# Double-Row Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Lata, Rahul, Gauri, Aditi, Uma, Chetan

> 6-person double-row seating arrangement (2026-08-11) — Lata, Rahul, Gauri, Aditi, Uma. 5 logic clues, one provable answer. Free IBPS PO & SSC practice.

Source: https://deducepuzzles.com/blog/2026-08-11-double-row-seating-puzzle

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Published: 2026-08-11 · Difficulty: hard · 5 clues · 6 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI PO · SSC CGL

## The puzzle

Lata, Rahul, Gauri, Aditi, Uma, Chetan — sit in two rows facing each other — Row 1 faces south, Row 2 faces north, with 3 seats per row. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.

1. Lata faces north.
2. Rahul sits immediately to the left of Lata (both facing north).
3. Lata sits immediately to the left of Chetan (both facing north).
4. Aditi sits 2nd to the left of Gauri (both facing south).
5. Uma faces south.

## Answer

Row 1 (facing south): Rahul, Lata, Chetan. Row 2 (facing north): Gauri, Uma, Aditi.

R1S1: Rahul · R1S2: Lata · R1S3: Chetan · R2S1: Gauri · R2S2: Uma · R2S3: Aditi

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
2. Clue 1 — "Lata faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
3. Clue 5 — "Uma faces south." narrows it to 216 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
4. Clue 2 — "Rahul sits immediately to the left of Lata (both facing north)." narrows it to 36 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
5. Clue 3 — "Lata sits immediately to the left of Chetan (both facing north)." ⇒ Lata → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Rahul → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Chetan → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west) (6 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Rahul · Lata · Chetan | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
6. Clue 4 — "Aditi sits 2nd to the left of Gauri (both facing south)." ⇒ Gauri → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Aditi → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Uma → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Rahul · Lata · Chetan | South (W→E): Gauri · Uma · Aditi
7. Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Rahul, Lata, Chetan; south row: Gauri, Uma, Aditi.

## How to crack double-row seating puzzles faster

- Treat each row as an **independent linear arrangement**, then apply the cross-row clues last.
- "Faces" means the person opposite — use these clues as **cross-row constraints** to lock both rows at once.
- Draw two parallel rows on paper, fill each row independently, then check which cross-row pairs satisfy the remaining clues.
- "Immediately to the left/right of" applies **within the same row only** — cross-row facing is a different relationship.

## FAQ

### Who sits in the first seat of each row?

Rahul, Lata, Chetan sit in Row 1, and Gauri, Uma, Aditi sit in Row 2. Cross-reference with the facing clues to validate.

### How do you solve double-row seating arrangement puzzles?

Solve each row independently first using linear-seating techniques, then apply cross-row constraints (facing, diagonally opposite) to find valid pairs. Draw two parallel rows and eliminate combinations that violate any clue.

## Learn the method

This post is one worked example. The topic page for double-row seating carries the full method,
the clue-wording table and the mistakes that cost marks: https://deducepuzzles.com/reasoning/double-row-seating

Play a fresh server-validated puzzle every day: https://deducepuzzles.com