Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 28

The correct answer is 44th Amendment act, 1978. The Emergency of June 1975 was declared on the ground of "internal disturbance", a phrase so vague that almost any political unrest could be brought under it. The Janata government's 44th Amendment replaced it with "armed rebellion", a much narrower ground. The same amendment required the Cabinet's written advice for a proclamation, cut the approval period from two months to one, demanded a special majority for approval and let the Lok Sabha end an emergency by a simple majority.

The other options are the amendments around it. The 42nd Amendment (1976), passed during the Emergency, strengthened the Centre and allowed an emergency to be declared for part of the country, but it did not change the grounds. The 43rd Amendment (1977) restored some powers of the courts that the 42nd had taken away. The 41st Amendment (1976) raised the retirement age of members of State Public Service Commissions. When a question mentions "armed rebellion", the answer is always the 44th Amendment.

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 D, all four. A bicameral State legislature has a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council, and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh each have both Houses. Options A, B and C are wrong because each of them leaves out a State that does have a Council. Bihar has had a Council since before independence and Uttar Pradesh is the largest of the bicameral States; Andhra Pradesh revived its Council by an Act of Parliament, and Telangana received one when it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The Governor is central to this arrangement: under Article 168 he is part of the legislature, under Article 171 he nominates one-sixth of the Council, and under Article 169 no Council can be created or abolished unless the Assembly passes a special-majority resolution and Parliament then makes a law.

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 C, Five. Five writs can be issued: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto. Habeas corpus asks that a detained person be produced before the court. Mandamus commands a public authority to perform a duty it has refused to perform. Prohibition stops a lower court from going beyond its jurisdiction, while certiorari quashes an order such a court has already passed. Quo warranto questions a person’s claim to hold a public office. The Supreme Court issues these under Article 32, but only to enforce fundamental rights, and the right to move the Court under Article 32 is itself a fundamental right. A High Court’s power under Article 226 is wider, because it covers both fundamental rights and other legal rights. All five were borrowed from English common law. A, B and D are wrong because the Constitution provides exactly five, no more and no fewer. Exam tip: Article 32 for the Supreme Court and Article 226 for High Courts, five writs in both.

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 D, The Comptroller and Auditor General. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India heads the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the organisation through which the audit of Union and State accounts is actually carried out. The office is created by Article 148. The CAG is appointed by the President by warrant under hand and seal, holds office for six years or until the age of sixty five, whichever comes first, and can be removed only in the manner laid down for a judge of the Supreme Court. Article 149 sets out the duties, and the audit reports go to the President or the Governor, who lays them before the legislature, where the Public Accounts Committee takes them up. A is wrong because an Accountant General heads a state level office under the CAG. B is wrong because Principal Accountant General is a senior rank of the same kind. C is wrong because a Director General serves inside the department rather than at its head. Exam tip: Article 148, the CAG heads the audit department, six years or age sixty five.

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 1. A Proclamation of National Emergency must be laid before both Houses of Parliament and approved by each of them within one month of its issue; otherwise it ceases to operate. Each House must approve it by a special majority: a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of the members present and voting. The original Constitution allowed two months; the 44th Amendment (1978) cut this to one month and introduced the special majority. Once approved, the emergency lasts six months and can be renewed every six months.

The other options mix up different time limits in the same chapter. Two months, which is not an option here, is the approval period for President's Rule and a Financial Emergency. Six months is how long an approved National Emergency or President's Rule lasts before it must be renewed. Three and nine months have no role at all. A simple way to keep them apart: the most serious emergency, a threat to the nation, gets the shortest leash and the strictest majority.

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 C, Article 155. It provides that the Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. This single line settles two facts examiners like: the office is filled by appointment and not by any kind of election, and the appointing authority is the President, acting on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers. Option A, Article 153, only says that there shall be a Governor for each State, with a proviso added by the Seventh Amendment of 1956 allowing one person to be Governor of two or more States. Option B, Article 154, vests the executive power of the State in the Governor, to be exercised by him directly or through subordinate officers. Option D, Article 156, deals with the term: five years, but held during the pleasure of the President, with the resignation addressed to the President.

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 Article 353, titled "Effect of Proclamation of Emergency". While a National Emergency is in force, it extends the executive power of the Union to giving directions to any State on the manner in which its executive power is to be exercised, and it allows Parliament to make laws on any matter, even one in the State List. Article 250 spells out that legislative power in detail, and laws made under it cease to have effect six months after the emergency ends.

The other options are unrelated. Article 350 guarantees the right to submit a representation for the redress of grievances in any language used in the Union or a State. Article 256 lays down a normal-time duty: every State must exercise its executive power so as to comply with laws made by Parliament. Article 252 lets Parliament legislate for two or more States on a State subject when their legislatures pass resolutions asking it to do so. The difference with 353 is that during an emergency no State's consent is needed at all.

The correct answer is C, Five. The Citizenship Act of 1955 lays down five ways of acquiring Indian citizenship: by birth, by descent, by registration, by naturalisation and by incorporation of territory. Citizenship by birth applies to those born in India within the periods the Act sets out, descent covers children born abroad to Indian parents, registration is for persons of Indian origin and spouses of Indian citizens who meet the conditions, naturalisation is for foreigners who have lived here for the required years, and incorporation of territory applies when new territory becomes part of India, as with Goa and Sikkim. The same Act provides three ways of losing citizenship: renunciation, termination and deprivation. A and B are wrong because three and four leave out modes the Act lists. D is wrong because there is no sixth mode. Exam tip: five ways in, three ways out, all under the Citizenship Act 1955.

The correct answer is C, 35 years. Article 157 lays down only two qualifications for the office: the person must be a citizen of India and must have completed thirty-five years of age. The same age is prescribed for the President under Article 58, which is why the two are easy to remember together. Option A, 25 years, is the minimum age for membership of a State Legislative Assembly and of the Lok Sabha. Option B, 30 years, is the minimum age for membership of the Rajya Sabha and of a State Legislative Council. Option D, 40 years, is not an age qualification anywhere in the Constitution for these offices. Article 158 adds the conditions of office: the Governor cannot be a member of Parliament or of a State legislature, cannot hold any other office of profit, and his emoluments are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State.

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 upto one year. While a Proclamation of National Emergency is in operation, Parliament can by law extend the normal five-year term of a State Legislative Assembly (Article 172) and of the Lok Sabha (Article 83) by up to one year at a time. There is also an outer limit: the extension cannot continue beyond six months after the proclamation has ceased to operate. During the Emergency of 1975–77 the term of the Fifth Lok Sabha was extended in this way.

The other durations come from elsewhere in the chapter and are meant to confuse. Six months is the period for which an approved emergency lasts, and also the outer limit after an emergency ends. One month is the time within which Parliament must approve a National Emergency. Nine months has no basis. The logic of the rule is that elections may be impossible during a war or rebellion, so the Constitution lets the existing legislatures continue, but only one year at a time and never for long after the crisis has passed.

The correct answer is C, the Chief Justice of the High Court of that State. Article 159 says the oath of office is administered by the Chief Justice of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the State, and in his absence by the senior-most judge of that Court available. Option A is wrong because the President appoints the Governor under Article 155 but does not administer the oath. Option B is a common trap: the Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President under Article 60, not to a Governor. Option D is wrong because the Chief Minister himself takes the oath from the Governor under Article 164, so the sequence runs the other way. Remember the pairing: Chief Justice of India for the President, Chief Justice of the High Court for the Governor, and the Governor for the Chief Minister and other Ministers.

The correct answer is 1962-68. India's first National Emergency was proclaimed on 26 October 1962, during the war with China, on the ground of external aggression. It stayed in force long after the fighting ended and was revoked only on 10 January 1968, which is why the question gives the span 1962–68. President Dr S. Radhakrishnan made the proclamation, on the advice of Jawaharlal Nehru's government.

The other spans are invented, built around the right decade to catch candidates who remember only "the 1960s". For the full picture, learn all three proclamations together: 1962 (external aggression, the war with China), 1971 (external aggression, the war with Pakistan) and 1975 (internal disturbance, declared while the 1971 emergency was still in force). Both the 1971 and 1975 emergencies ended in March 1977. The long 1962–68 emergency, continuing years after the war, was itself one of the reasons later governments added limits on how long an emergency can last without fresh approval.

The correct answer is A, pardon. Article 161 gives the Governor power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment, and to suspend, remit or commute a sentence, in cases relating to matters to which the executive power of the State extends. The settled reading is that the power to pardon a death sentence rests with the President under Article 72 and not with the Governor. Options B, C and D are all available to him even where the sentence is one of death: commutation under option B substitutes a lighter punishment, such as life imprisonment for death; remission under option C reduces the quantum of the sentence without changing its character; and a reprieve under option D stays the execution for a period, typically so that the convict can seek mercy elsewhere. Two further limits are worth memorising: the Governor has no power at all over sentences passed by a court martial, and that power too belongs to the President.