Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 11

The correct answer is D, Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha. 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. On 11 December 1946 Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent President, with H.C. Mukherjee as Vice-President. Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution two days later, on 13 December 1946. Option A is wrong because C. Rajagopalachari was a member and later Governor-General, not the provisional chair. Option B is wrong because Dr. B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee, set up on 29 August 1947. Option C is wrong because T.T. Krishnamachari was a member of the Drafting Committee. Exam tip: 9 December 1946 first sitting under Sinha, 11 December 1946 Rajendra Prasad elected President.

The correct answer is D, President of India. Article 239AA(5) of the Constitution says the Chief Minister of Delhi shall be appointed by the President. The other ministers are also appointed by the President, on the advice of the Chief Minister, and they hold office during the pleasure of the President. This is the key difference from a state, where the Governor appoints the Chief Minister under Article 164. Article 239AA was added by the 69th Amendment Act, 1991, which gave Delhi a Legislative Assembly and named it the National Capital Territory. The Council of Ministers in Delhi cannot be larger than 10% of the Assembly's total strength. Option A is wrong because Delhi, being a Union Territory, has no Governor. Option B is wrong because the Lieutenant Governor is the administrator and administers the oath, but does not make the appointment. Option C is wrong because the Prime Minister has no constitutional role in appointing a Chief Minister. Exam tip: a state's Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor (Article 164); Delhi's by the President (Article 239AA).

The correct answer is Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to "procedure established by law". In A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950) the Supreme Court read this narrowly: any procedure laid down by a validly made law was enough, however unfair. In Maneka Gandhi, a case about the impounding of a passport, the Court rejected that approach and held that the procedure must be fair, just and reasonable, not arbitrary or oppressive. In effect this brought Article 21 close to the American idea of due process.

This decision opened the way for courts to read many rights into Article 21, such as the rights to live with dignity, to a speedy trial and, later, to privacy. The other options are real cases on different questions: Gopalan is the narrow view that Maneka Gandhi overturned, Golaknath (1967) held that Parliament could not abridge Fundamental Rights, and Minerva Mills (1980) held that the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is part of the basic structure.

The correct answer is D, French Revolution. The ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution come from the French Revolution of 1789, whose famous slogan was made of these three words. The makers of the Constitution borrowed from many countries and then shaped the ideas to suit India. From France came these three ideals and the idea of a republic. From the former USSR came the ideals of social, economic and political justice and, later, the Fundamental Duties. Britain gave the parliamentary system and Ireland the Directive Principles. A is wrong because the Russian Revolution of 1917 is linked with the ideal of justice, not with this trio. B is wrong because the Magna Carta of 1215 was an English charter that limited the king's power, and it is linked with the idea of rights in general. C is wrong because the American model gave India its Fundamental Rights, judicial review and an independent judiciary. Exam tip: liberty, equality, fraternity, France; justice, USSR; Directive Principles, Ireland; parliamentary system, Britain.

The correct answer is separation of judiciary from executive. Article 50 says the State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State. Before independence, district magistrates, who were executive officers, also tried criminal cases. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 gave effect to Article 50 by creating separate judicial magistrates, so that the officers who run the administration no longer sit in judgment over the cases it brings.

The other options come from elsewhere in the Constitution. Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies is in Articles 330 and 332. The right to elementary education is a Fundamental Right under Article 21A. The appointment of a Governor by the President is under Article 155. Article 50 sits among the liberal-intellectual Directive Principles, and it is often asked alongside Article 51 on international peace, the last Article of Part IV.

The correct answer is C, the Governor of the State. Under Article 316, the Chairman and the other members of a State Public Service Commission are appointed by the Governor. The provisions on public service commissions sit in Part XIV of the Constitution, Articles 315 to 323. A member of a State commission holds office for six years or until the age of 62, whichever comes first. The twist a paper setter loves is removal: although the Governor appoints them, only the President can remove them, under Article 317, and the Governor can only suspend a member while the matter is referred to the Supreme Court. Option A is wrong because the UPSC Chairman has no role in choosing the head of a State commission. Option B is wrong because the President appoints the UPSC Chairman, not the head of the BPSC or any other State commission. Option D is wrong because the Chief Minister only advises; the formal appointment is made by the Governor. Exam tip: appointed by the Governor, removed by the President, term six years or age 62.

The correct answer is B, Qualification for membership of Parliament. Article 84 lists who can become a Member of Parliament. A candidate must be a citizen of India, must make an oath or affirmation in the form set out in the Third Schedule before a person authorised by the Election Commission, must be at least 30 years old for the Rajya Sabha and at least 25 for the Lok Sabha, and must meet any other qualification that Parliament lays down by law. Parliament did this through the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which also requires the candidate to be a registered voter. A is wrong because disqualifications for membership are in Article 102, with defection covered by the Tenth Schedule. C is wrong because the Annual Financial Statement, or Union Budget, is Article 112. D is wrong because the President's power to issue ordinances is Article 123. Exam tip: 84 qualifications, 102 disqualifications, 112 Budget, 123 ordinance; minimum age 25 for Lok Sabha and 30 for Rajya Sabha.

The correct answer is A, Admission or establishment of new states. Article 2 lets Parliament admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. Article 2 deals with territory that is outside India, for example Sikkim, which was admitted as a full State by the 36th Amendment in 1975. Article 3, by contrast, works inside India: it lets Parliament form a new State from existing ones, and change their areas, boundaries or names, as happened with Telangana in 2014. Both sit in Part I, Articles 1 to 4, headed 'The Union and its Territory'. Option B is wrong because altering the area of an existing State is a power under Article 3. Option C is wrong because changing the name of an existing State is also Article 3. Option D is wrong because the name and territory of the Union, 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States', is Article 1. Exam tip: Article 2 = new States from outside, Article 3 = reorganising States inside.

The correct answer is Article 20-21. During a National Emergency, Article 359 lets the President suspend the right to move the courts for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights. After the experience of the 1975–77 Emergency, when detentions could not be challenged in court (the Supreme Court had upheld this in the ADM Jabalpur case of 1976), the 44th Amendment Act, 1978 laid down that the enforcement of Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended. Article 20 protects an accused person against ex post facto criminal laws, double jeopardy and self-incrimination; Article 21 protects life and personal liberty.

Article 19 is the opposite case. Under Article 358, its six freedoms are suspended automatically when a National Emergency is declared on the ground of war or external aggression, though not on the ground of armed rebellion. That is why the option containing Article 19 is the least likely answer of all. The other options pair Articles from the Right to Equality, whose enforcement the President can suspend by an order under Article 359. Remember it as a pair: 20 and 21 always survive, 19 goes first.

The correct answer is B, Tenth Schedule. The Tenth Schedule, popularly called the anti-defection law, was added by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985. It disqualifies a member of Parliament or a state legislature who voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or who votes, or abstains from voting, against the direction of the party whip without permission; an independent member is disqualified if he joins a party. The presiding officer, the Speaker or the Chairman, decides the question, subject to judicial review after the Kihoto Hollohan case of 1992. The 91st Amendment of 2003 removed the protection for a one-third split, and now only a merger backed by two-thirds of a legislature party is allowed. A, the Ninth Schedule, added by the First Amendment of 1951, protects listed laws, mainly on land reform, from court challenge. C, the Eleventh Schedule, lists the 29 subjects of the panchayats under the 73rd Amendment. D, the Sixth Schedule, deals with the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Exam tip: Tenth Schedule means anti-defection, 52nd Amendment of 1985, tightened by the 91st Amendment of 2003.

The correct answer is Nehruvian. The Constitution does not classify the Directive Principles, but scholars group them into three categories: Socialist (such as Articles 38, 39, 41, 42 and 43, aimed at a welfare state and economic justice), Gandhian (such as Article 40 on village panchayats, Article 43 on cottage industries, Article 47 on prohibition and Article 48 on protecting cattle) and Liberal-intellectual (such as Article 44 on a Uniform Civil Code, Article 48A on the environment, Article 50 on separating the judiciary and Article 51 on international peace).

There is no "Nehruvian" category, even though Jawaharlal Nehru's ideas of planning and a mixed economy influenced the socialist principles. That is exactly why the option sounds believable. When the options list three of the recognised categories and one name that sounds historical, the odd one out is the answer. A quick check: the three real groups are Socialist, Gandhian and Liberal-intellectual; no category is named after any leader other than Gandhi.

The correct answer is D, Article 343. Article 343(1) says the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script, and that the international form of Indian numerals shall be used for official purposes. It also allowed English to continue for fifteen years from 1950; the Official Languages Act 1963 then kept English alongside Hindi beyond 1965. Articles 343 to 351 form Part XVII on Official Language, and Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14 September because the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language on that day in 1949. Note that India has no 'national language'; Hindi is the official language of the Union, and the Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages. Option A is wrong because Article 370 gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Option B is wrong because Article 51A lists the Fundamental Duties. Option C is wrong because Article 80 is about the composition of the Rajya Sabha. Exam tip: 343 = Hindi in Devanagari, 344 = Official Language Commission, 348 = language of the courts.

The correct answer is B, Election Commission. Article 103 says the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to that opinion. Article 102 lists the grounds on which a member of either House can be disqualified, such as holding an office of profit, being of unsound mind, being an undischarged insolvent or not being a citizen of India. When a question arises on these grounds, Article 103 makes the President's decision final, but the President is bound by the Commission's opinion, so the advice is not a formality. Disqualification for defection is a different route: under the Tenth Schedule it is decided by the Speaker or the Chairman. For state legislators, Article 192 gives the same role to the Governor. Option A is wrong because the Attorney General advises the government on law but has no role under Article 103. Option C is wrong because the Supreme Court is not consulted in this process. Option D is wrong because the Speaker decides only defection cases. Exam tip: Article 102 gives the grounds; Article 103 gives the decision to the President on the Election Commission's opinion.

The correct answer is C, Repeal of the Indian Independence Act, 1947. Article 395, the last article of the Constitution, repeals the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935, along with the laws that amended or added to the 1935 Act. By removing these British laws, the framers made the Constitution the only source of legal authority in India and ended the legal link with the British Parliament. The article makes one exception: the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949 was not repealed. Article 395 sits in Part XXII with Article 393 (short title) and Article 394 (commencement), and it took effect on 26 January 1950. Option A is wrong because the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is an ordinary law made by Parliament, not an article of the Constitution. Option B is wrong because new states are formed under Articles 2 and 3. Option D is wrong because a national emergency is proclaimed under Article 352. Exam tip: Article 395 repeals the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the Government of India Act 1935.

The correct answer is B, 44th Constitutional Amendment 1978. The 44th Amendment, passed by the Janata Party government of Morarji Desai, took the right to property out of Part III of the Constitution. It deleted Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31, which had guaranteed the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and put in their place Article 300A, which says no person shall be deprived of property except by authority of law. Property thus became a legal or constitutional right, not a fundamental one, from 20 June 1979, so a citizen can no longer go straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32 for it. C is wrong because the 42nd Amendment of 1976 added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity and the Fundamental Duties; it did not remove property. A is wrong because the 46th Amendment (actually of 1982) dealt with sales tax on goods. D is wrong because the 48th Amendment (1984) extended President's rule in Punjab. Exam tip: 42nd added Fundamental Duties, 44th removed the fundamental right to property (now Article 300A).

The correct answer is B, Fundamental duties. These words form clause (b) of Article 51A, the list of duties every citizen owes the nation. The Fundamental Duties were added as Part IVA by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 on the advice of the Swaran Singh Committee, and the idea was borrowed from the Constitution of the former USSR. There were ten duties at first; the 86th Amendment Act, 2002 added the eleventh, asking parents to give their children aged 6 to 14 a chance of education. Clause (a) asks citizens to respect the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem, and clause (b) is the line in this question. Option A is wrong because the Directive Principles in Part IV are instructions to the State, not duties of citizens. Option C is wrong because the Fundamental Rights in Part III are claims a citizen can enforce in court. Option D is wrong because the Preamble states the ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity but lists no duties. Exam tip: Article 51A, Part IVA, 42nd Amendment 1976, eleven duties today.

The correct answer is Champakam Dorairajan Case, 1951. In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, the Supreme Court struck down a Madras government order that reserved college seats by community. The State defended it as carrying out Article 46, a Directive Principle, but the Court held that the Directive Principles must conform to and run subsidiary to the chapter on Fundamental Rights, so in any conflict the Fundamental Rights prevail. The judgment also led directly to the 1st Amendment of 1951, which added Article 15(4) to permit special provisions for backward classes.

The other cases came later and went further. Golaknath (1967) held that Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights at all, even to implement Directive Principles. Kesavananda Bharati (1973) held that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but not its basic structure. Minerva Mills (1980) held that the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is itself part of the basic structure. Read in order, the four cases show how the Court moved from "rights first" to "rights and directives in balance".

The correct answer is D, 86th Amendment Act. 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. That law is the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which came into force on 1 April 2010. The same amendment rewrote Article 45 to cover early childhood care up to 6 years and added Fundamental Duty 51A(k), under which parents or guardians must provide opportunities for education to their child aged 6 to 14. A is wrong, because the 83rd Amendment, 2000 exempted Arunachal Pradesh from SC reservation in Panchayats. B is wrong, because the 84th Amendment, 2001 extended the freeze on readjusting constituencies. C is wrong, because the 85th Amendment, 2001 gave consequential seniority in promotions to SC and ST employees. Exam tip: 86th Amendment 2002 made three changes, 21A, 45 and 51A(k); the RTE Act 2009 came into force on 1 April 2010.

The correct answer is B. R. Ambedkar. Dr Ambedkar, chairman of the Drafting Committee, described the Directive Principles as a "novel feature" of the Constitution. He also compared them to the Instrument of Instructions that the Government of India Act, 1935 issued to the Governor-General and the Governors, with one difference: under the Constitution the instructions are addressed to the government by the people, not by a colonial power.

Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution and shaped the Preamble, but this description is not his. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly. S.N. Mukherjee was the Chief Draftsman of the Constitution in the Assembly, the official who put its provisions into legal language, which makes him a clever distractor. Other famous descriptions are worth pairing with their authors: K.T. Shah called the Directive Principles "a cheque on a bank, payable at the convenience of the bank", and T.T. Krishnamachari called them "a veritable dustbin of sentiments".

The correct answer is C, Article 21. The Supreme Court has read privacy into the right to life and personal liberty. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench unanimously held that privacy is a fundamental right, protected mainly as part of Article 21 and also by the other freedoms in Part III. The same bench overruled the older rulings in M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962), which had said the Constitution gives no right to privacy. The case began as a challenge to the Aadhaar scheme, which makes it easy to remember. Option A is wrong because Article 15 bars discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Option B is wrong because Article 19 lists six freedoms such as speech and movement, and privacy is not one of them. Option D is wrong because Article 29 protects the language, script and culture of minorities. Exam tip: privacy, like shelter, health and a speedy trial, is a right the courts have read into Article 21.