Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• When litigants or lawyers attempt to deliberately move their case to a particular judge or Court where they think the judgement could be more favourable, they are said to be involved in “forum shopping.”
• It is the “practice of choosing the court in which to bring an action from among those courts that could properly exercise jurisdiction based on a determination of which court is likely to provide the most favourable outcome.”

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• There is no Constitutional or legal requirement that a Census has to be done every 10 years. However, this exercise has been carried out in the first year of every decade, without fail, since 1881. 
• There are repeated references to the Census exercise in the Constitution in the context of reorganisation of constituencies for Parliament and state Assemblies. 
• The Census of India Act of 1948, which provides the legal framework for carrying out the Census, also does not mention its timing or periodicity.
• The responsibility of conducting the decadal census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 
• The 2021 Census had to be postponed because of the Covid pandemic, the first time in the 150-year history of India’s census operations that the exercise was not completed on time. 

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• The Indian Ocean lies to the west and the Southern Ocean to the south of Australia. 
• Australia has no land borders. 

• The country shares maritime borders with East Timor, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and the islands of New Caledonia.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) rescued 76 tourists stranded at Baralacha La Pass. 
• Baralacha La Pass is located in Himachal Pradesh.
• It is a high-altitude mountain pass in the Zanskar range of the Himalayas.
• It connects Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Leh district in Ladakh, and is situated along the Leh–Manali Highway.
• This Pass also acts as a water-divide between Bhaga river and Yunam river.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Centre filed a review petition against the Supreme Court order on Delhi services.
• As per the Civil Procedure Code and the Supreme Court Rules, any person aggrieved by a ruling can seek a review. It is not necessary that only parties to a case can seek a review of the judgement on it. 
• However, the court does not entertain every review petition filed. It exercises its discretion to allow a review petition only when it shows the grounds for seeking the review.
• As per 1996 rules framed by the Supreme Court, a review petition must be filed within 30 days of the date of judgement or order. 
• What happens if a review petition fails?
  • As the court of last resort, the Supreme Court’s verdict cannot result in a miscarriage of justice.
  • In Roopa Hurra v Ashok Hurra (2002), the court itself evolved the concept of a curative petition, which can be heard after a review is dismissed to prevent abuse of its process.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Operation Dhvast is carried out by National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• It is a nationwide operation targeting terrorists, gangsters, and drug smugglers. 
• The operation aimed to dismantle the terror nexus involved in targeted killings, terror funding, extortion, and smuggling of drugs and weapons.