The concept of “crimes against humanity” includes which of the following acts, as exemplified in the Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen case?

Enslavement, forced marriage, and sexual violence

In States which are bicameral, the Governor can promulgate an Ordinance only when:

When a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation

When the State has been placed under President’s rule

In Lalita Kumari the Supreme Court provides a timeline for the completion of preliminary inquiries by the police prior to the registration of the F .I.R. As per the Court, such an inquiry should be concluded:

Within a period not exceeding fifteen days

Within a period not exceeding seven days

As expeditiously as possible but the Court did not specify a timeline

Within such time as may be permitted by the jurisdictional Magistrate

The power of the police to launch an investigation is provided for under Sections 154 and 157 of Cr.P.C. The threshold to be met for launching an investigation under Section 157, according to Lalita Kumari, is:

Higher than the requirement under Section 154 of Cr.P.C. as the Section uses the term “reason to suspect the commission of an offence”.

Cogent and reliable information disclosing the commission of a cognizable offence.

Precisely the same standard under Section 154 of Cr.P.C. and the police have no discretion in the matter.

At the same standard as for a non-cognizable complaint being scrutinised by a Judicial Magistrate.

An F .I.R. is considered the first information of the commission of a cognizable offence. Where the information discloses the commission of both cognizable offences as well as non-cognizable offences as part of the same facts, how must this information be treated?

The entire information will be treated as disclosing cognizable offences and registered as an F.I.R.

The police officer will sever the parts disclosing non-cognizable offences and shall only register the parts disclosing cognizable offences.

The police officer shall refer the informant to the jurisdictional Magistrate for a direction to register the F.I.R., and thereafter, once such direction is received, register the F.I.R.

The F.I.R. registered, which contains information of non-cognizable offences, is subject to confirmation by a Magistrate under Sections 156 and 157 of Cr.P.

Criminal Law — CLAT Previous Year Questions

186 solved PYQs · 2016–2026 · Legal Reasoning

Solved PYQs: 186
Years covered: 2016–2026
Avg / year: ~17
Subject: Legal Reasoning

How many CLAT questions come from Criminal Law?

Criminal Law has contributed 186 questions to Common Law Admission Test papers between 2016 and 2026 — an average of about 17 questions a year. That count is measured from EByAi’s bank of 19,890 CLAT questions, not estimated from a syllabus. Every one of the 186 questions carries a written, step-by-step solution, and each is tagged to Criminal Law within Legal Reasoning, so you can drill this chapter across every year at once instead of hunting through paper PDFs. Practising a chapter’s full PYQ history is the fastest way to learn the patterns examiners reuse.

Sample Criminal Law questions from real CLAT papers

These are 5 real questions from the bank — exactly as asked, with the answer one tap away. All 186 Criminal Law questions (with full written solutions) are available in practice.

Question 1 · CLAT 2025
The concept of “crimes against humanity” includes which of the following acts, as exemplified in the Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen case?
1. (A) $Piracy and terrorism$
2. (B) $Enslavement, forced marriage, and sexual violence$
3. (C) $Espionage and sabotage$
4. (D) $Intellectual property theft$
Show answerAnswer
$Answer: (B) Enslavement, forced marriage, and sexual violence$
Question 2 · CLAT 2023
In States which are bicameral, the Governor can promulgate an Ordinance only when:
1. (A) $Both Houses are not in session$
2. (B) $When a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation$
3. (C) $When the State has been placed under President’s rule$
4. (D) $None of the above$
Show answerAnswer
$Answer: (D) None of the above$
Question 3 · CLAT 2023
In Lalita Kumari the Supreme Court provides a timeline for the completion of preliminary inquiries by the police prior to the registration of the F .I.R. As per the Court, such an inquiry should be concluded:
1. (A) $Within a period not exceeding fifteen days$
2. (B) $Within a period not exceeding seven days$
3. (C) $As expeditiously as possible but the Court did not specify a timeline$
4. (D) $Within such time as may be permitted by the jurisdictional Magistrate$
Show answerAnswer
$Answer: (A) Within a period not exceeding fifteen days$
Question 4 · CLAT 2023
The power of the police to launch an investigation is provided for under Sections 154 and 157 of Cr.P.C. The threshold to be met for launching an investigation under Section 157, according to Lalita Kumari, is:
1. (A) $Cogent and reliable information disclosing the commission of a cognizable offence.$
2. (B) $Higher than the requirement under Section 154 of Cr.P.C. as the Section uses the term “reason to suspect the commission of an offence”.$
3. (C) $Precisely the same standard under Section 154 of Cr.P.C. and the police have no discretion in the matter.$
4. (D) $At the same standard as for a non-cognizable complaint being scrutinised by a Judicial Magistrate.$
Show answerAnswer
$Answer: (B) Higher than the requirement under Section 154 of Cr.P.C. as the Section uses the term “reason to suspect the commission of an offence”.$
Question 5 · CLAT 2023
An F .I.R. is considered the first information of the commission of a cognizable offence. Where the information discloses the commission of both cognizable offences as well as non-cognizable offences as part of the same facts, how must this information be treated?
1. (A) $The entire information will be treated as disclosing cognizable offences and registered as an F.I.R.$
2. (B) $The police officer will sever the parts disclosing non-cognizable offences and shall only register the parts disclosing cognizable offences.$
3. (C) $The police officer shall refer the informant to the jurisdictional Magistrate for a direction to register the F.I.R., and thereafter, once such direction is received, register the F.I.R.$
4. (D) $The F.I.R. registered, which contains information of non-cognizable offences, is subject to confirmation by a Magistrate under Sections 156 and 157 of Cr.P.$
Show answerAnswer
$Answer: (A) The entire information will be treated as disclosing cognizable offences and registered as an F.I.R.$

Criminal Law questions by year

Year	Questions	Share of chapter questions
2026	10
2025	10
2024	22
2023	14
2022	15
2021	23
2020	21
2019	26
2018	14
2017	23
2016	8

Practise these 186 questions with solutions

Free to start — 25 past-year questions a day with full written solutions, no card needed.

Start Criminal Law practice free

FAQs

How many CLAT questions have been asked from Criminal Law?

EByAi's bank holds 186 real CLAT questions from Criminal Law, asked between 2016 and 2026 — about 17 per year on average. Every count is measured from actual papers, not estimated.

Is Criminal Law important for CLAT?

186 questions over 11 papers make Criminal Law a moderate-weightage chapter in CLAT Legal Reasoning. The year-wise table above shows exactly how often it appears.

Can I solve Criminal Law PYQs online for free?

Yes. EByAi lets you solve CLAT past-year questions in the browser with written solutions — free daily practice, no card needed.

More CLAT Legal Reasoning chapters

All CLAT Legal Reasoning chapters →CLAT overview →