Indian Polity - BPSC (Bihar) MCQ

As the possibility of the existing Govt. being voted out in a no-confidence motion results in political instability, two provisions were added to the 1949 Weimar Constitution of Germany. As a result, the Bundestag (German Parliament) can express its lack of confidence in the Chancellor (position comparable to the Prime Minister of India) only by electing a successor with the majority of its members.

The correct answer is Article 243 - D.
Key Points

• The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act Was enacted and passed in 1992 during the Narasimha Rao Government.
• It added Part IX to our Constitution which is entitled 'The Panchayats' and deals with the provisions of Articles 243 A to 243O. 
• A new schedule, that is Eleventh Schedule was also added to the Constitution. 
• This act leads to the establishment of a three-tier Panchayati raj system for local self-government.
• The three-tier system consists of:
  • Zila Parishad (at the district level).
  • Block Samiti (at block level).
  • Gram Panchayat (at village level).

The Himachal Pradesh Maintenance of Parents and Dependants Act, 2001 has made the maintenance of one’s parents mandatory. Now, with the enactment of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, the Government has made the maintenance of one’s parents mandatory in the whole country.

State funding of elections means the funds used by the political parties/candidates in elections for various purposes are provided by the Govt. In India, this has been recommended by various committees like the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998), Law Commission report, 1999, National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution (NCRWC), 2001 and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008. While advocating state funding of elections, it is assumed that it will result in lesser use of black money in elections.

Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated by a member of the society for a public cause.

The concept originated in the United States of America and featured for the very first time in the report of Public Interest Law prepared by the Council for Public Interest Law in 1976. 

Public Interest Litigation in India was initiated by Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P.N. Bhagwati in the 1970s and 80s when they started permitting PILs to be filed for redressal of common public problems in cases like Mumbai Kamgar Sabha vs. Abdul Thai(1976) and S.P. Gupta and Others vs. Union of India(1982).

Since only members of the Lower House are allowed to vote in the Lower House, the Prime Minister, in case he is a member of the Upper House, will not be able to cast his vote in any proceedings of the Lower House. Other than voting in lower house, the PM will not face any other restriction as per constitutional provisions and parliamentary procedures.

Assertion(A) statement is false because the constitution, under Articles 80 and 81, provides for the composition of both the Houses of the Parliament. So, in order to make a reservation of thirty-three percent of seats for women in the Parliament, a constitutional amendment will have to be made to the said Articles. Reason(R) statement is correct because political parties are not constitutional bodies and thus a change in their constitution is their internal matter for which no constitutional amendment is required.

In the Constitution of India, Article 59 provides that the President shall not be a member of either House of the Parliament whereas Article 79 provides that the Parliament shall consist of the President and the two Houses. Thus, the President is an integral part of the Parliament and the legislative process.

The Third Schedule provides the forms of Oaths and Affirmations for various offices mentioned in the Constitution of India.

In the First-past-the-post system, the candidate who secures more votes than the other contestants in an election, wins the election whereas in the Proportional Representation (PR) system, an area of election is divided into separate electorates. All the voters and political groups are represented in proportion to their strength in the electorate, e.g. if a party wins 40% votes in a 10 member district, they receive 4 of the 10 seats. There are various types of the PR system such as Party List voting, Mixed proportional voting and Single Transferable Vote. In India, the Single Transferable Vote system is followed for the election of the President of India.

The given quotation is the Preamble of the Constitution of India. Our Constitution was adopted on 26th November, 1949 and it came into effect on 26th January, 1950. A few articles such as Art.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392, 393 and 394 came into effect on 26th Nov, 1949 and the rest came into effect on 26th Jan, 1950. The date of 26th January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930.

Contempt of Court has been defined in section 2(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act,1971 as willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a Court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a Court.  Judicial activism refers to the role of judiciary beyond its traditional role as mere mechanical interpreter of Constitution and other laws. It believes that Judges can and should creatively interpret the Constitution considering the needs of contemporary society. e.g. Art. 21 has been given a broad interpretation by the Supreme Court many times in various cases to include right to education (which was later made a fundamental right under Art.21A), right to clean and safe environment, rights for women at workplace (Vishakha case) etc.   Present form of judicial activism started in the 1980s when Justice P. N. Bhagwati turned a postcard written to him by an aggrieved citizen into a PIL (Public Interest Litigation). The concept further grew under the leadership of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P. N. Bhagwati.

Dinesh Goswami Committee was set up in 1990 for giving recommendations for electoral reforms. The Committee, among other recommendations, emphasized on State assistance (Govt. funding) in elections. The Committee recommended that State assistance should only be in kind and not in cash, e.g. provision of prescribed quantity of fuel or petrol to vehicles used by candidates, supply of additional copies of electoral rolls etc. Other committees set up for electoral reforms are –
1. Jaya Prakash Narayan Committee (1974)
2. Jeevan Reddy Committee (1998)
3. Tarkunde Committee (1975)
4. Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) 

“Panchsheel” or a set of five principles of coexistence, is the preamble to the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India signed on April 29,1954. The five principles are –
i. Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,
ii. Mutual non-aggression,
iii. Mutual non-interference,
iv. Equality and mutual benefit, and
v. Peaceful co-existence Non-alignment does not feature among these five principles.

The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution contains the provisions related to disqualification of Members of Parliament on the grounds of defection. It was added by the 52nd amendment to the Constitution in 1985. The purpose of the Anti-defection Act is to prevent horsetrading of elected representatives.   

There is no written Constitution in Britain. There is absolute supremacy of the Parliament. In the absence of a written Constitution, no power of judicial review is bestowed upon the Courts of Britain whereas in India, the Constitution of India specifically provides for judicial review by way of Articles 131 to 136.

The Constitution of India recognizes religious and linguistic minorities in the following provisions-  
(i) Art. 25 provides for the fundamental right to freedom of religion
(ii) Art. 29 recognizes the right of linguistic minorities to preserve their culture, language and script
(iii) Art. 30 recognizes the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions
(iv) Art. 347 gives the President the power to declare a language used by a substantial population of the State, to make it the official language of that State.

A constitutional amendment can be initiated by the introduction of a Bill in either House of the Parliament as per Art.368. The Bill further needs to be passed in both the Houses by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of each House, present and voting.

Article 19 provides Freedom of trade and profession to all Indian citizens, not to foreign nationals. Quoting Article 19 as follows: Article 19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc (1) All citizens shall have the right: (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) to form associations or unions; (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India; (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and (f) omitted (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

1, 3, and 4 are correct.

Explanation:

1. The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) must be a retired Chief Justice of India. This requirement ensures that the person heading the commission has extensive legal knowledge and experience in dealing with human rights issues.

2. The NHRC does not have formations in each state as State Human Rights Commission. However, separate State Human Rights Commissions (SHRCs) have been established in many Indian states under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. These SHRCs function independently of the NHRC, although they have similar powers and functions.

3. The powers of the NHRC are only recommendatory in nature. The commission does not have the authority to enforce its recommendations or punish those responsible for human rights violations. However, its recommendations carry significant weight, and the government often takes action based on them.

4. It is mandatory to appoint a woman as a member of the Commission. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, specifies that at least one member of the NHRC should be a woman. This provision ensures that there is gender diversity in the commission and that women's human rights issues are adequately represented.