Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Article 127 provides for the appointment of ad hoc judges to the Supreme Court. When there is no quorum of permanent judges to hold or continue a session, the Chief Justice of India may, with the President's previous consent and after consulting the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned, request a High Court judge qualified for the Supreme Court to sit as an ad hoc judge.

Article 124 deals with the establishment and composition of the Court, 125 with judges' salaries, and 128 with the attendance of retired judges, so those are not the ad hoc provision.

Answer: A

West Bengal has 16 seats in the Rajya Sabha, as allotted in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. Uttar Pradesh has the largest share (31), Maharashtra has 19, and states such as Assam and Odisha have fewer than West Bengal.

19 is Maharashtra's allotment, and 10 and 7 are the allotments of smaller states, so none of these three is West Bengal's.

The allocation of Rajya Sabha seats is in the Fourth Schedule: Uttar Pradesh has 31, Maharashtra 19, Tamil Nadu 18, Bihar 16 and West Bengal 16, and the smallest states and union territories have one or two. A figure of 10 or 7 would belong to a much smaller state, and 19 is the share of Maharashtra, so 16 is the one that fits West Bengal.

Answer: B

The official key credits S. Radhakrishnan with describing fundamental rights as a pledge to the people and a pact with the civilised world. I could not trace the quotation in an independent source, so the key is followed without an independent check.

Balwant Rai Mehta is known for the 1957 committee on Panchayati Raj and Ashok Mehta for the 1977 committee on Panchayati Raj Institutions, and Zakir Hussain was a later President of India, so they fit the quotation less.

Answer: C

The minimum age to be elected President of India is 35 years, under Article 58 of the Constitution, together with Indian citizenship and eligibility to be a member of the Lok Sabha. Twenty-five years is the minimum age for the Lok Sabha, 30 years is the age for the Rajya Sabha and Vice President is 35, and 40 is not a requirement.

Answer: B

Article 124 provides for the Supreme Court judges: each judge is appointed by the President after consulting such Supreme Court and High Court judges as the President thinks necessary. Articles 121 and 122 concern limits on discussing judges' conduct in Parliament and the courts' inquiry into proceedings. Article 125 deals with judges' salaries, and Article 129 makes the Supreme Court a court of record.

The process of appointment in the Constitution also involves consultation with the Chief Justice of India, who is the head of the Court.

Answer: A

Under Article 18 of the Constitution, no person holding an office of profit or trust under the State may accept any present, emolument or office from a foreign State without the consent of the President. So it is the President who grants the permission. The Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Union External Affairs Minister are not named in this clause. Article 18 abolishes titles: the State cannot confer titles other than military and academic distinctions, citizens cannot accept titles from a foreign State, and holders of an office of profit or trust need the consent of the President to accept presents or offices from a foreign State.

Answer: D

VN Gadgil has never been Chief Election Commissioner; he was a Congress politician. Sukumar Sen was the first CEC, KVK Sundaram served as the second CEC and SP Sen Verma also held the post, so only VN Gadgil is the person who never held the office. Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner and organised the first general elections of 1951-52. KVK Sundaram followed as the second, and SP Sen Verma also served in the post, while VN Gadgil, a Congress politician, was never appointed to the office.

Answer: D

Statement D is not correct. Under Article 4, a law made under Article 2 or 3 to form new states or alter boundaries or names is not treated as an amendment of the Constitution for the purpose of Article 368, so it does not fall under the amendment procedure. The other three statements describe Article 3: Parliament may form a new state by law, the Bill needs the President's recommendation, and the President refers it to the state legislature for its views.

Answer: B

Article 123 of the Constitution gives the President the power to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session, that is, in recess, if the President is satisfied that circumstances require immediate action. An ordinance has the same force as an Act and must be laid before Parliament, ceasing six weeks after it reassembles. Article 120 deals with the language to be used in Parliament, Article 118 with its rules of procedure and Article 115 with supplementary grants. The answer is Article 123, option (B).

Answer: A

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution contains the allocation of seats in the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha, to the States and the Union territories. The forms of oaths or affirmations are in the Third Schedule, the languages are in the Eighth Schedule, and the provisions on disqualification on the ground of defection are in the Tenth Schedule. The answer is allocation of seats in the council of states, option (A).