TNPSC Prelims Paper 1 Mock Test - 5 - TNPSC (Tamil Nadu) MCQ

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system.

Due to its comprehensive textile industry, Coimbatore is called "Manchester" of South India, which is fed by the surrounding cotton areas.

Pattini cult was established by Cheran Senguttuvan, a famous ruler during the 2nd century AD. The Pattini cult involved the worship of Kannagi as the ideal wife. Kannagi was the wife of Kovalan, and their story was the subject of the Tamil epic Silappadigalam. The Chera dynasty was one of the four principal Tamil dynasties of Tamilakam, which is present-day Southern India. The Chera dynasty is credited with creating the land of Kerala.

The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The temple is located in Rameswaram considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas.

Narasimhavarman-I was one of the most famous Tamil kings of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India and founded Mahabalipuram.

Rajendra I was the successor of Rajaraja I. He made his naval bigger and stronger. His naval expeditions to South-East -Asia was the first to be undertaken by an Indian king.

Madras Municipal Corporation was First Municipal Corporation of Tamil Nadu established in Chennai (26th Sep 1688)

Pakala Venkataramana Rao Rajamannar (1901-1979) was an Indian judge and politician who served as the acting Governor of Madras State from 1957 to 1958. P.V. Rajamannar was the first Indian to become Chief Justice of Madras High Court after independence from 1948 to 1961.

Tamil Nadu's boundaries are as follows: Andhra Pradesh to the North, Karnataka to the Northwest, Bay of Bengal and Puducherry to the East, Indian Ocean to the South, Kerala to the West.

1. Supremacy of the Constitution.

2. Rule of law.

3. The principle of Separation of Powers.

4. The objectives specified in the Preamble to the Constitution.

5. Judicial Review.

6. Articles 32 and 226.

7. Federalism (including financial liberty of states under Articles 282 and 293)

8. Secularism.

9. The Sovereign, Democratic, Republican structure.

10. Freedom and dignity of the individual.

11. Unity and integrity of the Nation.

12. The principle of equality, not every feature of equality, but the quintessence of equal justice.

13. The "essence" of other Fundamental Rights in Part III.

14. The concept of social and economic justice — to build a Welfare State: Part IV.

15. The balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.

16. The Parliamentary system of government.

17. The principle of free and fair elections.

18. Limitations upon the amending power conferred by Article 368.

19. Independence of the Judiciary.

20. Effective access to justice.

21. Powers of the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136, 141, 142.

22. Legislation seeking to nullify the awards made in exercise of the judicial power of the State.

23. By Arbitration Tribunals constituted under an Act.

24. Welfare state.

• Bureaucracy is the executive arm of the government. In traditional classical literature on organs of government, one studied the legislature, the executive and the judiciary with bureaucracy being subsumed under the executive (which comprises the political establishment and the bureaucracy). Now, one finds that bureaucracy is being treated separately and this is indicative of its growing importance.

• Bureaucracy refers to an administrative policy-implementation group, which is a body of non-elected government officials. The major objective of bureaucracy in India has not been Parliamentary democracy’s expansion but rather the implementation of the decisions taken by the executive. With All India Services at the helm of major bureaucratic structure, it cannot be said that strengthening of federal structure is its main characteristic.

• India’s bureaucratic system’s most important function since independence has been implementation of public policy, making the decisions of the government reach a conclusion on the ground level. Parliamentary democracy results often in change at the helm of executive, the static and permanent bureaucracy provides continuity of policies and execution rather than political stability.

In England, the Cabinet system is based on conventions. The framers of our Constitution considered it fit to incorporate the system in the Constitution. The principle of collective responsibility finds place in Art. 75(3) where it is stated that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. In other words, this provision means that a Ministry which loses confidence of the Lok Sabha is obliged to resign.

The loss of confidence is expressed by rejecting a Money Bill or Finance Bill or any other important policy measure or by passing a motion of no-confidence or rejecting a motion expressing confidence in the Ministry.

When a Minister loses confidence of the Lok Sabha the whole of the Ministry has to resign including those Ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha. The Ministers fall and stand together. In certain cases, the Ministry may advise the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections.

• Article 22 grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained. Detention is of two types, namely, punitive and preventive. Punitive detention is to punish a person for an offense committed by him after trial and conviction in a court.

• Preventive detention, on the other hand, means the detention of a person without trial and conviction by a court. Its purpose is not to punish a person for a past offense but to prevent him from committing an offense in the near future.

• Article 22 has two parts–the first part (clauses 1 & 2) deals with the cases of ordinary law and the second part (4, 5, 6, and 7) deals with the cases of preventive detention law.

• The second part of Article 22 grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained under a preventive detention law. This protection is available to both citizens as well as aliens and includes the following:

  • The detention of a person cannot exceed three months unless the advisory board reports sufficient cause for extended detention. The board is to consist of judges of a high court.

  • The grounds of detention should be communicated as soon as possible to the detained or arrested person. However, the facts considered to be against the public interest need not be disclosed. There is no time limit of 24 hours to disclose the reason for his arrest. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

  • The detained person should be afforded an opportunity to make representation against the detention order.

• Article 22 also authorizes the Parliament to prescribe

  • the circumstances and the classes of cases in which a person can be detained for more than three months under a preventive detention law without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board

  • the maximum period for which a person can be detained in any classes of cases under a preventive detention law the procedure to be followed by an advisory board in an inquiry.

• The Constitution has divided the legislative power with regard to preventive detention between the Parliament and the state legislatures.

• The Parliament has exclusive authority to make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with defense, foreign affairs, and the security of India.

• Both the Parliament as well as the state legislatures can concurrently make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with the security of a state, the maintenance of public order, and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Statement 2 is correct. Article 20 provides for - No double jeopardy that is no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offense more than once. 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.

Statement 1 is not correct: The office of profit has been interpreted as a position that brings to the office-holder some financial gain, remuneration or benefit. The amount of such profit is immaterial.

The intent is to avoid the conflict of interests between the duties and interests of an elected member.

The constitution does not explicitly define the phrase. However, it has evolved over decades with subsequent judicial pronouncements.

• whether the government is the appointing authority

• whether the government has the power to terminate the appointment

• whether the government determines the remuneration

• what is the source of remuneration

• the power that comes with the position.

Statement 2 is correct: Provisions of Articles 102(1)(e) and 191(1)(e) also protect a legislator occupying a government position if the office in question has been made immune to disqualification by law.

• Article 102 (1): A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as a member of either House of Parliament if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder.

• Article 191 (1): A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of a State if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State specified in the First Schedule, other than an office declared by the Legislature of the State by law not to disqualify its holder.

Statement 1 is correct: Article 72 grants President the power to pardon persons who have been tried and convicted of any offence in all cases where:

• Punishment or sentence is for offence against Union Law

• Punishment or sentence is by court martial

• Death Sentence. He can pardon death sentence given under state laws as well.

Statement 2 is correct: Pardoning power of President is independent of Judiciary, it is an executive power.

• The procedure for the amendment of the Constitution as laid down in Article 368 is as follows:

• An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament and not in the state legislatures. Hence options 1 and 2 are correct and option 3 is not correct.

• The bill can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member and does not require prior permission of the President.

A. Special majority as per article 61 requires a majority of 2/3rd members of the total strength of the house.

B. Special majority as per Article 249 requires a majority of 2/3rd members present and voting.

C. Special majority as per Article 368 requires a majority of 2/3rd members present and voting supported by over 50% of the total strength of each House.

D. Special majority as per Article 368 + ratification by the Legislatures of half the states by simple majority.

Statement 1 is correct. Special majority as per article 61 is required for the impeachment of the President of India.

Statement 2 is correct. Special majority as per article 368 is used in the removal of judges of Supreme Court or High Court.

Statement 3 is incorrect. To declare a financial emergency: - It requires a Simple Majority of the Parliament, (the majority of more than 50% of the members present and voting).

Statement 1 is incorrect: The right conferred on minorities under Article 30 is only to ensure equality with the majority and not intended to place the minorities in a more advantageous position vis-a-vis the majority. There is no reverse discrimination in favour of minorities.

Statement 2 is correct: As per the second provision of Article 29 of India constitution, no citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or language. This feature is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as it is commonly assumed to be but extended to all citizens in the country. Knowledge Base: Article 30 grants the following rights to minorities, whether religious or linguistic:

(a) All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

(b) The compensation amount fixed by the State for the compulsory acquisition of any property of a minority educational institution shall not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed to them. This provision was added by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978 to protect the right of minorities in this regard.

(c) In granting aid, the State shall not discriminate against any educational institution managed by a minority.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Cabinet Committees usually include only Cabinet Ministers. However, the non-cabinet Ministers are not debarred from their membership.

Statement 2 is incorrect: They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister. Sometimes other Cabinet Ministers, particularly the Home Minister or the Finance Minister, also acts as their Chairman. But, in case the Prime Minister is a member of a committee, he invariably presides over it.

The Cabinet Committees are organizations which are instrumental in reducing the workload of the Cabinet.

These committees are extra-constitutional in nature and are nowhere mentioned in the Constitution.

Composition: The composition of a Cabinet Committee varies from 3 to 8 people. Even Ministers who are not part of the Cabinet can be added to a Cabinet Committee. Usually, each cabinet committee has at least one Cabinet Minister. The members of the Cabinet Committee can be from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Types and Composition of Cabinet Committees:

• Standing Cabinet Committee: These are permanent in nature with a specific job. The Cabinet Ministers are its ‘members’ while the people without the rank of Cabinet Committee are called ‘special invitees’.

• Ad-hoc Cabinet Committee: These are temporary in nature and are formed from time to time to deal with specific tasks.

Recently, the Election Commission ordered the delisting of 86 registered unrecognised political parties it found to be “non-existent” and declared 253 others “inactive”.

Statement 1 is correct: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is not empowered to deregister parties on the grounds of violating the Constitution or breaching the undertaking given to it at the time of registration. ECI has the power to register parties under the

Representation of the People Act, (RPA) 1951, but it does not have the power to deregister parties that are inactive.

Statement 2 is correct: A party can only be de-registered if its registration was obtained by fraud; if it is declared illegal by the Central Government; or if a party amends its internal Constitution and notifies the ECI that it can no longer abide by the Indian Constitution

President is also part of the Parliament. The President of India is an integral part of the Union Parliament.

The Indian Parliament comprises of President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.

Statement 2 is correct. The President can be removed from office only by Parliament by following the procedure for impeachment. This procedure requires a special majority. The only ground for impeachment is violation of the Constitution.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Constitutionally, the President has a right to be informed of all important matters and deliberations of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is obliged to furnish all the information that the President may call for. The President often writes to the Prime Minister and expresses his views on matters confronting the country.

Besides this, there are at least three situations where the President can exercise the powers using his or her own discretion.

• The President can send back the advice given by the Council of Ministers and ask the Council to reconsider the decision. In doing this, the President acts on his (or her) own discretion.

• Pocket Veto - The President has veto power by which he can withhold or refuse to give assent to Bills (other than Money Bill) passed by the Parliament.

  There is no mention in the Constitution about the time limit within which the President must send the bill back for reconsideration. This means that the President can just keep the bill pending with him without any time limit. This gives the President an informal power to use the veto in a very effective manner. This is sometimes referred to as ‘pocket veto’.

• Appointment of the PM during hung assembly.

• The authority who has detained the person is not under any obligation to provide the reasons for the detention to be held before his arrest but is recommended to do so as soon as possible, thus giving the detained person with an incentive to be represented. So, statement 1 is not correct.

• Firstly, a person may be taken to preventive custody only for three months at the first instance. If the period of detention is extended beyond three months, the case must be referred to an Advisory Board consisting of persons with qualifications for appointment as Judges of the High Courts. It is implicit, that the period of detention may be extended beyond three months, only on approval by the Advisory Board. So, statement 2 is not correct.

  Therefore option (d) is the correct answer

Of all the Cabinet Committees, the most powerful is the Political Affairs Committee, often described as a “Super- Cabinet”.

Different Cabinet Committees:

1) Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

2) Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA)

3) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

4) Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA)

5) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA

6) Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) Two new committees are recently formed are;

7) Cabinet committee on investment & growth

8) Cabinet Committee on Employment and skill development

The Indian Constitution originally had 10 Fundamental Duties. However, with the 86th Amendment in 2002, a new duty was added, making the total count of Fundamental Duties 11.

Directive Principles are non-justiciable, which means they are not enforceable by the courts. However, they are fundamental in the governance of the country.