QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 31 July 2021 – Polity

Solution: b)

Amending Act of 1781

• In a bid to rectify the defects of the Regulating Act of 1773, the British Parliament passed the Amending Act of 1781, also known as the Act of Settlement.
• It exempted the Governor-General and the Council from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for the acts done by them in their official capacity. Similarly, it also exempted the servants of the company from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for their official actions. It excluded the revenue matters and the matters arising in the collection of revenue from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Solution: c)

The Constitution of India establishes a federal system of Government. It contains all the usual features of a federation, viz., two Government, division of powers, written Constitution, supremacy of Constitution, rigidity of Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism.

However, the Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions and so on.

Solution: b)

The Attorney General for India is the central government’s chief legal advisor, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.

He is a part of the Union Executive.

Appointment and eligibility:

He is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds office during the pleasure of the President.

• He must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• He should be an Indian Citizen.
• He must have either completed 5 years in High Court of any Indian state as a judge or 10 years in High Court as an advocate.
• He may be an eminent jurist too, in the eye of the President.

Solution: b)

The doctrine of separation of power is a part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution, even though it is not specifically mentioned in its text.

• It implies that the three pillars of democracy, namely the executive, judiciary and legislature, perform separate functions and act as separate entities.
• One of the features of the doctrine is that one arm of the state should not interfere in the functioning of the other organs or exercise a function of another organ.

Solution: d)

Articles in the Constitution facilitating Separation of Powers:

Article 50: State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive. This is for the purpose of ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

Article 122 and 212: Validity of proceedings in Parliament and the Legislatures cannot be called into question in any Court. Also, Legislators enjoy certain privileges with regard to speech and anything said in the Parliament cannot be used against them.

Article 361: The President or the Governor shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office.