Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 23

The correct answer is B, Fundamental rights. Fundamental rights are the one set of provisions here that a court can enforce directly. They are placed in Part III of the Constitution, Articles 12 to 35, and Article 32 lets a person move the Supreme Court itself when such a right is broken, while Article 226 lets them move a High Court. The courts issue five writs for this purpose: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto. Dr B. R. Ambedkar called Article 32 the heart and soul of the Constitution because the right to a remedy is itself a fundamental right. A is wrong because the Preamble only states the aims of the Constitution; it cannot be enforced in a court, though judges use it to read an unclear provision. C is wrong because the Directive Principles in Part IV are expressly non-justiciable under Article 37 and work as goals for the government. D is wrong because the Fundamental Duties in Article 51A carry no direct court remedy. Exam tip: Part III is justiciable, Part IV is not, and Article 32 is the remedy.

The correct answer is D, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. The Eighty-ninth Amendment Act, 2003 split the old joint commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies. It left the National Commission for Scheduled Castes under Article 338 and inserted a new Article 338A for the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, which began work on 19 February 2004. Each commission has a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and three other members appointed by the President, and each places its report before Parliament. Option A is wrong because the Competition Commission of India was set up under the Competition Act, 2002 and is a statutory, not a constitutional, body. Option B is wrong because the National Commission for Backward Classes became a constitutional body only through the 102nd Amendment, 2018, which added Article 338B. Option C is wrong because the National Commission for Women rests on an Act of 1990 and remains statutory. Exam tip: Article 338 SCs, 338A STs, 338B backward classes.

The correct answer is C, Giani Zail Singh. Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister on 31 October 1984, the day his mother Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and Giani Zail Singh, who was President from 1982 to 1987, administered the oath. Zail Singh was the first Sikh to hold the office and had earlier been Chief Minister of Punjab and Union Home Minister. The swearing in shows the President's power under Article 75, by which the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and the other ministers are appointed on the Prime Minister's advice. A is wrong because R Venkataraman became President only in 1987. B is wrong because Shankar Dayal Sharma became President in 1992, after serving as Vice President. D is wrong because N Sanjiva Reddy's term ended in 1982. Exam tip: Zail Singh 1982 to 1987, Venkataraman 1987 to 1992, Sharma 1992 to 1997.

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 twelve. Under Article 80, the Rajya Sabha consists of 12 members nominated by the President and not more than 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, a maximum of 250. The nominated members are chosen for their special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service; Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar and the composer Ilaiyaraaja are among those nominated over the years.

The wrong numbers have no basis in the Constitution. Remember too the contrast with the Lok Sabha: the President could once nominate two Anglo-Indian members to it under Article 331, but that provision lapsed in January 2020 after the 104th Amendment did not extend it. So today the President nominates members only to the Rajya Sabha. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can vote in the election of the Vice-President but not in the election of the President, a point examiners often combine with this one.

The correct answer is D, Governor of the State. Article 234 of the Constitution says that appointments of persons other than district judges to the judicial service of a state are made by the Governor, following rules framed after consulting the State Public Service Commission and the High Court of that state. District judges are covered separately by Article 233, and they too are appointed by the Governor, but in consultation with the High Court. Once these officers are in service, Article 235 places their posting, promotion and leave under the control of the High Court, which is how the subordinate judiciary is kept independent. Option A is wrong because the High Court as a body is consulted, but the Chief Justice does not make the appointment. Option B is wrong because the Prime Minister has no role at all in state judicial services. Option C is wrong because the President appoints judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts under Articles 124 and 217. Exam tip: 233 district judges, 234 other judicial officers, 235 High Court control.

The correct answer is B, Article 213. Article 213 gives the Governor the power to promulgate an ordinance when the state legislature is not in session and he or she is satisfied that circumstances make immediate action necessary. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of the legislature, but it must be laid before the House when it reassembles and ceases to operate six weeks from that date unless it is approved earlier; the Governor may also withdraw it at any time. For a bill that would have needed the President's previous sanction, the Governor must take the President's instructions before issuing the ordinance. A is wrong because Article 200 deals with the Governor's assent to bills passed by the state legislature. C is wrong because Article 161 gives the Governor the power to grant pardons and remit sentences. D is wrong because Article 167 lays down the Chief Minister's duty to furnish information to the Governor. Exam tip: ordinance power - President under Article 123, Governor under Article 213.

The correct answer is C, Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) does not explain (A). Both events are real steps in the reorganisation of states on the basis of language, but the division of Punjab in 1966 cannot be the reason for what happened to Bombay six years earlier. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 redrew state boundaries along linguistic lines, yet the bilingual state of Bombay was left in place. On 1 May 1960 it was split into Maharashtra for Marathi speakers and Gujarat for Gujarati speakers. In 1966 Punjab was divided in the same spirit, giving Punjab to Punjabi speakers and creating Haryana for Haryanvi or Hindi speakers. Option A is wrong because the Assertion about Bombay is correct. Option B is wrong because an event of 1966 cannot explain an event of 1960. Option D is wrong because the Reason about Punjab is also a true statement. Exam tip: Andhra state 1953; States Reorganisation Act 1956; Maharashtra and Gujarat 1960; Haryana 1966.

The correct answer is C, 65. Under Article 316 of the Constitution, a member of the Union Public Service Commission holds office for six years from the day he takes charge, or until he turns 65, whichever comes first. The same rule applies to the chairman of the UPSC. For a State Public Service Commission the term is also six years, but the retirement age is 62, and this pair of numbers is what paper setters usually test. A member may resign by writing to the President and can be removed only in the manner Article 317 lays down, on a reference to the Supreme Court, which is what protects the commission's independence. A is wrong because 60 is the usual retirement age for central government servants. B is wrong because 68 is not a limit fixed anywhere for this office. D is wrong because 62 is the age for a member of a State Public Service Commission. Exam tip: UPSC six years or 65, State PSC six years or 62.

The correct answer is C, 371 C – Meghalaya. Article 371C makes special provision for Manipur, not Meghalaya: the President may provide for a committee of the Legislative Assembly made up of members elected from the Hill Areas, and the Governor reports to the President on the administration of those areas. Articles 371 to 371J give such special provisions to twelve states, each added to meet a regional need. Meghalaya has no Article of its own in this series; its tribal areas are run under the Sixth Schedule. Option A is correctly matched because Article 371A protects the religious and social practices, customary law and land ownership of the Nagas of Nagaland. Option B is correctly matched because Article 371B allows a committee of members from the tribal areas in the Assam Assembly. Option D is correctly matched because Article 371D provides for equal opportunities in public jobs and education in Andhra Pradesh, and now covers Telangana as well. Exam tip: 371A Nagaland, 371B Assam, 371C Manipur, 371D Andhra Pradesh.

The correct answer is B, Article 161. Article 161 lets the Governor grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment, and suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of an offence against a law on a matter to which the executive power of the state extends. His power is narrower than the President's under Article 72 in two ways: the Governor cannot pardon a death sentence and has no say in a sentence passed by a court martial, while the President can act in both cases. Like the President, the Governor exercises this power on the advice of the state Council of Ministers. Option A is wrong because Article 163 provides for the Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor. Option C is wrong because Article 55 lays down the manner of election of the President. Option D is wrong because Article 145 lets the Supreme Court frame rules of procedure. Exam tip: Article 72 for the President's pardon and Article 161 for the Governor's; only the President can pardon a death sentence or a court-martial sentence.

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 D, 86th amendment. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 made free and compulsory education a fundamental right. It inserted Article 21A, under which the State shall provide free and compulsory education to every child between the ages of six and fourteen years. The same amendment rewrote Article 45 in the Directive Principles, asking the State to care for children below six years, and added Article 51A(k), which makes it a fundamental duty of a parent or guardian to send a child to school. Parliament gave the right its working shape through the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, in force from 1 April 2010. Option A is wrong because the 88th Amendment dealt with service tax. Option B is wrong because the 89th Amendment split the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission into two separate bodies. Option C is wrong because the 87th Amendment shifted the basis of delimitation to the 2001 census. Exam tip: remember the trio 86th Amendment, Article 21A and the RTE Act, 2009.

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.

The correct answer is G V Mavalankar. Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was elected the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 1952 and served until his death in 1956. He had earlier presided over the Central Legislative Assembly from 1946, and is remembered as the "Father of the Lok Sabha" for setting many of its conventions and procedures. He was followed by M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, the second Speaker.

The other names are all linked to legislatures, which makes them plausible. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly and then the first President of India, not a Speaker. Purushottam Das Tandon was a freedom fighter who served as Speaker of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1950. Sardar Hukam Singh was a later Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the third, from 1962 to 1967. For the full set of firsts, add Meira Kumar, the first woman Speaker (2009).

The correct answer is A, 70 dB hearing loss in both ears. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 defines a deaf person in its schedule as one having 70 dB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears. A person with 60 to 70 dB loss in speech frequencies in both ears falls in the separate category of hard of hearing, so the two definitions must be read together. The Act replaced the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, widened the list of recognised disabilities from seven to twenty-one, and reserved four per cent of government posts for persons with benchmark disability. Options B and C set the bar higher than the schedule does; at 80 or 90 dB many deaf persons would fall outside the definition and lose the benefits the Act gives. Option D, 60 dB, is the lower end of the hard of hearing band, not deafness. Exam tip: 60 to 70 dB is hard of hearing, 70 dB and above is deaf.

The correct answer is C, Article 164(2). Article 164(2) says that the Council of Ministers in a state shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of that state, which is the rule that keeps a state government in office only while it holds the confidence of the Assembly and is the ground on which a no confidence motion works. The rest of Article 164 covers the other parts of the state executive. A is wrong because Article 164(3) deals with the oath of office and secrecy administered to a minister by the Governor. B is wrong because Article 164(4) says a minister who is not a member of the legislature for six consecutive months ceases to be a minister. D is wrong because Article 164(1) provides that the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor and other ministers are appointed on the Chief Minister's advice. Exam tip: Article 75 is the Union mirror of Article 164 for the states.

The correct answer is President. After a general election, the Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha vacates office just before the new House first meets. To bridge the gap, the President appoints a member of the new Lok Sabha, usually the senior-most, as Speaker pro tem. The President administers the oath to the pro tem Speaker, who then presides over the first sitting, administers the oath to the newly elected members and conducts the election of the new Speaker. The office ends as soon as the Speaker is elected.

The Prime Minister does not appoint the pro tem Speaker; in practice the government suggests a name, but the appointment is the President's. The Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President, not to members of the Lok Sabha, and has no role here. The Chief Election Commissioner conducts the general election but has nothing to do with the House once it is constituted. "Pro tem" is Latin for "for the time being", which describes the office exactly.

The correct answer is 6 months. Article 85(1) says the President shall summon each House to meet at such time and place as he or she thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. So Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In practice it holds three sessions: the Budget session (February to May), the Monsoon session (July to September) and the Winter session (November to December).

The other options mix this rule up with other time limits. Three months has no basis, one year would allow Parliament to go an entire year without meeting, and nine months is invented. The six-month rule also explains the maximum life of an ordinance: because Parliament must reassemble within six months, and an ordinance lapses six weeks after reassembly, no ordinance can last longer than six months and six weeks. Note that the rule is about the gap between sessions, not about the length of a session.

The correct answer is One-tenth. Under Article 100(3), the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, including the Speaker or the person acting as presiding officer. In the 543-member Lok Sabha that means about 55 members must be present. If there is no quorum, the presiding officer must adjourn the House or suspend the meeting until there is one.

The other fractions belong to other rules. One-half, that is a simple majority, is how ordinary decisions are taken. Two-thirds is part of the special majority needed for constitutional amendments, for approving a National Emergency and for removing judges. One-sixth has no role at all. The same one-tenth figure turns up elsewhere too, which makes it easy to remember: a party needs one-tenth of the seats for its leader to be recognised as Leader of the Opposition, and one-tenth of the Lok Sabha's members can demand a special sitting to disapprove an emergency.