UPSC Mains 2024 GS4 Q4a: model answer
“The concept of Just and Unjust is contextual. What was just a year back, may turn out to be unjust in today’s context. Changing context should be constantly under scrutiny to prevent miscarriage of justice.” Examine the above statement with suitable examples.
What the question wants
How ideas of justice change and why review is needed.
How to structure it
Intro: justice evolves with society. Body: (1) examples from law (Section 377, adultery, privacy); (2) policy examples (colonial laws, BNS); (3) limits: some core values are constant; (4) mechanisms for scrutiny. Conclusion.
- 1(1) examples from law (Section 377, adultery, privacy)
- 2(2) policy examples (colonial laws, BNS)
- 3(3) limits: some core values are constant
- 4(4) mechanisms for scrutiny
Model answer
Justice reflects a society's values, and values evolve. Laws that once seemed fair can later appear unjust.
Examples
- Section 377 IPC criminalised homosexuality; the Supreme Court read it down in Navtej Johar (2018).
- Adultery (Section 497) was struck down in Joseph Shine (2018) as treating women as property.
- Privacy: denied in M.P. Sharma (1954), recognised in Puttaswamy (2017).
- Sedition put on hold in 2022; colonial criminal laws replaced by the BNS in 2024.
- Instant triple talaq made void (Shayara Bano, 2017).
But: core values like dignity and non-violence are lasting; context must not become an excuse for injustice.
Scrutiny mechanisms: judicial review, Law Commission, sunset clauses, public consultation.
Regular review keeps law living and just.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Navtej Johar Joseph Shine Puttaswamy living law judicial review
Where most answers lose marks
- Saying all values are relative.
Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP_CSM_2024_GenStud_IV_03102024.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.