TNPSC Prelims Paper 1 Mock Test - 10 - TNPSC (Tamil Nadu) MCQ

Gingee was finally captured in 1698 CE by Mughal general Zulfiqar Khan after a siege that lasted for nearly 8 years.

Sir Sandford Fleming, a Canadian engineer, proposed the idea of time zones in the 1870s to standardize timekeeping for railways.

When Cyclone Gaja hit Tamil Nadu, this cyclone caused widespread destruction, but the palm trees were unaffected and stood firm. The palm trees are planted around the water bodies as they believe in recharging water. The trees play an important role in the circulation of water in aquifers.

Arikamedu is the site near Pondicherry that best supports the view of ancient trade between Rome and the ancient Tamil country of India. Arikamedu was an important coastal and port town in ancient India. It was located near Puducherry, a union territory of India. Arikamedu was believed to be an active trading port with the Roman Empire as early as the second century BC. Arikamedu exported textiles, beads, and precious stones, and imported wine and olive oil from Rome. It was believed to be the only town to have ties with Rome. Arikamedu is located about seven kilometers from Pondicherry. The name Arikamedu means “eroding mud”.

Perundevanar was the Medieval Tamil poet who first translated Mahabharata into Tamil.He was otherwise called Baratham Paadiya Perundevanar.Bharatha Venda was offered by this Tamil poet. It is a 12,000-verse Tamil work over the epic of great Mahabharata.

With 130,058 km2 area, Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous.

Seethalai Saathanaar was the author of the 'Manimekalai'. Its story is a sequel of an epic 'Silappatikaram' that tells the story of the conversion to Buddhism of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.

The oor panchayats of Tamil Nadu can be placed in the category of Alternate Dispute Settlement Centres. The oor panchayats are part of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which are the local self-government of villages in rural India. The PRIs are responsible for economic development, social justice, and implementing government schemes. Elections for the members of the Panchayats are held every five years.

Tolkappiyam is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language It is written in the form of short formulaic compositions and comprises three books - the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram and the Poruladikaram.It deals with orthography, phonology, morphology, semantics, prosody and the subject matter of literature.

Madras High Court was established in 1862 along with Bombay High Court and Calcutta High Court after the Indian High Courts Act was enacted in 1861. Its jurisdiction extends to Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. It was formed after merger of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras, and the Sadar Deewani Adalat. The first Indian to sit as a judge of the High Court was Justice T. Muthuswamy Iyer. It has a bench at Madurai. Madras High Court is also known as birthplace of organized legal reporting in India as Madras Law Journal was started in 1891.

Narasimhavarman I Parthasarathy Temple was build by Pallava King Narasimhavarman I in 8th century. It is dedicated to Lord Krishna.

• The subjects that do not fall in any three lists are categorized as residuary subjects. According to Article 248 of the Constitution, the Union government can legislate on residuary subjects.

• This feature was borrowed from the Canadian Constitution. So, statement 1 is not correct.

• The Parliament cannot on its own change the arrangement of sharing of powers between the Union Government and the State governments. Any change has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least a two-thirds majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States. So, statement 2 is not correct. Therefore option (d) is the correct answer

The Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president. He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. In other words, he must be a citizen of India and he must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the president.

• Statement 1 is Correct: The term of office of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution. He holds office during the pleasure of the president

• Statement 2 is Correct: The Constitution does not contain the procedure and grounds for his removal. He holds office during the pleasure of the president.This means that he may be removed by the president at any time. He may also quit his office by submitting his resignation to the president. Conventionally, he resigns when the government (council of ministers) resigns or is replaced, as he is appointed on its advice.

• Statement 3 is Correct: The remuneration of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution. He receives such remuneration as the president may determine.

• The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘objective Resolution’ drafted and moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946. It was adopted unanimously by Constituent Assemble on 22 January 1947. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• After adopting the Preamble, it stands as part of the Constitution. Therefore, the current opinion on the preamble held by the Supreme Court is in consonance with the opinion of the founding fathers.

• The preamble was enacted only after the rest of the constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

• The reason for enacting the preamble at the end was to ensure that it was in conformity with the Constitution as adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

The independence of judiciary means that;

• The organs of the government like the executive and legislature must not restrain the functioning of the judiciary in such a way that it is unable to do justice.

• The Judges must be able to perform their functions without fear or favour. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.

• The other organs of the government should not interfere with the decision of the judiciary. Hence, Statement 2 is correct.

• Independence of the judiciary does not imply arbitrariness or absence of accountability. Hence, Statement 3 is incorrect.

Judiciary is a part of the democratic political structure of the country. It is therefore accountable to the Constitution, to the democratic traditions and to the people of the country.

• In addition to original and appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of India possesses advisory jurisdiction also. This means that the President of India can refer any matter that is of public importance or that involves interpretation of the Constitution to Supreme Court for advice. So, statement 1 is correct.

• However, the Supreme Court is not bound to advise on such matters, and the President is not bound to accept such advice. So, statement 2 is not correct.

• The utility of advisory jurisdiction is two-fold. In the first place, it allows the government to seek legal opinion on a matter of importance before taking action on it. This may prevent unnecessary litigations later. Secondly, in the light of the advice of the Supreme Court, the government can make suitable changes in its action or legislation.

  Therefore option (b) is the answer.

The Constitution of India (Article 148) provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department

Statement 1 is Correct: He is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both levels—the Centre and the state. His duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and laws of Parliament in the field of financial administration. He is one of the bulwarks of the democratic system of government in India; the others being the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the Union Public Service Commission.

Statement 2 is Correct: The CAG is appointed by the president of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.

The CAG, before taking over his office, makes and subscribed before the president an oath or affirmation he can be removed by the president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity

• Directive Principles were initially ignored by the Supreme Court while interpreting various socio-economic rights. It was only after the landmark verdict in the Keshavananda Bharati’s case in 1973 that the top court said that directive principles must be viewed as the guidelines by which the fundamental rights are realized.

• Justice PN Bhagwati in the 1980 Minerva Mills case described that "The Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock of the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution. This harmony and balance is an essential feature of the basic structure of the Constitution."

• In the Champakam Dorairajan case (1951), the Supreme Court ruled that in case of any conflict between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles, the former would prevail.

• Maneka Gandhi's case is a landmark case for the implementation of Article 21. In this case, the court said that expression ‘personal liberty’ in Article 21 is of the widest amplitude and it covers a variety of rights which go to constitute the personal liberty of man and some of them have raised to the status of distinct fundamental rights and given additional protection under Article 19.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

The features of the Indian Constitution borrowed from the British Constitution are Parliamentary government, Rule of Law, legislative procedure, single citizenship, cabinet system, prerogative writs, parliamentary privileges and bicameralism.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities Later, the States Reorganisation Commission (1953-55) made a recommendation in this regard.

The Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 inserted a new Article 350-B in Part XVII of the Constitution.

This article contains the following provisions:

1) There should be a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities. He is to be appointed by the President of India.

2) It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under theConstitution. He would report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct. The President should place all such reports before each House of Parliament and send them to the governments of the states concerned.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution does not specify the qualifications, tenure, salaries and allowances, service conditions and procedure for removal of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

• The Constitution of India provides for State Public Service Commission (SPSC) at the state level like Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at the centre level. Articles 315 to 323 of the Constitution deal with the composition, appointment and removal of members, functions and powers, independence of a SPSC.

• Option (a) is correct: The Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission are appointed by the Governor of the state. Although they are appointed by the governor they can be removed by the President only. The President can remove them on the same grounds and in the same manners as he can remove the Chairman or member of UPSC.

• Option (b) is correct: A member of SPSC on ceasing to hold office is eligible for Chairman and member of UPSC, or as a Chairman of that SPSC or any other SPSC but not for any other employment under the government of India or State. Also, the Chairman of a SPSC on ceasing to hold office is eligible for appointment as the chairman or member of UPSC or chairman of any other SPSC but not for any other employment under the Government of India or a state.

• Option (c) is not correct: The expense of SPSC including the Salaries, Allowances and Pensions of the Chairman and Members of SPSC are charged on the Consolidated Fund of State (and not on the Consolidated Fund of India). They are not subject to the vote of the state legislature. Also, the conditions of service of Chairman and members cannot be varied to their disadvantages.

• Option (d) is correct: The role of SPSC is limited and recommendations made by it are only advisory in nature and hence, non-binding on the government. It is up to the state government to accept or reject the advice. however, the government have to answer to the concerned state legislature for not accepting the recommendations of the commission.

Statement 1 is correct. Federalism is an institutional mechanism to accommodate two sets of polities—one at the regional level and the other at the national level. Each government is autonomous in its own sphere. In some federal countries, there is even a system of dual citizenship. India has only a single citizenship.

Statement 2 is correct. To prevent conflicts between the Centre and the State, there is an independent judiciary to settle disputes. The judiciary has the powers to resolve disputes between the central government and the States on legal matters about the division of power.

The description refers to the writ of mandamus.

Mandamus is a type of writ issued by a court of law to a public official, corporation, or lower court requiring them to perform an act that is required by law. The writ is issued to compel the performance of a legal duty that has not been performed. In other words, it is a command from a superior court to a lower court or public official to perform an act that is within their power and duty to perform but has been neglected or refused to be performed.

Thus, the description provided in the question is consistent with the characteristics of the writ of mandamus.

The correct answer is 1 and 2 only.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a constitutional body that works for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes in India. Here are the details of the given statements:

1. **Annual report to the president**: The NCSC submits an annual report to the President of India, which includes the measures taken by the Central and State Governments for the development and welfare of the Scheduled Castes. The President then forwards the report to both Houses of Parliament, along with a memorandum explaining the action taken, or proposed to be taken, on the recommendations contained in the report. This statement is correct.

2. **Constitutional body**: The NCSC is a constitutional body established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India. It was initially set up as a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 1950, and later converted into a full-fledged commission in 1978. In 2003, the Commission was bifurcated into the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. This statement is correct.

3. **Appointment of members**: The members of the NCSC are appointed by the President of India, not by the Prime Minister. The Commission consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and three other Members. They are appointed for a term of three years, or until they attain the age of 65, whichever is earlier. This statement is incorrect.Option (c) is the correct answer.

• The Supreme Court in 1969 ruled that settlement of a boundary dispute between India and another country does not require a constitutional amendment. It can be done by executive action as it does not involve cession of Indian territory to a foreign country. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• While the decision of the Central Government to cede part of a territory known as Berubari Union (West Bengal) to Pakistan led to political agitation and controversy and thereby necessitated the Presidential reference.

• The Supreme Court held that the power of Parliament to diminish the area of a state (under Article 3) does not cover cession of Indian territory to a foreign country. Hence, Indian territory can be ceded to a foreign state only by amending the Constitution under Article 368. Consequently, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act (1960 ) was enacted to transfer the said territory to Pakistan.