Indian Polity GK Questions with Answers – Page 65

Article 21-A was inserted by the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, making free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen a Fundamental Right.

Article 154 says the executive power of a State is vested in the Governor, who exercises it directly or through officers under him, exactly as Article 53 does for the President at the Centre.

Article 85 lets the President summon each House 'at such time and place as he thinks fit', and no article fixes a minimum number of sitting days.

It was passed in 1951 to undo court rulings that had used Fundamental Rights to strike down land reform and other laws.

Prohibition is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal to stop it from acting beyond its jurisdiction.

As the oldest member, he chaired the Constituent Assembly as its temporary President at its first sitting. The Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 in the Constitution Hall, now the Central Hall of Parliament, and Sinha took the chair following the French practice of letting the senior-most member preside.

Since 1978 property is a constitutional right under Article 300A, and it protects every person, not only citizens.

The Supreme Court has read privacy into the right to life and personal liberty. In Justice K.S.

The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 changed so many parts of the Constitution that it is called the 'Mini Constitution'. It was passed during the Emergency under Indira Gandhi's government on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.

The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 gave Municipalities constitutional status and made the State Election Commission responsible for their elections. It added Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects for urban local bodies.

Under Article 171, the Governor nominates one-sixth of the members of a State Legislative Council. These members must have special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, the co-operative movement or social service.

It gives every High Court the power to issue writs within its territory. A High Court can issue the five writs, habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto, not only to enforce Fundamental Rights but also 'for any other purpose', that is, for ordinary legal rights.

Article 361 gives this personal immunity to only two offices, the President of India and the Governor of a State.

Article 64 makes the Vice President of India the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha. Because he chairs a House he is not a member of, he has no ordinary vote and casts only a deciding vote when there is a tie.

It orders the person or authority holding someone to produce that person before the court, and if the detention is found unlawful the person is set free.

It says the Directive Principles shall not be enforceable by any court, yet they are fundamental in the governance of the country and the State must apply them in making laws.

The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 inserted Article 21A and made elementary education a Fundamental Right. Article 21A says the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years in the manner the State may by law determine.

Article 338A sets up this Commission as a constitutional body. It was inserted by the 89th Amendment Act, 2003, which split the old combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two; the separate ST Commission began work in 2004.

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 removed it from the list of Fundamental Rights. Before 1978, property was protected by Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31.

This Article deals with reservation of seats in Panchayats, including the seats for women.