Fundamental Rights Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The idea came from the United States of America.

The Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Indian Constitution were inspired by the US Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, as were judicial review and the independence of the judiciary.

Ireland was the source of the Directive Principles, the United Kingdom of parliamentary government and the rule of law, and Canada of the federation with a strong centre.

Answer: B

The repealed right is the Compulsory Acquisition of Property.

Article 31, on the compulsory acquisition of property, and Article 19(1)(f), the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property, were removed from Part III by the 44th Amendment of 1978. The right to property now survives only as a constitutional right under Article 300A.

Protection against arrest and detention (Article 22), protection in respect of conviction for offences (Article 20) and abolition of titles (Article 18) remain fundamental rights.

Answer: A

The functions of the National Human Rights Commission are set out in Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993: inquiring into violations of human rights or negligence in preventing them, intervening in court proceedings, visiting jails, reviewing safeguards and promoting research and awareness.

Section 13 gives the Commission its powers relating to inquiries, Section 14 deals with investigation, and Section 15 with statements made by persons to the Commission. They follow the functions section and relate to how inquiries are conducted, so they are the tempting wrong options.

Answer: A

The Fundamental Rights are in Part III of the Constitution, which runs from Article 12 to Article 35.

Part IV contains the Directive Principles of State Policy, Part II deals with citizenship, and Part X deals with the Scheduled and Tribal Areas. So only Part III is correct.

Answer: A

The functions of the Human Rights Commission are set out in Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which covers inquiring into complaints of violation of human rights, intervening in court proceedings, visiting jails, reviewing safeguards, encouraging NGOs and promoting research and awareness of human rights.

Section 15 deals with statements made by persons to the Commission, and Sections 20 and 21 are in the chapter on State Human Rights Commissions, which deal with the annual and special reports of the State Commission and the constitution of the State Commission. They are not the functions of the national Commission.

Answer: C

The Fundamental Rights are in Part III of the Constitution, from Article 12 to Article 35.

Part I is about the Union and its territory, Part II about citizenship, and Part IV about the Directive Principles of State Policy. Only Part III contains the Fundamental Rights.

Answer: C

Both statements are correct, but the Reason does not explain the Assertion, so the answer is both correct, R not the explanation of A. The National Human Rights Commission was established on 12 October 1993, and Section 2(1)(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act defines human rights as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

The definition says what human rights are; it does not say why or when the Commission was established. The options calling the Assertion or the Reason false are wrong.

Answer: A

The case is the Bijoe Emmanuel case (1986).

Three Jehovah's Witness children in Kerala were expelled from school because they stood respectfully during the National Anthem but did not sing it, on grounds of faith. In Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala the Supreme Court held that standing in silence was not disrespect, that no law required them to sing, and that their expulsion violated their freedom of conscience and religion under Articles 19(1)(a) and 25.

Maneka Gandhi (1978) is about personal liberty under Article 21. No case named M.C. Mittal deals with the National Anthem; the similar-sounding M.C. Mehta cases are about environmental law. Brij Bhushan (1950) is about pre-censorship of the press.

Answer: C

The case was Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992).

In Mohini Jain the Supreme Court held that the right to education flows directly from the right to life under Article 21, since a life of dignity is not possible without education. The court refined the right in Unni Krishnan (1993), and the 86th Amendment of 2002 made education for children aged 6 to 14 a fundamental right under Article 21A.

The other cases named did not establish the right to education as part of the right to life.

Answer: D

Only statement 4 is not correct, so the answer is Only 4.

Since the 44th Amendment of 1978, property is no longer a fundamental right but a constitutional right under Article 300A, which says no person shall be deprived of property save by authority of law. So statement 1 is true.

Statement 2 is true: the Supreme Court has held the right to property is not part of the basic structure. Statement 3 is true: Article 300A protects against deprivation by executive action without legal authority, but a law can still take property. Statement 4 is false. An aggrieved person cannot move the Supreme Court under Article 32, since it is not a fundamental right, but can move the High Court under Article 226, which covers legal rights as well.