[Mission 2024] STATIC QUIZ, 6 October 2023 – Polity

Solution: c)

If the Centre wants to hold simultaneous polls, five amendments need to be made in the Constitution. Article 83, which deals with the duration of Houses of Parliament, will have to be tweaked, along with Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President), Article 172 (duration of state legislatures), Article 174 (dissolution of state assemblies) and Article 356 (President’s Rule).

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

The functions of the estimates committee are:

1. To report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency and administrative reform consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, can be affected.
2. To suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration
3. To examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates
4. To suggest the form in which the estimates are to be presented to Parliament.

However, the effectiveness of the role of the committee is limited by the following:

(a) It examines the budget estimates only after they have been voted by the Parliament, and not before that.

(b) It cannot question the policy laid down by the Parliament.

(c) Its recommendations are advisory and not binding on the ministries.

(d) It examines every year only certain selected ministries and departments. Thus, by rotation, it would cover all of them over a number of years.

(e) It lacks the expert assistance of the CAG which is available to the Public Accounts Committee.

(f) Its work is in the nature of a post-mortem.

Solution: a)

Law Reform in the ancient period was ad hoc and not institutionalised.

However, since the third decade of the nineteenth century, Law Commissions were constituted by the Government from time to time.

• The first law commission was established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833.
• Thereafter, the second, third and fourth Law Commissions were constituted in 1853, 1861 and 1879 respectively helped adapt English Laws to Indian conditions.
• The Indian Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian Contract Act, the Indian Evidence Act, the Transfer of Property Act etc. are products of the labour of the first four Law Commissions.
• The First Law Commission of Independent India was established in 1955 with the then Attorney-General of India, Mr. M. C. Setalvad, as its Chairman.

Solution: d)

Quo warranto means “by what warrant”? This means that Supreme Court and High Court may issue the writ which restrains the person or authority to act in an office which he / she is not entitled to.

This writ is applicable to the public offices only and not to private offices.

Solution: b)

When a bill is sent to the governor after it is passed by state legislature, he can:

(a) Give his assent to the bill, or

(b) Withhold his assent to the bill, or

(c) Return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of the state legislature. However, if the bill is passed again by the state legislature with or without amendments, the governor has to give his assent to the bill, or

(d) Reserve the bill for the consideration of the president. In one case such reservation is obligatory, that is, where the bill passed by the state legislature endangers the position of the state high court. In

addition, the governor can also reserve the bill if it is of the following nature:

(i) Ultra-vires, that is, against the provisions of the Constitution.

(ii) Opposed to the Directive Principles of State Policy.

(iii) Against the larger interest of the country.

(iv) Of grave national importance.

(v) Dealing with compulsory acquisition of property under Article 31A of the Constitution.