SAASS Police Academy Exam key terms

Guarantees that no person may be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law. Indian courts have read the right to a fair trial, dignity and speedy justice into it.

The requirement that the state follow fair, established legal procedures before taking action against a person, such as arrest, search, seizure or punishment, including notice and a chance to be heard.

Two unwritten principles courts apply to decisions affecting rights: hear the other side (audi alteram partem) and no one should judge their own cause. Breach can make an order void.

A court order directing a person detaining someone to produce that person and justify the detention. It is the main remedy against unlawful arrest or custody and can be sought by the detainee or another person.

Rights guaranteed in Part III of the Indian Constitution, such as equality, freedom of speech, protection of life and liberty, and protection from discrimination, which can be enforced against the state through writ petitions.

The legal right of a person to bring a case before a court because they are sufficiently affected by the matter. Public interest litigation has relaxed this requirement in India.

A petition filed in the interest of the public rather than for a private grievance, often on issues like pollution, bonded labour or prisoners' rights. Courts may act on letters too.

The first report of a cognizable offence recorded by police under Section 154 of the CrPC (now Section 173 of the BNSS). It sets the investigation in motion and a copy is given to the informant.

An offence for which police may arrest without a warrant and start investigation without a magistrate's permission, such as murder or robbery. Non-cognizable offences need a magistrate's order.

An FIR registered at any police station regardless of where the offence occurred. It is later transferred to the police station that has proper jurisdiction, so no time is lost.

The final report police file before a magistrate after investigation, listing the accused, offences and evidence. It is filed under Section 173 of the CrPC (now Section 193 of the BNSS).

Causing a person's death by an act done with the intention of causing death, or with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, without the special features that make it murder under Section 300 IPC.

Culpable homicide that falls within one of the special descriptions in Section 300 IPC, such as intending death, or causing injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. It carries heavier punishment.

The guilty mind or mental element of a crime: the intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence that must accompany the prohibited act for the person to be held criminally liable.

The physical element of a crime: the voluntary act, omission or state of affairs that the law prohibits, as distinct from the mental element of intention or knowledge.

Release of an arrested person, usually on furnishing security, while the case continues. Bail is the rule and jail the exception, though restrictions apply to serious or non-bailable offences.

A direction under Section 438 CrPC (now Section 482 BNSS) that if a person is arrested in a particular case, they shall be released on bail. It is sought before arrest.

A rule or principle laid down in an earlier court decision that lower courts must follow in later cases with similar facts. Higher court decisions bind subordinate courts in the same hierarchy.

The legal reason or principle on which a court's decision rests. Only this binding part of a judgment creates a precedent; other comments are obiter dicta.

The authority of a court or police station to hear a case or investigate an offence, based on territory, subject matter or the value of the claim. Acting beyond it makes an order void.

Eleven duties listed in Article 51A of the Constitution, added by the 42nd Amendment, urging citizens to respect the Constitution, protect public property and the environment, and renounce violence.

A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in a given context, such as 'brave' and 'courageous'. The right choice depends on tone, register and collocation.

A word with a meaning opposite to another word, such as 'expand' and 'contract'. Antonym questions test whether you notice the direction of meaning, not just general association.

A word that sounds the same as another but differs in spelling or meaning, such as 'principal' and 'principle', or 'stationary' and 'stationery'. These are common in error-spotting questions.

The habitual pairing of words that native speakers consider natural, such as 'commit a crime' rather than 'do a crime'. Wrong collocations make a sentence sound incorrect even when grammar is fine.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'to let the cat out of the bag' meaning to reveal a secret. Idioms must be learnt as units.

A verb combined with an adverb or preposition that creates a new meaning, such as 'give up', 'look into' or 'put off'. The particle is essential and often changes the verb completely.

Two ways of presenting the same action: active puts the doer first ('The officer filed the report'), passive puts the receiver first ('The report was filed by the officer').

Direct speech quotes a speaker's exact words in quotation marks; indirect speech reports them without quotes, shifting pronouns, tenses and time words, as in 'She said that she was ready'.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, as in 'The list of names is long'. Intervening phrases and collective nouns often cause errors here.

A ratio compares two quantities of the same kind, such as 3:4, while a proportion states that two ratios are equal, as in a:b = c:d. Cross-multiplication solves for unknowns.

A fraction expressed out of 100. To find what percent A is of B, compute (A/B) x 100; percentage change is (change/original) x 100, always using the original as the base.

The sum of a set of values divided by how many values there are. If every value rises by the same amount, the average rises by that amount too.

Interest calculated only on the original principal, using the formula SI = (P x R x T)/100, where P is principal, R is the annual rate and T is time in years.

Interest calculated on the principal plus previously earned interest, so the amount grows as A = P(1 + R/100)^T. It exceeds simple interest for any period longer than one year.

Distance equals speed multiplied by time. To convert km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18, and to convert m/s to km/h multiply by 18/5. Relative speed adds for opposite directions and subtracts for the same direction.

A form of deductive reasoning with two premises and a conclusion, such as 'All A are B; all B are C; therefore all A are C'. Validity depends on form, not on real-world truth.

Overlapping circles used to show how sets relate. In reasoning questions they quickly test whether statements like 'some A are B' or 'no A is B' support a given conclusion.

Drawing a certain conclusion from general premises, where true premises guarantee a true conclusion if the form is valid. It moves from the general to the specific.

Reaching a probable general conclusion from specific observations or patterns. The conclusion goes beyond the evidence, so it is likely rather than certain.

A sequence of numbers following a hidden rule, such as adding 3, doubling, or adding consecutive squares. Candidates must identify the pattern and supply the missing term.

Questions where words or numbers are written in a code according to a rule, such as shifting letters by a fixed number of places. The same rule must be applied to a new word.

Puzzles that describe family links through statements or symbols and ask how two people are related. Drawing a simple family tree prevents errors with gender and generation.

Problems tracking movement in north, south, east and west, often with turns, asking for final direction or shortest distance. A rough sketch and Pythagoras' theorem usually solve them.

System software that manages hardware, memory, files and processes and provides services to applications. Examples include Windows, Linux, macOS and Android; it is the first program loaded at boot.

RAM is volatile working memory that loses its contents when power is off and holds running programs; ROM is non-volatile memory holding permanent start-up instructions such as the BIOS.

A bit is a single binary digit, 0 or 1. A byte is eight bits and typically stores one character. Larger units are kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte.

A unique numeric label given to a device on a network so data can be routed to it. IPv4 addresses have four numbers from 0 to 255, such as 192.168.0.1.

A malicious program that attaches itself to files or programs and spreads when they run, often damaging data. Worms spread without a host, and trojans disguise themselves as useful software.

One of the seven base SI units from which all others are derived: metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela. Derived units like newton and watt are built from them.

Three laws: an object stays at rest or in uniform motion unless a net force acts; force equals mass times acceleration; and every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

For a conductor at constant temperature, current is directly proportional to potential difference, giving V = IR, where V is volts, I is amperes and R is resistance in ohms.

The process by which green plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and release oxygen, with chlorophyll as the pigment and the chloroplast as the site.

Weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres. It screens for underweight, normal, overweight and obesity ranges but does not measure body fat directly.

Sustained activity at moderate intensity, such as running, swimming or cycling, that uses oxygen and strengthens the heart and lungs. It is a core part of police fitness tests.

The opening statement of the Constitution declaring the source of authority to be the people and listing the aims of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. It is not enforceable but aids interpretation.

The division of government into legislature, executive and judiciary, each with distinct functions and checks on the others. It prevents concentration of power in one organ.

A form of government in which the head of state is elected or appointed for a term rather than inheriting the office. India became a republic on 26 January 1950.