Elections and Election Commission Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The correct matching is A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3.

The Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) was set up to recommend electoral reforms. The Vohra Committee (1993) reported on the nexus between criminals and politicians. The Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) examined state funding of elections. The Justice J S Verma Committee, set up after the Delhi gang rape of December 2012, recommended amendments to criminal law on sexual offences.

Each other option misplaces at least two of these, most often by giving state funding to the Goswami committee.

Answer: A

Only item 3 falls under the 1950 Act, so the answer is 3 only.

The Representation of the People Act, 1950 deals with the allocation of seats, the delimitation of constituencies, the qualifications of voters and the preparation of electoral rolls.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 deals with the actual conduct of elections: the notification of general elections, the conduct of polls and counting, and the registration of political parties (section 29A), along with disqualifications, corrupt practices and election disputes. So items 1, 2 and 4 belong to the 1951 Act, which rules out the other options.

Answer: D

The Election Commission conducts 1, 2 and 4 only.

Under Article 324 the Election Commission of India superintends elections to Parliament and the state legislatures and to the offices of President and Vice-President.

Elections to municipalities and panchayats are conducted by the State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA, so item 3 is excluded, and the options that include it are wrong.

Answer: C

Only Party Arsenal would be recognized as a national party.

Under the Election Symbols Order, a party is a national party if it meets any one of three tests: recognition as a state party in at least four states; at least 6% of valid votes in four or more states in a Lok Sabha or assembly election plus at least four Lok Sabha seats; or at least 2% of Lok Sabha seats (11 seats) won from at least three states.

Arsenal meets the first test. Barcelona's 5% in three states falls short on both counts, Chelsea's 1% of seats is below the 2% threshold, and having existed in five states since 1947 is not a criterion at all.

Answer: A

All three statements are incorrect.

1. Star campaigners are provided for in Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, not the 1950 Act, which deals with electoral rolls and the allocation of seats.
2. Travel expenses of a party's star campaigners, within the permitted number, are not added to a candidate's election expenditure; that is the point of the provision.
3. The RPA 1951 registers parties under Section 29A, and the Supreme Court has held that the Election Commission has no general power to deregister a registered party; Section 12 gives no such power.

Since every statement is wrong, the options naming only some of them are incomplete.

Answer: A

The correct statement is that the Chief Election Commissioner and the State Election Commission are constitutional authorities.

The Election Commission of India, headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, is created by Article 324. The State Election Commission, which conducts panchayat and municipal elections, is created by Articles 243K and 243ZA, inserted by the 73rd and 74th Amendments. Both owe their existence to the Constitution.

The other statements are wrong. The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor, not the President. The State Election Commission is independent of the Election Commission of India and not under its control, and the Constitution provides no appeal from it to the Election Commission of India.

Answer: C

The Chief Election Commissioner is removed like a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Article 324(5) provides that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court, that is, by an address of both Houses of Parliament passed by a special majority on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. This protects his independence.

A Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President and a Minister during the pleasure of the President or Governor. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is removed by a resolution of the House, a different procedure.

Answer: C

The Election Commission's jurisdiction covers Parliament, state legislature, office of the President and Vice President.

Article 324(1) vests in the Election Commission the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the legislature of every State and of elections to the offices of President and Vice-President.

Elections to local bodies, panchayats and municipalities, are conducted by the State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA, so the option adding local bodies is wrong. The other two options leave out offices that Article 324 includes.

Answer: B

The key gives T.N. Seshan Vs. Union of India.

In T.N. Seshan v. Union of India (1995) the Supreme Court upheld the multi-member Election Commission and decision by majority. It also examined the differences in the constitutional position of the members: under Article 324(5), the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge, whereas an Election Commissioner can be removed on the CEC's recommendation, so the two do not hold identical positions in that respect.

Ashok Sadarangani concerns quashing of non-compoundable cases after settlement, and B.S. Vadera concerns service rules framed under Article 309. Neither deals with the Election Commission.

Answer: D

All four grounds apply, so the answer is (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv).

The Election Commission's power under Article 324 is plenary but not unlimited. The High Court under Article 226 may interfere when the Commission's order conflicts with a law made by Parliament under Article 327 (i); when it is arbitrary, mala fide or unfair (ii); when it exceeds the Commission's jurisdiction by breaching electoral law, the Rules or the Constitution (iii); and when the Commission acts on a direction that the Rules require the Government to approve without that approval (iv). Each is an instance of acting outside the law, which is what writ jurisdiction corrects.

The narrower options each leave out one or more of these recognised grounds.