Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 27

The correct answer is B, Article 17. Article 17 abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form. It sits in Part III among the Fundamental Rights, under the right to equality, and it is one of the few rights that works against ordinary citizens as well as against the State. Parliament backed it with the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976, and later with the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Constitution nowhere defines untouchability; the courts read it as the social practice tied to caste, not as a general insult. A is wrong because Article 14 gives equality before the law and equal protection of the laws. C is wrong because Article 19 lists the six freedoms such as speech and movement. D is wrong because Article 32 lets a citizen move the Supreme Court for a writ. Exam tip: the equality rights run from Article 14 to 18 — 15 discrimination, 16 public employment, 17 untouchability, 18 titles.

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 3. Part XVIII of the Constitution provides for three kinds of emergency. A National Emergency under Article 352 can be declared on the ground of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. President's Rule, also called State Emergency or constitutional emergency, under Article 356, applies when the constitutional machinery in a State fails. A Financial Emergency under Article 360 applies when the financial stability or credit of India is threatened.

The word "emergency" itself is used in the Constitution only for the first one: Article 352 speaks of a "Proclamation of Emergency", while Article 356 speaks of the failure of constitutional machinery. That is why some questions ask how many times "emergency" has been declared and mean only the National Emergency. The options 2, 4 and 5 have no basis in the text. Learn the three together with their Articles, 352, 356 and 360, since the next question is almost always about one of those numbers.

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 B, Karnataka. Article 168 says a State legislature consists of the Governor and either one House or two Houses. Where there are two, the upper House is the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad, and Karnataka is one of the few States that has kept it. Article 169 allows Parliament to create or abolish a Council if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution by a special majority, which is why the list of such States is short and changes only by law. Option A, Jharkhand, has only a Legislative Assembly; so does option C, Odisha, although proposals for a Council have been discussed there; and option D, Gujarat, also has a single House. Under Article 171 one-sixth of a Council is nominated by the Governor from persons distinguished in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement and social service, which is the link between this chapter and the State Executive.

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 D, Conduct local elections. Article 324 places the superintendence, direction and control of elections to Parliament, to the State Legislatures and to the offices of President and Vice-President in the hands of the Election Commission of India. Elections to panchayats and municipalities are not on that list. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments of 1992 added Articles 243K and 243ZA, which give that work to a State Election Commission headed by a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor. Local body polls are therefore run by the states, and the ECI has no role in them. A, B and C are wrong as answers here because controlling, supervising and directing elections are the very words Article 324 uses for the Commission's own duties, so each of them is a main duty rather than an exception. Exam tip: ECI under Article 324 for Parliament, Assemblies, President and Vice-President; State Election Commission under Article 243K for panchayat and municipal polls.

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, Police. The Seventh Schedule of the Constitution divides subjects into three lists, and public order and police are the first two entries of the State List, so each state makes its own laws on them and runs its own force. That is why policing is called a state subject, and why central armed police forces go into a state mainly at its request or in a Union Territory. A is wrong because banking is in the Union List, which is why the Reserve Bank and the regulation of banks rest with the Centre. B is wrong because defence is the first entry of the Union List. D is wrong because forests, which were once a State List subject, were moved to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment of 1976, along with education, weights and measures, and the protection of wild animals and birds. Exam tip: police and public order are State List subjects; forests and education moved to the Concurrent List in 1976.

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 D, We Command. Mandamus is a Latin word meaning we command, and the writ is an order from a court to a public official, a public body, a corporation or a lower court to perform a public duty it has refused to do. It cannot be issued against a private person, against the President or a Governor, or against a chief justice of a High Court acting in a judicial capacity. The Supreme Court issues writs under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226, which is the wider power. A is wrong because you may have the body is the meaning of habeas corpus, the writ used to produce a detained person before a court and test whether the detention is lawful. B is wrong because to be certified is the meaning of certiorari, by which a higher court moves a pending case to itself or quashes an order of a lower body. C is wrong because by what warrant is the meaning of quo warranto, an enquiry into a person's claim to a public office. Exam tip: habeas corpus – produce the body; mandamus – we command; prohibition – stop; certiorari – to be certified; quo warranto – by what authority.

The correct answer is D, Article 168. Article 168 provides for the constitution of Legislatures in the states. It says every state shall have a Legislature made up of the Governor and either one House or two Houses. Where there are two, they are the Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha and the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad; the other states have an Assembly alone. The Governor is counted as part of the Legislature even though he does not sit in either House, because a bill becomes law only after his assent. Article 169 allows Parliament to create or abolish a Council when the Assembly of that state passes a resolution by a special majority, which is how the number of states with a Council keeps changing. A is wrong because Article 167 lists the Chief Minister's duty to furnish information to the Governor. B is wrong because Article 165 provides for the Advocate General of a state. C is wrong because Article 163 deals with the Council of Ministers that aids and advises the Governor. Exam tip: 163 aid and advice, 165 Advocate General, 167 Chief Minister's duties, 168 constitution of the state Legislature.

The correct answer is D, Comptroller and Auditor-General. Article 148 of the Constitution creates the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Union and the States and of bodies largely financed from public funds. The President appoints the CAG, who holds office for six years or till the age of 65, whichever comes first, and can be removed only in the manner laid down for a judge of the Supreme Court. The reports go to the President or the Governor, who lays them before Parliament or the State legislature, where the Public Accounts Committee examines them, which is why the CAG is called the guardian of the public purse. A is wrong because the Attorney General, under Article 76, is the highest law officer and advises the government on legal matters. B is wrong because the Advocate General, under Article 165, does the same work for a State. C is wrong because the Union Public Service Commission conducts examinations and advises on recruitment. Exam tip: Article 148 CAG, 76 Attorney General, 165 Advocate General, 315 Public Service Commissions.

The correct answer is D, (A), (B) and (D) only. The ward member, the Panchayat President and the ward councillor are all chosen by voters, but the Secretary is an appointed official. In a village, the Gram Panchayat is made up of ward members, called Panchs, and a President, called the Sarpanch, and all of them are elected by the people. In a town or city, each ward elects a ward councillor to the Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation. The Secretary of the Gram Panchayat, who is also the secretary of the Gram Sabha, is not elected but appointed by the government, and he calls meetings and keeps the records. Option A is wrong because it leaves out the ward councillor, who is also elected. Option B is wrong because it leaves out the Panchayat President. Option C is wrong because it includes the Secretary, who is not elected. Exam tip: Panch, Sarpanch and ward councillor are elected; the Panchayat Secretary and the Municipal Commissioner are appointed.

The correct answer is B, Article 315. Article 315 provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each State, and allows two or more States to ask Parliament for a Joint Public Service Commission. It opens Part XIV of the Constitution, which runs from Article 315 to Article 323 and deals with services under the Union and the States. Article 316 covers appointment and tenure, a chairman or member of the UPSC serving six years or till the age of 65 and of a State Commission till 62; Article 317 allows removal only by the President on a report of the Supreme Court; Article 320 lists the functions, mainly conducting examinations and advising on recruitment and discipline. A is wrong because Article 340 lets the President appoint a commission to look into the conditions of backward classes. C is wrong because Article 328 deals with a State legislature's power to make laws on elections to that legislature. D is wrong because Article 238 applied to the old Part B States and was repealed by the Seventh Amendment in 1956. Exam tip: 315 Public Service Commissions, 317 removal, 320 functions, 324 Election Commission.

The correct answer is D, 6 years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. The Chief Election Commissioner holds office for six years from the date he takes charge, or until he turns sixty-five, whichever comes first; the other Election Commissioners serve on the same terms. The Constitution itself does not fix the term — Article 324 leaves the conditions of service to a law of Parliament, and the law sets these limits. The Chief Election Commissioner draws the salary of a Supreme Court judge and can be removed only in the same manner as a Supreme Court judge, while the other Election Commissioners can be removed only on his recommendation, which is what protects the Commission's independence. Options A, B and C are wrong because four, three and five years are not the prescribed term for this office. Exam tip: six years or sixty-five is also the limit for the Comptroller and Auditor General and for the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission.

The correct answer is B, Tenth Schedule. The anti-defection law sits in the Tenth Schedule, which sets out when a member of Parliament or of a State legislature loses the seat for defecting. It was inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985, after a decade in which governments were toppled by floor crossing. A member is disqualified for voluntarily giving up the membership of the party on whose ticket the seat was won, or for voting against the party whip. The Speaker or the Chairman of the House decides such a case, and courts can review that decision. The 91st Amendment of 2003 removed the old one third split defence, so only a merger supported by two thirds of a party’s legislators is now protected. A is wrong because the Second Schedule fixes the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, Speakers and judges. C is wrong because the Third Schedule carries the forms of oath and affirmation. D is wrong because the Fourth Schedule allots Rajya Sabha seats to states and union territories. Exam tip: Tenth Schedule, anti-defection, 52nd Amendment of 1985.

The correct answer is D, Puducherry. Puducherry is a Union Territory with a legislature of its own, which is why it is said to have partial statehood. Article 239A, added in 1962, allowed Parliament to create a legislature and a council of ministers for such a territory, and the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 gave Puducherry an Assembly and a Chief Minister, while an administrator styled Lieutenant Governor still represents the President. Delhi has a similar arrangement under Article 239AA, and Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory with a legislature in 2019. A is wrong because Chandigarh is administered directly, with the Governor of Punjab acting as its administrator. B and C are wrong because Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, merged into a single Union Territory in 2020, have no legislature and are run by an administrator. Exam tip: the Union Territories with legislatures are Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

The correct answer is A, 297. The Constitution (Fortieth Amendment) Act, 1976 rewrote Article 297 so that all lands, minerals and other things of value lying in the territorial waters, the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of India vest in the Union and are held for the purposes of the Union. The same amendment empowered Parliament to fix the limits of these maritime zones from time to time, and it also added a large number of state land-ceiling laws to the Ninth Schedule to protect them from court challenge. B is wrong because Article 248 deals with the residuary powers of legislation, which rest with Parliament. C is wrong because Article 245 sets out the extent of the laws made by Parliament and by State legislatures. D is wrong because Article 226 gives every High Court the power to issue writs. Exam tip: Article 297 – things of value in the territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone vest in the Union; widened by the 40th Amendment, 1976.

The correct answer is Article 352. It allows the President, if satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion, to make a Proclamation of Emergency. Since the 44th Amendment (1978), the President can do so only when the Union Cabinet's decision is communicated in writing, and both Houses must approve the proclamation within one month by a special majority.

The other options are real Articles on quite different subjects. Article 350 gives every person the right to submit a representation for the redress of a grievance in any language used in the Union or a State. Article 362 dealt with the rights and privileges of the rulers of the former princely states and was removed by the 26th Amendment in 1971, which ended the privy purses. Article 364 contains special provisions for major ports and aerodromes. Remember the emergency trio: 352 National Emergency, 356 President's Rule, 360 Financial Emergency.