Indian Polity: previous-year questions

Answer: (A) Part V

Part V of the Constitution, 'The Union' (Articles 52 to 151), opens with Chapter I, The Executive (Articles 52 to 78): the President, Vice-President, Council of Ministers and Attorney-General. Its later chapters cover Parliament (79 to 122), the President's ordinance power (123), the Supreme Court (124 to 147) and the CAG (148 to 151). Part III (Articles 12 to 35) contains the Fundamental Rights; Part VI (152 to 237) deals with the States, including the State Executive, which makes it the closest distractor; and Part XI (245 to 263) covers Union-State relations. Others worth knowing: Part IV, Directive Principles; Part IVA, Fundamental Duties; Part XVIII, Emergency provisions; Part XX, Amendment.

Answer: (A) Finance Commission – Article 324

The Finance Commission is constituted under Article 280, not Article 324; Article 324 provides for the Election Commission, so pair A is the wrong match while D is correct. Article 148 deals with the Comptroller and Auditor-General and Article 315 with the Public Service Commissions for the Union and the States. More body-article pairs to memorise: Attorney-General, 76; Advocate-General, 165; State Finance Commission, 243-I; State Election Commission, 243K; Inter-State Council, 263; GST Council, 279A; National Commissions for SCs, STs and Backward Classes, 338, 338A and 338B. The Finance Commission is appointed by the President every five years to recommend how central taxes are shared with the States.

Answer: (B) Judicial Activism

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is the best-known product of judicial activism in India. In the late 1970s and 1980s Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer relaxed the rule of locus standi so that any public-spirited person, even by a letter, could move the Supreme Court (Article 32) or a High Court (Article 226) on behalf of those unable to do so. Landmark cases: Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979, undertrial prisoners), often called the first PIL, and S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981). Judicial review (A) is the older and wider power of courts to test the constitutionality of laws and executive acts; PIL is a procedure that widened access to it. Federalism and NITI Aayog are unrelated.

Answer: (C) Article 9

Article 9 says that a person who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of a foreign state ceases to be a citizen of India, which is why India does not permit dual citizenship. Part II of the Constitution (Articles 5 to 11) in order: Article 5, citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution; 6, migrants from Pakistan to India; 7, migrants to Pakistan; 8, persons of Indian origin living abroad; 9, voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship; 10, continuance of citizenship rights; 11, Parliament's power to regulate citizenship, used to pass the Citizenship Act, 1955. That Act provides five ways of acquiring citizenship (birth, descent, registration, naturalisation, incorporation of territory) and three of losing it (renunciation, termination, deprivation).

Answer: (A) Article 17

Article 17 abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form; it is one of the few Fundamental Rights enforceable against private individuals as well as the State. Parliament gave effect to it through the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976, and later the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Right to Equality runs from Article 14 to 18: 14, equality before law; 15, no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; 16, equality of opportunity in public employment; 17, abolition of untouchability; 18, abolition of titles (option C). Article 19 guarantees the six freedoms and Article 21 protects life and personal liberty.

Answer: (D) 44th Amendment

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978, passed by the Janata government to prevent a repeat of the 1975-77 Emergency, provides that the President can proclaim a National Emergency under Article 352 only on the written advice of the Union Cabinet. It also replaced 'internal disturbance' with 'armed rebellion', required parliamentary approval within one month by a special majority and renewal every six months, protected Articles 20 and 21 from suspension, and removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights (now Article 300A). The distractors: the 42nd Amendment (1976), the 'mini-Constitution' that added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble and the Fundamental Duties; the 52nd (1985), the anti-defection law; the 86th (2002), the right to education (Article 21A).

Answer: (A) E. V. Chinnaiah Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh

On 1 August 2024 a seven-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held by 6:1 (Justice Bela Trivedi dissenting) that States may sub-classify Scheduled Castes so as to give preference to the more backward among them. The judgment was delivered in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh and overruled the five-judge decision in E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2004), which had treated the Scheduled Castes notified under Article 341 as one homogeneous class; hence PSC's answer (A), Chinnaiah being the litigation whose correctness the larger bench examined. Four judges also favoured applying a 'creamy layer' test to SCs and STs. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) is the Mandal case (OBC reservation, 50% ceiling), and Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (2024) struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme; option D is a made-up title.

Answer: (C) Both (I) and (II)

Both statements are correct. A constitutional body is created by the Constitution itself: the Finance Commission is provided for in Article 280. A statutory body is created by an Act of Parliament: the National Commission for Women was set up in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. More examples: constitutional, Election Commission (324), UPSC (315), CAG (148), National Commissions for SCs (338), STs (338A) and Backward Classes (338B), GST Council (279A); statutory, NHRC (1993 Act), Central Information Commission (RTI Act, 2005), Central Vigilance Commission (2003 Act), Lokpal (2013 Act) and the National Green Tribunal (2010 Act). NITI Aayog is neither, being created by an executive resolution.

Answer: (C) India has a quasi-federal system with a strong Centre.

India's Constitution is federal in form with a strong unitary bias, which K.C. Wheare described as 'quasi-federal'; Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States'. Federal features: a written Constitution, division of powers through the Union, State and Concurrent Lists of the Seventh Schedule, an independent judiciary and a bicameral Parliament. Unitary features: single citizenship, an integrated judiciary, All-India Services, Governors appointed by the Centre, residuary powers with Parliament (Article 248), Parliament's power to alter state boundaries (Article 3) and the emergency provisions. So it is neither completely federal (A) nor completely unitary (B), and the States are not stronger than the Centre (D). In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) the Supreme Court held federalism to be part of the basic structure.

Answer: (C) It is a fundamental right confirmed by the Supreme Court of India.

In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (24 August 2017) a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right, part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and of the freedoms in Part III. It overruled M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) to the extent that they had denied such a right, so option B states the old position. Any restriction must satisfy the tests of legality, legitimate aim and proportionality. It is not merely statutory (A): the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 regulates data protection, but the right itself flows from the Constitution. Other rights read into Article 21 include livelihood, a clean environment, speedy trial and legal aid.

Answer: (C) Articles 20 and 21

Article 359 empowers the President, during a National Emergency, to suspend the right to move courts for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights named in the order, except Articles 20 (protection in respect of conviction for offences) and 21 (life and personal liberty). This exception was added by the 44th Amendment, 1978, in reaction to ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976), in which the Supreme Court had upheld the suspension of habeas corpus during the Emergency. Compare Article 358, under which Article 19 is suspended automatically, but only when the emergency is declared on the ground of war or external aggression. So Articles 19, 32, 14 and 15 (options A, B) can all be affected, and D is wrong.

Answer: (B) Under both Preamble and Directive Principles

The Preamble secures to all citizens "JUSTICE, social, economic and political", an ideal borrowed from the Russian Revolution (liberty, equality and fraternity come from the French Revolution). PSC's key accepts option 'A' i.e. "only under the Preamble". Be aware, though, that Article 38(1) in the Directive Principles also speaks of "a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life", which is why several guidebooks prefer "both Preamble and Directive Principles". The Fundamental Rights chapter does not use the phrase. The Preamble has been amended only once, by the 42nd Amendment (1976), which added "Socialist", "Secular" and "Integrity".

Answer: (B) Zonal council

Zonal Councils are statutory (not constitutional) bodies created by Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. There are five — Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern — each chaired by the Union Home Minister, with the Chief Ministers acting as vice-chairman by rotation; the North Eastern Council was set up separately by a 1971 Act. The Inter-State Council comes from Article 263 and was set up in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission's recommendation; the Sarkaria Commission itself (1983) examined Centre–State relations; and the Official Language Commission was appointed under Article 344. (The booklet prints "wide" for "vide".)

Answer: (A) To protect monument of national importance

The Fundamental Duties (Article 51A, Part IVA) were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976, on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation and are modelled on the USSR constitution; an eleventh duty was added by the 86th Amendment, 2002. "To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform" is duty 51A(h), and "to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India" is 51A(c). Protection of monuments and places of national importance, however, is an obligation of the State under Article 49, a Directive Principle. The nearest citizen's duty, 51A(f), is to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Answer: (A) Russia

The idea of five-year planning was taken from the Soviet Union, where Stalin launched the first Five-Year Plan in 1928. Strictly, the plans are not in the Constitution: the Planning Commission was created by a Cabinet resolution on 15 March 1950 as an extra-constitutional, non-statutory body, and the First Plan covered 1951–56. Twelve plans were completed before NITI Aayog replaced the Commission on 1 January 2015. Also from the USSR: Fundamental Duties and the ideal of social, economic and political justice. From England: parliamentary government and rule of law. From the USA: Fundamental Rights and judicial review. From Weimar Germany: suspension of Fundamental Rights during an emergency.

Answer: (B) Parliament

Clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19 allow "the State" to impose reasonable restrictions "by law", so the power belongs to the legislature, i.e. Parliament (and State legislatures within their own fields). The Supreme Court does not impose restrictions; it decides, through judicial review under Articles 13 and 32, whether a restriction is reasonable. The President can suspend the enforcement of Fundamental Rights during a national emergency (Article 359), which is a different power. Parliament alone can also modify the rights of members of the armed forces (Article 33). The grounds in Article 19(2) include sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court and defamation.

Answer: (B) the Consolidated Fund of India

All revenues, loans raised and loan repayments received by the Union form the Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266(1)), and no money can be withdrawn from it except under an Appropriation Act passed by Parliament (Article 114). The Public Account (Article 266(2)) holds money such as provident funds and small savings, for which the government acts as banker; payments from it need no parliamentary appropriation. The Contingency Fund (Article 267) is placed at the President's disposal to meet unforeseen expenditure, and Parliament's approval is obtained afterwards. Expenditure "charged" on the Consolidated Fund, such as the salaries of the President and judges, is discussed but not voted.

Answer: (C) Concurrent list

"Economic and social planning" is Entry 20 of the Concurrent List (List III) in the Seventh Schedule, so both Parliament and the State legislatures can make laws on it; if they conflict, the Central law generally prevails (Article 254). At present the Union List has 100 subjects (originally 97), the State List 61 (originally 66) and the Concurrent List 52 (originally 47). The 42nd Amendment (1976) moved five subjects, including education and forests, from the State List to the Concurrent List. There is no "Reserved list" in the Constitution; "reserved" and "transferred" subjects belonged to dyarchy under the Government of India Act, 1919. Residuary powers lie with Parliament (Article 248).

Answer: (B) 52nd amendment

The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, passed under Rajiv Gandhi's government, added the Tenth Schedule, which disqualifies legislators who defect; the Speaker or Chairman decides such cases, subject to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan case, 1992). The 91st Amendment (2003) removed the exemption for "splits" and capped the Council of Ministers at 15% of the House. As for the other options, the 51st Amendment (1984) dealt with reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes in some north-eastern States, the 53rd (1986) made special provisions for Mizoram (Article 371G) and the 54th (1986) raised the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges.

Answer: (D) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.

The Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among the States: Article 1 calls India a "Union of States", and Dr Ambedkar explained that the phrase was chosen because the federation did not arise from a compact and no State has the right to secede. It is a "holding together" federation, unlike the "coming together" federation of the USA. The other three statements are true of India: an independent judiciary, a clear division of powers through three Lists, and unequal representation of States in the Rajya Sabha (by population, unlike the US Senate's two seats for every state). K. C. Wheare therefore called India "quasi-federal".