UPSC Static Quiz – Polity : 18 November 2024

Solution: d)

Statement 1 is not correct: The Constitution lays down the following qualifications for a person to be chosen a member of the Parliament:

• He must be a citizen of India.
• He must make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before the person authorised by the election commission for this purpose.
• He must be not less than 30 years of age in the case of the Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of the Lok Sabha.
• He must possess other qualifications prescribed by Parliament.

The Parliament has laid down the additional qualification in the Representation of People Act (1951) that he must be registered as an elector for a parliamentary constituency.

Statement 2 is not correct: Unlike the Constitution, the Parliament has laid down the following additional disqualifications in the Representation of People Act (1951):

• He must not have been found guilty of certain election offences or corrupt practices in the elections.
• He must not have been convicted for any offence resulting in imprisonment for two or more years. But, the detention of a person under a preventive detention law is not a disqualification.

Solution: d)

Inter-state council:

• The Inter-State Council is a constitutional body to facilitate coordination between states and the centre.
• The Council is a recommendatory body to investigate and discuss subjects, in which some or all of the states or the union government have a common interest. Recommendations are not binding in nature.
• Article 263 of the Constitution of India provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council.
• It considers recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action, and also matters of general interest to the states.
• The inter-state council is not a permanent constitutional body for coordination between the states and union government. It can be established ‘at any time’ if it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of such a council.
• The Prime minister is the chairman.

Solution: c)

In India, judicial review is a crucial tool to ensure that laws and executive actions are in conformity with the Constitution. The grounds for judicial review are based on three main principles.

First, if a law infringes upon the Fundamental Rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution, the judiciary has the power to declare it invalid.

Second, the law can be struck down if it falls outside the legislative competence of the authority that enacted it. This means that if a legislative body exceeds its jurisdiction, the law is considered ultra vires (beyond legal power).

Lastly, a law can be declared unconstitutional if it is repugnant to any other provisions of the Constitution. This includes violations of the basic structure or conflicting with other constitutional principles.

Solution: d)

Statement 1 is correct: Articles 358 and 359 describe the effect of a National Emergency on the Fundamental Rights. Article 358 deals with the suspension of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 19, while Article 359 deals with the suspension of other Fundamental Rights (except those guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21).

Statement 2 is correct: Article 359 authorises the president to suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights during a National Emergency.

This means that under Article 359, the Fundamental Rights as such are not suspended, but only their enforcement. The said rights are theoretically alive but the right to seek remedy is suspended.

The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restricted the scope of Article 359 in two ways. Firstly, the President cannot suspend the right to move the Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 to 21.

Statement 3 is correct: In other words, the right to protection in respect of conviction for offences (Article 20) and the right to life and personal liberty (Article 21) remain enforceable even during emergency.

Solution: a)

Statement 1 is not correct: The President exercises Suspensive veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill.

Statement 2 is not correct: The President does not possess suspensive veto in the case of money bills. In Pocket Veto, the President neither ratifies nor rejects nor returns the bill, but simply keeps the bill pending for an indefinite period.

Statement 3 is correct: The President has veto power with respect to state legislation also. A bill passed by a state legislature can become an act only if it receives the assent of the governor or the President (in case the bill is reserved for the consideration of the President).