Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 19

The correct answer is B, It is not enforceable. The Preamble states the aims and the source of authority of the Constitution, but it gives no right and imposes no duty that a court can enforce, so no one can go to court merely on the strength of the Preamble. In the Berubari Union case of 1960 the Supreme Court called it a key to the makers’ minds and held it was not part of the Constitution; in Kesavananda Bharati in 1973 the Court corrected that and held the Preamble is part of the Constitution and can be amended without touching the basic structure, yet it remains non-justiciable. Option A is wrong because courts do not grant relief on the Preamble alone. Option C is wrong because there is no special situation in which it becomes enforceable. Option D is wrong because option B is right. Exam tip: Preamble is part of the Constitution but non-justiciable; amended once, by the 42nd Amendment in 1976.

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 A. Protecting monuments and places of national importance is not a fundamental duty; it is a directive principle under Article 49, which asks the State to protect monuments and objects of artistic or historic interest declared to be of national importance. The fundamental duties sit in Article 51A in Part IV A, added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. They were ten in number and became eleven when the 86th Amendment of 2002 added the duty of a parent to give education to a child between six and fourteen. Option B is a duty under Article 51A(g), on the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife. Option C is a duty under Article 51A(i), which also asks citizens to abjure violence. Option D is a duty under Article 51A(a), respecting the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem. Exam tip: fundamental duties Article 51A, Part IV A, 42nd Amendment 1976, now eleven.

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, Article 66. Article 66 lays down the manner of electing the Vice-President of India. He is chosen by an electoral college made up of the members of both Houses of Parliament, elected and nominated alike, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote and by secret ballot. A candidate must be a citizen of India, at least thirty-five years old, qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha, and must hold no office of profit. Note that state legislatures take no part, unlike in the presidential election. Option A is wrong because Article 54 is about the electoral college for the President. Option B is wrong because Article 63 merely says there shall be a Vice-President of India. Option D is wrong because Article 74 is about the Council of Ministers that aids and advises the President. Exam tip: Article 63 the office, Article 64 ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Article 66 the election.

The correct answer is C, Article 360. Article 360 lets the President proclaim a financial emergency when the financial stability or credit of India, or of any part of it, is threatened. Such a proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months, after which it continues indefinitely until revoked; there is no maximum period. During it the Union can direct states to follow canons of financial propriety, and salaries of government servants, including Supreme Court and High Court judges, can be reduced. No financial emergency has ever been declared in India, though it was discussed during the 1991 crisis. D is wrong because Article 352 is the national emergency on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion, imposed in 1962, 1971 and 1975. A is wrong because Article 356 is President's rule, imposed when a state's constitutional machinery fails. B is wrong because Article 359 only suspends the enforcement of fundamental rights during a national emergency. Exam tip: 352 national, 356 state, 360 financial; only 360 has never been used.

The correct answer is Article 75. Article 75(1) says the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The rest of Article 75 contains the other key rules: the 15% cap on the size of the ministry (clause 1A), collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha (clause 3), the oath (clause 4), the six-month rule for non-members (clause 5) and salaries (clause 6).

The wrong options are Articles from other parts of Chapter I and II of Part V. Article 70 deals with the discharge of the President's functions in other contingencies. Article 79 says Parliament consists of the President and the two Houses. Article 85 deals with the sessions of Parliament and its prorogation and dissolution. Since Article 75 packs so many rules into one Article, questions from it come up again and again; learn its clauses rather than just the number.

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 A, The Calcutta High Court. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under the Calcutta High Court, which has a permanent circuit bench at Port Blair. The Constitution allows Parliament to extend a high court’s jurisdiction to a union territory, so several union territories are attached to the high court of a neighbouring state rather than having one of their own. Calcutta, set up in 1862, is the oldest high court in India, along with Bombay and Madras of the same year. Option B is wrong because the Delhi High Court covers only the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Option C is wrong because the Madras High Court covers Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, though the islands lie nearer to it. Option D is wrong because the Andhra Pradesh High Court, created in 2019 when the Telangana High Court was separated, covers only that state. Exam tip: Andaman and Nicobar under Calcutta, Lakshadweep under Kerala, Puducherry under Madras.

The correct answer is C, 30 May 1987. Goa became a full state on 30 May 1987 through the Constitution (56th Amendment) Act and the Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganisation Act, and the day is celebrated every year as Goa Statehood Day. Goa had been freed from Portuguese rule on 19 December 1961 in Operation Vijay and was then run as the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1987 Goa was separated and raised to statehood, while Daman and Diu stayed a union territory; Konkani was made the official language and Panaji the capital. Earlier the same year, on 20 February 1987, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh had become the 23rd and 24th states, so Goa took the 25th place. B is wrong because in 1986 Goa was still a union territory. D and A are wrong because by 1988 and 1990 Goa had already been a state for one and three years. Exam tip: liberated 1961, state 30 May 1987, 25th state after Mizoram (23rd) and Arunachal Pradesh (24th).

The correct answer is B, Article 200. When a bill passed by a state legislature is presented to the Governor, Article 200 gives four courses: give assent, withhold assent, return the bill for reconsideration if it is not a money bill, or reserve it for the consideration of the President. Reservation is compulsory in one case, where the bill would take away the powers of the High Court, and is otherwise left to the Governor, for example when a bill clashes with a central law or touches a subject in which the Union has an interest. Option C, Article 201, is the next step and not the answer: it says what the President does with a bill so reserved, and the state legislature cannot overrule that decision. Option A, Article 169, deals with the creation or abolition of a legislative council in a state. Option D, Article 257, is about the control of the Union over states in certain matters. Exam tip: 200 reserves the bill, 201 decides it.

The correct answer is B, Fourth Schedule. The Fourth Schedule allots the seats of the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States, among the States and Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh gets the most with 31, followed by Maharashtra with 19 and Tamil Nadu with 18, while small states such as Goa, Sikkim and Mizoram get one seat each. Article 80 fixes the House at not more than 250 members, 12 of them nominated by the President for their work in literature, science, art and social service. Members are elected by the State Legislative Assemblies by proportional representation and serve six years, with one-third retiring every two years. A is wrong because the First Schedule lists the States and Union Territories and their territories. C is wrong because the Third Schedule contains the forms of oaths and affirmations. D is wrong because the Second Schedule gives the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, judges and other officials. Exam tip: Schedule 1 = States and UTs, Schedule 2 = salaries, Schedule 3 = oaths, Schedule 4 = Rajya Sabha seats.

The correct answer is B, Article 324. This article vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India.

Article 324 falls in Part XV of the Constitution, which covers elections. The Commission handles elections to Parliament, to the state legislatures, and to the offices of President and Vice President; elections to panchayats and municipalities are conducted by State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA. The Election Commission began as a single-member body on 25 January 1950 and the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners hold a fixed tenure fixed by law.

A is wrong: Article 356 provides for President's rule in a state. C is wrong: Article 352 deals with the proclamation of a National Emergency. D is wrong: Article 101 lists the grounds on which a seat in Parliament becomes vacant.

Exam tip: Article 324 - Election Commission; Articles 243K and 243ZA - State Election Commissions.

The correct answer is B, The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. 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. It has a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and three members appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal, and it reports to the President, who has the report laid before Parliament. An easy hook: the letter A was added when the tribes got a Commission of their own. A is wrong, because the National Commission for Scheduled Castes comes under Article 338. C is wrong, because the National Commission for Backward Classes got constitutional status under Article 338B through the 102nd Amendment, 2018. D is wrong, because the National Commission for Women is a statutory body set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. Exam tip: 338 SC, 338A ST, 338B backward classes; the Women's Commission is only statutory.

The correct answer is C, Taxes on lands and buildings. Taxes on lands and buildings is entry 49 of the State List, so it is not in the Concurrent List. The Seventh Schedule divides law-making power into three lists: the Union List for Parliament alone, the State List for the state legislatures, and the Concurrent List on which both may legislate, with the Union law prevailing in a clash under Article 254. Option B is wrong because forests is in the Concurrent List — it was moved there from the State List by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, along with education, weights and measures, administration of justice and the protection of wild animals and birds. Option A is wrong because industrial and labour disputes is entry 22 of the Concurrent List. Option D is wrong because economic and social planning is entry 20 of the same list. Exam tip: taxation entries sit almost entirely in the Union or State List; stamp duties is the one notable tax entry in the Concurrent List.

The correct answer is C, Certiorari. Certiorari is called a postmortem because it is issued after a lower court or tribunal has already passed its order, to quash that order. The word means 'to be certified' or 'to be informed'. The Supreme Court issues it under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226, when a lower body has acted without jurisdiction, gone beyond its powers or broken the rules of natural justice. Prohibition and certiorari make a neat pair: prohibition stops a case while it is still going on, while certiorari cancels a decision that has already been made. Option A is wrong because prohibition is preventive and is issued before the final order, not after it. Option B is wrong because mandamus, meaning 'we command', orders a public official or body to perform a legal duty. Option D is wrong because quo warranto, meaning 'by what authority', asks a person to show his right to hold a public office. Exam tip: prohibition prevents, certiorari cures, and only certiorari is the postmortem writ.

The correct answer is A, Ministry of Home Affairs. The National Human Rights Commission works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for human rights in India. The Commission is a statutory body, not a constitutional one, created by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and it began work on 12 October 1993. It is headed by a former Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court, appointed by the President on the advice of a committee led by the Prime Minister, and it inquires into complaints of violation of human rights or of negligence by a public servant, though its recommendations are advisory. Option B is wrong because the Defence Ministry deals with the armed forces. Option C is wrong because the Finance Ministry handles revenue and expenditure. Option D is wrong because option A is right. Exam tip: NHRC is statutory, from the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, under the Home Ministry.

The correct answer is D, Article 149. Article 149 says the Comptroller and Auditor General shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as Parliament may by law prescribe. Under that law the CAG audits the accounts of the Union and of every state, and of bodies substantially financed from public funds, and his reports go to the President or the Governor, who lays them before the legislature. Dr B. R. Ambedkar called the CAG the most important officer under the Constitution, because no rupee of public money can be spent without this audit. Option A is wrong because Article 146 deals with the officers, servants and expenses of the Supreme Court. Option B is wrong because Article 147 is the interpretation clause for constitutional questions. Option C is wrong because Article 148 covers the appointment, oath, tenure and service conditions of the CAG, not his duties. Exam tip: Article 148 appointment, 149 duties, 150 form of accounts, 151 audit reports.

The correct answer is A, a simple majority of its members. Article 343 says Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language of the Union and that English was to continue for fifteen years from 1950, but it also lets Parliament provide by law for the continued use of English after that period, and such a law needs only a simple majority of the members present and voting. The Official Languages Act of 1963 was passed in exactly this way and allowed English to go on alongside Hindi. So this change is made outside the special procedure of Article 368. Option B is wrong because a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, with a majority of the total membership, is the requirement for a constitutional amendment under Article 368. Option C is wrong because no amendment needs a three-fourths majority; half the state legislatures are what a federal amendment adds. Option D is wrong because one-third support is only a quorum-like number and passes nothing. Exam tip: Article 343, Official Languages Act 1963, simple majority.

The correct answer is B, United States of America. The Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Indian Constitution were drawn from the Bill of Rights, the name given to the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Along with them, India borrowed judicial review, the independence of the judiciary, the impeachment of the President, the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the office of the Vice-President from the American model. Option A is wrong because Canada gave a federation with a strong Centre, the vesting of residuary powers in the Union, the appointment of Governors by the Centre and the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Option C is wrong because Ireland gave the Directive Principles of State Policy, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President. Option D is wrong because Australia gave the Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce, and joint sittings of the two Houses. Exam tip: Bill of Rights from the USA, Directive Principles from Ireland, Emergency provisions from Germany.