Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 35

The correct answer is D, clauses 4 and 5. The Forty-second Amendment had added clause 4, saying that no amendment shall be called in question in any court, and clause 5, saying that the amending power of Parliament was unlimited. In Minerva Mills the Court struck down both, holding that judicial review and the limited nature of the amending power are themselves part of the basic structure.

Option A is wrong because clauses 1 and 2 are the original provisions on the amending power and the procedure, and they remain in force. Option B and Option C are wrong because clause 3, which says that Article 13 shall not apply to an amendment, was inserted by the Twenty-fourth Amendment and was not struck down. The neat way to hold this is that the Forty-second Amendment added clauses 4 and 5 and Minerva Mills removed exactly those two.

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 B, charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Article 322 makes the expenses of the Union Public Service Commission, including the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of its members and staff, charged expenditure on the Consolidated Fund of India. Charged expenditure can be discussed in Parliament but is not submitted to its vote, which keeps the legislature from squeezing the Commission's budget and is one of the guarantees of its independence. Option A is therefore wrong, as voting is exactly what Article 322 avoids. Option C is wrong because the Contingency Fund is an imprest placed with the President for unforeseen expenditure, not a standing source for a constitutional body. Option D is wrong because a state's Commission is paid from that state's Consolidated Fund and the UPSC from the Union's, with no sharing.

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, Sixty-first Amendment. Passed in 1989, it amended Article 326 and lowered the voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies from twenty-one years to eighteen years, which brought a very large number of young voters on to the rolls for the general election that followed.

Option A is wrong because the Fifty-second Amendment of 1985 inserted the Tenth Schedule and the anti defection law. Option C is wrong because the Seventy-fourth Amendment of 1992 dealt with municipalities and added the Twelfth Schedule. Option D is wrong because the Eighty-sixth Amendment of 2002 inserted Article 21A and made free and compulsory education for children of six to fourteen years a Fundamental Right. Remember Article 326 along with the Sixty-first Amendment, because the article is asked as often as the number.

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, the Governor, who causes it to be laid before the legislature of the state. Article 323(2) requires a State Commission to present to the Governor an annual report of the work done by it, and the Governor then places it before the state legislature together with a memorandum explaining the cases, if any, in which the Commission's advice was not accepted and the reasons for it. Option A describes the arrangement for the Union Public Service Commission, whose report goes to the President and then to Parliament, so it is the standard distractor. Option B is wrong because the report is a constitutional submission to the head of the state, not to the head of the council of ministers. Option D is wrong because the State Commissions are independent of the UPSC and do not report to it.

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 A, First Amendment, 1951. It inserted Articles 31A and 31B along with the Ninth Schedule, so that land reform and zamindari abolition laws placed in that schedule could not be challenged for violating the Fundamental Rights. The same amendment also added the grounds of public order, friendly relations with foreign states and incitement to an offence as reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech.

Option B is wrong because the Fourth Amendment of 1955 dealt with compulsory acquisition of property and added laws to the existing schedule. Option C is wrong because the Seventh Amendment of 1956 carried out the reorganisation of states. Option D is wrong because the Seventeenth Amendment of 1964 only added more land reform laws to the Ninth Schedule. The point to carry away is that later amendments filled the Ninth Schedule, but the First Amendment created it.

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 B, sixty-two years. Article 316(2) fixes a six-year term for every Public Service Commission but two different retiring ages: sixty-five years for a member of the Union Public Service Commission and sixty-two years for a member of a State Commission or of a Joint Commission, and in each case the earlier of the two events ends the term. Option A, sixty years, is the usual age of superannuation for many government servants and is put in to mislead. Option C, sixty-five years, is correct for the UPSC and is the most tempting wrong answer here, so read the question carefully to see which Commission is being asked about. Option D, seventy years, belongs to no Public Service Commission at all; it is the retiring age fixed for a judge of the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is D, Tenth Schedule. The Tenth Schedule carries the anti-defection provisions, so a legislator who deserts the party on whose ticket he or she was elected can be disqualified under it. The schedule was inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985 and applies to members of Parliament and of the state legislatures alike. A member loses the seat for voluntarily giving up party membership or for voting against the party whip, and the presiding officer of the House decides such a case. A merger escapes disqualification only when at least two-thirds of the members of that legislature party agree to it. A is wrong because the Second Schedule fixes the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, judges and other high offices. B is wrong because the Fifth Schedule deals with the administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. C is wrong because the Eighth Schedule lists the recognised languages of India. Exam tip: link the pair - Tenth Schedule with the 52nd Amendment of 1985.

The correct answer is A, not less than one half of the states. For matters such as the election of the President, the extent of the executive power of the Union and the states, the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Seventh Schedule, the representation of states in Parliament and Article 368 itself, the bill must first be passed by each House by a special majority and then ratified by the legislatures of at least half the states, each by a simple majority.

Option B is wrong because two thirds is the fraction of members present and voting in Parliament, not of the states, and this mixing of the two fractions is the trap. Option C and Option D are wrong because the Constitution nowhere requires three fourths of the states or unanimity; the makers deliberately avoided the rigidity of such a rule. Note also that no time limit is fixed for the states to ratify.

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 C, making the final appointment of selected candidates. The Commission recommends; the appointing authority of the government issues the appointment. Article 320 gives the Commission the duty of conducting examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and of the states, which covers option A, and requires that it be consulted on methods of recruitment and on the principles to be followed in making appointments, promotions and transfers, which covers option B. It also requires consultation on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving the government in a civil capacity, including memorials and petitions relating to them, which covers option D. Because the Commission's role ends with advice, and that advice does not even bind the government, option C states a power it does not have.

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 D, One hundred and sixth Amendment. Passed in 2023 and called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, it inserted Articles 330A and 332A to reserve one third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and in the state legislative assemblies, as well as in the Delhi assembly, for women, the reservation to take effect after the delimitation exercise carried out on the basis of the relevant census.

Option A is wrong because the One hundred and first Amendment of 2016 introduced the Goods and Services Tax through Articles 246A, 269A and 279A. Option B is wrong because the One hundred and third Amendment of 2019 provided reservation for the economically weaker sections. Option C is wrong because the One hundred and fourth Amendment of 2020 extended reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the legislatures and ended the nomination of Anglo Indians. Learn these four numbers together, as examiners set them as one another's distractors.

The correct answer is B, by an Act of Parliament on a request made by the legislatures of the states concerned. Article 315(2) says that if the legislatures of two or more states pass resolutions to that effect, Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission to serve the needs of those states. The chairman and members of such a Commission are appointed by the President, and it presents its annual report to the Governor of each state. Option A is wrong because the initiative must come from the state legislatures and the instrument must be a law of Parliament, not an executive order. Option C is wrong because Governors have no power to create a constitutional body. Option D is wrong because the UPSC has no authority to set up another Commission, and Article 315(4) only lets it serve a state on the Governor's request with the President's approval.

The correct answer is D, neither 1 nor 2. Statement 1 is wrong because the Constitution nowhere uses the expression basic structure or defines it. The doctrine is a creation of the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati in 1973, and the courts have added features to it case by case, which is why no closed list exists. Statement 2 is wrong as it stands because the Constitution contains no provision that declares judicial review with such a purpose written into it; the power flows from provisions such as Articles 13, 32, 131 to 136, 226 and 246, and the language about safeguarding liberties and preserving ideals is the language of judgments and commentaries, not of the text.

Option A and Option B are therefore wrong, each accepting one of the two flawed statements, and Option C is wrong because it accepts both. The lesson for statement based questions is to be strict about the words defines and provision: a doctrine developed by the courts is not a definition given by the Constitution.

The correct answer is B, the Lee Commission. The Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India, headed by Lord Lee of Fareham and reporting in 1924, recommended the setting up of a statutory Public Service Commission, and the first Public Service Commission in India was accordingly established on 1 October 1926 under the Government of India Act, 1919. Under the Government of India Act, 1935 it became the Federal Public Service Commission, and on 26 January 1950 the Union Public Service Commission. Option A is wrong because the Islington Commission of 1912 to 1915 examined the public services but did not bring the Commission into being. Option C is wrong because the Simon Commission of 1928 examined constitutional reform. Option D is wrong because the Sapru Committee belongs to a later constitutional debate altogether.