. B. Habeas corpus literally means "to have the body". Option A describes certiorari, option C describes mandamus, and option D describes quo warranto.
4. A. Article 131 gives the Supreme Court exclusive original jurisdiction over disputes between the Union and states, or among states. Appeals from High Courts fall under appellate jurisdiction.
5. C. The Madras High Court was set up in 1862 by Letters Patent, along with the High Courts at Calcutta and Bombay. It sits in Chennai, and a Bench works at Madurai.

How to prepare the judiciary chapter

Start with the numbers: 65 for Supreme Court judges, 62 for High Court judges, and the Article numbers that matter most (124 for the Supreme Court, 226 for High Court writs, 32 for the Supreme Court's writ power, 131 for original jurisdiction). Put them on one page and read it every morning for a week.

Next, learn the five writs by the question each answers: "who is held?" (habeas corpus), "who must act?" (mandamus), "who must stop?" (prohibition), "which order is quashed?" (certiorari), "by what right?" (quo warranto). The table above gives you the shape, and it also helps you reject wrong options in a statement-type question.

Finally, add the Tamil Nadu angle. The Madras High Court's year of establishment, its seat at Chennai and its Madurai Bench are likelier to be asked than the layout of the Supreme Court building. Combine this with TNPSC constitutional bodies practice to cover the remaining independent institutions, and with TNPSC Preamble and Fundamental Rights practice for Articles 32 and 226 in context.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

When you are ready for more than five questions, take a polity topic test on PrepMatic. A topic test is about 15 questions in 30 minutes, and analytics show your accuracy and speed per question over time. TNPSC aspirants can choose Tamil as the exam language, so questions on Tamil Nadu institutions appear in the language you will write the exam in.

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