Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 37

The correct answer is B, Article 324. It is the first article of Part XV and places the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and of the conduct of all elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of the President and the Vice-President in the Election Commission of India. Option A is wrong because Article 320 is about the functions of the Public Service Commissions, which conduct recruitment examinations and have nothing to do with elections. Option C is wrong because Article 326 lays down that elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; it fixes who may vote, not who runs the election. Option D is wrong because Article 329 bars the courts from interfering in electoral matters and confines a challenge to an election petition before the High Court. Fix 324 for the Commission and 326 for adult suffrage, and this pair of distractors stops working.

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 C, 1955. The Constitution settles only who was a citizen on 26 January 1950, and Article 11 leaves the rest to Parliament, which enacted the Citizenship Act in 1955. The Act lays down five modes of acquiring citizenship and three of losing it, and it has been amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019. Option A is wrong because 1950 is the year the Constitution came into force, not the year of the Act. Option B is wrong because 1952 is the year of the first general election and of the Representation of the People Act machinery being used for it, not of the citizenship law. Option D is wrong because 1962 has no connection with citizenship law; it is remembered for the India-China war. Learn the pair together: Part II of the Constitution plus the Citizenship Act, 1955.

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 B, parliamentary. India follows the parliamentary system, taken from Britain, in which the real executive is responsible to the legislature. The President is the nominal head of state, while the Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister exercises real power and stays in office only while it holds the confidence of the Lok Sabha. Ministers are drawn from Parliament, the government falls if a no-confidence motion is passed, and the Prime Minister can advise the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. A is wrong because the Constitution is federal in structure with unitary features, which describes the division of powers between the centre and the states, not the form of government. C is wrong because India is a republic, so the head of state is elected and not a hereditary monarch. D is wrong because in a presidential system the executive is separate from and not answerable to the legislature, as in the United States. Exam tip: separate the two ideas - federal with a unitary bias describes the structure, parliamentary describes the government.

The correct answer is B, State Government. Section 16 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 extends the collective-fine provision of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 to atrocities, and the power to impose and recover a collective fine on the inhabitants of an area rests with the State Government. The purpose is to make a whole locality answerable when its people abet an atrocity or shield the offenders, and the inhabitants must be given a chance to be heard before the fine is fixed and apportioned among them. A is wrong because the District Magistrate carries out such orders but is not the authority that imposes the fine. C is wrong because the Special Court tries offences under the Act and punishes individual offenders. D is wrong because the High Court hears appeals and does not levy collective fines. Exam tip: remember the pair - collective fine under Section 16, imposed by the State Government.

The correct answer is C, the 61st Amendment Act, passed in 1988, which amended Article 326 and lowered the voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies from 21 years to 18, so that the enlarged electorate voted in the general election of 1989. Option A is wrong because the 44th Amendment of 1978 undid several changes of the Emergency, removing the right to property from the Fundamental Rights and restoring safeguards on the proclamation of an emergency. Option B is wrong because the 52nd Amendment of 1985 inserted the Tenth Schedule, the anti-defection law, which disqualifies a legislator for defection. Option D is wrong because the 73rd Amendment of 1992 gave constitutional status to panchayats and added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule; it is connected with elections only in that it created the State Election Commission under Article 243K.

The correct answer is D, Members of a Trade Union. A pressure group is an organised body of people with a shared interest that tries to influence government policy without contesting elections or seeking power itself, so a trade union pressing for better wages is the classic example. Pressure groups work through petitions, strikes, lobbying, publicity and public campaigns; in India business bodies such as FICCI, farmers' organisations, caste associations and student unions act in the same way. A is wrong because members of the Lok Sabha are elected representatives who sit inside the lawmaking body itself. B is wrong because panchayat members are elected office-holders of local self-government. C is wrong because cabinet members form the executive that takes the very decisions a pressure group tries to influence. Exam tip: the line to remember is that a political party seeks power, while a pressure group seeks only influence.

The correct answer is D, Article 11. Article 11 states that nothing in the preceding provisions takes away the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. It is on the strength of this Article that the Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted and has been amended since. Option A is wrong because Article 5 only decides who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution, using the tests of domicile, birth in India, a parent born in India or five years of ordinary residence. Option B is wrong because Article 9 provides that a person who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of a foreign state is not a citizen of India. Option C is wrong because Article 10 merely continues the rights of citizenship subject to any law Parliament makes, and is therefore dependent on Article 11.

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 B, the State Election Commission. Article 243K, inserted by the 73rd Amendment, gives the superintendence, direction and control of panchayat elections to a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor, and Article 243ZA does the same for municipalities. Option A is wrong because the Election Commission of India is confined by Article 324 to elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of the President and the Vice-President; local body elections were deliberately kept outside its charge. Option C is wrong because a District Collector works as District Election Officer or Returning Officer under whichever commission is holding the poll, but has no authority of his own to conduct an election. Option D is wrong because a ministry frames policy and releases funds; it cannot conduct elections, which must be in the hands of an independent commission.

The correct answer is C, Sarkaria commission. The Sarkaria Commission said the Governor should be a detached figure chosen without regard to party, and ideally someone who has not taken an active part in politics in the recent past or belonged to the ruling party at the centre. It was set up in 1983 under Justice R S Sarkaria to review centre-state relations and reported in 1988. It also advised that the Chief Minister of the state be consulted before a Governor is appointed, that Article 356 be used only as a last resort, and that the Inter-State Council be set up, which was done in 1990. A is wrong because the Fazal Ali Commission of 1953 was the States Reorganisation Commission on state boundaries. B is wrong because the Rajamannar Committee of 1969 was appointed by Tamil Nadu, not by the Union. D is wrong because the Mandal Commission of 1979 dealt with reservation for backward classes. Exam tip: tie the names - Sarkaria 1983 for centre-state relations, Punchhi 2007 for the same subject later.

The correct answer is D, by marriage. The Act lists exactly five modes of acquiring citizenship: by birth, by descent, by registration, by naturalisation and by incorporation of territory. Marriage to an Indian citizen does not by itself confer citizenship; the foreign spouse of a citizen must apply under the registration route after being ordinarily resident in India for seven years, which is why marriage is never counted as a separate mode. Option A is wrong as an answer because birth is the first mode, governed by three different date windows beginning on 26 January 1950. Option B is wrong because descent covers a person born outside India to an Indian parent, subject to registration at an Indian consulate. Option C is wrong because registration is the route used by persons of Indian origin resident in India, by spouses of citizens and by minor children of citizens.

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 B, 25,000 rupees. Section 34 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires a candidate for a Lok Sabha seat to deposit 25,000 rupees, and a candidate belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe deposits half of it. The deposit is returned after the result unless the candidate fails to poll more than one-sixth of the total valid votes, in which case it is forfeited; the purpose is to discourage candidates who have no real support. Option A is wrong because 10,000 rupees is the deposit for a State Legislative Assembly seat, which is the commonest confusion in this question. Option C is wrong because 5,000 rupees is the halved deposit for an SC or ST candidate contesting an Assembly seat. Option D is wrong because no seat carries a deposit of 50,000 rupees; the figure is simply a plausible-looking distractor.

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, ceases to be a citizen of India. Article 9 lays down that a person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state is not a citizen of India, and Section 9 of the Citizenship Act gives the same rule the name termination of citizenship. This is the constitutional basis of India's refusal of dual citizenship. Option A is wrong precisely because dual citizenship is not permitted; a person must choose. Option C is wrong because the Overseas Citizen of India card is not automatic: a person of Indian origin must apply for it, and in any case the card is a long-term visa and not citizenship, giving no right to vote or to hold a constitutional office. Option D is wrong because the loss under Article 9 operates by force of the Constitution itself and does not wait upon any law of Parliament.

The correct answer is A, Kerala. The first use of an electronic voting machine in an Indian election was in 1982 at North Paravur in Kerala, in a by-election where the machine was used in a limited number of polling stations. The experiment was extended to selected constituencies through the 1990s, EVMs were used in all the Assembly elections of some States by 2001, and from the general election of 2004 every parliamentary constituency in the country polled on machines. Option B is wrong because Goa has no connection with the first use, though it has polled on machines like every other State since 2004. Option C is wrong because Karnataka is the home of Bharat Electronics Limited at Bengaluru, one of the two public sector makers of the machines, which is why it is offered as a distractor. Option D is wrong because Rajasthan has no claim to the first trial either.

The correct answer is A, the Union List. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens form an entry in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule, so only Parliament can make law on them, which matches Article 11 and explains why there is a single central Citizenship Act and no state citizenship law. Option B is wrong because the State List contains subjects such as public order, police, local government, public health and agriculture, and a state legislature cannot grant or take away citizenship. Option C is wrong because the Concurrent List contains subjects such as criminal law, marriage and divorce, education and forests, on which both Parliament and the state legislatures may legislate. Option D is wrong because citizenship is expressly enumerated and is therefore not a residuary subject; residuary powers, which also belong to Parliament, cover only matters not listed in any of the three lists.

The correct answer is A, Sukumar Sen, an officer of the Indian Civil Service who held office from 1950 to 1958 and conducted the first two general elections, of 1951-52 and 1957, for an electorate that was largely unlettered and had never voted before. Option B is wrong because K. V. K. Sundaram was the third Chief Election Commissioner, in office through the 1960s. Option C is wrong because T. Swaminathan came after him in the 1970s; both names are offered because they belong to the early list and are easy to shuffle. Option D is wrong because T. N. Seshan, who held office from 1990 to 1996, is remembered for the strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct and for making the photo identity card general, but he was far from the first; the Commission had been working for forty years by the time he took charge.