Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 34

The correct answer is B, Advocate General. The Advocate General is the highest law officer of a state and advises the state government on legal matters. Article 165 provides for the office: the Governor appoints a person qualified to be a judge of a High Court, the Advocate General holds office during the pleasure of the Governor, and the Governor fixes the remuneration. The duties are to advise the state government on the legal questions referred to the office, to discharge the legal duties assigned by the Governor and to appear for the state in the High Court. A is wrong because the Attorney General, under Article 76, is the first law officer of the Union and not of a state. C is wrong because the Solicitor General assists the Attorney General at the Union level and is not a constitutional post. D is wrong because the Chief Justice of a High Court decides cases and does not advise the government. Exam tip: Article 76 for the Attorney General of India, Article 165 for the Advocate General of a state.

The correct answer is A, Land transfers. The Fifth Schedule lets the Governor make regulations for the peace and good government of a Scheduled Area, and it names three matters such a regulation may cover: it may prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes, regulate the allotment of land to them, and regulate money-lending to them. The purpose is to stop outsiders from buying up tribal land, so land alienation is the heart of the provision. A regulation of this kind needs the assent of the President, and the Governor must also report to the President every year on the administration of these areas, advised by a Tribes Advisory Council. Option B is wrong because taxation is settled by Parliament and the state legislature, not by such a regulation. Option C is wrong because freedom of speech is a fundamental right no Governor's regulation can curtail. Option D is wrong because water use is not one of the three listed matters. Exam tip: Fifth Schedule regulations cover land transfer, land allotment and money-lending.

The correct answer is C, a Nagar Panchayat. Article 243Q requires the Governor to constitute a Nagar Panchayat, by whatever name called, for a transitional area, that is an area moving from rural to urban character. In deciding the classification the Governor considers the population, the density of population, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities and the economic importance of the area.

Option A is wrong because a Municipal Corporation is constituted for a larger urban area, typically a big city. Option B is wrong because a Municipal Council is meant for a smaller urban area, that is a town that is already urban. Option D is wrong because a Cantonment Board is not a body under Part IXA at all; it administers a military station under the Cantonments Act and works under the Union Ministry of Defence, with the station commander as its president.

The correct answer is D, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and is counted as its founder member and first president. The party was launched at Delhi in October 1951 as a nationalist alternative to the Congress. Mookerjee had resigned from Nehru's cabinet in 1950 over the Nehru-Liaquat pact, and he had earlier led the Hindu Mahasabha and served as Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. He died in 1953 in detention in Kashmir while agitating against the state's special status, after which Deendayal Upadhyaya built up the party's organisation; it was reorganised as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. A is wrong because K M Munshi was a Constituent Assembly member and Congress leader who later joined the Swatantra Party. B is wrong because Baldev Singh was independent India's first Defence Minister. C is wrong because Minoo Masani was a founder of the Swatantra Party. Exam tip: Bharatiya Jana Sangh 1951 with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Swatantra Party 1959 with C Rajagopalachari and Minoo Masani.

The correct answer is C, Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973. A bench of thirteen judges, the largest ever assembled at the time, held by a majority of seven to six that Parliament may amend any part of the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, but may not damage or destroy its basic structure.

Option A is wrong because Shankari Prasad in 1951 upheld the First Amendment and held that an amendment was not ordinary law, so it could take away Fundamental Rights. Option B is wrong because Golaknath in 1967 went to the other extreme and held that Fundamental Rights could not be abridged at all; it was this ruling that Kesavananda overruled. Option D is wrong because Minerva Mills in 1980 applied the doctrine rather than laid it down, striking down clauses 4 and 5 of Article 368. The chain Shankari Prasad, Golaknath, Kesavananda, Minerva Mills is worth memorising in that order.

The correct answer is D, Dual Government. A dual government, one at the centre and one in the units, is the common feature of every federation, so India and the USA do not differ on this point. Both countries divide powers between a national government and state governments through a written constitution, and both let courts settle disputes about that division. The other three features are exactly where the two systems part company, because India has a federation with a strong unitary bias. Option A is wrong because every American state sends two members to the Senate regardless of size, while seats in the Rajya Sabha are allotted according to a state’s population, so representation is unequal. Option B is wrong because an American citizen is a citizen of both the Union and a state, while India gives only single citizenship. Option C is wrong because the USA has separate federal and state courts, while India has one integrated judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. Exam tip: India — single citizenship, integrated judiciary, unequal Rajya Sabha seats.

The correct answer is D, the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature. Article 321 allows additional functions to be conferred on a Public Service Commission, and it names two different authorities for the two kinds of Commission: Parliament may extend the functions of the Union Public Service Commission, while the legislature of a state may extend the functions of that state's Public Service Commission. The functions of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission are therefore extended by an Act of the Uttar Pradesh legislature. Option A is wrong because the Prime Minister has no such power under the Constitution. Option B is wrong because a Union ministry cannot legislate for a state Commission. Option C is wrong because the President appoints, removes and frames conditions of service, but extending functions is a legislative act under Article 321.

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 B, Sarkaria Commission. The Inter-State Council was constituted in 1990 by a presidential order acting on this commission's report on centre-state relations. Article 263 empowers the President to set up such a council to inquire into disputes between states, discuss subjects of common interest and make recommendations. The Sarkaria Commission, headed by Justice R. S. Sarkaria, was appointed in 1983 and submitted its report in 1988; it asked that the council be made a permanent body. The Prime Minister chairs it, and the chief ministers of all states, the administrators of union territories and six union ministers are its members. Option A is wrong because the Punchhi Commission came much later, in 2007, and reported in 2010. Option C is wrong because the Rajamannar Committee of 1969 was set up by the Tamil Nadu government, not the Union. Option D is wrong because the Mungerilal Commission dealt with backward class reservation in Bihar. Exam tip: Article 263 plus Sarkaria Commission gives the Inter-State Council, 1990.

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 B, N.C.E.R.T. Section 29(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 says the curriculum and the evaluation procedure for elementary education shall be laid down by an academic authority notified by the appropriate government, and the Central Government notified the National Council of Educational Research and Training for the schools under it, while the states notified their own SCERTs. Section 29(2) then binds that authority to constitutional values, the all-round development of the child, learning through activity and discovery, teaching in the mother tongue as far as practicable, and continuous and comprehensive evaluation. A is wrong because the N.C.T.E. frames norms for teacher education and teacher eligibility, which the Act deals with in Section 23. C is wrong because N.I.E.P.A. works on educational planning and administration. D is wrong because N.I.O.S. runs open and distance schooling. Exam tip: in the RTE Act, Section 29 gives the academic authority, NCERT, and Section 23 the teacher qualifications through NCTE.

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, 1998. The post of National Security Adviser was created in November 1998, when the Vajpayee government set up the National Security Council. Brajesh Mishra was the first National Security Adviser and held the post along with that of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Adviser is the Prime Minister's chief counsellor on national security and strategic affairs, heads the National Security Council Secretariat and receives the intelligence agencies' assessments. The Council works through three limbs, the Strategic Policy Group, the National Security Advisory Board and the Secretariat. Option A is wrong because by 2000 the office was already two years old. Option C is wrong because 2003 falls towards the end of the first Adviser's long tenure, not at its start. Option D is wrong because 1999, the year of the Kargil conflict, is often confused with it, but the Council and the Adviser had been announced a few months earlier. Exam tip: National Security Council and National Security Adviser, November 1998, first holder Brajesh Mishra.

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 A, Golaknath case. In Golaknath in 1967 an eleven judge bench held by six to five that Parliament had no power to amend the Fundamental Rights. Parliament replied with the Twenty-fourth Amendment of 1971, and in Kesavananda Bharati in 1973 the Court overruled Golaknath, restoring the amending power while subjecting it to the basic structure limit.

Option B is wrong because the Berubari Union opinion of 1960 concerned the cession of Indian territory and the status of the Preamble, and was not overruled here. Option C is wrong because S. R. Bommai came much later, in 1994, and dealt with President's rule under Article 356. Option D is wrong on the calendar alone, since Minerva Mills was decided in 1980, seven years after Kesavananda, and followed it rather than being overruled by it. Watch the direction of overruling in such questions.

The correct answer is A, 1 only. Only the first statement holds, so the other combinations fall away. India follows single citizenship and a single domicile, which means a person is a citizen of India alone and not separately of a state, unlike the United States where a citizen also belongs to a state. Citizenship is dealt with in Articles 5 to 11 and in the Citizenship Act of 1955, which allows it to be acquired by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or the incorporation of territory. Statement 2 is wrong because Article 58 asks only that a candidate for President be a citizen of India; a citizen by naturalisation is equally eligible. Statement 3 is wrong because the Act provides for loss of citizenship by renunciation, termination and deprivation, and a naturalised citizen can be deprived of it for fraud or disloyalty. B, C and D are wrong because each of them includes one of these two mistaken statements. Exam tip: single citizenship, single domicile - and Articles 5 to 11 are the citizenship articles.

The correct answer is C, the President, after an enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court. Article 317(1) provides that the chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission, whether of the Union or of a state, shall be removed from office only by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour, and only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry on a reference made by the President and reported that he ought to be removed. Options A, B and D all put the power in the Governor's hands, which is the standard trap: the Governor appoints a member of a State Commission and may suspend him while the inquiry is pending, but he cannot remove him. There is no impeachment by the Vidhan Sabha for this office, so A is doubly wrong, and D wrongly substitutes the High Court for the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is A, Twenty-fourth Amendment, 1971. It was passed in answer to the Golaknath ruling. It amended Article 13 and Article 368 to make clear that Parliament could take away or abridge a Fundamental Right by amendment, and it made the President's assent to such a bill compulsory, so an amendment bill can neither be withheld nor returned for reconsideration.

Option B is wrong because the Twenty-fifth Amendment of 1971 curtailed the right to property and inserted Article 31C. Option C is wrong because the Forty-second Amendment of 1976 added the Fundamental Duties and tried to bar judicial review of amendments through clauses 4 and 5 of Article 368. Option D is wrong because the Forty-fourth Amendment of 1978 reversed several of those changes and made the right to property a legal right under Article 300A. The pairing to hold is Golaknath with the Twenty-fourth Amendment.

The correct answer is B, Article 315. It is the opening article of the group on Public Service Commissions and says that there shall be a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state, with the further provision that two or more states may have a Joint Commission created by Parliament on their request. Option A, Article 312, deals with the creation of All India Services by Parliament on a resolution of the Rajya Sabha, which is a different matter altogether. Option C, Article 320, lists the functions of the Commissions, such as conducting examinations and being consulted on recruitment and disciplinary matters, but it does not constitute them. Option D, Article 324, sets up the Election Commission of India and has nothing to do with the Public Service Commissions.

The correct answer is A, Forty-second Amendment. Enacted in 1976 on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, it changed so many provisions at one stroke that it is called the mini Constitution: it added the Fundamental Duties in Part IVA, inserted the words socialist, secular and integrity in the Preamble, extended the term of the Lok Sabha to six years and moved five subjects, among them education and forests, from the State List to the Concurrent List.

Option B is wrong because the Forty-fourth Amendment of 1978 was the corrective amendment that undid much of this. Option C is wrong because the Fifty-second Amendment of 1985 brought in the anti defection law in the Tenth Schedule. Option D is wrong because the Seventy-third Amendment of 1992 gave constitutional status to panchayats. Only the Forty-second carries the nickname.