simCLAT - 9 (2020)

(As per New CLAT Pattern)

Duration : 120 Minutes Max. Marks : 150

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. There are 150 multiple choice objective type questions.

2. Each question carries ONE mark.
3. For every wrong answer, 0.25 marks will be deducted.
4. Candidates have to indicate the correct answer by darkening one of the four responses provided, with
HB PENCIL in the OMR Answer Sheet.
The candidate should darken the corresponding circle as indicated below:
Example: For the question, “Where is the Taj Mahal located?”.
(a) Kolkata (b) Agra (c) Bhopal (d) Delhi

Right Method Wrong Methods
_________________ ________________________________________________________

a c d a b c d a c d a c d
ü
b b

5. More than one response to a question shall be counted as wrong answer

6. The candidates shall not write anything on the OMR Answer Sheet other than the details required
in the spaces provided for
7. Electronic gadgets like mobile phones, pagers or calculators etc. are strictly not permitted inside the
Test Centre/Hall.
8. The candidates shall not leave the hall before the Test is over.

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 BREAK-UP OF MARKS

Section Subject Marks Q.Nos. Page No.

Section I English Language 30 1-30 3

Section II Logical Reasoning 30 31-60 8

Section III Quantitative Techniques 15 61-75 14

Current Affairs, including

Section IV 37 76-112 16
General Knowledge

Section V Legal Reasoning 38 113-150 21

Total Marks 150 150

 SimCLAT - 9
SECTION - I
(English & Reading Comprehension)
Directions for questions 1 to 5: The questions in this
section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie (1890–1976), the
‘Queen of Crime’, holds the Guinness World Record as
most successful novelist of all time. She has been outsold
only by the Bible and by Shakespeare (and is more widely
translated than the latter); Christie is also the author of the
world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap, and created
not one but two of the best-known fictional detectives,
Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Praise, prizes and awards
have been heaped on Christie for her work, and her books
and plays are still loved by millions.
Many have attempted to divine the secret of her success.
Christie always considered herself a ‘popular’ writer, and
acknowledged that she did not produce great works of
literature or deep insights into the human condition. Nor did
she revel in gore, or try to shock her readers with gratuitous
violence. Christie created many corpses in the pages of
her books, but the reactions they produce are most likely
to be curiosity and a smile at the prospect of clues, red
herrings and brilliant deductions. She was a teller of tales,
an entertainer, and a poser of seemingly insoluble puzzles.
Christie’s detective stories repeatedly demonstrate that she
was a master of misdirection. She presented clues fairly
and in plain sight, often drawing attention to them, but safe
in the knowledge that most readers would form their own,
wrong, conclusions. When the murderer is finally revealed
readers are generally left kicking themselves that they
didn’t spot the obvious, or they cry foul and go back to the
beginning, only to discover the clues were there all along.
Christie took advantage of her detailed knowledge of
dangerous drugs to help develop her plots. She used
poisons in the majority of her books, far more than any of
her contemporaries, and with a high degree of accuracy,
but she did not expect the reader to have detailed medical
expertise. The symptoms and availability of drugs are
succinctly described in everyday language, and somebody
with a degree in toxicology or medicine has no real
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advantage over any other reader. An understanding of the
science behind the poisons Christie used only gives a better
appreciation of her cleverness and creativity in plotting.
1. What can be inferred about the author’s opinion of
Agatha Christie, based on this passage?
a) She admires Christie’s writing and considers her
popularity well-deserved.
b) She is a huge fan of Christie’s books and wishes
that they were more popular.
c) She is moderately fond of Christie’s books, but
does not consider them great works of literature.
d) She dismisses Christie as a ‘popular’ rather than
‘literary’ writer, and considers her over-hyped.
2. What was Agatha Christie’s method of presenting
clues?
a) She kept clues well-hidden in her books, so that
readers would be unlikely to come across them
during their first read.
b) She presented clues fairly and in plain sight,
knowing that her readers would draw their own,
wrong, conclusions.
c) She presented clues erratically, sometimes
giving away the whole mystery at the beginning,
while at other times, leaving the readers in the
dark till the last moment.
d) She did not present any clues in her books.
3. What does the word ‘gratuitous’ as used in the
passage mean?
a) Free of charge
b) Horrifying
c) Complimentary
d) Unnecessary
4. Which of the following is true about Christie’s use
of poisons in her books?
a) She used them often and accurately, but did not
expect her readers to have any prior knowledge
of their workings.
b) She used them with such a degree of accuracy,
that a reader with expertise in toxicology or
3
 medicine would have an advantage over other
readers.
c) She used them rarely, and when she did, readers
would need a degree in medicine in order to
understand how they worked.
d) She used them in only a few of her books, but
when she did, she explained their workings in
everyday, non-medical language.
5. According to the passage, Agatha Christie is the
most successful novelist of all time, but her books
have been outsold by the Bible and by Shakespeare.
Which of the following, if true, resolves this
apparent contradiction?
a) Agatha Christie has written more books than
Shakespeare.
b) The Bible and Shakespeare’s works are not
considered novels.
c) Agatha Christie’s books currently sell more
copies than the Bible and Shakespeare’s works.
d) Agatha Christie’s books have been translated
into more languages than the Bible and
Shakespeare’s works.
Directions for questions 6 to 10: The questions in this
section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question.
The heart is the most misperceived of our organs. For a
start, it looks nothing like the traditional symbol associated
with Valentine’s Day and lovers’ initials carved into tree
trunks and the like. (That symbol first appeared, as if from
out of nowhere, in paintings from northern Italy in the
early fourteenth century, but no one knows what inspired
it.) Nor is the heart where we place our right hand during
patriotic moments; it is more centrally located in the chest
than that. Most curious of all, perhaps, is that we make it
the emotional seat of our being, as when we declare that
we love someone with all our heart or profess a broken
heart when they abandon us. Don’t misunderstand me. The
heart is a wondrous organ and fully deserving of our praise
and gratitude, but it is not invested even slightly in our
emotional well-being.
That’s a good thing. The heart has no time for distractions.
It is the most single-minded thing within you. It has just one
job to do, and it does it supremely well: it beats. Slightly
more than once every second, about 100,000 times a day,
as many as 3.5 billion times in a lifetime, it rhythmically
4 SimCLAT 2020
pulses to push blood through your body – and these aren’t
gentle thrusts. They are jolts powerful enough to send blood
spurting up to three metres if the aorta is severed.
With such an unrelenting work rate, it is a miracle that
most hearts last as long as they do. Every hour your heart
dispenses around 265 litres of blood. That’s 6,360 litres
in a day – more litres pushed through you in a day than
you are likely to put in your car in a year. The heart must
pump with enough force not merely to send blood to your
outermost extremities but to help bring it all the way back
again. If you are standing, your heart is roughly four feet
above your feet, so there’s a lot of gravity to overcome
on the return trip. Imagine squeezing a pump the size of a
grapefruit with enough force to move a fluid four feet up a
tube. Now do that again once every second or so, around
the clock, unceasingly, for decades, and see if you don’t feel
a bit tired. It has been calculated (and goodness knows how,
it must be said) that during the course of a lifetime the heart
does an amount of work sufficient to lift a one-ton object
240 kilometres into the air.
It is a truly remarkable implement. It just doesn’t care about
your love life.
6. Which of the following most accurately summarizes
this passage?
a) It is pointless to attribute emotional significance
to the heart – it is merely a mechanical implement
that pumps blood.
b) The heart is a remarkable organ, but all it does
is pump blood – it does not care about people’s
emotions.
c) While there are a number of misconceptions
regarding the heart, it is a remarkable organ that
works hard constantly.
d) There are a number of misconceptions regarding
what the heart looks like, where it is located and
how it works.
7. Why, according to the author, is it a good thing
that the heart is not invested in our emotional well-
being?
a) It does not care about our love life.
b) It is a pump for blood, not the seat of our
emotions.
c) It cannot afford to be distracted from its constant
job.
d) It is not particularly good even at its official job
of pumping blood.
8. What is the origin of the traditional symbol for the
heart?
a) Its origin is completely unknown.
b) Its origin is tied to a mistaken belief about its
location in the chest.
c) Its origin is tied to the celebration of Valentine’s
Day.
d) It first appeared in paintings from northern Italy
in the early fourteenth century, beyond which its
origin is unknown.
9. What does the word ‘spurting’ as used in the passage
mean?
a) Gushing out in a sudden and forceful stream
b) Running at full speed over a short distance
c) Moving hurriedly with short quick steps
d) Sprinkling with tiny drops of liquid
10. Which of the following is not true about the work
the heart does?
a) It beats as much as 3.5 billion times in a lifetime.
b) It can pull blood around 4 feet against the pull of
gravity.
c) It pumps 6,360 litres of blood around the body
in a year.
d) The amount of work it does is enough to lift a
one-ton object 240 kilometres into the air.
Directions for questions 11 to 15: In each of the questions
given below, some sentences are labelled with a letter.
From the given choices, choose the most logical order of
sentences that constructs a coherent paragraph.
11. and even my use of it here is prefaced with this
A. Every colour is treated in the same way, no
exceptions.
B. Silver is interesting because it isn’t really a
colour.
C. All light waves can be reflected, and almost all
materials reflect some light.
D. It’s just our word for something that acts as a
trampoline for light, bouncing it back out into
the world.
E. What’s special about silver is that it sends
everything back indiscriminately.
SimCLAT 2020
a) BEACD
b) CEADB
c) BDCEA
d) CAEBD
12.
A. Wild potatoes have very long runners, which
allow those new plants to propagate a good
distance away from the parent; and they have
small tubers.
B. It’s an abject disadvantage for a wild plant, but a
boon for one that’s teamed up with humans.
C. Domestication has trimmed the runners much
shorter, and promoted larger tubers.
D. The most impressive difference between wild
and domestic potatoes is in the size of the
tubers and the length of the runners – the thin,
horizontal stems that are sent out to sprout new
plants.
E. Both these features make the potato plant less fit
in the wild, but much easier to harvest.
a) AEBCD
b) ACBDE
c) DBAEC
d) DACEB
13.
A. It appears to have been superseded by that
of ‘celebrity’, which seems correspondingly
impossible to avoid.
B. A visitor from Mars might be forgiven for
assuming that the most famous people on Earth
are also extraordinarily gifted.
C. ‘Genius’ is a concept that now seems rather old-
fashioned; it has dropped out of usage somewhat,
note of apology.
D. But we know better; we know that celebrity is
no such guarantee of great ability, but is rather
a product of our media-saturated society, our
thirst for new heroes and that of the market for
new brands.
E. But is there any relation between the two?
a) BEACD
b) CAEBD
c) CBEDA
d) BECDA
5
14. Germany, ___(17)___ to brush up on my vocabulary by
A. Let’s remember that pesticides were born out of reading a German translation of one of my favourite books.
necessity. I kept trying to maintain the fiction that the only significant
difference between German and English is that German has
B. Thousands of years ago, the Sumerians learned der, die, das, and a number of endings, while all English
to dust crops with elemental sulphur and the has is little old the and just a few endings. But it just isn’t
ancient Romans discovered that burning coal tar true. Beyond endings, German grammar is ‘busier’ than
drove insects from orchards. ___(18)___. You have to watch out for more things, ___
C. Producing enough food to feed the growing (19)___ more hairs. And that’s also true of the Scandinavian
population was their prime goal. languages, regardless ___(20)___ their scanty little old
D. The cultivation of crops has always featured verb conjugations. It’s true of any Germanic language, from
a relentless battle against pests, a battle that Proto-Germanic on down over these past three thousand
required farmers to take up chemical arms. years. Except English.
E. Later, when the toxicity of lead and arsenic
compounds became apparent, farmers began to 16.
apply the likes of lead arsenate to their crops, a) go
without much concern for effects on human
health. b) goes
a) ADBEC c) gone
b) BECDA d) went
c) DBACE
17.
d) DEBAC
a) try
15. b) being tried
A. The electron-deprived ‘snatchee’ is then said to c) trying
have been oxidized.
d) was trying
B. Witness the rusting of iron – a pure example of
what oxidation can do, even to metals.
18.
C. To a chemist, oxidation is any reaction in which
a) English
an electron is snatched away from an atom or
molecule. b) English’s
D. But oxidation is a more general chemical c) English is
process than the simple reaction of a substance d) of English
with oxygen.
E. ‘Oxidation’ most commonly refers to the 19.
reaction of a substance with oxygen in the air,
a) spoil
and it can be quite a destructive process.
b) spill
a) CEABD
c) spilt
b) DCABE
d) split
c) CABDE
d) EBDCA
20.
Directions for questions 16 to 20: Fill in the numbered a) with
blanks in the passage given below with the correct word
b) of
from the options given for each blank.
c) to
There is a great deal more about English that is curiously d) (no preposition required)
‘easy’ as Germanic languages ___(16)___. This occurred
to me several years ago when I was spending a month in

6 SimCLAT 2020
Directions for questions 21 to 25: The questions in this
section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question.
Chinese firms have achieved the highest levels of
manufacturing efficiency in the world steel industry. Some
observers of China have assumed that Chinese firms use
the same manufacturing equipment and techniques as
United States firms but have benefited from the unique
characteristics of Chinese employees and the Chinese
culture. However, if this were true, then one would expect
Chinese steel plants in the United States to perform no
better than factories run by United States companies. This is
not the case; Chinese-run steel plants located in the United
States and staffed by local workers have demonstrated
higher levels of productivity when compared with factories
owned by United States companies.
Economists generally attribute much of China’s rapid
economic growth to two main factors: large-scale capital
investment (financed by large domestic savings and foreign
investment) and rapid productivity growth. These two
factors appear to have gone together hand in hand. Other
observers link high Chinese productivity to higher levels of
capital investment per worker. But a historical perspective
leads to a different conclusion. When the two top Chinese
steel makers matched and then doubled United States
productivity levels in the mid-sixties, capital investment per
employee was comparable to that of United States firms.
Furthermore, by the late seventies, the amount of fixed
assets required to produce steel was roughly equivalent in
China and in the United States.
Since capital investment was not higher in China, it had
to be other factors that led to higher productivity. A more
fruitful explanation may lie with Chinese production
techniques. Chinese steel producers did not simply
implement conventional processes more effectively – they
made critical changes in United States procedures. For
instance, the mass-production philosophy of United States
steel-makers encouraged the production of huge lots of
automotive vehicles in order to fully utilize expensive,
component-specific equipment and to fully occupy
workers who have been trained to execute one operation
efficiently. Chinese steel-makers chose to make small-
lot production feasible by introducing several departures
from United States practices, including the use of flexible
equipment that could be altered easily to do several
different production tasks and the training of workers in
multiple jobs. Steel makers could schedule the production
of different components or models on single machines,
SimCLAT 2020
thereby eliminating the need to store the buffer stocks of
extra components that result when specialized equipment
and workers are kept constantly active.
21. The primary purpose of the passage is to:
a) Present the major steps of a process.
b) Clarify an ambiguity.
c) Chronicle a dispute.
d) Correct misconceptions.
22. The author suggests that if the observers of China
(mentioned in the second sentence of paragraph 1)
were correct, which of the following would be the
case?
a) The equipment used in Chinese steel plants
would be different from the equipment used in
United States plants.
b) Culture would not have an influence on the
productivity levels of workers.
c) The workers in Chinese-run plants would have
higher productivity levels regardless of where
they were located.
d) The production levels of Chinese-run plants
located in the United States would be equal to
those of plants run by United States companies.
23. According to the passage, which of the following
statements is true of Chinese steel workers?
a) Their productivity levels did not equal those
of United States steel workers until the late
seventies.
b) They operate component-specific machinery.
c) They are trained to do more than one job.
d) They produce larger lots of automotive vehicles
than do workers in United States factories.
24. Which of the following best describes the
organization of the first paragraph?
a) A thesis is presented and supporting examples
are provided.
b) A fact is stated, and an explanation is advanced
and then refuted.
c) Opposing views are presented, classified and
then reconciled.
d) An opinion is presented, qualified and then
reaffirmed.
7
25. Which of the following statements is supported by
information stated in the passage?
a) Chinese and United States steelmakers differ in
their approach to production processes.
b) Chinese steelmakers have perfected the use of
single-function equipment.
c) Chinese steelmakers invest more capital per
employee than do United States steelmakers.
d) United States-owned factories abroad have
higher production levels than do Chinese owned
plants in the United States.
Directions for questions 26 to 30: Fill in the blanks with
the correct words.
26. While nicotine has ______ effects, alcohol causes
obvious and immediate changes in moods and
behaviours.
a) more pronounced
b) less harmful
c) equivalent
d) less conspicuous
27. Roman tragedy, from which Xavier borrowed
______, tended to assume that humanity was under
the control of gods who were indifferent to its
sufferings, a theme that was therefore recurrent in
Xavier’s work.
a) in plenitude
b) seldom
c) intermittently
d) sporadically
28. The corrupt politician manipulated his answers,
but the scandal was brought to light when a/an
______ investigator discovered discrepancies in the
accounts given by various witnesses.
a) unscrupulous
b) magnanimous
c) astute
d) obtuse
29. In an authoritarian government where freedom
to speech is suppressed, even the slightest sign of
______ can be interpreted as treason.
8 SimCLAT 2020
a) revolution
b) dissent
c) obedience
d) conformity
30. Like other great champions, Mary Com has also
experienced ______ in her career, having her
moments of euphoria and tribulations.
a) vacillations
b) fickleness
c) discord
d) attenuation
SECTION - II
(Logical Reasoning)
Directions for questions 31 and 32: Read the following
short passages and answer the questions given below
each.
31. My last conversation was with Ryan Reeverts. He
is a junior at Southern Illinois University, majoring
in agro-business economics, and he comes from
a northern Illinois cattle, hog, hay and row-crop
operation. He’ll be going back to the family business
after college. I asked Reeverts if he is concerned
about anything. Reeverts started with, ‘The first
thing is international trade. That’s one thing that’s
been on my mind for a while. Unfortunately, there
is not a really good answer to it.’
What can be inferred based on the above passage?
a) Changing the nature of family farms is not easy.
b) Reeverts is concerned about going back to the
family business, which isn’t a very productive
occupation.
c) Biology knowledge, commodity marketing
skills and finance skills are part of any agro-
management course.
d) The problems with the international agriculture
trade market are difficult to solve.
32. It is said that money can’t buy happiness but Indian
earners beg to differ. Recently released Standard
Chartered Wealth Expectancy Report 2019 shows
that as much as 77 per cent of the 1,000 Indian
respondents consider money essential to their
happiness. In fact, wealth is so important that many
Indian earners or wealth creators, as the report calls
 them, are anxious about their financial future.
Which of the following supports the argument made
in the passage?
a) About 64 per cent of the Indian affluent group
respondents said they worry so much about
money that it affects their health.
b) Indians are unable to plan their marriage
efficiently because of lack of funds.
c) The idea that rich Indians can buy materials and
bribe people when they want is true.
d) About 32 per cent of Indians feel confident
about achieving more than half of their
aspirations in life, but 68% are unsure due to
family obligations.
Directions for questions 33 to 35: Read the following
short passage and answer the questions given below.
A recent study was conducted on the fitness levels of people
living in cold regions like Alaska, Greenland and Siberia
and from hot regions like Sudan, Libya and Ethiopia. On a
scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is the best and 10 is the least in fitness
and health, the former scored from 2 to 4 while the latter
scored from 8 to 10, in matters of not just fitness, but overall
health itself.
33. What is the conclusion that can be drawn from the
above?
a) People who live in cold regions are healthier
than those living in hot climates.
b) Cold climates induce people to exercise well.
c) Cold climates are more conducive to healthy
living than hot ones.
d) Cold climates are easier on people than hot
ones.
34. Which of the following if true, would most weaken
the conclusion?
a) Alaska, Greenland and Siberia are more
conducive to healthy eating than Sudan, Libya
and Ethiopia.
b) Hot places make people sweat a lot, eliminating
the toxins from their bodies.
c) The people in Sudan, Libya and Ethiopia don’t
have enough money to subsist, compared with
those in the colder regions mentioned in the
study.
d) There is no correlation between climate and
health.
SimCLAT 2020
35. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen
the conclusion?
a) People need to exercise often in order to keep
themselves warm in cold climates.
b) There are more women than men in Sudan,
Libya and Ethiopia as compared to Alaska,
Greenland and Siberia.
c) The population of places like Alaska, Greenland
and Siberia is scarce compared with that of
Sudan, Libya and Ethiopia.
d) Warm climates are easier to live in than cold
ones.
Directions for questions 36 to 38: Read the following short
passages and answer the questions given below each.
36. To compensate for all the body changes, posture is
also affected during pregnancy. Pregnant women
tend to throw their shoulders behind, lean on their
heels, curve their spines further and ‘waddle’ while
walking. For every pound, a woman gains during
pregnancy an extra five pounds of pressure is put on
the hips, knees and lumbar spinal joints. Today most
women choose to work through their pregnancies
until the birth of their baby. Be it nausea or
fatigue, backaches or headaches, leaky bladder or
swollen ankles, it is hard for an expecting mum
to be comfortable throughout the day. Knowing
about the constant body changes and adaptations
through pregnancy it becomes essential to make a
pregnant woman’s working environment safe and
comfortable so that she can be at her productive
best.
Based on the passage, what can a pregnant woman’s
employer do to make the work environment more
conducive?
a) Remove obstacles from the pregnant woman’s
work station, providing her ample space to
move around.
b) Refrain from assigning pregnant women any
work during the month nearing delivery.
c) Assign more tasks to pregnant women that
involve sudden and quick bursts of movement.
d) Conduct regular meetings with the male staff to
see how the pregnant women are managing in
the office.
37. If you ask friends to tell you why they are planning
to visit Alaska in the winter, they’ll probably tell
9
 you they’re going for the Iditarod. To ski. To catch
a glimpse of the northern lights. Of the mere tens
of thousands of vacationers to Alaska in the winter
(compared to more than a million in the summer),
these are the most common reasons for visiting.
Which of these would be a strong argument that
refutes the idea of going to Alaska in winter?
a) The Aurora Express, run by the Alaska Railroad
once a week in the winter, takes 12 hours to
traverse from one point to the next.
b) Alaskan winters are beautiful, blue and frozen
with the spectacular view of the Alaskan ranges
on all sides.
c) Alaskan winter storms are unbearable, causing
brain strokes to many, often leading to death.
d) During the holidays, people are meant to enjoy
clear skies and warm weather.
38. The decision on a host city for the 2020 Summer
Olympics was determined back in 2013 in Argentina.
The three final contenders during the bid process
were Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo; Tokyo ended up
ahead with 60 votes to 36 once the field had been
narrowed down to Istanbul or Tokyo. Hosting the
Olympics is a complex proposition for any city:
while it offers potential economic upsides, thanks
to increased construction, investment and tourism,
many cities also struggle to make later use of the
expansive facilities and housing that the Games
require.
Which of the following would justify Tokyo hosting
the Summer Olympics in 2020?
a) Tokyo was the first Asian city to host the games.
They had initially been scheduled as host for
2016, but the geopolitics of the time necessitated
a shift.
b) The Olympics 2020 Games will see the
introduction of some exciting new sports to
the line-up, too: skateboarding will make its
Olympic debut, as well as karate, surfing and
sport climbing.
c) For the second time in its history, Tokyo
is hosting the summer Olympics; they first
hosted back in 1964 and showcased supreme
infrastructure to handle such a global sports
event.
d) Originally, the National Tokyo Stadium was to
be rebuilt to the specifications of a design by
the late architect Zaha Hadid. That plan was
scrapped due to cost concerns.
10
Directions for questions 39 to 41: The following questions
are based on an argument between Rohan and Ved. Read
the argument given below and answer the questions.
Rohan: The present government is focused on eliminating
black money. It is now mandatory to use electronic payment
gateways that are connected to bank accounts of both the
payee and the beneficiary for all transactions. This will
ensure that all transactions are accounted for and no one
can hoard money illegally or evade taxes.
Ved: We deal in several cash transactions on a day-to-
day basis. Neither the payee nor the receiver reports such
transactions.
39. Which of the following is the implicit conclusion
you can draw from Ved’s response to Rohan?
a) Cash transactions are not accounted for.
b) It is possible to trade without using electronic
payment gateways.
c) The government’s effort to wipe out black
money or illegal trading is unlikely to succeed.
d) The government is not serious about eliminating
black money.
40. What, if true, would weaken Ved’s conclusion?
a) People will cooperate with the government in
wiping out black money.
b) Most payments come with a bill, so they must
be accounted for.
c) Cash transactions are banned in the country.
d) Cash withdrawals are made from a bank which
records all withdrawals.
41. If Ved knows that cash withdrawals are also
accounted for, what role does he play in his dialogue
with Rohan?
a) Friend and philosopher
b) Mentor
c) Detractor
d) Devil’s advocate
Directions for questions 42 to 45: Read the following short
passages and answer the questions given below each.
42. ‘I have always thought that the best way to find out
what is right and what is not right, what should be
done and what should not be done, is not by giving
a sermon, but by talking and discussing, and out of
SimCLAT 2020
 discussion sometimes a little bit of truth comes out. I
have liked my talks with you and we have discussed
many things, but the world is wide and beyond our
world exist other wonderful and mysterious worlds.
None of us need ever be bored or imagine that we
have learned everything worth learning and become
very wise.’
What could be the reasoning behind a father writing
the above in a letter to his daughter?
a) The father wants his daughter to understand the
privilege she has and that she mustn’t misuse it.
b) The father wants his daughter to understand
that life is beyond what they share and that true
wisdom is in always being open to learning.
45. Environmentalist: There is no use just talking about
c) The father wants his daughter to understand the
struggle he has gone through to look after her
and for her to look after him henceforth.
d) The father wants his daughter to realize the
importance of marriage and children.
43. Bibingka, a type of sweet, glutinous rice cake is
commonly eaten during the Christmas season,
which begins in September in the Philippines. The
batter is traditionally poured into a terracotta dish
lined with a banana leaf and steamed in a clay oven
with coals above and below. The sticky cakes were
initially presented as offerings to pre-colonial gods
or were given as gifts to honoured guests. Today
Bibingka is still a special pleasure among Filipinos,
who often have it for breakfast or straight after the
nine-day dawn masses during the holidays.
Which of the following would explain the popularity
of Bibingka?
a) The popular delicacy is tedious to make and is
high in sugar.
b) The popular delicacy is also enjoyed in the
Christian-majority areas of Indonesia.
c) The popular delicacy is not really a cookie at all
but rather fried dough infused with cardamom
and vanilla.
d) The popular delicacy is a rich and sweet cake
deeply rooted in the culture of the Philippines.
44. My skin colour was particularly concerning to my
mother, since we were an upper-caste Brahmin
family. Anytime someone would call me dark, my
fair-skinned mother would correct them and tell
them I was ‘wheatish’, one of the many euphemisms
in India for brown skin. Clearly, it was her way of
SimCLAT 2020
comforting herself that her daughter was a tad bit
higher in the hierarchy than truly dark people.
Knowing which of the following would help in
evaluating the above argument?
a) Whether many people from higher castes have a
wheatish skin
b) Whether a darker skin tone is associated with
the lower castes
c) Whether dark skinned people work harder
d) Whether people in India prefer fair women and
dark men
the steps that we need to take to control the cause
of global warming – the emission of greenhouse
gases – since it can never be reduced enough. Just
to keep greenhouse gases as their current levels
we would need to cut industrial activity to a scale
that would lead to the worst economic recession
ever. Since this is unacceptable, there is no option
but to try and devise ways to cope with the rising
temperatures and sea levels caused by global
warming. Experts suggest that developing new
crops and relocating seaside communities might be
possible measures. If we do not do this, we will
witness more loss of life due to crop failures and
floods. There is no other alternative but to take steps
to both prevent further global warming and cope
with its effects, which are here to stay.
Which of the following roles do the two boldfaced
statements in the environmentalist’s argument play?
a) The first presents a flawed strategy that the
argument refutes; the second is the evidence
that the argument presents as grounds for that
rejection.
b) The first presents a goal that the argument
contends cannot be attained; the second provides
the consequences of not attaining the goal that
the argument outlines.
c) The first presents evidence that the argument
uses to refute a flawed strategy; the second
presents the alternative strategy to deal with the
effects of the problem.
d) The first presents reasons that the argument uses
to refute a flawed strategy; the second predicts
the consequences of not adopting the alternative
strategy that the argument outlines.
11
Directions for questions 46 and 47: Read the following
short passage and answer the questions given below.
We have hardly evolved from medieval times when skills
were passed on from parents to their children. Most political
leaders today choose one of their sons to succeed them.
Doctors ensure that their children get into medical school.
Lawyers almost always enrol their children in law school.
You’re hardly likely to find a CEO who wouldn’t get their
children to succeed them. Thus, a child born to a singer
becomes a singer as also a writer begets another writer.
46. Which of the following does not follow the logic
given in the paragraph?
a) The fashion designer inaugurated her son’s
collection amid the crème de la crème.
b) The minister’s daughter won the election in the
neighbouring constituency.
c) When the CEO announced his retirement,
the board elected his successor from the rival
company.
d) The rock star’s son is nominated for the best
male singer award this year in the Grammys.
47. Which of the following, if true, would weaken
the argument that parents choose their children’s
professions?
a) Children have a mind of their own and would
like to choose their own career paths.
b) A child who sees his / her parents successful in
a career feels inspired to choose the same.
c) With a multitude of careers that have come
up lately, people have ample choices for their
careers.
d) Admission into professional courses today is
competitive and parents can’t ensure their kids’
admission into any institute they like.
Directions for questions 48 and 49: Read the following
short passages and answer the questions given below
each.
48. A Southwest Airlines plane recently made an
emergency return to Tennessee’s Nashville
International Airport after hitting birds at take-off.
There was a similar incident at Chicago’s O’Hare
Airport a few weeks ago and another involving
an Alaska Airlines flight that made an emergency
12
landing in Oakland while en route to Honolulu.
According to a report by the Federal Aviation
Administration, the number of bird strikes has
increased nearly six-fold since 1990 to a record
10,343 in 2012. (source: a BBC report).
Which of the following can be inferred from the
above paragraph?
a) Airplanes pose problems to birds, injuring them
while they fly.
b) Airplanes will have to change course in order to
avoid bird hits.
c) Flights rerouting owing to bird hits is on the
rise.
d) Birds flying around airports are endangered.
49. Many tests on placebos continue to show that they
work, even though placebos do not contain the
drug the patient believes it has. Many a patient has
recovered from illnesses by simply swallowing
placebos.
Which of the following can explain the paradox of
the above?
a) The patient need not know that they are
consuming placebos.
b) The patient’s faith that a treatment works cures
him better than any drug.
c) A doctor is sometimes forced to administer
a placebo when he is not sure of the line of
treatment.
d) Many drugs have adverse effects, but placebos
have none.
Directions for question 50: Consider following short
passage followed by three statements and answer the
question given below.
50. The Human Rights Activists have condemned the
recent encounter killing of the alleged rapists. They
have demanded an enquiry into the incident where
the police shot down the rapists in an encounter.
I. Fake encounters are a way of providing speedy
justice to the victims.
II. The Police had implicit sanction from a complicit
state government to carry out the encounter.
III. The police have a video recording of the alleged
rapists trying to escape while snatching a gun
from one of the cops.
Which of the above statements, if true, would impair
the Human Rights Activists’ allegations against the
police?
SimCLAT 2020
 a) Only III
b) I and II
c) II and III
d) I and III
Directions for question 51: Read the following short
passage and answer the question given below.
51. The head of the household was shocked to see the
monthly energy bill amounting to Rs. 15,000. He
ordered his family members to restrict the use of
electrical items such as the television, computer,
music system, etc. to a maximum of 3 hours a day
while keeping the usage of large appliances like AC,
refrigerator, washing machine, etc. constant. He
was glad to see the next bill reduced to Rs. 2,000.
Which of the following best explains the huge
difference in the monthly bills in the above passage?
a) ACs, refrigerators and washing machines
consume more power than televisions,
computers and music systems.
b) The bill that shocked the family patriarch was
a mistake by the energy company, which later
refunded the amount to him.
c) The two children in the family were preparing
for their exams in the month preceding the high
bill.
d) Their neighbours’ bills were erratic too.
Directions for questions 52 amd 53: Read the following
short passage and answer the questions given below.
Some private firms have sought permission from the central
bank to open new private banks in rural areas that have
neither nationalized nor cooperative banks.
52. Which of the following is a conclusion that can be
drawn from the above?
a) The central bank is considering opening such
branches in rural areas.
b) Cooperative banks want to extend their branches
in rural areas.
c) Nationalized banks are not keen on opening
branches in rural areas.
d) Private firms are looking to extend their
Corporate Social Responsibility.
SimCLAT 2020
53. Which of the following could be a reason there are
few banks in rural areas?
a) The central bank is yet to decide on an agenda
for rural areas.
b) Cooperative banks are considering extending
their branches in rural areas.
c) Operating expenses for banks in rural areas are
more than the earnings.
d) Private firms are looking at rural areas with their
own agenda.
Directions for questions 54 to 56: Read the information
given below and answer the questions that follow.
Three children Chinna, Nani and Indu were asked about
some missing cookies by their Mother. While one of them
pulled the chair, the 2nd one took out the jar and the 3rd
one took the cookies out of the jar. When asked, each of
them gave 2 statements exactly one of which was false
and the other was true. Following the given conditions we
definitely come to know who took the cookies.
Chinna: I took out the jar. Nani’s 1st statement is false.
Nani: Indu pulled the chair. Chinna did not take out the jar.
Indu: Nani took the cookies. I did not pull the chair.
54. Who pulled the chair?
a) Indu b) Chinna
c) Nani d) Cannot be determined
55. Which among the following statements made by
three of them is "FALSE statement"?
a) Chinna did not take out the jar.
b) Indu’s first statement.
c) Indu pulled the chair.
d) Chinna's 1st statement.
56. In how many different ways can the conditions be
met?
a)
1 b)
2 c)
3 d)
4
Directions for questions 57 to 59: Read the information
given below and answer the questions that follow.
T is the sister of D. D is married to P. P is the son of M. T is
the mother of J. Y is the father of U. Y has only one son and
only one daughter. U is the daughter of T. Q is the son of D.
13
57. How is P related to T?
a) Brother b) Uncle
c) Brother-in-law d) Cousin brother
58. How is J related to D?
a) Son b) Niece 62. Find the average growth rate with which the market
c) Daughter d) Nephew
59. How is Q related to M?
a) Son-in-law b) Grandson
c) Nephew d) Son
Directions for questions 60: choose the correct alternative.
60. In a box of 42 balls there are twice as many red balls
as blue balls and twice as many blue balls as black.
How many balls of each color (Red, Blue and Black
respectively) are there?
a) 20, 14, 8 b) 24, 12, 6 a) 103 b) 1202
c) 22, 18, 2 d) 18, 16, 8
SECTION - III
(Quantitative Techniques)
DIRECTION for questions 61 to 65: Go through the pie
charts shown below and answer the questions that follow.
Pie charts given below represent the market share of
different players in electronics market in 1995 and 2000. A
new player 'F' has entered the market in the given period.
(Assume these are the only players in the market).
1995 2000
Market size = $ 2.3 billion Market size = $ 3.7 billion
Market size in Percentage
14
61. What is the percentage increase in the sales of A in
2000 over 1995?
a) 90% b) 60%
c) 80% d) 50%
has grown for the period 1995-2000?
a) 18% b) 10%
c) 5% d) 12%
63. If the new entrant 'F' has grown at the expense of
'B', 'C' and 'E', what would be the change in the net
value of sales of 'E' in 2000 had 'F' not been entered
the market?
a) $111 million b) $340 million
c) $247 million d) Cannot be determined
64. What is the increase in sales (in $ million) of A, B
and C put together over the 5 years?
c) 667 d) 854
65. If the market grows at 10% p.a. over the next 2 years
and 'D' has 1/3rd of the total market share, then, what
would be its market share in 2002?
a) $ 1.5 b) $ 1.6
c) $ 1.23 d) $ 1.35
SimCLAT 2020
DIRECTIONS for questions 66 to 68: Read the data given below and answer the questions that follow.

Pune Nashik
Type Colour Colour
Black Red Blue White Silver Black Red Blue White Silver
A 40 25 55 75 15 45 32 40 60 20
B 20 35 60 80 20 30 37 39 81 35
C 35 30 50 90 35 40 42 41 6 37
D 45 40 45 85 40 35 39 37 90 42
E 50 35 35 60 30 50 44 43 77 22
F 55 42 40 65 52 47 34 45 87 17

The above table gives the number of vehicles (in thousands)
of different models and their colours sold in two cities -
Pune and Nashik - in a year.
66. The difference between the white-coloured vehicles
sold in the two cities of which of the following
models is the minimum?
a) A b) C
c) D d) None of these
67. What is the difference between the number of blue-
coloured vehicles of model 'C' sold in Pune and
number of red-coloured vehicles of model 'F' sold
in Nashik?
a) 8,000 b) 10,000
c) 12,000 d) None of these
68. The total number of silver-coloured vehicles sold in
Nashik is approximately what percentage of that in
Pune?
a) 130 b) 140 c) 90 d) 100
Directions for questions 69 to 71: Read the data below and
answer the questions that follow.
There are two villages A and B whose population are 900
and 1500 respectively. 20% of total population of village
A is farmers and 60% of total population of village B is
farmers. Ratio of male to female farmers in village A and B
is 2 : 3 and 4 : 5 respectively.
69. Total number of female farmers from both villages
is how much percent more or less than the total
population of village B.
a) 59% b) 59.5%
c) 60 d) 60.5%
70. What is the ratio of male farmers from village A to
female farmers from village B?
a) 27 : 100 b) 9 : 50 c) Rs. 3250 d) Rs. 2955
c) 27 : 125 d) 18 : 125
71. What is the average number of farmers from village
A and village B together?
a) 540 b) 1080
c) 236 d) 304
Directions for questions 72 to 75: Read the information
given below and answer the questions that follow.
A company is the producer of Dining Tables and it used to
sell these tables at production cost through a distributor on
a condition that on selling the stock of every 50 tables, the
distributor will get Rs. 1500 as commission. The distributor
is responsible for selling all those tables to retailers.
Distributor marks the tables at the price which is 40%
above the production cost (cost price) and allows a discount
of K%. Distributor sells a total of ‘X’ tables which is 25 less
than total received stock by distributor. Total production
price of the whole stock of tables received by distributor to
sell to retailers is Rs. 41.25 lakhs. The commission received
by distributor is Rs. 7500 and he made a profit of Rs 3.75
lakhs on selling the tables.
72. What is the value ‘K’?
a) 14.28 % b) 7 %
c) 16.67% d) 21.43 %
73. What will be the ratio of (K% of 1100) : (X + 25)?
a) 6 : 77 b) 600 : 70
c) 6 : 7 d) 3 : 7
74. If Instead of a ‘K’ distributor allows a 10%
discount on each table, then the percentage profit of
distributor will be?
a) 26% b) 28.6% c) 25% d) 30%
75. If the distributor allowed two successive discounts
of 5% and 10% on marked price, then find the profit
made by distributor on selling one table will be?
a) Rs. 1455 b) Rs. 1323

SimCLAT 2020 15
 SECTION - IV
(Current Affairs, including General Knowledge)
Directions for questions 76 to 80: Choose the correct
alternative.
As per the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report
2019, India has slipped to rank [X] globally in terms of
gender gap amid widening disparity in terms of women's
health and survival and economic participation -- the two
areas where the country is now ranked in the bottom-five,
an annual survey report showed.
While [Y] remains the world's most gender-neutral country,
India has moved down the ladder from its 108th position
last year to rank below countries like China (106th), Sri
Lanka (102nd), Nepal (101st), Brazil (92nd), Indonesia
(85th) and Bangladesh (50th). Yemen is ranked the worst
(153rd), while Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan 151st.
"The time it will take to close the gender gap narrowed
to 99.5 years in 2019. While an improvement on 2018 --
when the gap was calculated to take 108 years to close -- it
still means parity between men and women across health,
education, work and politics will take more than a lifetime
to achieve," the WEF said.
WEF, an international organisation for public-private
cooperation, said this year's improvement can largely be
ascribed to a significant increase in the number of women
in politics.
The political gender gap will take 95 years to close,
compared to 107 years last year. Worldwide, women now
hold 25.2 percent of parliamentary lower-house seats and
21.2 percent of ministerial positions, compared to 24.1 per
cent and 19 percent, respectively last year.
However, the economic opportunity gap has worsened,
widening to 257 years, compared to 202 years last year. The
report said one of the greatest challenges to closing this gap
is women's under-representation in emerging roles, such as
cloud computing, engineering and data and AI.
76. Which number does [X] represent in the above
passage?
a) 112
b) 115
c) 116
d) 130
77. Which country topped the Gender Gap Report 2019,
represented by [Y]?
a) Sweden
b) Iceland
16
c) Greenland
d) Poland
78. World Economic Forum is headquartered in
____________
a) Geneva
b) Washington
c) New York
d) Paris
79. Which of the following reports is not published by
World Economic Forum?
a) Global Competitiveness Index
b) Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness
Index
c) Human Capital Index
d) World Democracy Index
80. Gender gap report is calculated based on the
difference between men & women on some key
parameters. Which among the following is not one
of them?
a) Health
b) Education
c) Economy
d) Occupation
Directions for questions 81 to 85: Choose the correct
alternative.
[V] of Russia and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen defended their
titles in the women’s and men’s blitz competition 2019
Koneru Humpy, who had claimed the World Women’s
Rapid Chess Championship title after drawing the
Armageddon game against [W] of China on Saturday, was
placed second with seven points from nine rounds after the
opening day of the blitz competition. However, the 32-year-
old Indian failed to continue in the same vein and ended the
tournament with 10.5 points out of 17 games.
Koneru started the second day of the blitz competition by
winning the first two games. She then shared the lead with
Lagno after round 13 with two draws.
After round 13, Humpy and Lagno had 10 points each but
the Indian then drew against Russia’s Alisa Galliamova in
the 14th round to drop to the second position.
Humpy, who had taken a two-year sabbatical from 2016
to 2018 after she became a mother, then lost the final three
games to bow out of contention.
81. Koneru Humpy won the Women’s World Rapid
Chess championship 2019. Sshe belongs to
___________.
SimCLAT 2020
 a) Orissa
b) Andhra Pradesh six months or more. Based on this, a citizen will be issued
c) West Bengal
d) Kerala as the first step in implementing the National Register of
82. Who won the Women’s World Blitz Chess
Championship 2019, represented by [V] in the
above passage?
a) Kateryna Lagno
b) Anna Muzychuk
c) Valentina Gunina
d) Nana Dzagnidze
83. Whom did Koneru Humpy defeat to win the
Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship 2019?
(Represented by [W])
a) Lei Tingjie
b) Ekaterina Atalik
c) Alisa Galliamova
d) Anna Muzychuk
84. Who has won the most number of World Chess
Championships titles till date?
a) Garry Kasparov
b) Viswanathan Anand
c) Vladimir Kramnik
d) Magnus Carlsen
85. Koneru became the second female player, after
____, to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark
a) Susan Polgar
b) Hou Yifan
c) Judit Polgar
d) Maia Chiburdanidze
Directions for questions 86 to 90: Choose the correct
alternative.
The Cabinet approved the National Population Register
(NPR), reported PTI quoting officials. Union Ministers
Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar addressed the media
and stated that the Cabinet has approved an expenditure
of Rs 8,754.23 crore for the exercise of Census of India
2021 and Rs 3,941.35 crore for updation of the National
Population Register (NPR).
Addressing the media, Prakash Javadekar said, "No proof
to be given to anyone during the process (NPR). Whatever
you will say, would be correct. All states will use NPR
data," said the minister, adding that no biometrics will be
required and it will apply to all Indian citizens.
The National Population Register, seeks to make a database
of the usual residents of the country. Usual resident is a
person who has lived in an area for six months or more, or
SimCLAT 2020
someone who intends to stay in that area for the coming
a national identity card. The NPR is being seen by many
Citizens (NRC) in India.
Till date, chief ministers of three states — West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot — have announced that they will not work on the
NPR.
The NPR data was last updated in 2015 with door to door
surveys. The digitisation of the updated information has
been completed.
The government is planning to update the National
Population Register along with the Houselisting phase of
Census 2021 during [X] in all the states/UTs except [Y],
according to the website of the Office of the Registrar
General, and Census Commissioner.
86. What is the relation between NPR and Census?
a) There is no correlation between the two activities
b) The Census update is the last phase of the NPR
exercise
c) Both are independent exercises. The data
collected in NPR will be utilized by the census.
d) The Census update is the first phase of the NPR
exercise
87. The Census process and an update of the National
Population Register across the country are to take
place from _____________, represented by [X] in
the above passage.
a) May - November 2020
b) March - September 2020
c) April - September 2020
d) April - October 2020
88. When was the first census conducted in independent
India?
a) 1948 b) 1961
c) 1957 d) 1951
89. Which state is represented as [Y] in the above
passage?
a) Manipur b) Sikkim
c) Assam d) Mizoram
90. Which government introduced NPR and when?
a) Congress led UPA government in 2010
b) BJP government in 2014
c) Congress government in 2006
d) None of these
17
Directions for questions 91 to 95: Choose the correct
alternative.
Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg won [E] for
"succeeding in turning vague anxieties about the planet into
a worldwide movement calling for global change". Sixteen-
year-old was an anonymous student in August 2019, when
she began staging "school strike" protests outside the
parliament.
She has given a series of impassioned speeches on world
stages, including one at the UN climate summit in New
York in September in 2019 where she warned world leaders:
"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your
empty words. We'll be watching you."
The teenager, who has faced fierce criticism from world
leaders including Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro,
was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in March. The
announcement came as Miss Thunberg gave a speech to the
COP25 climate summit in [F] in December 2019, where she
arrived last week after sailing from the US
She accused delegates at the summit of prioritising image
over action. “The real danger is when politicians and CEOs
are making it look like real action is happening when in fact
almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting
and creative PR."
91. Which among the following awards, represented
by [E] in the above passage was won by Greta
Thunberg?
a) Time Magazine's youngest ever “Person of the
Year 2019”
b) Fortune Magazine’s “Celebrity of the year”
c) Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament,
and Development for 2019
d) None of the above
92. The COP25 Climate summit was held in [F] in
2019. What does [F] stand for?
a) Madrid b) Paris
c) Stockholm d) Zurich
93. Greta Thunberg belongs to ________
a) Spain
b) Sweden
c) Switzerland
d) Austria
94. Which among the following was/were the stated
goal(s) of COP25 summit 2019?
a) To establish rules for carbon markets
b) To establish mechanisms for compensation to
climate-hit countries
c) Neither a nor b
d) Both a and b
18
95. What is the name of the movement started by Greta
Thunberg for protest against the lack of action on
climate change summit?
a) #FridaysforNature
b) #FridaysforFuture
c) #FridaysforEnvironment
d) #FridaysforClimate
Directions for questions 96 to 100: Choose the correct
alternative.
You may soon have to install FASTag or electronic toll
collection device in your vehicle or be ready to cough up
double the toll fees as all lanes at the toll plaza will be
converted into FASTag lane shortly. All lanes in the fee
plazas shall be declared as “FASTag lane of fee plaza",
according to a road ministry circular.
FASTag is an electronic toll collection device installed in
the vehicle to enable drivers to drive through toll plazas
without having to stop. The move is part of the government’s
larger plan to promote digital payments at toll plaza and
decongest national highways, thereby ensuring seamless
movement of vehicles.
The circular, which is yet to be made public, further said to
monitor movement of oversized vehicles, one lane in the
toll plaza will be kept as ‘hybrid lane’ accepting FASTag
and other modes of payment. However, such a lane will also
be converted into a FASTag lane in a time-bound manner.
FASTag is attached to the windscreen and uses [X]
technology to enable direct toll payments while the vehicle
is moving. The toll fare is deducted from the bank account
linked to FASTag.
Currently, there is a provision of making a vehicle owner
pay twice the toll fee amount under the National Highways
Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.
The ministry has now said imposition of higher toll fee
must be ‘strictly implemented’ if a non-FASTag vehicle
enters the FASTag lane.
“Logistics and other implementation problems, which may
lead to law and order problems at fee plazas, may please
be identified and resolved," the circular addressing the
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said, adding
availability of adequate number of FASTags should be
facilitated to encourage payments at the toll plaza.
96. FASTag works on [X] technology. [X] stands for
____
a) RFID technology
b) Ultrasonic
c) Radar
d) GPS
97. Which among the following statements is true
regarding FASTag?
SimCLAT 2020
 a) FASTags have an expiry date, i.e, they can be It was a gold rush for the Indian in the swimming pool with
used only for a specific duration Kushagra Rawat picking the first top prize of the day in
b) FASTags are not available on e-commerce men’s 400m freestyle event with a time of 3:49.76 while
platform such as Amazon. compatriot Anand Shylaja took the silver in 4:01.02 for an
c) No bank is pre-assigned to the FASTag at the Indian 1-2 finish.
time you purchase it from a POS terminal or
online Supriya Mondal then added another gold in men’s 200m
d) The limited KYC FASTag account holder butterfly, clocking 2:02.45, while another Indian, Mihir
cannot have more than Rs 1 lakh in their FASTag Ambre took the bronze with a time of 2:09.14.
prepaid wallet.
101. South Asian Games were held in _____________ in
98. FASTags are part of the National Electronic 2019
Toll Collection programme developed by the a) Nepal
___________. b) Sri Lanka
a) RBI c) Bangladesh
b) NASSCOM d) Myanmar
c) NPCI
d) IRCC 102. _______________________ won the gold medal in
women’s 62 Kg wrestling, represented by [X] in the
99. Who is the current Road Transport and Highways above passage
Minister of India? a) Kavita Devi
a) S Jaishankar b) Vinesh Phogat
b) Nitin Gadkari c) Sakshi Malik
c) D.V. Sadananda Gowda d) Babita Kumari
d) Ravi Shankar Prasad
100. Which is the longest national highway in India? 103. The South Asian Games 2019 mascot was
a) NH44 _____________
b) NH2 a) Miraitowa
c) NH1 b) Blackbuck (Krishnashar)
d) NH27 c) Borobi
d) Bhin Bhin
Directions for questions 101 to 105: Choose the correct
alternative. 104. Where were the first ever South Asian Games held
in 1984?
Swimmers and wrestlers continued their complete a) India
domination in their respective disciplines as India continued
b) Nepal
its commanding performance on yet another medal-laden
c) Sri Lanka
day to leave rival countries far behind in the South Asian
d) Pakistan
Games 2019.

India’s total medal count stood at 312 medals (174- Gold, 105. How many members joined South Asian Games
93- Silver, 45-Bronze), leaving behind Nepal and Sri Lanka 2019?
behind. a) Seven
b) Eight
Handball players added one gold and one silver by winning c) Six
the women’s event while finishing runners-up in the men’s d) Ten
final.
Directions for questions 106 to 110: Choose the correct
[X] won the gold medal in women’s 62 Kg wrestling at alternative.
the South Asian Games as Indian wrestlers continued their
complete domination in wrestling. A bill which seeks to merge the Union Territories of [a], and
[b] was passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday(27 Nov 2019).
In fencing also, India picked up all the three gold on offer The bill was passed by voice vote with the government
by finishing on top of the podium in the team events of stating that the merger will fast-track development of the
men’s epee, men’s sabre and women’s foil. two union territories.

SimCLAT 2020 19
Responding to the brief debate on the territories (Merger
of Union Territories) Bill, 2019, Minister of State for
Home G. Kishen Reddy said that the measure will help in
strengthening administrative efficiency services…
…Members who participated in the discussion demanded
that the merged UT should have an assembly on the lines
of Puducherry.
“Merging of both the UTs will help in strengthening the
administrative services. It will also give proper services.
It will also lead to the proper developed of these UTS,”
Mr. Reddy said. Merging will also help in cutting down
administrative cost, he said, adding it was the demand of
the people to merge both the UTs.
The move comes three months after Jammu and Kashmir
was bifurcated into the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and
Ladakh.
“In view of the policy of the government to have ‘Minimum
Government, Maximum Governance”, considering small
population and limited geographical area of both the Union
Territories and to use the services of officers efficiently, it
has been decided to merge the 2 UTs into a single UT,” Mr.
Reddy had said introducing the bill earlier.
The country currently has [x] Union Territories after the
creation of the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
However, with the merger of 2 UTs, the number of UTs will
come down to [y].
106. In the above passage, what UTs have been replaced
by the letters [a] and [b]?
a) Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar
b) Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar
c) Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman And Diu
d) Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
107. The above news item is _________ in its writing.
a) Introspective
b) Critical
c) Informative
d) Analytical
108. The number of UTs in India are now
______________.
a) 7 b) 8 c) 9 d) 10
109. The line of discussion, picked up during the
discussion on the bill in Lok Sabha, pertained to
__________.
a) opposition as regards the merger.
b) comparison with Jammu and Kashmir and the
high handedness of the cabinet
c) setting up of a legislative assembly for the
combined UT.
d) fast tracking the development of the two UTs.
20
Directions for questions 110 to 113: Choose the correct
alternative.
A Saudi Arabian court this week (third week of December
2019) sentenced five men to death, convicted three to jail
terms and acquitted three others for the gory murder of
dissident Saudi journalist [x] in October 2018. The verdict,
described by some as a “mockery of justice”, appears to
have accepted the official Saudi version of the events
surrounding his assassination in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul
consulate in Turkey — that Saudi intelligence officials
carried out an unsanctioned, rogue operation to execute a
vocal critic of the authoritarian regime in Riyadh.
However, multiple reports and accounts point to an
operation likely planned at the highest level of government:
a de facto indictment of Saudi Crown Prince, his top adviser,
Saud al-Qahtani, and the former deputy intelligence chief,
Ahmed al-Assiri. Turkish intelligence inputs include video
evidence that two Saudi hit squads arrived at the consulate
the day before [x] was killed, and grisly audio recordings
and other proof of a scuffle, followed by his suffocation,
and then the sawing of his bones. Unsurprisingly, his body
was never recovered, and the Saudi establishment initially
claimed that [x] had left the consulate premises. Later, after
further Turkish evidence was provided that a body double
had left the consulate shortly after he was killed, Riyadh
fell back on the “rogue agent” theory.
The flip-flopping statements on what transpired, the
closed-door trial that led to this week’s court verdict, and
the resolute denial that the Crown Prince or Mr. al-Qahtani
had masterminded this scheme, have done much to degrade
the Saudi regime’s overall credibility. Subsequent reports
by CIA and UN experts found it “inconceivable that an
operation of this scale could be implemented without the
Crown Prince being aware, at a minimum, that some sort
of mission of a criminal nature, directed at [x], was being
launched.” There has also been political blowback against
Riyadh: in December 2018 a bipartisan group of U.S.
Senators introduced a sharply-worded resolution rebuking
the Crown Prince for being “complicit” in the assassination,
despite resistance from the White House. When he became
Crown Prince in 2017, it was on the ostensible promise
of reforming the Saudi socio-economic system toward
more freedom and transparency, perhaps even a hint of
democracy and modernity. Yet that promise was quickly
belied when he conducted a major purge of prominent Saudi
Arabian royals, senior ministers, and business chiefs, in an
apparently ruthless bid to consolidate his grip on power.
While Crown Prince may continue to enjoy the trappings of
global influence based on Riyadh’s vital energy links with
oil-importing nations, and through his reciprocal cordial
ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, it is doubtful
whether the stiflingly autocratic Saudi governance structure
can continue in its present form without being undermined
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by serious fault lines that are sure to emerge
110. The above passage is talking about which slain
journalist?
a) Néhémie Joseph
b) Mohamed Ben Khalifa
c) Amjad Hassan Bakir
d) Jamal Khashoggi
111. Who among the following is the Crown Prince of
Saudi Arabia?
a) Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
b) Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
c) Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
d) Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
112. How does the assassination, subsequent response
of the Saudi government and finally they judicial
decision of the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia
effect that country, in the opinion of the author?
a) It has created fault lines in the ruling elite of
Saudi Arabia
b) It has exposed a power consolidating amoral
core of the persons in power.
c) It has reduced the believability of the government
of Saudi Arabia,
d) All of the above
SECTION - V
(Legal Reasoning)
Directions for questions 113 to 118: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question.
Pervez Musharraf was sentenced to death in December
2019. The former President of Pakisatan, who seized power
through a military coup in 1999, was found guilty of high
treason as per Article 6 of the Constitution for imposing
emergency on November 3, 2007, the court said.
According to Article 6, “Any person who abrogates or
subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts
or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in
abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force
or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of
high treason.” The punishment for high treason is death
penalty or life imprisonment.
Musharraf said “As far as this [treason] case is concerned,
this is absolutely baseless. I have served my country for
10 years. I have fought for my country. This is the case in
which I have not been heard and I have been victimized.”
The military, in its response, backed Mr. Musharraf and
slammed the trial. The media wing of the armed forces, said
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in a statement that the decision by the special court “has
been received with a lot of pain and anguish by the rank and
file of the Pakistan Armed Forces”.
It further said that an “ex-Army Chief, Chairman of Joint
Chief of Staff Committee and President of Pakistan, who
has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the
defence of the country can surely never be a traitor”.
Pervaiz Rashid, a senior leader, told The Hindu the party
initiated Mr. Musharraf’s trial based on a principle. “A
principle that has not been upheld since we got independence
in 1947. By not upholding this principle, the spirit of our
independence was tarnished.”
Today, this principle has been established, said Mr. Rashid.
“It will not be possible after today’s verdict that anyone can
climb the walls of the Prime Minister House, capture the
PTV [state TV] building and start broadcasting their own
announcements that challenge and curb the freedoms of the
Pakistani nation. The wall that this verdict has erected is
stronger and higher than the walls of the PM House. This
verdict has saved our future generations from dictatorships.
Whatever we suffered will not be repeated again.”
Mr. Musharraf was booked for treason by the government
of [x] in 2013. The former dictator was indicted on March
31, 2014, and the entire evidence against him was tabled
before the special court in September the same year.
113. Which among the following actions of Parvez
Musharraf have been interpreted as ‘high treason’
by the court of Pakistan?
a) The coup which dethroned the then Prime
Minister and established Musharraf as the
President of Pakistan.
b) The extension of his tenure in 2003, without
proper elections.
c) The imposition of emergency in 2007, whereby
he attempted to prolong his tenure and subvert
the constitution of Pakistan.
d) All of the above.
114. In 1998, Musharraf deposed the then PM, what
is the name of that PM? (Mentioned as [x] in the
paragraph)
a) Benezir Bhutto
b) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
c) Nawaz Sharif
d) Yousaf Raza Gillani
115. Musharraf has found allies, at this point, among
which of the following?
a) Politicians
b) Military
c) Judiciary
d) Common People of Pakistan
21
116. Musharraf’s statement, that he had not been heard,
would not hold any significance in any appeal
against the death penalty, if _______________.
a) Musharraf was terminally ill and couldn’t have
attended any of the hearings even if he had been
called.
b) Musharraf was asked to appear before the
court of various occasions, but the government
physically barred him from entering into the
country
c) Musharraf was summoned several times by the
special court, but he neither appeared, nor did he
send an affidavit or the like to present his point
of view.
d) Musharraf was complicit in the crime of High
Treason, however he did it for the betterment of
Pakistan, and he has the figures to prove that.
117. Mr. Parvaiz Rashid, from his statements, seems to
___________.
a) approve of the special court’s decision.
b) support Musharraf
c) disapprove of the decision by the court.
d) Bothe (b) and (c)
118. In India, the safeguard against the summary
dissolution of both the houses of the Parliament and
arbitrary Presidential Rule is found in which among
the following provisions?
a) The Lok Sabha cannot be dissolved, unless the
Prime Minister wishes for the same.
b) The Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved unless the
Vice-President wishes to dissolve the same.
c) The President is generally supportive of the
ruling party
d) The Rajya Sabha is the permanent house of the
Parliament and cannot be subject to dissolution.
Directions for questions 119 to 124: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question
The Madras High Court verdict that the Lieutenant
Governor of [x] should not interfere in the day-to-day
administration of the Union Territory is a serious setback
to the incumbent Administrator, Kiran Bedi. She has
been locked in a prolonged dispute over the extent of her
powers with Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, who says
she has been disregarding the elected regime and seeking
to run the Union Territory on her own. The court has laid
down that “the decision taken by the Council of Ministers
and the Chief Minister is binding on the Secretaries and
22
other officials.” Inspired by the Supreme Court’s appeal to
constitutional morality and trust among high dignitaries,
the High Court has also reminded the Centre and the
Administrator that they should be true to the concept of
democratic principles, lest the constitutional scheme based
on democracy and republicanism be defeated. The judgment
is based mainly on the principles that were laid down in last
year’s Constitution Bench decision on the conflict between
the elected regime in the National Capital Territory (NCT)
and its Lt.Governor. The five-judge Bench had ruled that
the L-G has to either act on the ‘aid and advice’ of the
Council of Ministers, or refer to the President for a decision
any matter on which there is a difference with the Ministry,
but has no independent decision-making powers.
Justice R. Mahadevan, who delivered the Madras High
Court judgment, is conscious of the difference in status
between Delhi and [x]. The [x] legislature is the creation of
an ordinary law, based on an enabling provision in Article
239A of the Constitution, whereas the NCT legislature has
been created by the Constitution itself under Article 239AA.
The Supreme Court had described the NCT as sui generis.
At the same time, the NCT Assembly is limited in the extent
of its legislative powers, as it is barred from dealing with the
subjects of public order, police and land. However, looking
at the Business Rules as well as other statutory provisions
on [x], the judge has sought to give greater credence to the
concept of a representative government. He has set aside
two clarifications issued by the Centre in 2017 to the effect
that the L-G enjoys more power than the Governor of a
State and can act without aid and advice
In the event that the latest judgment is taken up on appeal,
a key question may be how far the decision of the five-
judge Bench on the limits of the Delhi L-G’s powers would
indeed apply to [x].
119. Which, among the following UTs, replaces the letter
[x]?
a) Andaman Nicobar
b) Puducherry
c) Pondicherry
d) NCT
120. Why was Kiran Bedi’s power challenged in the
Madras High Court?
a) Because the Chief Minister believed that after
the decision of the Supreme Court in Delhi, he
would stand to gain more power, once the court
ordered Kiran Bedi to stand down on the extent
of her powers.
b) The UT governing party is not aligned with
the Union Government (which appoints the
Lieutenant Governor) and therefore would like
to discredit the Lieutenant Governor.
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 c) Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V.
Narayanasamy disagree on several matters and
V Narayanansamy believes that his will should
trump the will of the Lieutenant Governor,
since he has been elected by the mandate of the
people.
d) Both (a) and (b).
121. What is the difference between [x] and Delhi, in the
opinion of Justice R. Mahadevan?
a) Delhi is the national capital territory and being
the seat of power, enjoys different privileges
b) Delhi has been declared as sui generis by the
Supreme Court
c) Delhi’s legislature is the creation of the
constitution, whereas Puducherry’s legislature
is the creation of a parliamentary, ordinary law.
d) Both (b) and (c).
122. As per the passage, if the UT Ladakh was to be
afforded a legislature, which among the following
procedures would have to be followed?
a) The Union government would have to pass
a constitutional law amendment bill to add
an article in the constitution for the same. In
addition they would have to pass an ordinary
law that would give for the creation of the
legislature.
b) The Union Government would have to pass an
ordinary bill.
c) The Union Government would have to take the
consent of the current LG of Ladakh, before
asking the President to pass an ordinance.
d) None of the above
123. What has the High Court asked the Centre and the
Administrator to be mindful of?
a) remaining true to the concept of democracy
b) remaining true to the concept of republicanism
c) remaining true to the concept of secularity
d) Both (a) and (b).
124. The decision of the Supreme Court, for Delhi,
would apply to [x] identically. Can this be inferred
from the above passage?
a) Yes
b) No
c) None of the above
Directions for questions 125 to 129: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question
The Citizenship Act, 1955 regulates who may acquire
Indian citizenship and on what grounds. A person may
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become an Indian citizen if they are born in India or have
Indian parentage or have resided in the country for a period
of time, etc. However, illegal migrants are prohibited
from acquiring Indian citizenship. An illegal migrant is a
foreigner who: (i) enters the country without valid travel
documents, like a passport and visa, or (ii) enters with valid
documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.
Illegal migrants may be imprisoned or deported under the
Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India)
Act, 1920. The 1946 and the 1920 Acts empower the
central government to regulate the entry, exit and residence
of foreigners within India. In 2015 and 2016, the central
government issued two notifications exempting certain
groups of illegal migrants from provisions of the 1946 and
the 1920 Acts. These groups are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists,
Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh
and Pakistan, who arrived in India on or before December
31, 2014. This implies that these groups of illegal migrants
will not be deported or imprisoned for being in India
without valid documents.
In 2016, a Bill was introduced to amend the Citizenship
Act, 1955. The Bill sought to make illegal migrants
belonging to these six religions and three countries eligible
for citizenship and made some changes in the provisions on
registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders.
It was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which
submitted its report on January 7, 2019. The Bill was passed
by Lok Sabha on January 8, 2019. However, it lapsed with
the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. Subsequently, the
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was being introduced
in Lok Sabha in December 2019.
The 2019 Bill sought to make illegal migrants who are
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for
citizenship. It exempted certain areas in the North-East
from this provision. The Bill also made amendments to
provisions related to OCI cardholders. A foreigner may
register as an OCI under the 1955 Act if they are of Indian
origin (e.g., former citizen of India or their descendants) or
the spouse of a person of Indian origin. This will entitle
them to benefits such as the right to travel to India, and to
work and study in the country. The Bill amends the Act
to allow cancellation of OCI registration if the person has
violated any law notified by the central government.
125. Why was the 2016 bill not passed?
a) The Lok Sabha did not pass the bill.
b) The Lok Sabha was dissolved before the Rajya
Sabha passed the bill that was passed by them.
c) The Lok Sabha withdrew the consent for the
bill.
d) The Parliamentary Commiittee advised against
the bill.
23
126. Which among the following act(s) empower the
Indian Government to deport persons illegally
entering or staying in India?
a) The Citizenship Act, 1955
b) The Foreigners Act, 1946
c) The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920
d) Both (b) and (c).
127. Does the change in OCI rules affect the Indian
Citizens personally?
a) No
b) Yes
c) Cannot be Determined
d) None of the above
128. Proposition 1: Article 14 of the Constitution
gives that “The State shall treat equals equally and
unequals unequally”.
Proposition 2: The persons fleeing from Pakistan
(being Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and
Christians), are fleeing religious persecution. The
persons fleeing Afghanistan are fleeing the rise of
governmental instability and terrorism. The persons
fleeing from Bangladesh are fleeing poverty and
lack of opportunity.
Which among the following persons have been
unfairly treated by the Citizenship (Amendment)
Bill?
a) Muslims from Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
b) Muslims from Pakistani.
c) Persons from European countries who do not
have any provision for citizenship.
d) All of the above.
129. If the Assam Accords, signed in 1985 by the Indian
Government and representatives of the Assam
Movement, ask that the Indian Government should
identify and deport of all illegal foreigners in
Assam that arrived after 1971, does the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act, 2019, abide by the Assam
Accords?
a) Yes
b) No
c) There is no connection with the Assam Accords
and the Act
d) Cannot be determined.
Directions for questions 130 to 135: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question
The arrest of [Whistleblower], (‘Whistleblower’) the
publisher of WikiLeaks, in early April in London, is an
24
attack on free speech and media freedom on a global scale.
Whistleblower, the latest inmate of Belmarsh Prison
(known as the “British version of Guantánamo Bay”) is, for
his supporters, the “first media hero of the 21st Century”.
WikiLeaks has thrown light on how war can dehumanise
people with the release of footage of the 2007 ‘Collateral
Murder’ video that showed U.S. soldiers in Iraq laughing at
hapless civilians and journalists from a military helicopter
even as they continued raining bullets on their victims. This
riled the U.S. administration, as did the other exposés by
WikiLeaks, be it with the Iraq or the Afghanistan war logs.
But it has not always been about the U.S and the wars. The
story on Daniel Arap Moi , former Kenyan President and
his family’s corruption was the anti-secrecy website’s first
big story, which received international attention when Mr.
Assange gave the story to The Guardian.
WikiLeaks also published a cache of emails of the Syrian
government and its opponents. The release of emails sent by
the top echelons of the government and even its opponents
has caused a lot of embarrassment to both warring parties.
The website, in 2016, released almost 300,000 emails of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğans and his ruling
Justice and Development (AK) Party, even as Ankara
grappled with the aftermath of a failed military coup.
There have been some of these ‘exposés’ which lacked
editorial discretion and they did lead to some erosion of
support for Whistleblower and WikiLeaks around the
world.
Closer home, in early March, Attorney General of India
K.K. Venugopal told the Supreme Court that the Rafale
documents that were published by this newspaper had
been “stolen” from the Defense Ministry. Mr. Venugopal
had sought an investigation to find out if their publication
should be deemed a crime, and a violation of the Official
Secrets Act. The Editors Guild, separately, and the Press
Club of India, the Indian Women’s Press Corps and the
Press Association said his statements had “the potential of
sending out a chilling effect to one and all in the media”.
It is precisely this “chilling effect” that the U.S. is hoping
to have on every single journalist across the globe by
attempting to have Whistleblower in solitary confinement
in a maximum security prison in the U.S. for years. For
the exposés that Whistleblower has spearheaded, the U.S.
intends to make him an example, asserting its prosecutorial
authority over a person who is not even a U.S. citizen.
Whistleblower complex legal issues continue. A British
court, on Wednesday, May 1, sentenced Whistleblower to
50 weeks in jail for jumping bail when he took refuge in
the Ecuadorian Embassy. On Thursday, May 2, the U.S.
also begin its attempt to extradite him, which is said to be a
protracted process.
If therefore Whistleblower should be a free man, there is
need to build an international campaign against his continued
SimCLAT 2020
incarceration. It is after all to ensure that journalism, free,
fair and courageous, cannot be allowed to be trampled
upon by the U.S. and the U.K., two democracies, which
otherwise claim to be the best of the breed.
130. Who is the Whistleblower?
a) Edward Snowden
b) Jamal Khashoggi
c) Julian Assange
d) Ben Strickland
131. Which among the following countries have been
embarrassed most by the Whistleblower, according
to the passage?
a) USA
b) UK
c) Turkey
d) Syria
132. Which among the following was the big break for
the Whistleblower and Wikileaks?
a) Collateral Murder
b) story on Daniel Arap Moi
c) emails of Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan’s and his ruling Justice and
Development
d) cache of emails of the Syrian government and
its opponents
133. What is the opinion of the author?
a) The extradition of the Whistleblower to the USA
would ripple into the journalistic profession and
have severe consequences
b) The Whistleblower is a scapegoat who is the
hero of journalism
c) Since the Whistleblower’s arrest has nothing
to do with India, it is only a matter of curiosity
as to why Indians must follow the arrest and
possible extradition to USA.
d) None of the above.
134. What is the cause of alarm, that the author finds in
K K Venugopal’s argument regarding the Rafale
Documents?
a) The documents were not stolen, and therefore
the blatant lie discredits the media.
b) The theft of the Rafale documents was not the
concern in the matter before the court, and if K
K Venugopal brought it up, he wishes to lie to
the Indian population that the Indian Media is
stealing state secrets.
c) The government is corrupt and wont even try to
successfully cover it.
d) The argument that the documents are stolen and
therefore the publication of them is criminal has
the effect of gagging the media.
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135. What is the end goal that the US trying to achieve
by the extradition of the Whistleblower?
a) Show it’s prosecutorial authority over a non US
citizen
b) Punish a criminal
c) Curb the ostensible freedom of media by making
an example of the Whistleblower
d) None of the above.
Directions for questions 136 to 141: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 17th of December 2019
asked the petitioners in the Jamia Violence matter to
approach the concerned High Courts with their prayers for
a Court-monitored probe into the reports of police atrocities
against students of Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh
Muslim University during protests. The primary reason
for non-intervention of Apex Court was its reluctance to
adjudicate in the absence of established facts (fact finding
is essentially a function of the trial courts) and the vast area
over which the matter is spread because prayers were also
made concerning incidents in other universities such as
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Subsequently, on 19th
December, the Delhi HC issued notice to the government
and the police but refused to provide any interim relief to
the petitioners.
The evening of Sunday 15th December 2019 rocked the
entire nation as reports of a student led protest in Delhi's
Jamia Milia Islamia University turning violent came in.
Popular English daily, the Hindu reported that police had
entered the campus without the administration's approval
and applied brute force including tear gas firing to clamp
down the protest by the students. Authorities at Jamia Milia
Islamia University on Monday termed Sunday's police
crackdown against its students as a "war-like situation" and
demanded a high-level probe into the incident. Furthermore,
as many as 50 students were detained by the police, who
were subsequently released in the wee hours of Monday.
On the other hand, talking about the protest to India Today
TV, DCP South east Delhi Chinmaya Biswal contended
that it was the students who had instigated the ruckus by
resorting to violent means of protest including stone pelting
and the police had to scatter the raging crowd to maintain
law and order.
The incident led to nationwide protests with widespread
support pouring in from a number of premier national
institutes such as IIT Bombay, IISc Bangalore, NLUs etc. in
favour of the protesting students and against the excessive
use of force by the Police. Alumni associations from
international institutions such as Harvard and Yale also
25
issued statements of solidarity with the protesting students.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, some news channels
and statesmen alike supported the actions of the police by
putting forth the argument that the police had all the right
to use force in cracking down a protest which had allegedly
turned violent.
136. What is the popular view about the actions of the
Delhi Police on 15th December?
a) The Delhi Police was justified in their action.
b) If there was violence instigated by the JMU
students then Delhi Police was justified in it’s
actions.
c) The actions of the Delhi Police reek of Police
abuse of power by the Central Government and
should not be allowed to go unpunished.
d) The actions the Police were excessive use of
power.
137. What were the JMU students protesting?
a) 104th Constitutional Amendment
b) The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019
c) The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019
d) Both (a) and (c).
138. The Supreme Court:
a) dismissed the case, calling it ‘futile’
b) asked the petitioners to approach a high court
since ‘fact finding’ of such a matter was not
generally in its ambit.
c) asked the petitioners to approach the high court
since the high court is the lowest competent
court to ask for personal freedoms.
d) was conspicuously mute on the face of violations
to personal freedom and liberty.
139. The JMU authorities, support:
a) the students.
b) the police.
c) the righteous
d) None of the above.
140. Who is Chinmay Biswal?
a) Student at JNU
b) Judge of the Supreme Court
c) DCP of South Delhi
d) None of the above
141. If fact finding is the function of the lower courts,
what is the primary function of the higher courts?
a) Interrogation of the suspects.
b) Questioning the validity of the facts found in the
lower court.
c) Discerning in matters of interpretation and
application of law.
d) All of the above
26
Directions for questions 142 to 146: The questions in
this section are based on what is stated or implied in the
passage given below. For each question, choose the option
that most accurately and completely answers the question
The case of a BJP Yuva Morcha functionary being arrested
in West Bengal for sharing a morphed image of Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee demonstrates how wrong and
needlessly oppressive legal processes can turn out to be.
The police in Howrah registered a case and arrested
Priyanka Sharma under irrelevant and non-existent
provisions, a magistrate showed little application of mind
while remanding her to judicial custody, and even the
Supreme Court, while ordering her immediate release, did
not recognise sufficiently the perverse manner in which
the law was being used. It is a matter of some consolation
that the apex court observed a day later that the arrest was
arbitrary and pulled up the West Bengal government for
delaying Ms. Sharma’s release for technical reasons. The
police, apparently realising that there was no offence in the
first place, has filed a closure report terming the complaint
a ‘mistake of fact’. It is a reflection of the level of acrimony
between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP in the
midst of a violence-marred, multi-phase election that the
police entertained a complaint from a Trinamool Congress
activist and booked Ms. Sharma for criminal defamation
and offences under the provisions of the Information
Technology Act.
It is possible that some considered the morphed image —
in which Ms. Banerjee’s face was appended to an actor’s
photograph at a museum event in New York — defamatory.
But it is unclear how the police could arrest someone for
defamation based on a third party’s complaint.
A cyber-crime police station handled the case, apparently
because it involved Section 66-A of the IT Act, a provision
declared unconstitutional in 2015, and Section 67-A,
which can be used only when sexually explicit material
is transmitted in electronic form. Thus, what was at best a
case of defamation, a non-cognisable and bailable offence,
was projected as a cyber-crime with the sole aim of getting
the accused remanded. While magistrates are often known
to act mechanically — although that is no excuse for
remanding the accused in this case — it is disconcerting
that a Bench of the Supreme Court ventured to advise her
to apologise for sharing the image on Facebook. The court
included a gratuitous sentence in its order that “the detenu
shall, however, at the time of release, tender an apology
in writing”. The inclusion of an apology requirement gives
the impression that the court was more concerned about
cooling frayed tempers than about the blatant misuse of the
law.
Another disconcerting aspect is that the police continue
SimCLAT 2020
to invoke Section 66-A. In January, the apex court sought
the Centre’s response on a petition that claimed that police
officials were unaware that the section is no more on the
statute book. As the main issue of freedom of expression
thrown up by this case is going to be heard in detail later, it
is hoped the aberrant developments so far will give way to
a reasoned verdict.
142. The police of West Bengal arrested Ms. Priyanka
Sharma because ___________
a) She is a BJP leader in a Trinamool Congress run
state
b) She morphed the photo of the CM of the state
and added the CM’s face to the body of an actor
c) She lied to the police
d) None of the above.
143. S 66 A of the Information Technology Act has been
________
a) rendered inapplicable due to unconstitutional
nature of the provision
b) rendered as void due to it being arbitrary
c) removed from the statute books, by the order of
the Supreme Court of India.
d) All of the above.
144. What was the error of the Supreme Court, in the
opinion of the author?
a) The Surpeme Court was more concerned with
cooling frayed tempers.
b) The Supreme Court asked Ms. Priyanka Sharma
to apologise, though there was no call to do so.
c) The Supreme Court did not recognize judicially
how the law was blatantly misused to imprison
Ms. Sharma.
d) All of the above
145. Which of the following would prima facie, justify
the arrest of Ms. Priyanka Sharma?
a) The complaint was made by Ms. Banerjee’s
family, the CM, whose face had been morphed,
instead of a third party
b) The morphed photo of Ms. Banerjee’s photo
was pornographic in nature.
c) The photo of Ms. Banerjee was morphed to look
like she was meeting with an enemy of the state.
d) All of the above
a) Flouting of Election commission guidelines;
Any member of the Trinamool Congress.
b) Defamation; any member of the Trinamool
Congress.
c) Defamation; Ms. Banerjee.
d) None of the above.
Directions for questions 147 to 150: Choose the correct
Alternative.
147. Shanmughasundaram Mohan passed away in the
last week of December 2019. Who was he?
a) Former Supreme Court Judge
b) Former acting Governor of Karnataka
c) Former Chief Justice of Madras High Court
d) All of the above.
148. The _________ Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works, 1886 is the international
agreement governing copyrights.
a) Vienna
b) Geneva
c) Berne
d) Brussels
149. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2019 was ___________ on December
28, 2019
a) pending
b) passed
c) introduced
d) promulgated
150. Who among the following is the first law officer of
India?
a) The Chief Justice of India
b) The Attorney General of India
c) The President of India
d) The President of the Bar Council of India.
_____________

146. What case would be the most appropriate for

punishing the actions of Ms. Sharma, and who
would need to complain regarding the same?

SimCLAT 2020 27
 SPACE FOR ROUGH WORK

28 SimCLAT 2020
 simCLAT-9 (2020)
Explanatory Answers
1. Throughout this passage, the author speaks about Agatha
Christie and her books in entirely positive terms, so option
(d) can be immediately eliminated as being too negative.
The opinion expressed in the second half of option (c)
is that of Christie herself (see the second sentence of
paragraph 2), not the author, so option (c) can be ruled
out. In the first paragraph, the author states that Agatha
Christie is the ‘most successful novelist of all time’ and
that ‘her books and plays are still loved by millions’,
so the wish expressed in option (b) has no basis in this
passage. Option (a) is the most suitable answer, as it
succinctly expresses the author’s highly positive attitude
towards Agatha Christie and her books. Hence (a).
2. Refer to the third paragraph: ‘She presented clues fairly
and in plain sight, often drawing attention to them, but
safe in the knowledge that most readers would form their
own, wrong, conclusions.’ Thus, option (b) is the right
answer. Option (a) is only partially correct, as the third
paragraph suggests that the clues are obvious, and that
readers miss them during their first read due to Christie’s
misdirection. Options (c) and (d) are completely incorrect.
Hence (b).
3. The word ‘gratuitous’ has two meanings: ‘complimentary
or free of charge’, and ‘unwarranted or unnecessary’.
In the given context (‘…try to shock her readers with
gratuitous violence…’), the latter is the correct meaning,
as ‘violence’ cannot be called ‘free of charge’. Hence (d).
4. According to the last paragraph, Agatha Christie ‘used
poisons in the majority of her books’, so options (c)
and (d), both of which say that she used them rarely, are
incorrect. The second half of option (b) contradicts what
is stated in the last paragraph, i.e. that expert knowledge
was not necessary to understand Christie’s use of poisons
in her books. Thus, option (b) is ruled out and option (a) is
correct. Hence (a).
5. The clue to resolving this apparent contradiction lies in the
word ‘novelist’. According to the passage, Agatha Christie
has mainly written novels (though she has written plays
as well). She is the ‘most successful novelist of all time’,
not most successful writer. As long as we assume that the
Bible and Shakespeare’s works are not novels, there is no
contradiction even if they outsell Agatha Christie’s works.
Hence (b).
6. The author of this passage displays a highly positive
attitude towards the heart; so option (a), which is framed
in rather negative terms, cannot be a suitable summary.
Option (b) too is rather dismissive, and does not really
summarize the second and third paragraphs, where the
author talks about the heart’s capabilities in glowing
terms. Option (d) is a summary of only the first paragraph,
SimCLAT 2020
not the whole passage. Only option (c) summarizes the
entire passage succinctly. Hence (c).
7. Options (a) and (b) do not answer the question; they
merely repeat the question in different ways. Option (d)
is incorrect, as paragraph 2 states that the heart does its
job of pumping blood ‘supremely well’. And because
it is so focused on its job, ‘the heart has no time for
distractions’. This is why it is a good thing that the heart is
not responsible for doing anything else, such as handling
our emotional well-being. Hence (c).
8. Refer to the first paragraph: ‘That symbol first appeared,
as if from out of nowhere, in paintings from northern Italy
in the early fourteenth century, but no one knows what
inspired it.’ Thus, option (d) best states the origin of the
traditional symbol for the heart. Hence (d).
9. The word ‘spurting’ means ‘gushing out in a sudden and
forceful stream’. Hence (a).
10. Options (a), (b) and (c) are all stated in the second and
third paragraphs. However, option (c) is not correct –
according to the third paragraph, the heart pumps 6,360
litres of blood around the body in just a day, not a year.
Hence (c).
11. Statement B makes much more sense as the first sentence
– as in options (a) and (c) – than as the last or penultimate
sentence – as in options (b) and (d) – as it introduces
silver. B and D are linked: B says what silver isn’t, while
D says what it is. C connects to D, as they both talk about
‘bouncing’ light, i.e. reflecting it. E and A together explain
how silver reacts with light. Thus, the correct sequence is
BDCEA. Hence (c).
12. This paragraph talks about the difference between wild
and domestic potatoes. So statement D, which introduces
this point, has to be the first sentence. A and C follow
D, as together they specify exactly what this difference
consists of. E explains why this difference came about,
and B ends the paragraph by showing how this difference
affects wild and domestic potatoes differently. Thus, the
correct sequence is DACEB. Hence (d).
13. This paragraph is about the relation between ‘genius’
and ‘celebrity’. Statements C and A are thus the first two
sentences, as they introduce these two concepts and talk
about the modern attitudes towards them both. E comes
next, as it asks if there is a relationship between the two.
B describes what a visitor from Mars – i.e. someone
who didn’t know anything about human culture – would
wrongly assume. D ends the paragraph by stating that
we, humans, know better. Thus, the correct sequence is
CAEBD. Hence (b).
1

14. At first glance, any of statements A, B or D could be the
introductory sentence. So it makes more sense to look for
internal links. The most obvious link is BE: B talks about
the practices of farmers ‘thousands of years ago’, and then
E talks about what they did ‘later’. This rules out options
(c) and (d), which lack this link. Statement A does not
make sense as the concluding sentence, as in option (b);
rather, it fits logically as the first sentence, as the most of
the other sentences illustrate the point stated in A. Thus,
the correct sequence is ADBEC. Hence (a).
15. Statement E, which introduces the concept of oxidation,
has to be the first sentence. B follows from E, as it is an
example of the destructiveness of oxidation. DCA is an
easily identifiable sequence: D says that oxidation is a
general chemical process; C describes this process; and
A continues this description, with the word ‘snatchee’
linking to the snatching mentioned in C. Thus, the correct
sequence is EBDCA. Hence (d).
16. The verb in this blank has to be in the simple present
tense, in keeping with the tense in the rest of the sentence.
So ‘gone’ and ‘went’, which are past forms, can be ruled
out. Since the subject is plural – ‘languages’ – the verb
must be plural as well – ‘go’. Hence (a).
17. The correct form of the verb here is simply ‘trying’.
‘Was trying’ would have to be preceded by ‘and’. ‘Try’
is grammatically incorrect, and ‘being tried’ changes the
meaning. Hence (c).
18. The word/s in the blank must indicate ‘the grammar
of English’ or ‘English grammar’ in order to maintain
parallelism with ‘German grammar’ which it is being
compared to. ‘That of English’ or ‘English’s’ are suitable
substitutes for the full phrase; but simply ‘English’ or ‘of
English’ are not. ‘English is’ would make sense in this
context only if the word ‘grammar’ was inserted between
those two words. Hence (b).
19. The correct idiomatic phrase in this context is ‘split hairs’,
which means make fine distinctions. Hence (d).
20. The correct preposition after ‘regardless’ is ‘of’.
Hence (b).
21. It is a misconception that Chinese car makers are better
because of a cultural advantage. The author proves it
wrong by showing that the difference lies in Chinese
production techniques. Hence (d).
22. Refer to the first paragraph: ‘Some observers of
China have assumed that Chinese firms use the same
manufacturing equipment and techniques as United States
firms but have benefited from the unique characteristics of
Chinese employees and the Chinese culture. However, if
this were true, then one would expect Chinese steel plants
in the United States to perform no better than factories run
by United States companies.’ Hence (d).
2 SimCLAT 2020
23. According to the second paragraph, Chinese productivity
levels matched and then doubled United States productivity
levels in the mid-sixties, so option (a) is incorrect. Refer
to the last paragraph: ‘Chinese steel-makers chose to
make small-lot production feasible by introducing several
departures from United States practices, including the
use of flexible equipment that could be altered easily to
do several different production tasks and the training of
workers in multiple jobs.’ Thus, options (b) and (d) are
wrong, and option (c) is correct. Hence (c).
24. The fact that ‘Chinese firms have achieved the highest
levels of manufacturing efficiency in the world steel
industry’ is presented in the first paragraph. An
explanation for it is advanced: that this is due to the unique
characteristics of Chinese employees and the Chinese
culture. Then this explanation is refuted by showing that
‘Chinese-run steel plants located in the United States and
staffed by local workers have demonstrated higher levels
of productivity when compared with factories owned by
United States companies’. This is best described in option
(b). Hence (b).
25. Refer to the last paragraph ‘Chinese steel-makers chose to
make small-lot production feasible by introducing several
departures from United States practices’. This supports
the point made in option (a). Hence (a).
26. ‘While’ suggests that we need a word opposite to ‘obvious
and immediate’. ‘Conspicuous’, which means clearly
visible, fits this criterion. Hence (d).
27. ‘Therefore recurrent’ suggests that Xavier borrowed
often from Roman tragedy often or in a huge amount. ‘In
plenitude’ means in plenty. Hence (a).
28. ‘But’ suggests contrast; and as the investigator discovered
discrepancies, a positive word is definitely needed for the
blank. ‘Astute’ means sharp-witted. Hence (c).
29. ‘Even the slightest’ suggests that we need a word implying
disagreement. ‘Dissent’ means holding an opinion
contrary to the one officially held. Note that ‘revolution’
is too strong – any kind of government would consider
signs of revolution to be treason, not just an authoritarian
government. Hence (b).
30. The phrase ‘moments of euphoria and tribulations’
suggests that we need a word for ups and downs.
‘Vacillationss’ means fluctuations. Hence (a).
31. Reeverts, who is studying agro-business economics,
says that he is concerned about international trade, but
that ‘there is not a really good answer to it’. This implies
that the problems with the international agriculture trade
market are difficult to solve. Hence (d).
32. The passage talks about money and happiness and how
Indians feel money is important for happiness. Option (a)
 is apt as it states that people are worried about money to
the extent that it causes stress. Option (b) with marriage,
option (c) with bribes and option (d) with aspirations
do not bring out the connection between money and
happiness. Hence (a).
33. The study compares health and fitness levels of people
in different regions. Rather than focusing on the region,
it stresses on people from the region. It doesn’t cover
exercise, so (b) can be eliminated. Both (c) and (d) talk of
climates being easier, so they can be eliminated too. Since
the study is about the people, (a) is the correct conclusion.
Hence (a).
34. We need to undermine the conclusion that people living in
cold regions are healthier than those in hot ones. Option
(a) simply strengthens it. Option (b) is out of scope and
neither strengthens nor weakens. Option (d) simply denies
the point without providing any rationale. In option (c),
the reason cited for the poor health is not the climate of the
region, but the lack of resources, which correctly weakens
the conclusion. Hence (c).
35. Option (b) doesn’t explain how men are fitter than women.
And option (c) doesn’t explain how population figures
affect health and fitness of people. Option (d) would
weaken the conclusion. Only option (a) states how colder
regions encourage activities for better fitness levels, thus
strengthening the conclusion. Hence (a).
36. The passage talks about making the work environment
more conducive for a pregnant woman so that she feels
comfortable and safe. Only option (a) talks about this.
Hence (a).
37. The strongest argument to negate the idea of going to
Alaska in the winter is option (c), which talks about
the possibility of death. Option (a) only talks about
inconvenience. Option (b) supports visiting the state in
winter. Option (d) is too generic. Hence (c).
38. Option (c) clearly states that Tokyo has successfully
hosted the games in the past and has the infrastructure
and facilities to do so now. Option (a) actually questions
Tokyo’s credibility. Option (b) is not related to Tokyo at
all. Option (d) too makes the host city look dubious before
the big event. Hence (c).
39. In response to Rohan’s statement about the government’s
effort to eliminate black money, Ved points out that
unaccounted cash transactions are deterrents to
the government’s efforts. Ved doesn’t question the
Government’s intentions, so option (d) is eliminated.
Option (a) is explicitly mentioned in the dialogue, and
option (b) can be inferred from it. Ved tries to prove to
Rohan that the government’s efforts are futile, thus option
(c) is the conclusion. Hence (c).
40. Option (a) presumes people will cooperate, contradicting
the very premise in Ved’s argument, thus (a) is eliminated.
SimCLAT 2020
Cash transactions can be made without bills, so (b) is
eliminated. While cash transactions may be illegal,
Ved talks of such transactions still going on, so (c) is
eliminated. Ved points out that black money will continue
to be generated as there will be cash transactions. As cash
withdrawals are also accounted for, (d) correctly weakens
Ved’s conclusion. Hence (d).
41. To play devil’s advocate is to argue against or attack an
idea, argument, or proposition – even if one is in favour
of it – for the sake of debate or to further examine its
strength, validity, or details. This is what Ved does if he
knows that cash withdrawals are also accounted for. A
friend, philosopher or mentor may help in many ways, but
this is specifically a case of devil’s advocate. Hence (d).
42. This paragraph is a part of a letter that a father has written
to his daughter for her to understand that no matter
whatever they have been discussing about world affairs,
no one person can know everything about all aspects of
life. He urges her to learn more and yearn for wisdom as a
process and not see it as a destination. Hence (b).
43. Option (a) rather undermines the popularity of Bibingka,
so it can be ruled out. Option (c) merely talks about a
culinary distinction regarding the delicacy. Option (b)
talks about its popularity in Indonesia, not the Philippines,
which is the country discussed in the passage. Option (d),
which explains that the delicacy is delicious and deeply
rooted in the culture of the Philippines, explains why it is
so popular there. Hence (d).
44. The author concludes that calling her ‘wheatish’ rather
dark was her mother’s way of trying to reconcile her
dark skin with the fact that they were an upper-caste
Brahmin family. To evaluate this argument, we need to
know the relationship between skin complexion and
societal hierarchy. Knowing whether a darker skin tone is
associated with the lower castes helps us do so.
Hence (b).
45. The first boldfaced statement provides reasons/evidence
for the argument’s stating that we should not talk only
about reducing greenhouse gases. The second predicts the
problems that will arise if we do not devise ways to cope
with the effects of global warming. Options (a) and (b)
incorrectly classify the first boldfaced statement, while
(c) incorrectly classifies the second. Only (d) correctly
classifies both the statements. Hence (d).
46. ‘Children follow the footsteps of their parents’ is the logic
given in the paragraph, and the same theme runs through
options (a), (b) and (d). Only (c) has a different take:
finding the successor from the competition. Hence (c).
47. We need to find an option that defeats the argument that
parents choose their children’s professions. Option (a)
suggests that children may not want to follow in their
parents’ footsteps, but that does not necessarily mean that
they succeed in choosing their own professions. Option
3
 (c) is a generic statement that makes no mention of parent- Answers for question 54 to 56:
child relationships. Option (d) may be an obstacle for For such questions, we go by two cases.
some parents to achieve their aim of choosing their child’s Case-1: Chinna’s first statement is True and second is False.
profession, but that does not mean that they don’t try to
do so anyway. Only (b) shows that it is not parents who Name Statement 1 Statement 2
choose their children’s careers, but rather the latter who Chinna True False
voluntarily go into the same fields as their parents.
Nani True False
Hence (b).
Indu True False
48. The report states problems from the perspective of
airplanes. So (a), which is from the perspective of If Chinna’s first statement is true, then Chinna took the jar and
birds, is eliminated. There is no reference to birds Nani’s first statement is true. Further, according to Nani, Indu
being endangered, so (d) is eliminated too. Option (c) pulled the chair and Nani’s second statement is False, which is in
simply restates information from the passage – it is not accordance with the assumption made in case -1. Going to Indu,
an inference. The passage covers problems faced by the 2nd statement is false, as according to Nani, Indu pulled the
airplanes, and so (b) is the inference. Hence (b). chair. so first must be true.. Nani took the cookies.
Thus by case-1 we get to know, Chinna took the jar, Nani took the
49. A placebo is a medicine or procedure prescribed for the cookies and Indu pulled the chair.
psychological benefit to the patient rather than for any Case-2: Chinna’s first statement is False and second is True.
physiological effect. But the paradox is that sometimes
they work even though they have no actual medicinal Name Statement 1 Statement 2
value. Option (a) is a given, or the patient wouldn’t Chinna False True
consume it. Even if (c) were true, it doesn’t explain how a
Nani False True
placebo works, and neither does (d). But (b) shows that a
psychological effect drives the placebo to work. Indu False True
Hence (b).
Assuming Chinna’s 1st statement to be false, Chinna did not take
the jar and Nani’s first statement will become false. Nani’s first
50. The Human Rights Activists allege that the police
statement, Indu pulled the chair will become false(thus Indu did
encounter was a fake one. I and II support this while III
not pull the chair) and Chinna did not take out the jar is true,
shows that the police were right in shooting the alleged
which is in consistency with the assumption made. Going to Indu,
rapists. Hence (a).
her second statement is true and hence first must be false. Going
by case 2 we get to know that, Chinna did not take the jar, Nani did
51. If option (a) is true, it makes the difference in the
not take the cookies and Indu did not pull the chair. However, we
energy bill even more puzzling, as the usage of the AC,
do not know who took the cookies.
refrigerator and washing machine remained constant.
Thus, there is only one valid solution, by case-1.
Even if the children were preparing for an exam, it doesn’t
explain how a bill of 15,000 reduced to 2,000. Even if
54-(a) 55-(a) 56-(a).
the neighbours were facing the same issue, that sheds no
light on why the problem occurred in the first place. But
Answers for question 57 to 59:
if the energy company had billed them the first amount
by mistake, it explains the drastic change in the monthly
energy bill. Hence (b).

52. If the central bank is considering opening branches,

private firms may not stand a chance. Cooperative banks’
and nationalized banks’ intentions are not inferable from
the passage. Companies have a responsibility to fulfil
Corporate Social Responsibility, so private firms may be
looking to do so by opening private banks in rural areas.
Hence (d).
57. P is the husband of T’s sister, i.e. brother-in-law of T.
53. If operating costs don’t add up to expenses for banks in
Hence (c).
rural areas, banks would shy away from opening branches
there. Hence (c).
58. J is the son of D’s sister, therefore J is the nephew of D.
Hence (d).

59. Q is the son of M’s son and thus Q is the grandson of M.

Hence (b).

4 SimCLAT 2020
60. Let x be the number of Black balls. 4 5
Male : Female = 4 : 5 ; Male = 9 of
9 900 = 400;
Thus, we get:
x + 2x + 4x=42 4 5
Female =9 9 of 900 = 500;
7x = 42
x = 6 69. Total Female farmers = 108+500 = 608
Thus, 6 + 12 + 24 = 42 Total population of village B = 1500
Hence (b). Required percentage
1500 – 608 892
Answers for question 61 to 65: = 1500 × 100 = 1500 × 100 = 59.46% . 59.5%
Hence (b).
61. A’s share in 1995 = 16% of 2.3 = 0.368
A’s share in 2000 = 19% of 3.7 = 0.703
70. Ratio of male farmers from village A to female farmers
\ % increase =
0.703 – 0.368 0.335
× 100 = 0.368 × 100 . 90% from village B = 72 : 500 = 18 : 125. Hence (d).
0.368
Hence (a). 71. Total farmers from both the villages = 180 + 900 = 1080
Required Average = 1080/2 = 540. Hence (a).
3.7 – 2.3
62. Growth rate = 2.3 × 100 . 61%
Answers for question 72 to 75:
61% Commission received by distributor = Rs. 7500
\ Average growth rate = 5 . 12% p.a.
Number of tables sold ‘X’ = (7500/1500)×50 = 5 × 50 = 250
Hence (d).
Total Tables bought (stock received) by distributor from producer
= 250 + 25 = 275
63. Since we do not know that what part of market share of B,
Total cost of production = Rs. 41,25,000
C and E has been eaten up by F, so cannot be determined.
Cost price per Table = 4125000 / 275 = Rs. 15,000
Hence (d).
Note : distributor sells only 250 tables. Rest 25 are still with him.
Marked Price per Table = 1.4 × 15000 = Rs. 21,000
64. Sales value for A + B + C in 2000,
Total Profit made by Distributor on the selling of tables
= (13 + 14 + 19)% of 3.7 billion
= Rs. 3,75,000
= 46% × 3.7 = 1.702 billion 375000
sales value for A + B + C in 1995, Profit per table = 250 = 1500
= (16 + 17 + 12)% of 2.3 billion ∴ Selling Price per Table = 1500 + 15000 = Rs. 16500
= 1.035 billion Discount offered = MP - SP = 21000 - 16500 = Rs. 4500
Hence increase in sales value
= 1702 – 1035 = $ 667 million 4500 3
Discount percent = 21000 × 100 = 14 × 100 = 21.43%
Hence (c).
∴ K = 21.43%
65. Market share in 2002 = (1.1)2 × 3.7 billion
= $ 4.477 billion 72-(d).
1
D’s share = 3 of 4.477 ≈ $ 1.5 billion 73. The ratio of (K% of 1100) : (X + 25)
Hence (a).
3
× 1100 3 × 1100
66. The difference between the white-coloured vehicles sold = 14 275 = 14 × 275 = 6: 7
is the minimum in B type model. Hence (d).
Hence (c).
67. Required difference = (50 – 34) × 1000 = 16,000.
74. If discount is 10% instead of K, then SP per table = 90%
Hence (d).
of MP = 90% of 21000 = Rs. 18,900
Profit per table = SP - CP = 18900 - 15000 = Rs. 3900
68. Required percentage = 173/192 × 100 = 90%
Hence (c).
3900
Profit percentage = 15000 × 100 = 26%.

Answers for question 69 to 71: Hence (a).

Population of Village A = 900 75. If two successive discounts of 5% and 10% are allowed on
marked price,
Farmers = 20% of 900 = 180
Then, SP per table = 95% of 90% of 21000 = Rs. 17955
2 3
Male : Female = 2 : 3 ; Male = 5 of
5 180 = 72, Profit per Table = SP - CP = 17955 – 15000 = Rs. 2955.
2 3 Hence (d).
Female =5 5 of 180 = 108;
Population of Village B = 1500 76. In Gender Gap Report 2019, India slipped to 112nd rank.
Farmers = 60% of 1500 = 900 Hence (a).

SimCLAT 2020 5
77. Iceland topped the Gender Gap Report 2019. Hence(b)
78. World Economic Forum is headquartered in Geneva.
Hence (a).
79. World Democracy Index is published by The Economic
Intelligence Unit, not WEF. Hence (d).
80. Gender gap report is calculated based on the difference
between men & women on Health, Education, Economy
& Politics parameters. The list doesn’t include occupation.
Hence (d).
81. Koneru Humpy belongs to Andhra Pradesh. Hence (b).
82. Kateryna Lagno of Russia won the Women’s World Blitz
Chess Championship 2019. Hence(a).
83. Koneru Humpy defeated China’s Lei Tingjie to win
the Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship 2019.
Hence(a).
84. Magnus Carlsen has won the most number of World Chess
Championships titles till date. Hence (d).
85. Koneru became the second female player, after Judit
Polgar, to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark. Hence (c).
86. Both are independent exercises. The data collected in
NPR will be utilized by census. Hence(c).
87. The Census process and an update of the National
Population Register across the country are to take place
from April 2020 to September 2020. Hence(c)
88. The 1951 Census of India is the first census after
independence and Partition of India. 1951 census was
also the first census to be conducted under 1948 Census of
India Act. Hence (d)
89. The government is planning to update the National
Population Register along with the Houselisting phase
of Census 2021 in all the states/UTs except Assam, since
NRC exercise has already been conducted there. Hence(c)
90. The UPA government introduced the NPR in 2010.
Hence(a).
91. Greta Thunberg won the Time Magazine’s youngest ever
“Person of the Year 2019” award. Hence (a).
92. The COP25 Climate summit was held in Madrid in 2019.
Hence (a)
93. Greta Thunberg belongs to Sweden. Hence (c)
94. Both options a and b were the stated goals of COP25
summit 2019. Hence (d)
95. #FridaysforFuture is the name of the movement started
6 SimCLAT 2020
by Greta Thunberg to protest against the lack of action on
climate change summit. Hence (b)
96. FASTag works on RFID technology. Hence (a)
97. No bank is pre-assigned to the FASTag at the time you
purchase it from a POS terminal or online. Hence (c)
98. FASTags are part of the National Electronic Toll
Collection programme developed by the National
Payments Corporation of India in 2019. Hence (c)
99. Nitin Gadkari is the current Road Transport and Highways
Minister of India. Hence (b).
100. National Highway 44 (NH 44) is the longest-running
major north–south National Highway in India. It begins
from Srinagar and terminates in Kanyakumari. Hence (a)
101. South Asian Games were held in Nepal in 2019. Hence(a)
102. Sakshi Malik won the gold medal in women’s 62 Kg
wrestling in South Asian Games in 2019. Hence (c)
103. The South Asian Games 2019 mascot was Blackbuck
(Krishnashar). Hence (b).
104. The first ever South Asian Games held in Nepal in 1984.
Hence(b).
105. Seven Countries namely India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan members joined
South Asian Games 2019. Hence (a).
106. The UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
have been merged into a single entity. Hence (c).
107. The passage makes no observations or pretensions of
dissemination of news. It only states what was said and by
whom and what happened. Hence (c).
108. The answer is (b).
109. The answer is (c).
110. In October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered while
he was in the Saudi Consulate in Instanbul. Hence (d).
111. The answer is (c).
112. The assassination, subsequent response of the Saudi
government and finally they judicial decision of the
Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has made it difficult for
the people to believe that such a massive operation was
conducted without the say-so and knowhow of the persons
on the top. Hence (c).
113. The court, in Pakistan, has sentenced Musharraf to death
because he imposed emergency in 2007 and suspended
the constitution of Pakistan to extend his own tenure.
 The constitution of Pakistan provides that any attempt to
subvert or abrogates or suspend or holds in abeyance, the
Constitution by use of force shall be High Treason. the country. Hence (a).
Hence (c).
114. The answer is (c).
115. There are several politicians who oppose the verdict
of the Court. However in this paragraph and in reality,
Musharraf has received unequivocal support from the
armed forces, of which he was a part, for over 40 years.
Hence (b).
116. If Musharraf had been asked to present his side, and he
had ignored the summons or had refused to present his
point, he would not be allowed to cry violation of ‘audi
alteram partem’. Hence (c).
117. The answer is (a).
118. There are several safeguards, within the Indian
Constitution, which obstruct the President from assuming
power, as the Presidents and Military leaders of Pakistan
have often attempted. Among the options, however, only
option (d) suffices. Hence (d).
119. The UT of Puducherry comes under the jurisdiction of the
Madras High Court. Hence (b).
120. The challenge to Kiran Bedi’s power/use of discretion in
Puducherry was challenged as there was a long standing
power struggle between the LG and the CM of Puducherry
which came to head because the CM believed she was
‘disregarding the elected regime and seeking to run the
Union Territory on her own’. Hence (c).
121. The differences between Delhi and Puducherry are several
in nature in the opinion of Justice R. Mahadevan. However
they do no include Delhi being the ‘seat of power’. Hence
(d).
122. As per the passage, an ordinary law was used to create
the legislature of Puducherry, and as such same would be
required for Ladakh. Hence (b).
123. The High Court has asked the Centre and the
Administrator ‘that they should be true to the concept
of democratic principles, lest the constitutional scheme
based on democracy and republicanism be defeated’.
Hence (a).
124. The answer is (b).
125. The answer is (b).
126. The answer is (d).
SimCLAT 2020
127. OCI, by its very name i.e. Oversees Citizens of India, is
unimportant to those people who are already citizens of
128. Those feeling Pakistan are fleeing religious persecution. In
such a case, it would be prudent to differentiate between
the minorities being persecuted and then giving them
asylum. A Muslim from Pakistan is not fleeing religious
persecution. As regards persons fleeing terrorism
and poverty, the difference in religion is prima facie
unjustified. Persons from Europe cannot claim equality
with those from the Indian Subcontinent. Hence (a).
129. The Assam Accords allow for deportation of all persons,
that have illegally entered India after 1971, in Assam to be
identified and then deported. However the new bill puts
a new entry for illegal immigrants to 2014. In addition it
only provides for deportation of Muslims. Hence (b).
130. The answer is (c).
131. In terms of maximum embarrassment, the exposure
of ‘Collateral Murder’ war logs brought to light the
destruction heralded by the US armed forces. This trumps
domestic corruption scandals and personal misdoings in
Syria and Turkey. Hence (a).
132. The answer is (b).
133. The author makes his opinion clear in the last sentence of
this passage. Hence (a).
134. KK Venugopal’s assertion that the publication of stolen
documents would be criminal and punished gives the idea
that the media of India is not to publish anything that
has the effect of embarrassing the Government of India.
Hence (d).
135. The answer is (c).
136. Several persons were supportive of the police actions,
however the popular view was in favor of the students.
However there was no mention of the Central Government
in the passage. Hence (d).
137. The answer is (c).
138. The order of the Supreme Court was not unfeeling in
the face of the anguish of the petitioners. It was merely
that procedurally it would be better for the petitioners to
approach their respective High Courts.
139. The statement by the authorities, about a war like
situation, etc. make it clear that they support the students.
Hence (a).
140. Chinmay Biswal is the DCP of South East Delhi.
Hence (d).
141. The higher courts generally do not delve into the matter
7
 of facts and evidence. In appeal, a party does not dispute
the facts established by the lower courts, they dispute the
application of law in a matter and its interpretation.
Hence (c).

142. The answer is (b).

143. The answer is (a).

144. While not in chronological order, the author has stated that
she finds options (a) to (c), disconcerting and alarming.
Hence (d).

145. The arrest of Ms. Sharma was under Ss. 66 A and 67-A
of the IT act. 66A is defunct. 67A can be used only when
sexually explicit material is transmitted in electronic form.
Hence (b).

146. Defamation is a bailable and non-cognizable offence. This

means that Ms. Banerjee herself would have to complaint,
for it to be acted upon. Hence (c).

147. The answer is (d).

148. The answer is (c).

149. The answer is (d).

150. The answer is (b).

_________

Section Subject Max. Marks Good Score

Section I English Language 30 17-19

Section II Logical Reasoning 30 18-19

Section III Quantitative Techniques 15 8-9

Current Affairs, including
Section IV 37 17-18
General Knowledge
Section V Legal Reasoning 38 18-21
Total Marks 150 78-86

8 SimCLAT 2020