Test: Polity- 9 - UPSC MCQ

• The correct answer is (d) Neither 1 nor 2.
  
  Here are the explanations for both statements:
  
  Statement 1:
  - The Constitution of India does not empower states to enact laws for matters relating to the grant of citizenship. Citizenship is a subject that comes under the Union List, which means only the Central government has the authority to make laws related to citizenship. The Citizenship Act of 1955, which is enacted by the Parliament of India, governs the acquisition and termination of citizenship in the country.
  
  Statement 2:
  - According to the Constitution of India, an individual who migrated to Pakistan from India during partition and returned back later can become a citizen of India under certain conditions. As per the Citizenship Act of 1955, such individuals can apply for Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization, provided they fulfill specific criteria such as residing in India for a stipulated period and expressing the intention to settle permanently in the country.The Constitution deals with citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. However, it contains neither any permanent nor any elaborate provisions in this regard. It only identifies the persons who became citizens of India at its commencement (i.e., on January 26, 1950). It does not deal with the problem of acquisition or loss of citizenship subsequent to its commencement. It empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for such matters and any other matter relating to citizenship. Since citizenship, naturalization, alien (Subject 17) is a subject under the Union List, the Parliament (state legislatures have no power) has enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955, which has been amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, and 2005. Hence statement 1 is not correct. 

• LUPEX Mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japanese space agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), two are collaborating on, in particular the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission that is likely to be launched sometime in 2024. It involves sending a lander and rover on the Moon’s south pole region, much like Chandrayaan-2 attempted. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
  • It is an earth observation, lunar exploration, and satellite navigation mission. The Lupex mission is being planned to demonstrate new surface exploration technologies related to vehicular transport and lunar night survival for sustainable lunar exploration in the polar regions — the south pole of the Moon in this case. The mission will use a lunar features-matching algorithm along with navigational equipment from JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon mission, and the rover will carry instruments from both the space agencies. The launcher and rover are to be developed by Japan and the lander system will be developed by India
• Tianwen-1: China’s first Mars probe is called Tianwen-1 (formerly Huoxing 1). The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. 
  • Zhurong: It is a Mars rover that is China's first rover to land on another planet. It is part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). China’s first Mars rover will be named Zhurong after a traditional fire god. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• In addition to the making of the Constitution and enacting of ordinary laws, the Constituent Assembly also performed the following functions: 
  • It ratified India’s membership of the Commonwealth in May 1949. 
  • It adopted the national flag on July 22, 1947. 
  • It adopted the national anthem on January 24, 1950. 
  • It adopted the national song on January 24, 1950. 
  • It elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950. Hence option 2 is correct. 
• India ratified the UN membership on 26 June 1945 during the British time. Hence, option 1 is not correct. 
• On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly held its final session. It, however, did not end, and continued as the provisional parliament of India from January 26, 1950, till the formation of new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951–52. 
• During this period, the Central Legislature which was known as Constituent Assembly (Legislative) and later Provisional Parliament was unicameral till the first elections were held in 1952. 
• The privy purses continued to be paid to the royal families until the 26th Amendment in 1971, by which all their privileges and allowances from the central government ceased to exist, which was implemented after a two-year legal battle. Hence, option 3 is not correct. 
  • In India, a privy purse was a payment made to the ruling families of erstwhile princely states as part of their agreements to first integrate with India in 1947 after the independence of India, and later to merge their states in 1949, thereby ending their ruling rights.

• Recent Context: India’s largest statue of the Reclining Buddha is being installed at the Buddha International Welfare Mission temple in Bodh Gaya.
• About Reclining Buddha: A reclining Buddha statue represents the Buddha during his last illness, about to enter Parinirvana - the stage of great salvation after death that can only be attained by enlightened souls. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• Statues of Reclining Buddha show him lying on his right side, his head resting on a cushion or on his right elbow. It is meant to show that all beings have the potential to be awakened and be released from the cycle of death and rebirth.
• The Reclining Buddha was first depicted in Gandhara art - which began in between 50 BC and 75 AD, and peaked during the Kushana period from the 1st – 5th centuries AD.
• Reclining Buddha in India: Cave No. 26 of Ajanta contains a 24-foot-long and nine-foot-tall sculpture of the Reclining Buddha, believed to have been carved in the 5th century AD. 
  • Kushinagar (present day Uttar Pradesh – where Buddha attained parinirvana) has a 6-metre-long red sandstone monolith statue of the Reclining Buddha inside the Parinirvana Stupa. 
• The largest Reclining Buddha in the world is the 600-foot Winsein Tawya Buddha built in 1992 in Mawlamyine, Myanmar.

• Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. In a direct democracy, all citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. 
• In a representative democracy, people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. The key difference between the two systems is who is voting on laws, elected officials or the citizens. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. 
• Direct democracy describes those rules, institutions and processes that enable the public to vote directly on a proposed constitutional amendment, law, treaty or policy decision. Various instruments of direct democracy include: 
  • Referendums; Hence, statement 2 is not correct. 
  • Citizens’ initiatives 
  • Plebiscite 
  • Agenda initiatives

• Recent Context: Central Government told the Supreme Court (SC) that the appointment of additional judges on ad-hoc basis in High Courts (HC) under Article 224A of the Constitution can be done only after the filling up of regular vacancies of judges. 
  • SC had earlier sought the views of the Centre on appointing ad-hoc High Court judges to tackle the problem of mounting case arrears. 
  • At this, the top court clarified that the idea behind having temporary judges in the high courts emanated from the necessity of urgently dealing with the massive pendency of cases and that it could not be understood as a substitute for regular appointments. 
  • Court also said that it intends to lay guidelines for appointment of ad hoc judges by considering criteria like pendency figure and the vacancy situation. 
• About Ad-hoc Judges
  • Articles 127 and 224 and 224A provides for appointment of Ad-hoc judges to SC and HC. 
  • Under Article 127, to address lack of quorum of judges, the Chief Justice of India, with the previous consent of the President and after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned can appoint a judge as an ad hoc Judge. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct. 
  • Under Article 224 and 224A, additional or acting judges can be appointed for a period not exceeding 2 years or 62 years of age whichever is earlier to address a temporary rise in the business of the HC. 
  • It is the duty of the judge so appointed to attend the sittings of the Supreme Court, in priority to other duties of his office. Hence statement 3 is correct. While so attending, he enjoys all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges (and discharges the duties) of a judge of the Supreme Court.

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. The Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct. 
• In every State, State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authority is headed by Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the respective High Court who is the Patron-in-Chief of the State Legal Services Authority. The District Legal Services Authority is situated in the District Courts Complex in every District and chaired by the District Judge of the respective district. 
• Legal Services Authorities after examining the eligibility criteria of an applicant and the existence of a prima facie case in his favour provide him, counsel, at State expense, pay the required Court Fee in the matter and bear all incidental expenses in connection with the case. The person to whom legal aid is provided is not called upon to spend anything on the litigation once it is supported by a Legal Services Authority. 
• National Legal Services Authority is the apex body constituted to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the provisions of the Act and to frame most effective and economical schemes for legal services. It also disburses funds and grants to State Legal Services Authorities and NGOs for implementing legal aid schemes and programmes. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• The Constitution of India provides for a high court for each state, but the Seventh Amendment Act of 1956 authorized the Parliament to establish a common high court for two or more States or for two or more states and a union territory. High Court is the highest court of appeal in the state. It is the protector of the Fundamental Rights of the citizens. It is vested with the power to interpret the Constitution. Besides, it has supervisory and consultative roles. 
• Original Jurisdiction of High Court: 
  • It means the power of a high court to hear disputes in the first instance, not by way of appeal. It extends to the following: 
  • Matters of admiralty and contempt of court. 
  • Disputes relating to the election of members of Parliament. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
  • Enforcement of fundamental rights of citizens. etc. 
• Writ Jurisdiction: 
  • Article 226 of the Constitution empowers a high court to issue writs including habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the citizens and for any other purpose. The writ jurisdiction of the high court (under Article 226) is not exclusive but concurrent with the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (under Article 32). In the Chandra Kumar case9 (1997), the Supreme Court ruled that the writ jurisdiction of both the high court and the Supreme Court constitute a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Hence, it cannot be ousted or excluded even by way of an amendment to the Constitution. 
• Though the phrase ‘judicial review’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution, the provisions of Articles 13 and 226 explicitly confer the power of judicial review on a high court. The constitutional validity of a legislative enactment or an executive order can be challenged in a high court on the following three grounds: 
  • it infringes the fundamental rights (Part III), o it is outside the competence of the authority which has framed it, and o it is repugnant to the constitutional provisions. 
• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 curtailed the judicial review power of the high court. It debarred the high courts from considering the constitutional validity of any central law. However, the 43rd Amendment Act of 1977 restored the original position. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• Recent Context: In May, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered all encroachments to be removed from Gujarat's Banni grasslands within six months and directed a joint committee to prepare an action plan in a month. 
  • The region's nomadic pastoralist community, the Maldharis, whose livelihoods are depend on this protected shrub-savanna, welcomed the move. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• Banni Grassland Reserve is in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Hence statement 1 is not correct. 
• Banni region emerged from the sea as a result of tectonic activities, received soils from the rivers flown from Bhuj mainland which made the land of Banni richer to generate diverse grass species.

• The Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change aims to promote and protect the welfare of seafarers. It was launched in response to the crew change crisis, which has resulted in around 400,000 seafarers stranded on ships because of coronavirus-related travel bans.
• More than 700 companies and organisations have signed the Neptune Declaration as of March 2021. It primarily focuses on recognising seafarers as key workers by all governments worldwide in line with the UN General Assembly resolutions. The Declaration also highlights the implementation of high-quality health protocols aboard cargo vessels world-wide. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
• Maritime body Maritime Union of India (MUI) urged the government to take cognisance of 'Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change' in the formulation of Maritime India Vision 2030. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India will be formulating 'Maritime India Vision'. 

• SUTRA Model: The acronym stands for Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive), and Removed Approach. Scientists from the IITs of Kanpur and Hyderabad have applied the SUTRA Model to predict the Covid graph in India. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer. 
  • The model uses three main parameters to predict the course of the pandemic which are: 
    (i) Beta: Also called contact rate, which measures how many people an infected person infects per day. It is related to the R0 value, which is the number of people an infected person spreads the virus to over the course of their infection. 
    (ii) Reach: It is a measure of the exposure level of the population to the pandemic. 
    (iii) Epsilon: It is the ratio of detected and undetected cases. 
  • SUTRA Model – Challenges One of the key causes of unsuccessful outcomes of the SUTRA Model is the rapidly changing mutants of the virus. Scientists have stated that it is clear that the nature of the virus has been changing very rapidly. In such a context, any prediction for COVID-19 must be continually readjusted, sometimes almost daily. Mathematical models by SUTRA are only effective if the virus dynamics remain constant.

• Article 20 (2) of the Indian Constitution mandates that a person cannot be prosecuted or punished twice for the same offence. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
• The protection against double jeopardy is available only in proceedings before a court of law or a judicial tribunal. In other words, it is not available in proceedings before departmental or administrative authorities as they are not of judicial nature. Hence statement 2 is not correct. 
• The protection under clause (2) of Article 20 of the Constitution of India is narrower than the American and British laws against Double Jeopardy. 
  • Under the American and British Constitution, the protection against Double Jeopardy is given for the second prosecution for the same offence irrespective of whether an accused was acquitted or convicted in the first trial. 
  • But under Article 20(2) the protection against double punishment is given only when the accused has not only been ‘prosecuted’ but also ‘punished’, and is sought to be prosecuted a second time for the same offence. 
  • The use of the word ‘prosecution’ thus limits the scope of the protection under clause (1) of Article 20. 
  • If there is no punishment for the offence as a result of the prosecution clause (2) of Article 20 has no application and an appeal against acquittal, if provided by the procedure is in substance a continuance of the prosecution.

The Indian Independence Act of 1947 made the following three changes in the position of the Assembly: 

• The Assembly was made a fully sovereign body, which could frame any Constitution it pleased. The act empowered the Assembly to abrogate or alter any law made by the British Parliament in relation to India. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
• The Assembly also became a legislative body. In other words, two separate functions were assigned to the Assembly, that is, making of a constitution for free India and enacting of ordinary laws for the country. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 
• The above two tasks were to be performed on separate days. 
  • Thus, the Assembly became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature). Whenever the Assembly met as the Constituent body it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G V Mavlankar. 
  • (These two functions continued till November 26, 1949, when the task of making the Constitution was over. 
• The Muslim League members (hailing from the areas included in the Pakistan) withdrew from the Constituent Assembly for India. Consequently, the total strength of the Assembly came down to 299 as against 389 originally fixed in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. The strength of the Indian provinces (formerly British Provinces) was reduced from 296 to 229 and those of the princely states from 93 to 70. 
• With the commencement of the Constitution, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935, with all enactments amending or supplementing the latter Act, were repealed. The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act (1949) was however continued.

• Simorgh: Iran has unveiled a new supercomputer named ‘Simorgh’, which is 100 times more powerful than the previous supercomputer of the country to date. The Supercomputer has been named after the phoenix-like bird called the Simurgh. The Simorgh Supercomputer was developed by the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is located at the Iranian HighPerformance Computing Research Centre.
• The performance capacity of the Simorgh Supercomputer is 0.56 petaflops. It is to reach 1 petaflop in two months. In its subsequent levels, it is to reach a speed of 10 petaflops.
• The Supercomputer is to be used for image processing, artificial intelligence workload, traffic and weather data. It will also be used for cloud hosting local private firms.
  Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

• The district judge is the highest judicial authority in the district. 
• He possesses original and appellate jurisdiction in both civil as well as criminal matters. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
• In other words, the district judge is also the sessions judge. When he deals with civil cases, he is known as the district judge and when he hears the criminal cases, he is called a sessions judge. The sessions judge has the power to impose any sentence including life imprisonment and capital punishment (death sentence). Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• However, a capital punishment passed by him is subject to confirmation by the High court, whether there is an appeal or not.

• India adopted a strategy of separating the power of religion and the power of the State. Secularism refers to this separation of religion from the State. The Indian Constitution allows individuals the freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practise it. 
• The most important aspect of secularism is its separation of religion from State power. This is important for a country to function democratically and prevent religious violence as described below: 
  • Almost all countries of the world have more than one religious group living in them. Within these religious groups, there will most likely be one group that is in a majority. If this majority religious group has access to State power, then it could quite easily use this power and financial resources to discriminate against and persecute persons of other religions. This tyranny of the majority could result in discrimination, coercion and at times even the killing of religious minorities. The majority could quite easily prevent minorities from practising their religions. Any form of domination based on religion is in violation of the rights that a democratic society guarantees to each and every citizen irrespective of their religion. Therefore, the tyranny of the majority and the violation of Fundamental Rights that can result is one reason why it is important to separate the State and religion in democratic societies. 
• Another reason that it is important to separate religion from the State in democratic societies is that we also need to protect the freedom of individuals to exit from their religion, embrace another religion or have the freedom to interpret religious teachings differently. 
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

• The dignity of the individual is explicitly mentioned in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. 
• The Preamble declares that fraternity has to assure two things – The dignity of the individual and the Unity and Integrity of the nation. 
• In Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 51A says that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all people of India transcending religious, linguistics, regional, or sectional diversities. 
• In fundamental Duties, it is mentioned that practices derogatory to the dignity of the women must be renounced. 
• In fundamental rights, Under Article 21, the right to life also includes the right to live with human dignity and the dignity of the individual. This has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in its Judgement in the Menaka Gandhi case (1978). However, it is not explicitly mentioned.
  Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

•  While Fundamental Rights are negative as they prohibit the State from doing certain things, DPSPs are positive as they require the State to do certain things. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• DPSPs aim at establishing social and economic democracy in the country and Fundamental Rights aims at establishing political democracy in the country. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Fundamental Rights have Legal sanctions and DPSPs have moral and political sanctions. 

• Supreme Court decides the disputes regarding the election of the president and the vice-president. In this regard, it has the original, exclusive and final authority. Hence statement 1 is not correct. 
• It enquires into the conduct and behaviour of the chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission on a reference made by the president. If it finds them guilty of misbehaviour, it can recommend to the president for their removal. The advice tendered by the Supreme Court in this regard is binding on the President. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• It has the power to review its own judgement or order. Thus, it is not bound by its previous decision and can depart from it in the interest of justice or community welfare. In brief, the Supreme Court is a self correcting agency. For example, in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court departed from its previous judgement in the Golak Nath case (1967). 
• It is authorised to withdraw the cases pending before the high courts and dispose them by itself. It can also transfer a case or appeal pending before one high court to another high court. 
• Its law is binding on all courts in India. Its decree or order is enforceable throughout the country. All authorities (civil and judicial) in the country should act in aid of the Supreme Court. It has power of judicial superintendence and control over all the courts and tribunals functioning in the entire territory of the country. 
• The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and powers with respect to matters in the Union list can be enlarged by the Parliament. Further, its jurisdiction and powers with respect to other matters can be enlarged by a special agreement of the Centre and the states. Hence statement 3 is not correct. 
  Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

• Recent Context: Supreme court has questioned the central government for its delay in the implementation of recommendations for Judges’ appointment in various high courts. The Attorney General of India has offered to decide in three months. 
• Background: Over 220 judges’ appointment is pending in various high courts for over six months. 
• How judges of the High court are appointed: 
  • They are appointed by the president. 
  • For chief justice of high court: President consults Chief justice of India and Governor of the state. (seniority principle does not function here unlike the supreme court) 
  • For other judges: apart from the above three, the chief justice of the concerned high court is also consulted. 
  • For common high courts: governors of all concerned states are also consulted. 
  • It simply means there is no role of high court judges or state government in the appointment of judges. The word consultation has remained very controversial. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• Memorandum of Procedure on the appointment of judges advocates Chief Justice to be from the outside state. 
  Hence statement 1 is correct

• The Fundamental Duties were incorporated in Part IV-A of the Constitution by the Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. Today, there are 11 Fundamental Duties described under Article 51-A, of which 10 were introduced by the 42nd Amendment and the 11th was added by the 86th Amendment in 2002, thus they have been amended only once since their incorporation. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• These are statutory duties, not enforceable by law, but a court may take them into account while adjudicating a matter. The idea behind their incorporation was to emphasize the obligation of the citizen in exchange for the Fundamental Rights that he or she enjoys. The concept of Fundamental Duties is taken from the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR. Hence statement 1 is not correct 
• Notably, none of the constitutions of major democratic countries like the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, and so on specifically contain a list of duties of citizens. Japanese Constitution is perhaps, the only democratic Constitution in the world apart from the Indian Constitution that contains a list of duties of citizens. The socialist countries, on the contrary, gave equal importance to the fundamental rights and duties of their citizens. Hence, the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR declared that the citizen’s exercise of their rights and freedoms was inseparable from the performance of their duties and obligations. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• Recent Context – Recently, India has been elected to three subsidiary bodies of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). They are: 
  • Commission on the status of Women – It is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It was established in June 1946 as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council. 
  • Commission on Population and Development – It assists ECOSOC in the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. 
  • Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) – It is the main subsidiary organ of the ECOSOC and the UN’s General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination. 
• The three-year term for India will begin from January 1, 2022 
• About ECOSOC o It is one of the 6 principal organs of the United Nations System established by the UN Charter in 1945. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
  • It serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system. 
  • It has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
  • It coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, ten functional commissions and five regional commissions, receives reports from nine UN funds and programmes and issues policy recommendations to the UN system and to member states. 
  • Few important bodies under the purview of ECOSOC:
    (i) International labour Organization (ILO) 
    (ii) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
    (iii) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
    (iv) World Health Organization (WHO) 
    (v) Bretton Woods Twins (World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund) 
    (vi) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 
  • Apart from these there are various Functional and Regional Commissions, Standing Committees, Ad Hoc and Expert Bodies as well.

• The Constitution of India provides for a single integrated judicial system with the Supreme Court at the apex, High Courts at the middle (state) level and District Courts at the local level. It also provides for an independent and powerful judicial system. 
  • Single and Integrated Judicial System: 
    (i) The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the country and below it are the High Courts at the state level. 
    (ii) Other courts (Subordinate Courts) work under the High Courts. The Supreme Court controls and runs the judicial administration of India. 
    (iii) All courts in India form links of a single judicial system. 
  • From the above chart, it can be interpreted that options 1 and 3 are correct. 
• It provides for the independence of the Judiciary through the following features: 
  • Appointment of judges by the President 
  • Removal of judges through impeachment 
  • Functional autonomy for the Judiciary etc. 
  • Obligation over the State to separate the judiciary from the executive (Article 50). Hence, option 2 is not correct. 
    (i) Appointment of judges by the collegium system. 
    (ii) Determination of salaries, allowances etc by the Parliament. 
    (iii) Judges of the Supreme Court are provided with the Security of Tenure. 
    (iv) Conduct of Judges cannot be Discussed etc.

• The Constituent Assembly appointed a number of committees to deal with different tasks of constitution making. Out of these, eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. The names of these committees and their chairmen are given below: 
• Major Committees 
  • Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru o Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru 
  • Provincial Constitution Committee – Sardar Patel. Hence, pair 2 is not correctly matched. 
  • Drafting Committee – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar 
  • Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel o Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad o States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched. o Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad 
• Minor Committees 
  • Finance and Staff Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad 
  • Credentials Committee – Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar 
  • House Committee – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya 
  • Order of Business Committee – Dr. K.M. Munshi 
  • Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag – Dr. Rajendra Prasad 
  • Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly – G. V. Mavalankar 
  • Ad-hoc Committee on the Supreme Court – S. Varadachari (Not an Assembly Member) 
  • Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya o Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Union Constitution –Nalini Ranjan Sarkar (Not an Assembly Member) 
  • Linguistic Provinces Commission – S.K. Dar (Not an Assembly Member) 
  • Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution – Jawaharlal Nehru. Hence, pair 1 is correctly matched. 
  • Press Gallery Committee – Usha Nath Sen 
  • Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship – S. Varadachari 
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

• Article 13 declares that all laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the fundamental rights shall be void. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The term ‘law’ in Article 13 has been given a wide connotation so as to include the following:
  • Permanent laws enacted by the Parliament or the state legislatures;
  • Temporary laws like ordinances issued by the president of the state governors;
  • Statutory instruments in the nature of delegated legislation (executive legislation) like order, byelaw, rule, regulation, or notification;
  • Non-legislative sources of law, that is, custom or usage having the force of law.
    Hence, statement 2 is correct.