Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 17

The correct answer is B, justiciable. Part III holds the fundamental rights, and those rights are justiciable: a citizen may go straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32 or to a High Court under Article 226 and have them enforced. The fundamental duties are moral obligations that no court enforces of its own motion, so putting them in Part III would have sat oddly beside enforceable rights; they were given a new Part IVA instead, as Article 51A. They came in through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 on the advice of the Swaran Singh Committee — ten duties then, and an eleventh on a parent's duty to educate a child added by the 86th Amendment of 2002. Option A is wrong because it is Part IV, the Directive Principles, that is non-justiciable. Option C is wrong for the same reason, since Part III rights are enforceable. Option D is wrong because fundamental rights are not absolute; the State may place reasonable restrictions on them. Exam tip: Part III justiciable, Part IV not, Part IVA duties in Article 51A.

The correct answer is A, To consider cases of civil and criminal nature. Subordinate courts are the courts at the district level and below, and they hear civil and criminal cases as courts of first instance.

The Indian judiciary is a single pyramid. The Supreme Court stands at the top, a High Court in each state comes next, and below it are the subordinate courts, which work under the control of that High Court. On the civil side the District Judge is the highest, and below come the courts of the Civil Judge; on the criminal side the Sessions Judge is the highest, with Judicial Magistrates below. Articles 233 to 237 deal with these courts, and the Governor appoints district judges in consultation with the High Court.

Option B is wrong because writs are issued by the Supreme Court under Article 32 and by High Courts under Article 226. Option C is wrong because hearing appeals from lower courts is mainly the work of the High Court. Option D is wrong because transferring cases is a power of the higher courts.

Exam tip: District and Sessions Courts are subordinate courts; writs belong only to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The correct answer is Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court. Article 143 gives the Supreme Court its advisory jurisdiction: when a question of law or fact of public importance has arisen or is likely to arise, the President may refer it to the Court for its opinion. The Court may decline to answer an ordinary reference, and its opinion does not bind the President, though it carries great weight. References under Article 143 have been used, for example, on the Ram Janmabhoomi question in 1993, which the Court declined to answer.

The other options describe different provisions. Parliament, not the President, can enlarge the Supreme Court's jurisdiction, under Articles 138 and 139. The National Judicial Appointments Commission was created by the 99th Amendment in 2014 and struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015. And the power to transfer cases from High Courts to itself belongs to the Supreme Court under Article 139A, not to the President. Link Article 143 with the word "advisory".

The correct answer is A, JS Khehar. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was the Chief Justice of India when the nine-judge bench delivered its verdict in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India on 24 August 2017, and he presided over it. The bench held unanimously that privacy is a fundamental right, protected mainly as part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and by the freedoms in Part III. It overruled the older rulings in M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962), which had said the Constitution gives no such right. The case grew out of a challenge to the Aadhaar scheme. Justice Khehar was also the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. Option B is wrong because Dipak Misra became Chief Justice a week later, and led the benches on Section 377 and adultery. Option C is wrong because H.J. Kania was India's first Chief Justice, in 1950. Option D is wrong because T.S. Thakur retired as Chief Justice in January 2017. Exam tip: Puttaswamy 2017, nine judges, Article 21, CJI Khehar.

The correct answer is C, USSR. The Fundamental Duties were taken from the constitution of the erstwhile Soviet Union, the only major constitution of the time that listed the duties of citizens. They were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee, and are placed in Part IVA as Article 51A. Ten duties were listed at first; the 86th Amendment of 2002 added the eleventh, that a parent or guardian shall provide opportunities for education to a child between six and fourteen years. They apply only to citizens and cannot be enforced in a court. Option A is wrong because France gave the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. Option B is wrong because Canada gave a federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the Union and the appointment of Governors by the Centre. Option D is wrong because Britain gave the parliamentary system and single citizenship. Exam tip: Fundamental Duties came from the Soviet constitution, through the 42nd Amendment of 1976, as Article 51A in Part IVA.

The correct answer is B, Karnataka. Karnataka has a two house legislature, the Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha and the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad, so it is bicameral. Article 168 allows a state to have a Council, and Article 169 lets Parliament create or abolish one if the Assembly of that state passes a resolution by a special majority. The states with a Legislative Council today are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh; all the rest have only an Assembly. A Council can have at most one third of the strength of the Assembly and not fewer than forty members; it is a permanent house in which one third of the members retire every two years. Options A, C and D are wrong because Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Haryana are unicameral and have only a Legislative Assembly; Punjab and West Bengal abolished their Councils in 1969. Exam tip: remember the six Council states, and that Article 169 lets Parliament create or abolish one.

The correct answer is pocket veto of the President. The Constitution does not fix any time limit within which the President must give or withhold assent to an ordinary bill. By simply keeping such a bill pending, the President can let it lapse without ever formally rejecting it. President Giani Zail Singh used this pocket veto in 1986 on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, which critics feared would allow the interception of mail.

The suspensive veto is different: the President returns a bill to Parliament for reconsideration, and if Parliament passes it again, with or without changes, the President must assent. The absolute veto means formally withholding assent so that the bill dies. An "amendatory veto" is not part of the Indian system at all. The question excludes money bills and constitutional amendment bills for good reason: a money bill comes with the President's prior recommendation, and since the 24th Amendment (1971) the President must assent to a constitutional amendment bill.

The correct answer is B, State Election Commission. 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. Article 243ZA hands the electoral rolls and the conduct of municipal elections to the same State Election Commission that Article 243K creates for panchayat elections. The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor. The Act came into force on 1 June 1993. A is wrong because there is no constitutional body called a District Election Commission. C is wrong because a Divisional Election Commission also does not exist under the Constitution. D is wrong because the Election Commission of India, under Article 324, conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President, not to local bodies. Exam tip: 73rd Amendment for panchayats (Part IX), 74th for municipalities (Part IXA), and both are run by the State Election Commission.

The correct answer is 15th. Droupadi Murmu was elected President in July 2022, defeating Yashwant Sinha, and took the oath on 25 July 2022, succeeding Ram Nath Kovind, the 14th President. She is the first President from a Scheduled Tribe, the second woman to hold the office after Pratibha Patil, and the first President born after India's independence. Before becoming President she had been the Governor of Jharkhand.

The options 16th, 17th and 18th are simply wrong counts; they tempt candidates who confuse the number of the President with the number of the Lok Sabha, since the Lok Sabha elected in 2024 is the 18th. When counting, remember that acting Presidents such as V.V. Giri, M. Hidayatullah and B.D. Jatti are not given a number, which is why fifteen people, not more, have held the office as elected Presidents. Her term runs for five years from July 2022.

The correct answer is B, 42nd. 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. It added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble, added the Fundamental Duties in Part IVA (Article 51A), and moved five subjects, including education and forests, from the State List to the Concurrent List. A is wrong because the 38th Amendment, 1975 put the President's satisfaction in declaring an Emergency beyond court review. C is wrong because the 40th Amendment, 1976 dealt with laws placed in the Ninth Schedule and with India's maritime zones. D is wrong because the 44th Amendment, 1978 undid many 42nd Amendment changes and removed the Right to Property from the Fundamental Rights. Exam tip: the 42nd (1976) is the Mini Constitution; the 44th (1978) is the correction that followed it.

The correct answer is The Vice President. Article 64 makes the Vice-President the ex officio Chairman of the Council of States, that is, the Rajya Sabha. "Ex officio" means by virtue of the office: nobody elects the Chairman separately. The Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha and so cannot vote in the first instance, but has a casting vote to break a tie. The Rajya Sabha elects a Deputy Chairman from among its members to preside in the Chairman's absence.

The Governor heads a State and has no role in Parliament. The President is part of Parliament under Article 79 and addresses it, but does not preside over either House. The Prime Minister leads the government and, as a member of one House, is the Leader of that House, but never its presiding officer. Note that when the Vice-President acts as President, he or she does not perform the duties of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha during that period.

The correct answer is C, 61st Amendment. The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 changed Article 326, which provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage, and lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years. It was passed under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and came into force in March 1989, so the Lok Sabha election of 1989 was the first in which 18-year-olds could vote. The aim was to give young people, a large part of the population, a voice in choosing governments. Option A is wrong because the 66th Amendment (1990) added more land reform laws to the Ninth Schedule. Option B is wrong because the 62nd Amendment (1989) extended the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures for another ten years. Option D is wrong because the 63rd Amendment (1989) repealed the special emergency provisions for Punjab added by the 59th Amendment. Exam tip: 61st Amendment, 1988, Article 326, voting age 21 to 18.

The correct answer is Article 66. It provides that the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament, elected and nominated alike, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote and by secret ballot. It also lays down the qualifications: a citizen, at least 35 years old, qualified for election to the Rajya Sabha, and not holding an office of profit. Until the 11th Amendment of 1961, the Vice-President was elected at a joint meeting of the two Houses.

The other options are neighbouring Articles on related matters. Article 64 makes the Vice-President the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Article 68 deals with the time of holding the election to fill a vacancy in the office of Vice-President. Article 62 deals with the time of holding the election to fill a vacancy in the office of President. So remember the pair: Article 54 elects the President, Article 66 the Vice-President.

The correct answer is D, UK. India took the idea of a single citizenship for the whole country from the British constitution. Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, deals with citizenship. Every person here is a citizen of India alone; there is no separate citizenship of a state, just as the United Kingdom has one common citizenship. Article 11 lets Parliament make law on the subject, and it did so through the Citizenship Act, 1955. Other features taken from Britain are the parliamentary system, the rule of law, the office of Speaker, the cabinet system and the writ procedure. Option A is wrong because France gave the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble. Option B is wrong because the USA gave Fundamental Rights, judicial review, the independent judiciary and the impeachment procedure. Option C is wrong because Australia gave the Concurrent List and freedom of trade and commerce. Exam tip: single citizenship, rule of law and the Speaker come from Britain; dual citizenship is the American feature India did not take.

The correct answer is Resolution passed by the Council of States and agreed to by the House of the People. Under Article 67(b), the Vice-President can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all its then members, an "effective majority", and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority. The resolution can be moved only in the Rajya Sabha, and only after at least 14 days' notice. Unlike the President's case, no ground for removal is laid down and no formal impeachment is needed.

The first option is wrong because impeachment applies to the President and is carried out by Parliament, not by the President. There is no rule requiring a one-third majority of both Houses. And the President cannot remove the Vice-President on the Prime Minister's advice: the Vice-President is elected and does not hold office at anyone's pleasure. The key point to remember is that the removal must begin in the Rajya Sabha, the House the Vice-President chairs.

The correct answer is D, Article 3. Article 3 lets Parliament, by an ordinary law, form a new state by separating territory from a state, join states, and change the area, boundaries or name of any state. Haryana was created this way: Parliament passed the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 on the basis of the Shah Commission's report, and Haryana came into being on 1 November 1966, with Chandigarh made a Union Territory and the joint capital. A bill under Article 3 can be introduced only on the President's recommendation, and the President must first refer it to the legislature of the state concerned for its views, though Parliament is not bound by them. Option A is wrong because Article 239 deals with the administration of Union Territories. Option B is wrong because Article 371 gives special provisions for Maharashtra and Gujarat, such as development boards for their regions. Option C is wrong because Article 1 only declares that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. Exam tip: new states come under Article 3, with a simple majority; Haryana Day is 1 November.

The correct answer is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The philosopher and teacher Dr S. Radhakrishnan was India's first Vice-President, from 1952 to 1962, serving two full terms. He then became the second President of India (1962–67). His birthday, 5 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day, and he received the Bharat Ratna in 1954.

The other three were also Vice-Presidents, which is exactly why they appear in the options. Dr Zakir Husain was the second Vice-President (1962–67) and then the third President. V.V. Giri was the third Vice-President (1967–69) and later the fourth President. Gopal Swarup Pathak was the fourth Vice-President (1969–74). A pattern worth noticing: the first three Vice-Presidents all went on to become President. Only two people have served two full terms as Vice-President: S. Radhakrishnan and M. Hamid Ansari. The current Vice-President, C.P. Radhakrishnan, took office in September 2025; do not confuse the two Radhakrishnans.

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 C, Vice President of India. Article 64 of the Constitution makes the Vice President the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and Article 89 repeats it. He presides over the House but is not a member of it, and he votes only in the case of a tie, that is he has a casting vote. He draws the salary of the Chairman, not a separate salary as Vice President. When he acts as President, he does not perform the duties of Chairman, and the Deputy Chairman, who is elected by the members of the Rajya Sabha from among themselves, presides. A resolution to remove him can be moved only in the Rajya Sabha, with fourteen days notice, and must be agreed to by the Lok Sabha. Option A is wrong because the Leader of the Opposition leads the largest opposition party. Option B is wrong because the Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha. Option D is wrong because the Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers. Exam tip: Speaker for the Lok Sabha and the Vice President as Chairman for the Rajya Sabha.

The correct answer is A, Santhanam Committee. The Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-64), headed by K. Santhanam, recommended a central body to keep watch over honesty in government, and the Central Vigilance Commission was set up in February 1964 by an executive resolution of the Union government. For almost four decades it had no law of its own; the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 made it a statutory, multi-member body with a Central Vigilance Commissioner and up to two Vigilance Commissioners. It is not a constitutional body, which is a common trap in exams. Option B is wrong because the committees headed by Vijay Kelkar dealt with tax reform and public finance. Option C is wrong because the Swaran Singh Committee of 1976 recommended adding Fundamental Duties to the Constitution. Option D is wrong because the Bakshi Tek Chand Committee reviewed the working of the anti-corruption law of 1947 soon after independence; it did not lead to the CVC. Exam tip: Santhanam Committee gave the CVC in 1964; statutory status came in 2003.