Hitesh, Sunny, Vicky, Nitin and Bharat are arranged in order of decreasing height from the top, so that the tallest is at the top and the shortest is at the bottom. Hitesh is in the third position from the top. Bharat is somewhere between Nitin and Hitesh in this order, and Nitin is not at the bottom. Who has the maximum height among them?

Introduction / Context:
This is a height comparison and ordering problem involving five friends. They are arranged from top to bottom in order of decreasing height, meaning the tallest stands at the top and the shortest at the bottom. Using a few relative placement clues, you must find who is at the top and therefore has the maximum height. These questions train your ability to build and interpret ordered sequences from partial information.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The friends are Hitesh, Sunny, Vicky, Nitin and Bharat.
• They are arranged from top to bottom in decreasing order of height: position 1 is tallest, position 5 is shortest.
• Hitesh is at the third position from the top.
• Bharat is between Nitin and Hitesh in this order.
• Nitin is not at the bottom position.
• We need to identify who has the maximum height, that is who stands at the top.

Concept / Approach:
Since positions are fixed from 1 (top) to 5 (bottom), we place Hitesh at position 3. Bharat must be between Nitin and Hitesh, which means in the vertical order either Nitin is above Bharat and Bharat is above Hitesh, or Hitesh is above Bharat and Bharat is above Nitin. These two possibilities give us two different patterns for Nitin and Bharat. We then apply the constraint that Nitin is not at the bottom to eliminate the invalid pattern. Once that is done, the remaining two friends, Sunny and Vicky, must occupy the remaining positions, and we can see who ends up at the top.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Label the positions from top to bottom as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, with 1 being the tallest. Hitesh is at position 3 by the given condition. Bharat is between Nitin and Hitesh. In a vertical ordering from top to bottom, this can happen in two ways: (a) Nitin above Bharat above Hitesh, giving Nitin, Bharat, Hitesh in that order. (b) Hitesh above Bharat above Nitin, giving Hitesh, Bharat, Nitin in that order. Consider case (a). With Hitesh fixed at position 3, Bharat must be at position 2 and Nitin at position 1 for the order Nitin (1), Bharat (2), Hitesh (3). In this case, Nitin is at position 1 and is clearly not at the bottom, satisfying the condition that Nitin is not at the bottom. Sunny and Vicky would then occupy positions 4 and 5 in some order. Consider case (b). With Hitesh at position 3, Bharat must be at position 4 and Nitin at position 5 for the order Hitesh (3), Bharat (4), Nitin (5). This places Nitin at the bottom, which contradicts the statement that Nitin is not at the bottom. Therefore case (b) is impossible, and case (a) must be correct. In this valid case, Nitin stands at position 1 and is therefore the tallest.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify the arrangement in case (a). Place Nitin at 1, Bharat at 2 and Hitesh at 3. This automatically satisfies that Bharat is between Nitin and Hitesh. With Sunny and Vicky at positions 4 and 5 in any order, Nitin is not at the bottom, which matches the given condition. No other pattern for placing Nitin and Bharat with Hitesh at 3 respects both the “between” condition and the restriction on Nitin. Thus Nitin must be at the top and is tallest.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Hitesh cannot be tallest because he is fixed at the third position. Bharat cannot be tallest because in the valid arrangement he is at position 2, below Nitin. Sunny and Vicky must occupy positions 4 and 5, which are lower than position 1 and therefore correspond to shorter heights. None of these friends can exceed Nitin’s position in height.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to assume that Hitesh being in the middle automatically makes him the tallest or shortest, which is incorrect. Another pitfall is to misinterpret “between Nitin and Hitesh” and place Bharat at a corner or outside the correct segment. Some candidates also ignore the condition that Nitin is not at the bottom, allowing an invalid arrangement. Carefully testing each possible order and checking all conditions avoids these errors.

Final Answer:
The person who has the maximum height among the five friends is Nitin.