Indian Polity Quiz: CAG and the Attorney General

The correct answer is D, the Attorney General of India. Article 76 says he is appointed by the President and holds office during the pleasure of the President, and the Constitution prescribes neither a fixed term nor any procedure for his removal. Option A is wrong because the Comptroller and Auditor General has a fixed term of six years or up to the age of sixty five and can be removed only in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court, which is the opposite of holding office at pleasure. Option B is wrong because the Chief Election Commissioner also enjoys that judge like protection and cannot be removed at the pleasure of the President. Option C is wrong because the Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members and vacates office only on ceasing to be a member, on resignation or on a resolution of the House passed by a majority of all its members.

The correct answer is D. Article 76 requires the Attorney General to be a person qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, which is why the paper puts the answer as Supreme Court Judge. That qualification means a citizen of India who has been a judge of a High Court for five years, or an advocate of a High Court for ten years, or a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President; he need not actually have sat as a judge. Option C is wrong because being a High Court judge is only one of the ways of satisfying the Supreme Court qualification and is not itself the requirement. Option A is wrong because membership of a legislature has nothing to do with the office, which is a legal and not a political appointment. Option B is wrong because the President of the Council of States is the Vice President of India, an entirely different constitutional office.

The correct answer is A, Britain. The framers took the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, along with parliamentary government, the rule of law, single citizenship and the writs, from the British Constitution, where an officer of the same name audits public spending for Parliament. Option B is wrong because from Ireland India borrowed the Directive Principles of State Policy, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President. Option C is wrong because Canada gave India the federation with a strong Centre, residuary powers with the Union, appointment of Governors by the Centre and the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Option D is wrong because Australia gave the Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce and the joint sitting of the two Houses. Keep these four borrowed lists apart, as papers mix them freely.

The correct answer is A, the Governor of the state. Article 151(2) says the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to the accounts of a state shall be submitted to the Governor, who shall cause them to be laid before the legislature of the state. The parallel rule in Article 151(1) sends the reports on the accounts of the Union to the President, who lays them before each House of Parliament. Option B is wrong because the Chief Minister heads the very government whose spending is being audited, so sending the report to him would defeat the purpose of an independent audit. Option C is wrong for the same reason, since the Finance Minister is part of that government. Option D is wrong because the Chief Economic Advisor is an official adviser with no role in audit at all. The rule to memorise is President for the Union and Governor for a state.

The correct answer is B, Article 148. It provides that there shall be a Comptroller and Auditor General of India appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal, and goes on to deal with the oath, the removal, the salary and the bar on further office. Article 149 then lets Parliament prescribe his duties and powers, Article 150 deals with the form of accounts and Article 151 with his reports. Option A is wrong because Article 143 is the power of the President to consult the Supreme Court on a question of law or fact. Option C is wrong because Article 165 provides for the Advocate General of a state, the law officer who is the state counterpart of the Attorney General. Option D is wrong because Article 280 provides for the Finance Commission, which recommends the sharing of taxes between the Union and the states.

The correct answer is B. Under the Comptroller and Auditor General (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act of 1971, made under Article 149, he holds office for six years from the date he enters upon it or till he attains the age of sixty five years, whichever is earlier. Option A is wrong because five years and sixty two belong to other offices; sixty two is the retirement age of a High Court judge and of a member of a State Public Service Commission. Option C is wrong because the age ceiling of sixty five applies even if the six years are not complete, so a person appointed at sixty one serves only four years. Option D is wrong because no constitutional functionary of this kind serves till seventy; sixty five is also the retirement age of a judge of the Supreme Court, which matches the status given to the CAG.

The correct answer is A, a judge of the Supreme Court. Article 148(1) says the CAG shall be removed from office only in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court, which means an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership and by two thirds of the members present and voting, on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Option B is wrong because a member of the Union Public Service Commission is removed by the President after an inquiry by the Supreme Court, with no role for Parliament. Option C is wrong because the Attorney General holds office during the pleasure of the President and no removal procedure is laid down for him. Option D is wrong because a Governor also holds office during the pleasure of the President and can simply be transferred or replaced.

The correct answer is B. Article 148(4) provides that the Comptroller and Auditor General shall not be eligible for further office either under the Government of India or under the government of any state after he has ceased to hold his office. The bar exists so that no auditor is tempted to be soft on a government that might reward him later, and it is the same safeguard the Constitution gives to members of the Public Service Commissions. Option A is wrong because the bar covers the Union as well as the states. Option C is wrong because appointment to the Supreme Court follows the collegium process and has nothing to do with this office, even though the CAG draws a judge like salary. Option D is wrong because the Public Accounts Committee is composed of members of Parliament, and the CAG only assists it as its friend, philosopher and guide.

The correct answer is C, the Public Accounts Committee. That committee examines the appropriation and finance accounts of the Union along with the audit reports of the CAG, and since its entire work begins from those reports and his officers assist it in understanding them, he is called its friend, philosopher and guide. Option A is wrong because the Estimates Committee examines the budget estimates to suggest economies and works without the help of the CAG. Option B is wrong because the Committee on Public Undertakings does use CAG reports on public enterprises, but the phrase is attached by convention to the Public Accounts Committee. Option D is wrong because the Business Advisory Committee only allots time for government business in the House. Remember also that the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee is by convention from the opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The correct answer is B, Article 76. It provides for the appointment of the Attorney General for India by the President from among persons qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, states his duty to advise the Government of India on legal matters, and says he holds office during the pleasure of the President and receives such remuneration as the President may determine. Option A is wrong because Article 72 is the pardoning power of the President. Option C is wrong because Article 78 lays down the duties of the Prime Minister to furnish information to the President. Option D is tempting but wrong: Article 88 only gives the Attorney General, along with ministers, the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, and it does not create the office. Fix Article 76 as the office and Article 88 as the right to speak.

The correct answer is B. Article 88 gives the Attorney General the right to speak in and otherwise take part in the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, in any joint sitting and in any committee of which he is named a member, and Article 105 extends the privileges and immunities of a member to him. He cannot vote, because voting belongs only to members of the House. Option A is therefore wrong on the second half. Option C is wrong because his right covers both Houses and not the Rajya Sabha alone. Option D is wrong because the whole purpose of Article 88 is to let the government first law officer explain legal questions to the House. Note the parallel: a minister who is a member of one House may also speak in the other under Article 88, but may vote only in his own.

The correct answer is A, the Advocate General under Article 165. The Governor appoints a person qualified to be a judge of a High Court as Advocate General of the state, to advise the state government on legal matters and to perform the legal duties the Governor assigns; he holds office during the pleasure of the Governor and may speak in the state legislature under Article 177 without a right to vote. Option B is wrong twice over, because the Solicitor General is not mentioned in the Constitution at all and Article 76 belongs to the Attorney General. Option C is wrong because the Attorney General is the Union law officer under Article 76, not a state officer. Option D is wrong because a public prosecutor is appointed under the criminal procedure law and Article 148 creates the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.