Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 25

The correct answer is D, 8(1). Section 8(1) of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 gave the Constituent Assembly of each new Dominion the powers of its legislature. The Act was passed by the British Parliament on 18 July 1947 and came into force on 15 August 1947. It divided British India into the two Dominions of India and Pakistan, ended British paramountcy over the princely states, and allowed the Constituent Assembly of each Dominion to work both as its ordinary law-making body and as the body framing its Constitution. India's Assembly, elected in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan, therefore became a sovereign body from 15 August 1947 and no longer needed British approval for its work. Option A is wrong because Section 6 deals with the law-making powers of the new Dominion legislatures. Option B is wrong because Section 10 continues the service conditions of officers of the Secretary of State's services. Option C is wrong because Section 12 deals with British forces stationed in India. Exam tip: Indian Independence Act 1947, Section 8 is the Constituent Assembly clause; the Act came into force on 15 August 1947.

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 A, All the Ministers have taken the Oath of office. A Council of Ministers is a body made up of ministers, so it comes into being only once each of them has been sworn in. Under Article 75 the President appoints the Prime Minister, and then appoints the other ministers on the Prime Minister's advice. Article 75(4) requires every minister to take the oath of office and of secrecy before the President in the form laid down in the Third Schedule, and until that oath is taken a person named to the Council cannot act as a minister. Option B is wrong because the Prime Minister's oath makes one person the head of government; a single minister is not yet a Council. Option C is wrong because allotting portfolios is a later act of allocating business, and a minister without portfolio is still a minister. Option D is wrong because confidence of the Lok Sabha is what keeps the Council in office under Article 75(3); it is not what brings it into existence. Exam tip: Article 75(4) with the Third Schedule — oath first, portfolios afterwards.

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 Seven. When the Supreme Court began in 1950, Article 124(1) provided for a Chief Justice of India and not more than seven other judges, eight in all, "until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number". Parliament has used that power several times as the Court's workload grew: to 11 judges in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in 2009 and 34 in 2019, and in May 2026 an ordinance raised the sanctioned strength to 38, the Chief Justice and 37 judges.

The wrong options are nearby numbers designed to catch half-remembered facts. Eight is the total including the Chief Justice, which is exactly why it tempts; six and five have no basis. Read the question carefully: "besides the Chief Justice" means the answer excludes the Chief Justice. Note also that the number of judges is fixed by an Act of Parliament, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, and not by a constitutional amendment, which is why it can be changed relatively easily.

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 B, Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala. In this case of 1973 a bench of thirteen judges, the largest the Supreme Court has ever assembled, held by seven votes to six that Parliament may amend any part of the Constitution but may not damage or destroy its basic structure. Features such as the supremacy of the Constitution, the republican and democratic form of government, secularism, the separation of powers, judicial review and free and fair elections have since been treated as part of that basic structure. Option A is wrong because Golaknath (1967) took a different line altogether, holding that Parliament could not amend fundamental rights at all, and that ruling was itself overturned in Kesavananda. Option C is wrong because Minerva Mills (1980) only applied the doctrine that already existed and used it to strike down parts of the 42nd Amendment. Option D is wrong because a single case laid the doctrine down. Exam tip: Golaknath 1967, Kesavananda 1973, Minerva Mills 1980.

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 C, Fundamental Rights. Article 226 gives every High Court the power to issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights. The five writs are habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto. Article 226 is in fact wider than Article 32, because a High Court may issue these writs both for Fundamental Rights and 'for any other purpose', which covers ordinary legal rights as well, while the Supreme Court's power under Article 32 is confined to Fundamental Rights. The other difference is that Article 32 is itself a Fundamental Right and cannot be taken away, whereas the power under Article 226 is not. Option A is wrong because ordinary civil rights are enforced through civil suits in the regular courts. Option B is wrong because 'sanctioning rights' is not a category the Constitution knows. Option D is wrong because children's rights come from statutes such as the Juvenile Justice Act and bodies like the NCPCR, not from Article 226. Exam tip: Article 32 — Supreme Court, Fundamental Rights only; Article 226 — High Court, wider reach.

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 C, single-member body. Article 148 of the Constitution provides for one Comptroller and Auditor General of India, so the office is held by a single person and not by a panel. The President appoints him by warrant under his hand and seal, he holds office for six years or till the age of 65, whichever comes first, and he can be removed only in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court, which protects his independence. He audits the accounts of the Union and the states, and his reports are laid before Parliament or the state legislature, where the Public Accounts Committee examines them. Options A, B and D are wrong because the CAG has never been a two-member, three-member or six-member body; only one officer holds the post, helped by the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. Exam tip: the CAG under Article 148 is a single-member office, while the Election Commission and the UPSC are multi-member bodies.

The correct answer is B, Article 32. Article 32 gives every person the right to move the Supreme Court directly when a fundamental right is violated, and it is itself a fundamental right. Under it the Court may issue five writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto. Dr B. R. Ambedkar called Article 32 the heart and soul of the Constitution, because the rights in Part III would mean little without a way to enforce them. Article 226 gives High Courts a wider writ power, but that is not a fundamental right. Option A is wrong because Article 40 is a Directive Principle asking the state to organise village panchayats. Option C is wrong because Article 38 is a Directive Principle on securing a just social order. Option D is wrong because Article 36 only defines the word state for Part IV. Exam tip: Article 32 Supreme Court, Article 226 High Courts, and only 32 is a fundamental right.

The correct answer is D, Sindhi. Sindhi was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by the 21st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1967.

The Eighth Schedule is the list of languages the Constitution recognises, and a candidate may take the civil services examination in any of them. It began in 1950 with 14 languages. Sindhi came in as the fifteenth in 1967, after Partition brought a large Sindhi-speaking population into India without a state of its own. Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added together by the 71st Amendment in 1992, and Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali by the 92nd Amendment in 2003, which took the list to 22 languages.

Option A is wrong because Manipuri was added in 1992. Option B is wrong because Nepali also came in 1992. Option C is wrong because Konkani was part of the same 1992 group.

Exam tip: 21st Amendment 1967 gave Sindhi; 71st in 1992 gave Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali; 92nd in 2003 gave Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali.

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 D, Mizoram. Mizoram is a full state, not a Union Territory. It was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory in 1972, and after the Mizo Accord of 1986 it became a state on 20 February 1987 under the 53rd Constitutional Amendment, on the same day as Arunachal Pradesh. The difference matters: a Union Territory is administered by the President through an Administrator or Lieutenant Governor under Article 239, while a state has its own Governor and its own government under Part VI of the Constitution. Option A is wrong because Ladakh has been a Union Territory since 31 October 2019 and Puducherry since 1962, and both are listed as Union Territories in the First Schedule. Option B is wrong because Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were joined into one Union Territory on 26 January 2020. Option C is wrong because Lakshadweep is a Union Territory of coral islands in the Arabian Sea, with its capital at Kavaratti. Exam tip: Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh became states on 20 February 1987, Goa on 30 May 1987.

The correct answer is D, 22. The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists 22 languages. It began with 14 languages in 1950. Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment in 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali by the 71st Amendment in 1992; and Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali by the 92nd Amendment in 2003, which took the list to 22. These are the languages the Union must draw upon to enrich Hindi, and candidates may write many central examinations in them. Note that the Schedule does not by itself make all 22 languages official languages of the Union: Article 343 makes Hindi in Devanagari script the official language, with English continuing alongside. Option A is wrong because 42 is the number of the amendment that changed the Preamble, not a language count. Option B is wrong because 12 is fewer even than the 14 the Schedule started with. Option C is wrong because 32 is more than the list holds. Exam tip: remember 14 in 1950 and 22 in 2003, the last four added by the 92nd Amendment.

The correct answer is A, Non-compoundable criminal offences. A Lok Adalat works by bringing the two sides to a settlement, so it can only handle matters the parties are free to compromise. Section 19(5) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 therefore keeps out any offence that is not compoundable under law, such as murder or rape, because no private agreement can wipe out a serious crime against society. Its award is treated as a decree of a civil court and no appeal lies against it, which is why consent matters so much. Option B is wrong because compensation disputes arising from land acquisition are regularly settled in Lok Adalats. Option C is wrong because motor accident claims are among the commonest cases there. Option D is wrong because a divorce by mutual consent is exactly the kind of agreed settlement a Lok Adalat can record. Exam tip: Lok Adalat — statutory status 1987, award final with no appeal, no court fee, non-compoundable offences excluded.

The correct answer is 65. Article 124(2) says a judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he or she attains the age of 65 years. A judge can leave earlier by resigning in writing to the President, or be removed by the President after an address by both Houses of Parliament passed by a special majority on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. There is no minimum age for appointment and no fixed term, so a judge's tenure depends on the age at which he or she is appointed.

The wrong options are ages from other offices. Sixty-two is the retirement age of High Court judges, raised from 60 by the 15th Amendment in 1963, which makes it the most tempting wrong answer. Sixty was the original retirement age for High Court judges, and 67 has no basis. The pair to remember is Supreme Court 65, High Court 62. By contrast, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner hold office for six years or until 65, whichever is earlier.

The correct answer is proven misbehaviour or incapacity. Under Article 124(4), a judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by an order of the President only after each House of Parliament, in the same session, presents an address supported by a majority of its total membership and by two-thirds of the members present and voting, on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 sets out how the charges are investigated by a three-member committee before Parliament votes.

The other options are not grounds recognised by the Constitution. "Disrespect of the Constitution" sounds close to the ground for impeaching the President, which is "violation of the Constitution", and that is the trap. Murder charges or lack of knowledge would have to be established as misbehaviour or incapacity through the same process; they are not separate grounds. The strict process protects judicial independence: no judge of the Supreme Court has ever been removed, and the first motion, against Justice V. Ramaswami in 1993, failed.

The correct answer is Original Jurisdiction. Under Article 131, the Supreme Court alone can hear, as a court of first instance, disputes between the Government of India and one or more States, between the Government of India and a State on one side and other States on the other, or between two or more States. "Original" means the case starts in the Supreme Court itself rather than coming to it on appeal. The dispute must involve a question of law or fact on which a legal right depends, and Parliament can exclude inter-state river water disputes from it under Article 262.

The other options are real kinds of jurisdiction but cover different cases. Appellate jurisdiction (Articles 132 to 134 and 136) covers appeals from the High Courts and other courts. Advisory jurisdiction (Article 143) covers questions referred by the President. "Residuary jurisdiction" is not a category of the Supreme Court's powers at all. This question shows the Court's role as the umpire of Indian federalism: when the Centre and a State disagree, it is the Supreme Court that decides.