The one rule that governs everything here
Ornament loses marks. Precision wins them. Examiners reward clarity and economy and penalise decoration. Wordcraft never teaches a word so you can sound impressive. It teaches the word that is exactly right, the pair you must never swap, the verb a noun takes, and the fifteen words you can delete.
Glossary from the edition
13 words, each quoted in the sentence where it appeared in the 30 September 2026 edition. Meaning first, then the sentence, then where it came from.
That cannot be allowed or accepted, especially in court.
हिंदी: अग्राह्य; जिसे (विशेषकर न्यायालय में) साक्ष्य के रूप में स्वीकार न किया जाए
A confession recorded by the police is inadmissible at trial because of the risk of coercion.
From Supreme Court Quashes an NSA Detention in the Sambhal Case: A Police Confession Cannot Justify Preventive Detention · Oxford labels it formal. In evidence law, admissible evidence is what a court may receive; inadmissible evidence it must shut out, however true it may be. Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 makes a confession to a police officer inadmissible against the accused; the Supreme Court held on 29 September that such a confession cannot, on its own, ground a detention order either. Do not confuse it with irrelevant: relevant evidence can still be inadmissible.
The transfer of goods from one means of transport to another; the shipment of goods through an intermediate destination (Wiktionary; not in Oxford Learner’s).
हिंदी: यानांतरण; माल को एक जहाज़ या वाहन से उतारकर दूसरे से आगे भेजना
A transshipment hub here would cut India’s dependence on Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang for container transshipment and add strategic depth in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.
From Great Nicobar Project: Centre Asks the Supreme Court to Halt Forest Rights Hearings in the Calcutta High Court · A transshipment port is a hub where big mainline ships drop containers that smaller feeder ships carry on, and the reverse. The case for Galathea Bay is that India’s containers now change ships in foreign hubs, and India loses the revenue and the control. Wiktionary’s headword has a double s, transshipment; the single-s transhipment is also seen.
Among other senses: quite large, allowing you to win easily (a comfortable majority); having enough money to buy what you want without worrying about the cost.
हिंदी: (भंडार के लिए) पर्याप्त से अधिक; आरामदायक
Stocks are comfortable, but spurious inputs and forced tagging hurt farmers most in a bad year.
From Foodgrain Target Set Lower at 373.93 Million Tonnes: India's Rabi Plan for an El Niño Year · In reports on food, fertiliser or foreign exchange, comfortable means comfortably above what is needed: the Rabi opening stock of fertiliser, 163 lakh tonnes against 122 lakh a year earlier, is comfortable. The same sense gives a comfortable majority and a comfortable lead. Oxford’s first pronunciation is KUMF-tə-bəl, in three syllables.
A region’s air supply; the region supplied by one source of air (Wiktionary; not in Oxford Learner’s). Formed on the model of watershed.
हिंदी: वायु-क्षेत्र; वह भू-भाग जो एक ही वायु-राशि साझा करता है
The airshed is bigger than Delhi.
From Delhi Has a Winter Plan, but Clean Air Needs More Than Bans · Just as a watershed is the land that drains into one river, an airshed is the area whose air moves and mixes as one. Delhi’s winter smog comes from an airshed that spans the Indo-Gangetic Plain, so an airshed approach means managing sources across State borders; that is the logic of the Commission for Air Quality Management’s remit over the NCR and adjoining areas of four States.
(informal) To reveal information about somebody on the internet, usually in order to harm them.
हिंदी: डॉक्सिंग; किसी की निजी जानकारी नुकसान पहुँचाने के इरादे से ऑनलाइन उजागर करना
The state watches in public (cameras); crowds watch and punish online (doxxing); bureaucracy watches through identity checks (rolls).
From Surveillance Is Not the Only Privacy Issue: Cameras, Doxxing and Electoral Rolls as One Chain · Oxford’s headword is dox, labelled informal; the noun doxxing (also doxing) is what newspapers use. Because it is informal, gloss it the first time in a GS answer: publishing a person’s address and personal details online to harass them (doxxing). It is a privacy harm by private actors, which is why the op-ed argues that a privacy law aimed only at the state is half a law.
The act of leaving somebody without help or support; also the act of leaving the armed forces without permission, and of leaving an organization in a way considered disloyal.
हिंदी: परित्याग (पति या पत्नी का); सेना से भाग जाना
The authors want enforceable remedies for desertion (automatic maintenance, injunctions against disposing of assets), a minimum share of property that cannot be willed away (as Muslim law already protects), marital property rights that value unpaid care work, and maintenance for second wives married in good faith, as courts have held.
From Towards a Gender-Just Uniform Civil Code: What Uttarakhand's Code Gets Wrong · Oxford lists the military sense first; family law uses the second. Under Section 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, desertion for a continuous period of at least two years is a ground for divorce. The Majlis column’s point is that a ground for divorce is not a remedy: a deserted woman needs maintenance and protection of assets while the marriage lasts.
Any practice that keeps something alive artificially; in patents, slightly altering a drug to extend patent protection; in finance, repeatedly refinancing the debt of an unprofitable borrower to postpone default (Wiktionary; not in Oxford Learner’s).
हिंदी: एवरग्रीनिंग; मामूली बदलाव से पेटेंट बढ़ाना, या डूबते ऋण को नए ऋण से ढकना
Compliance with TRIPS forced India to revamp its IP laws, while keeping public-interest carve-outs: compulsory licences, checks on evergreening and local working of patents.
From What an Infrastructure of Innovation Depends On: A Responsive Legal System for IP Disputes · In patent law, Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 refuses a patent to a new form of a known substance unless it shows enhanced efficacy, which the Supreme Court upheld in Novartis (2013). In banking, the RBI uses the same word for lending fresh money to a weak borrower so that an old loan never shows as a default. Say which sense you mean.
Relating to a magistrate; also having or showing power or authority, or showing great knowledge or understanding.
हिंदी: मजिस्ट्रेटी (जाँच); अधिकारपूर्ण, विद्वत्तापूर्ण
No need to reopen the case: the government should say whether a magisterial inquiry was held in 2003, and Jogi’s family can claim compensation under the State’s scheme for victims of police violence.
From Muthanga Verdict: Whose Death Counts? An Adivasi Killing the Trial Never Examined · Oxford gives three senses and labels the word formal. A reviewer may praise a magisterial history (masterly, authoritative); a District Magistrate orders a magisterial inquiry into a death in police action or custody, which the criminal procedure law and NHRC guidelines expect. In a GS answer, the second sense is the one you will need.
To decide that something will be used for a particular purpose; as a noun (especially North American), a government instruction to spend funds on a specific project, or a typical feature of something.
हिंदी: किसी खास काम के लिए निर्धारित करना; अलग रखना
Earmarked funding keeps many programmes alive when core budgets are squeezed, especially after cuts by the largest donor.
From The United Nations' Long Road to Restoring Trust: Four Reasons the Organisation Is Losing Faith · The UN op-ed’s complaint is about earmarked or extra-budgetary money: a donor funds only the programmes it chooses, and gains influence over them. In Indian public finance, the same contrast runs between tied and untied grants to local bodies. The noun’s other sense, a typical feature (it has all the earmarks of a scam), is mostly American.
(British English) To wait in a line of people, vehicles, etc. in order to do something or get something.
हिंदी: कतार में प्रतीक्षा करना; (अर्थशास्त्र में) पसंदीदा नौकरी की प्रतीक्षा
Graduate unemployment comes from queuing (waiting for jobs that match qualifications and aspirations) and from an economy that creates too few formal jobs.
From Cash Transfers Alone Cannot Tackle Educated Unemployment: The Rise of State Youth Allowances · Oxford marks the verb British English and gives both queuing and queueing as the -ing form. Queuing for government jobs is one reason India’s graduate unemployment rate, 29.1 per cent in the ILO’s 2024 report, is higher than that of people with less schooling.
To create or prepare something again; to say or express something in a different way.
हिंदी: नए सिरे से बनाना; (खाद्य उद्योग में) उत्पाद का नुस्खा बदलना
Clear warnings help consumers and push reformulation; industry’s resistance follows a pattern seen worldwide, and regulators must not yield to it.
From Food Labels Against Obesity: Front-of-Pack Warnings and the Commercial Determinants of Health · In food policy, reformulation means changing a product’s recipe to cut sugar, salt or fat. A warning label works twice: shoppers avoid the flagged product, and makers reformulate to lose the flag. The -ation noun is fine in a GS answer here because it names a policy outcome; where you can, still prefer the verb: firms reformulated their drinks.
Relating to, or in the form of, particles.
हिंदी: कणीय; कणों के रूप में (प्रदूषक)
Old diesel goods vehicles emit far more particulate matter and nitrogen oxides than BS-VI vehicles.
From CAQM Revises GRAP Before Winter: Fewer Exemptions for Old Vehicles, Sonipat Added to the Curbs · Particulate matter is the air pollutant measured as PM10 and PM2.5: particles 10 and 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. The smaller they are, the deeper into the lungs they go. Oxford gives the last syllable as a weak -lət: par-TIK-yə-lət.
The documentation showing the full process of acquisition, transfer, handling and disposal of physical or electronic materials (Wiktionary, legal and scientific use).
हिंदी: अभिरक्षा-श्रृंखला; किसी वस्तु के हाथ बदलने का पूरा दर्ज अभिलेख
Forest management, trees outside forests and chain of custody of wood and non-timber forest products, audited by certification bodies accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) under the Quality Council of India.
From Current Affairs Today, September 30, 2026, Complete News Roundup · Two fields, one idea: every hand an item passes through is recorded. In criminal law, a broken chain of custody lets the defence ask whether the sample tested in the lab is the one seized. In forest certification such as the new PRAMAAN scheme, a chain-of-custody certificate proves that certified timber stayed separate from uncertified wood from forest to factory, which is what deforestation-free import rules demand.
The seven lessons
One entry of each type, every day: a system, not a word list.
1 · Word roots
iudex · iudicium
Latin: the judge, the one who says what the law is; iudicium, a judgment
Today’s edition is full of courts, and one Latin word runs through them. The innovation column praises the Commercial Courts Act for speeding up adjudication; the Uniform Civil Code column objects to jailing people for an extra-judicial divorce; the Great Nicobar deep dive turns on judicial review; and the NSA piece explains that a detention order must point to conduct prejudicial to the State. All four go back to iudex, a judge, which the Online Etymology Dictionary explains as ius, right or law, joined to the root of dicere, to say.
| Word | Formed from | Literal sense | From the edition, or from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| judicial, judiciary | iudicialis, from iudicium, judgment | of a court or a judge | edition: judicial review; the judiciary |
| adjudicate, adjudication | adiudicare: ad-, to + iudicare | to award as a judge | edition: conventional adjudication |
| extra-judicial | extra, outside + iudicialis | outside the courts | edition: extra-judicial dissolution of marriage |
| prejudice, prejudicial | praeiudicium: prae-, before + iudicium | a judgment made in advance; harm | edition: prejudicial to the defence of India |
| jurisdiction | iuris dictio: of the law + a saying | saying what the law is | edition: a listed jurisdiction |
| judicious | iudiciosus, from iudicium | full of judgment | root |
| sub judice | sub, under + iudice, a judge | under a judge | root |
Prejudicial, the exam use. Oxford gives prejudicial as harming or likely to harm somebody or something. It is the word every preventive detention law turns on: the NSA lets the Government detain a person to prevent him "from acting in any manner prejudicial to" the defence of India, the security of the State or the maintenance of public order, among other interests. It does not mean biased; that is prejudiced.
Judicial or judicious. Judicial is about courts (a judicial order); judicious is about good sense (Oxford: careful and sensible; showing good judgement). A judicious use of idioms is one or two; a judicial use of idioms is nonsense.
The impostor. Judo begins the same way but is Japanese, "the gentle way". It has nothing to do with iudex.
From the NSA deep dive (action prejudicial to defence, foreign relations and the security of India; the judiciary), the IP courts column (adjudication), the UCC column (extra-judicial dissolution) and the Great Nicobar deep dive (judicial review).
2 · Look-alike words
ordinance · ordnance
OR-di-nəns · ORD-nəns
The GRAP deep dive notes that the Commission for Air Quality Management was created first by an ordinance in October 2020, and then by an Act of 2021. Drop one letter and you are in a different ministry: ordnance is guns and military stores. The two were once one word; the Online Etymology Dictionary says ordnance began as a clipped form of ordinance, and the spellings settled into separate meanings by the 17th century.
| ordinance | ordnance | |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | (formal) an order or a rule made by a government or somebody in a position of authority | large guns on wheels; military supplies and materials |
| Its verbs | promulgate, repeal, replace by an Act, lapse | manufacture, store, supply, fire |
| Constitution and State | Article 123 (President) and Article 213 (Governor) let the executive promulgate ordinances when the legislature is not in session | ordnance factories: in 2021 the Ordnance Factory Board was dissolved and its factories corporatised into seven defence public sector companies |
| Edition | CAQM created by an ordinance in October 2020 | root (not in today’s edition) |
The test. Can it be promulgated, repealed or replaced by an Act? It is an ordinance: the extra i is for an instruction. Can it be fired, loaded or stored in a depot? It is ordnance.
Two more look-alikes. Ordination is the ceremony of making somebody a priest, minister or rabbi (Oxford). Ordinary shares the Latin ordo, order, but means normal. Neither belongs in a sentence about law-making.
From the GRAP deep dive: CAQM was created first by an ordinance in October 2020 and then by the CAQM Act, 2021.
3 · Word partners
make · approve · place before · confirm · revoke · quash
what happens to a preventive detention order, in the statute’s and the court’s own words
Today’s NSA deep dive follows one order from the District Magistrate’s desk to the Supreme Court. At each step the law uses a particular verb. An answer that uses them reads like someone who has read the Act; an answer that says the court "cancelled" the order reads like someone who has not.
| Stage | Who acts | Verb and object | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|---|
| The order | Centre, State, or an empowered District Magistrate | make an order directing that a person be detained | NSA, section 3 |
| Approval | State Government | the order must be approved within twelve days, or it lapses | NSA, section 3(4) |
| Grounds | Detaining authority | communicate the grounds; afford the earliest opportunity of making a representation | Article 22(5) |
| Review | Government | place before the Advisory Board the grounds and the representation | NSA, section 10 |
| After the Board reports | Government | confirm the detention order and continue the detention; or revoke the order and release the person forthwith | NSA, section 12 |
| At any time | State or Central Government | revoke or modify the order | NSA, section 14 |
| In court | High Court or Supreme Court | quash, set aside | the Supreme Court’s order of 29 September, as reported |
Revoke or quash. Oxford gives revoke as to officially cancel something so that it is no longer legally acceptable, and quash (law) as to say officially that a decision made by a court is no longer legally acceptable; Indian courts use it for executive orders too. In detention law the division of labour is clear: the Government revokes its own order; a court quashes or sets aside it on a habeas corpus petition.
The person. Indian law calls the person held a detenu; an accused is tried, a detenu is held without trial.
From the NSA deep dive: the District Magistrate’s order of 13 October 2025, the State’s confirmation of 8 November 2025, and the Supreme Court’s order of 29 September 2026.
4 · Today's key term
locus standi
LOH-kəs STAN-dy · a place to stand
The phrase appears twice in today’s edition, in two different worlds. The Centre told the Supreme Court that Meena Gupta, a retired Secretary challenging the Great Nicobar project, has no locus standi; and the Ministry of External Affairs said "no external party has any locus standi" on Jammu and Kashmir. Wiktionary gives it as short for locus standi in iudicio, a standing position in court: the right to appear before a court, and, more loosely, an acknowledged position or status.
| Setting | What locus standi means | Today’s example |
|---|---|---|
| Court | the right to bring a case, because the matter affects you or you may lawfully act for those it affects | the Centre says the petitioner has none; the Calcutta High Court held in May that she has "sufficient interest" |
| Diplomacy | a recognised right to have a say in a matter | India: no external party has any locus standi on J&K, a matter of territorial integrity and sovereignty |
How Indian courts widened it. The traditional rule let only the person whose right was affected go to court. Public interest litigation relaxed it: in S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981), the Supreme Court held that where those affected are too poor or disadvantaged to approach the court, any member of the public acting bona fide may do so. That is the rule the High Court applied to Ms Gupta, and the one the Centre’s appeal now contests.
What the claim means in each case. In court, "no locus standi" is an argument that the case should not be heard at all, before any question of merit. In diplomacy, it is a statement that another country’s opinion on an internal matter carries no weight.
From the Great Nicobar deep dive (the Centre’s objection and the High Court’s order) and the roundup (India’s reply to Turkiye’s UNGA remarks).
5 · Cut the padding
redundant pairs
mutual cooperation, past history, completely eliminate, final outcome
What padding looks like
A redundant pair is two words where one already contains the other. Cooperation is working together, so it is always mutual; history is always past; to eliminate is already to remove completely. Official English loves these pairs because they sound emphatic. A typical line in an answer on today’s Japan story: "The two governments agreed to enhance their mutual cooperation on maritime security."
Why it costs marks
In a 150-word answer, each redundant word takes the place of a fact: a date, a section, a figure. It also tells the examiner that you are writing by habit, not by thought. Two or three pairs in one paragraph make it read like a press release.
Fix it in three steps
- Find the pair: an adjective or adverb stuck to a noun or verb that already means it (mutual cooperation, past history, advance planning, completely eliminate).
- Replace the pair with the stronger word alone.
- Check that the meaning has not changed: if the extra word was doing real work, put it back.
Worked example. Start: "The two governments agreed to enhance their mutual cooperation on maritime security." (12 words). Find: mutual cooperation. Replace: "The two governments agreed to enhance cooperation on maritime security." (10 words). Check: cooperation between two governments is already mutual; nothing is lost.
Before and after
| Padded | Plain | Words saved |
|---|---|---|
| Both countries will work together in joint collaboration. (8) | Both countries will work together. (5) | 3 |
| The past history of the Act shows frequent misuse. (9) | The history of the Act shows frequent misuse. (8) | 1 |
| The reform aims to completely eliminate delays. (7) | The reform aims to eliminate delays. (6) | 1 |
| The final outcome depends on each and every State. (9) | The outcome depends on every State. (6) | 3 |
| These are the true facts of the case. (8) | These are the facts of the case. (7) | 1 |
| Advance planning for future contingencies is essential. (7) | Planning for contingencies is essential. (5) | 2 |
When not to cut
Keep a pair that is a fixed term with its own meaning: a mutual recognition agreement, a joint statement, a past record in a service rule. Keep a statute’s own words when you quote it, even "null and void". And keep the extra word when it contrasts: a final report is different from an interim one, so "the final report of the National Task Force" is not padding.
Try it in your answer
Cut this sentence on today’s GRAP story: "The revised plan completely eliminates the past practice of exempting older goods vehicles carrying essential goods." The model is in the exercises.
From the roundup (Japan and India on the UNICORN agreement) and the GRAP deep dive (the withdrawn exemption for older goods vehicles).
6 · Correct usage
preventive or preventative
two forms, one meaning; the law and the clearest writing use the shorter
Verdict: Correct, but there is a clearer choice
What people write
"The NSA is a preventative detention law." "Preventative healthcare can cut costs." "The Navy’s presence has a preventative effect."
What to write instead
"The NSA is a preventive detention law." "Preventive healthcare can cut costs." "The Navy’s presence has a preventive effect." Today’s deep dive writes it this way throughout: "Preventive detention is the exception."
Why
Both forms are standard. Oxford’s entry is headed preventive, meaning intended to try to stop something that causes problems from happening, and gives preventative as another form of the same word. So preventative is not an error. But the Constitution uses only the shorter form: Article 22(3)(b) speaks of "any law providing for preventive detention", and Entry 9 of the Union List reads "Preventive detention for reasons connected with Defence, Foreign Affairs, or the security of India". When the text you are citing uses one form, use it too; and the shorter form is never wrong.
A quick test
Is there a shorter standard form with the same meaning, and does the law or the report you are citing use it? Then write that one: preventive.
In your answer
"Preventive detention is detention without trial, permitted by Article 22 with safeguards." "India’s disease-control strategy rests on preventive health: vaccination, sanitation and screening."
From the NSA deep dive, which uses preventive detention throughout, and its table on Article 22 and the Seventh Schedule.
7 · Idioms in answers
the endgame
the final stage of a political process or contest
The Indian Express titles its editorial on West Asia "US, Iran and the missing endgame", and our write-up’s takeaway reads: "Endgame: both must give up some leverage." The editorial’s word for where things stand now is another chess term: "they risk remaining locked in a prolonged stalemate."
The family
| Expression | What it means | Plain equivalent | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| the endgame | the final stage of a political process or contest between people (Oxford); in chess, the final stage of a game | the final stage, how it ends | neutral; common in analysis |
| a stalemate | a disagreement or a situation in which neither side is able to win or make any progress (Oxford) | an impasse, a deadlock | neutral |
| checkmate | to defeat somebody completely (Oxford); in chess, to trap the opponent’s king | complete defeat | figurative; use sparingly |
| an exit strategy | a plan for getting safely out of a situation that may become difficult or unpleasant (Oxford) | a plan to withdraw | neutral; a policy term |
Where to use it
| Setting | Use it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| GS answer, introduction | No | Open with the fact: who is fighting whom, and what has happened to oil flows. |
| GS answer, body | With care | Stalemate is a plain enough word to use once, after the facts that show it. |
| GS answer, conclusion | With care | "Without an agreed endgame, the stalemate will persist" can close an answer if the body has shown both sides' leverage. |
| Essay | Yes | One or two in the essay; the chess image can frame a section on diplomacy if the next sentence explains it. |
| Ethics case study | No | State the action and its justification plainly. |
| Interview | Yes | Spoken register: one natural use is fine; never a string of chess metaphors. |
| Précis and the compulsory English paper | No | None in a précis; in that paper’s essay, as for any essay. |
Model sentences
"Flows through Hormuz are back near 80 per cent of pre-war levels while US sanctions deepen, so the talks have reached a stalemate with no agreed endgame." The same point in plain words for a GS answer: "With oil flows recovering and sanctions deepening, neither side can force a result, and neither has a plan for how the conflict ends."
Don’t confuse
Stalemate and checkmate are opposites: a stalemate ends without a winner, a checkmate is a win (Oxford marks the two for comparison). An end goal is an objective, what you want at the end; an endgame is the stage when it ends. And an exit strategy is one side’s plan to leave, not an agreed end.
From the US-Iran editorial: US, Iran and the missing endgame; locked in a prolonged stalemate.
Worksheet
Every exercise from the session, on paper. Answers are folded under each one; the online session marks them for you and keeps your score.
Word roots · iudex, iudicis (judge): ius, law + dicere, to say
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
A detention order may be made to prevent a person from acting in any manner ___ to the security of the State.
- adjudicated
- prejudicial
- judicious
- prejudiced
Answer
prejudicial. Prejudicial means harmful or likely to harm (Oxford), the statute’s word. Prejudiced means biased, judicious means sensible, and adjudicated means decided by a judge.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was meant to speed up the ___ of commercial disputes.
- judiciary
- adjudication
- prejudice
- jurisdiction
Answer
adjudication. Adjudication is the act of deciding a dispute. Jurisdiction is a court’s authority or reach, the judiciary is the body of judges, and prejudice is bias or harm.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that says the wrong thing.
The Minister made a judicial choice of words to calm the House.
Answer
judicial → judicious. A careful, sensible choice is judicious (Oxford: showing good judgement). Judicial means relating to a court or a judge.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its sense.
- extra-judicial
- adjudicate
- judiciary
- sub judice
- the judges of a country, taken as a group
- make an official decision on who is right in a dispute
- still before a court, so not to be discussed in the press
- happening outside the normal power of the law
Answer
- extra-judicial: happening outside the normal power of the law
- adjudicate: make an official decision on who is right in a dispute
- judiciary: the judges of a country, taken as a group
- sub judice: still before a court, so not to be discussed in the press
Oxford’s senses for four members of the family.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
The Uniform Civil Code column objects to criminalising the ___ dissolution of a marriage, that is, a divorce outside the courts.
- sub judice
- quasi-judicial
- extra-judicial
- prejudicial
Answer
extra-judicial. Extra-judicial means outside the courts; the Uttarakhand code punishes dissolving a marriage that way. Quasi-judicial describes bodies that act partly like courts, prejudicial means harmful, and sub judice means still before a court.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which of these words does NOT come from Latin iudex?
- prejudice
- adjudicate
- judo
- judiciary
Answer
judo. Judo is Japanese, the gentle way. The other three come from iudex or iudicium.
-
Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Jurisdiction comes from iuris dictio. What does that literally suggest?
- choosing the judges of a court
- judging a case in advance
- saying what the law is
- the building where a court sits
Answer
saying what the law is. Iuris, of the law, + dictio, a saying (Online Etymology Dictionary): the power to declare the law, hence a court’s reach.
Look-alike words · ordinance / ordnance
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Under Article 123, the President may promulgate an ___ when both Houses of Parliament are not in session.
- ordinance
- ordination
- ordnance
- ordinary
Answer
ordinance. An ordinance is a rule made by an authority; Article 123 lets the President promulgate one. Ordnance is military supplies, ordination is making someone a priest, and ordinary means normal.
-
Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
In 2021 the ___ factories were corporatised into seven defence public sector companies.
- ordination
- ordinary
- ordinance
- ordnance
Answer
ordnance. The factories make guns, ammunition and military stores: ordnance.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the misspelt word.
The Governor promulgated an ordnance to amend the land law.
Answer
ordnance → ordinance. A Governor promulgates an ordinance under Article 213; ordnance is military supplies.
-
Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each word to its meaning.
- ordinance
- ordnance
- ordination
- promulgate
- large guns and military supplies
- announce a new law officially
- the ceremony of making somebody a priest
- a rule made by a government or authority
Answer
- ordinance: a rule made by a government or authority
- ordnance: large guns and military supplies
- ordination: the ceremony of making somebody a priest
- promulgate: announce a new law officially
Oxford’s senses for four words that sound alike or travel together.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
CAQM was created first by an ordinance and then by an Act. What does that sequence tell you?
- The Supreme Court created it and Parliament confirmed it
- It was a permanent law from the day it was made
- The Commission was set up by an order of the Army
- The executive made the law first; Parliament then enacted it
Answer
The executive made the law first; Parliament then enacted it. An ordinance is a temporary law made by the executive under Article 123 when Parliament is not sitting; the CAQM Act, 2021 replaced it.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which quick test separates the two words most reliably?
- If it is spelt the British way, it is ordnance
- If it concerns the armed forces, it is an ordinance
- If it is issued by a State, it is an ordnance
- If it can be promulgated, it is an ordinance
Answer
If it can be promulgated, it is an ordinance. Ordinances are promulgated, repealed or replaced by Acts; ordnance is fired or stored, which is why anything about the armed forces' stores is ordnance. Spelling region and source do not decide it.
Word partners · the verbs of a detention order: make, approve, place before, confirm, revoke, quash
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
If the Advisory Board reports sufficient cause, the Government may ___ the detention order and continue the detention.
- promulgate
- ratify
- confirm
- quash
Answer
confirm. Section 12(1): the appropriate Government may confirm the detention order. Courts quash; ordinances are promulgated; treaties are ratified.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
If the Board finds no sufficient cause, the Government shall ___ the order and release the person forthwith.
- confirm
- approve
- place
- revoke
Answer
revoke. Section 12(2): revoke the detention order and cause the person to be released forthwith.
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Put in order Number the lines 1 upward in the correct order.
Arrange the stages of an NSA detention in the order the law sets them.
- the grounds are communicated to the person
- the Board reports, and the Government confirms or revokes the order
- the grounds are placed before the Advisory Board
- an order is made directing that the person be detained
Answer
- an order is made directing that the person be detained
- the grounds are communicated to the person
- the grounds are placed before the Advisory Board
- the Board reports, and the Government confirms or revokes the order
Grounds within five (at most ten) days; the Advisory Board reference within three weeks; the Board’s report within seven weeks; then section 12.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What did the Supreme Court do to the Sambhal detention order on 29 September?
- set it aside, quashing the detention
- confirmed it for twelve months
- placed it before the Advisory Board
- approved it under section 3(4)
Answer
set it aside, quashing the detention. The Bench set aside the order and imposed Rs 10 lakh costs on the State. Confirming, approving and referring are the executive’s verbs.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each section to its verb.
- Section 3
- Section 3(4)
- Section 10
- Section 14
- approve the order within twelve days
- make an order directing detention
- place the grounds before the Advisory Board
- revoke or modify the order at any time
Answer
- Section 3: make an order directing detention
- Section 3(4): approve the order within twelve days
- Section 10: place the grounds before the Advisory Board
- Section 14: revoke or modify the order at any time
Each verb is the statute’s own.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which verb does section 3(4) use for the State Government’s part when a District Magistrate makes the order?
- approved
- assented
- adopted
- ratified
Answer
approved. The order lapses after twelve days unless it has been approved by the State Government. Assent is for Bills, ratification for treaties, adoption for resolutions.
Today's key term · locus standi
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does locus standi mean in law?
- the place where a court holds its sittings
- a case still pending before a court
- the right to appear and be heard in a court
- an order passed by a court on its own
Answer
the right to appear and be heard in a court. Wiktionary: a right to appear in a court of law, legal standing. A pending case is sub judice; a court acting on its own acts suo motu.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
India says no external party has any ___ on Jammu and Kashmir.
- stare decisis
- sub judice
- locus standi
- suo motu
Answer
locus standi. Locus standi is the right to a say. Sub judice means still before a court, suo motu on a court’s own motion, and stare decisis the rule of following precedent.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What did S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981) do to the rule of locus standi?
- barred retired civil servants from filing public interest petitions
- allowed only the Attorney General to file cases in the public interest
- limited petitions to persons whose own legal rights were directly affected
- let public-spirited persons act for those unable to approach the court
Answer
let public-spirited persons act for those unable to approach the court. The public interest litigation cases relaxed standing so that any bona fide member of the public could act for the poor or disadvantaged.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each phrase to its meaning.
- locus standi
- sub judice
- suo motu
- bona fide
- on the court’s own motion
- still before a court
- in good faith
- the right to be heard in court
Answer
- locus standi: the right to be heard in court
- sub judice: still before a court
- suo motu: on the court’s own motion
- bona fide: in good faith
Four Latin phrases common in Indian legal writing.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the phrase that is wrongly formed.
The Centre argues that the petitioner has no locus standing to challenge the project.
Answer
locus standing → locus standi. The Latin phrase is locus standi; standi is a form of stare, to stand. In English you may write legal standing instead, but not a mix of the two.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Why did the Calcutta High Court let Meena Gupta’s petitions go ahead?
- She had sufficient interest and spoke for a vulnerable tribal community
- The Centre had conceded in the High Court that she had standing to sue
- The project’s high cost put it beyond the scope of judicial review
- She lived on Great Nicobar Island and owned land in the project area
Answer
She had sufficient interest and spoke for a vulnerable tribal community. The court found sufficient interest and noted she was espousing the cause of a vulnerable tribal community; it also said a costly project is not beyond judicial review.
Cut the padding · redundant pairs: mutual cooperation, past history, completely eliminate
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Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the redundant pairs in eleven words or fewer.
India and Japan agreed to further strengthen their mutual cooperation and joint collaboration on naval radars.
Word limit 11
Model
India and Japan agreed to further strengthen cooperation on naval radars. Mutual cooperation and joint collaboration say the same thing twice. Further stays, because it says the cooperation already exists.
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Say it shorter Rewrite the sentence below within the word limit.
Cut the padding in thirteen words or fewer.
The revised plan completely eliminates the past practice of exempting older goods vehicles carrying essential goods.
Word limit 13
Model
The revised plan ends the exemption for older goods vehicles carrying essential goods. Completely eliminates the past practice of exempting is one idea: it ends the exemption. Every fact (which plan, which vehicles, which goods) stays.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which of these should be kept, because it is a term with its own meaning?
- the true facts of the case
- the past history of the scheme
- a mutual recognition agreement
- to completely eliminate delays
Answer
a mutual recognition agreement. A mutual recognition agreement is a fixed trade term. The other three are redundant pairs.
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Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the redundant phrase.
The committee reached a final conclusion after hearing all the States.
Answer
final conclusion → conclusion. A conclusion is already the end of a discussion; final adds nothing. Keep final only where it contrasts, as in a final report after an interim one.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each padded phrase to its plain form.
- past history
- completely eliminate
- advance planning
- true facts
- eliminate
- facts
- history
- planning
Answer
- past history: history
- completely eliminate: eliminate
- advance planning: planning
- true facts: facts
In each pair the second word already carries the first.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
When should the extra word in a pair stay?
- When the pair appears in a newspaper headline
- When the sentence is about an international treaty
- When it draws a real contrast, as final against interim
- When the answer is still under its word limit
Answer
When it draws a real contrast, as final against interim. A word earns its place by changing the meaning. Room under the limit, the topic or a headline does not make it necessary.
Correct usage · preventive or preventative
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which form do Article 22 and the Union List use?
- prevention detention
- preventative detention
- prevented detention
- preventive detention
Answer
preventive detention. Article 22(3)(b) and List I Entry 9 both say preventive detention.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does Oxford Learner’s say about preventative?
- it is an error in every standard variety of English
- it is another form of preventive, with the same meaning
- it means a punishment imposed after a trial and conviction
- it is used only in American English, never in British
Answer
it is another form of preventive, with the same meaning. Oxford heads the entry preventive and lists preventative as another form. It is not an error, and it is not limited to American English.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
In a GS answer on the National Security Act, which is the clearer choice?
- either, mixed in the same answer
- precautionary detention
- preventive detention
- preventative detention
Answer
preventive detention. Both forms are correct, but the Constitution’s own term is preventive detention; matching the source is clearest, and mixing forms looks careless. Precautionary detention is not the legal term.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each term to its meaning.
- preventive detention
- punitive detention
- preventive medicine
- preventive diplomacy
- stopping disease before it starts
- held as punishment after conviction
- held without trial to stop a feared act
- action to stop disputes turning into conflict
Answer
- preventive detention: held without trial to stop a feared act
- punitive detention: held as punishment after conviction
- preventive medicine: stopping disease before it starts
- preventive diplomacy: action to stop disputes turning into conflict
In each, preventive means intended to stop something from happening.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
Article 22 allows ___ detention, subject to review by an Advisory Board.
- protective
- precautionary
- punitive
- preventive
Answer
preventive. Preventive detention is the Constitution’s term (Article 22(3)(b)). Punitive detention follows a conviction; protective and precautionary detention are not the legal terms.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which is the best quick test for this pair?
- Use the longer form in formal writing
- Use the shorter standard form that your source uses
- Use whichever sounds more emphatic
- Use preventative for health and preventive for law
Answer
Use the shorter standard form that your source uses. Both are correct; the shorter form is the Constitution’s and is never wrong. There is no rule splitting them by subject.
Idioms in answers · the endgame
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does 'the endgame' mean in a political analysis?
- the goal that one side hopes to reach at the end
- the final stage of a process or contest
- a plan by one side to withdraw from a conflict
- a complete and final defeat of one side
Answer
the final stage of a process or contest. Oxford: the final stage of a political process or contest. An end goal is an aim, an exit strategy a plan to leave, and checkmate a complete defeat.
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Fill the blank Circle the letter that completes the sentence.
With neither side able to win or make progress, the talks reached a ___.
- checkmate
- springboard
- safety net
- stalemate
Answer
stalemate. A stalemate is a situation where neither side can win or make progress (Oxford). Checkmate is a win; the other two do not fit.
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Match the pairs Write the letter from the right against each number on the left.
Match each expression to its meaning.
- the endgame
- a stalemate
- checkmate
- an exit strategy
- neither side can win or make progress
- the final stage of a contest
- defeat somebody completely
- a plan to get safely out of a situation
Answer
- the endgame: the final stage of a contest
- a stalemate: neither side can win or make progress
- checkmate: defeat somebody completely
- an exit strategy: a plan to get safely out of a situation
Oxford’s senses for the day’s family.
-
Find the error Circle it in the sentence below, then write the correction.
Find the word that breaks the meaning.
After months of talks, both sides were in checkmate, unable to move.
Answer
checkmate, → stalemate,. When neither side can move or win, it is a stalemate. Checkmate means one side has won.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
Which placement follows the house style for a GS answer?
- In the first sentence, to catch attention
- In every paragraph, to link the argument
- Twice, in the introduction and the conclusion
- Once, after the facts on oil flows and sanctions
Answer
Once, after the facts on oil flows and sanctions. At most one idiom in a GS answer, never in the first sentence, and only after the fact it sums up.
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Choose one Circle the letter of the correct option.
What does the headline 'the missing endgame' suggest about the US-Iran conflict?
- both sides have agreed on a ceasefire
- no one has a workable plan for how it ends
- one side has already won the war
- the fighting has not yet begun
Answer
no one has a workable plan for how it ends. A missing endgame means there is no agreed or visible way to the final stage; the editorial says both sides must give up some leverage to reach one.
Reading in the CSAT shape
A passage quoted from The Ghosts of 1945: How Memory of the Second World War Is Being Used in Today's Contest Over Asia, then inference questions on it.
Trump invokes wartime partnerships with Russia and China, which critics see as cover for leader-level outreach that unsettles US allies. Putin uses it to claim a Yalta-style role in Europe; Xi, to challenge the San Francisco System in Asia.
The US-China alliance of the war is a fact that needs qualification: the ally was the ROC. Taipei accuses Beijing of "narrative diplomacy" to erase Taiwan's historical identity.
Under Mao, the war was awkward, since Nationalist armies fought much of it. From the 1980s it became a story of Japanese aggression and the "century of humiliation"; under Xi, China presents itself as a victor and UN founder.
India contributed hugely but got little recognition in the post-war order, a "historical injustice" in Jaishankar's words.
These divisions made it hard to fold the soldiers' sacrifice into a national story.
Which of the following can be most validly inferred from the passage?
- India was formally recognised as one of the victors in the post-war order
- Taiwan has accepted the US-China account of the Second World War
- China’s account of the war has changed over time to suit its needs
- China fought the war mainly through the Communist armies under Mao
Answer
China’s account of the war has changed over time to suit its needs. The passage traces China’s story from awkward (under Mao) to victim (from the 1980s) to victor (under Xi). The second contradicts the passage, which says Nationalist armies fought much of it; the third reverses Taipei’s objection; the fourth contradicts the point about little recognition.
The passage’s argument rests on which assumption?
- How a country tells its past can strengthen its claims in the present
- Military sacrifice in a war is always rewarded with international recognition
- Every country remembers the Second World War in much the same way
- Historical facts about the war cannot be disputed by any government
Answer
How a country tells its past can strengthen its claims in the present. The passage treats invocations of 1945 as tools for present claims (a Yalta-style role, a challenge to alliances, a place at the top). The second is contradicted by the disputes it describes; the third and fourth are extreme and contradicted by India’s case.
Which of the following best captures the crux of the passage?
- Powers use the memory of 1945 for today’s aims, and India has not used its own
- The United States and China were never allies in the Second World War
- India’s national movement fully supported the war effort
- Japan remains the main threat to peace in Asia
Answer
Powers use the memory of 1945 for today’s aims, and India has not used its own. The excerpts move from the US, Russia and China using wartime memory to India’s failure to claim its contribution. The second is contradicted (the ally was the ROC), the third is Beijing’s narrative, not the author’s view, and the fourth reverses the point about divisions.
Which course of action is most consistent with the passage?
- India should give its soldiers' wartime role a place in its diplomacy
- India should adopt China’s account of the Second World War
- India should seek to revive the Yalta System in Asia
- India should avoid all references to history in foreign policy
Answer
India should give its soldiers' wartime role a place in its diplomacy. If others gain from their story of 1945 and India’s sacrifice lacks a national story, the implication is to claim it. Adopting China’s account, avoiding history and reviving Yalta run against the passage.
What is the main message of the passage?
- The Second World War has no bearing on the politics of Asia today
- India’s divisions during the war were justified by its circumstances
- History is being used in today’s rivalries, and India is absent
- Taiwan’s claims about its role in the war are exaggerated
Answer
History is being used in today’s rivalries, and India is absent. The passage’s theme is the political use of wartime memory and India’s missing voice. The second contradicts it; the third and fourth are judgements the passage does not make.
Writing task · Should preventive detention need a judge's approval?
In no more than 100 words, say whether a court, and not only an Advisory Board, should approve every preventive detention order, using the Sambhal ruling. Use the statute’s verbs for what happens to an order, and no redundant pairs such as mutual cooperation, past history or completely eliminate.
Companion to Vocab Builder (what a word scores in a GS answer) and Key Terms. Wordcraft is the language itself.
