Constitution, Social Justice and Human Rights Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The right to equality is in Article 14 (a-3). The right to free legal aid is read into Article 21 by the Supreme Court, which was the key's choice (b-4). The fundamental duties are in Article 51A (c-1) and the promotion of the welfare of the weaker sections is in Article 46 (d-2). The code is a-3, b-4, c-1, d-2.

Answer: C

Fifteen per cent of seats in educational institutions are reserved for Scheduled Castes. The reservation follows the share of Scheduled Castes in the population at the time the quota was fixed, and 7.5 per cent is the corresponding figure for Scheduled Tribes.

22, 17 and 19 per cent are not the quota for Scheduled Castes in educational institutions, so they are the distractors. The 22.5 per cent total for Scheduled Castes and Tribes together is a different figure.

Answer: C

Programmes for industrial growth are not based on affirmative action policies. Affirmative action gives special help to disadvantaged groups, such as the poor, Scheduled Castes and women, to make up for past inequality.

Programmes to meet the economic needs of the poor, specific programmes for Scheduled Castes and programmes for the welfare of women all aim at disadvantaged groups and so are examples of affirmative action. Industrial growth programmes aim at the economy as a whole.

Answer: D

Social legislation attempts all that is listed: justice as well as social security, anticipating social needs and providing for change in the social order. It is law made to improve the condition of weaker sections and to guide social change.

Each of the other three options states only one of its aims, so the right choice is 'all the above'. The Hindu Marriage Act and the Factories Act are examples of social legislation that carry out these aims in family life and in work.

Answer: C

The correct matching is a-2, b-4, c-1, d-3. The Health Survey and Planning Committee (the Mudaliar Committee) reported in 1959. The Mental Health Act was passed in 1987. The Atrocities against Women Act is matched with 2007 in the list, and the Hindu Code Bill is matched with 1952.

This is code (C). Code (A) puts the Mental Health Act at 1952, and the other two codes give the Health Survey Committee or the Mental Health Act a wrong year.

Answer: C

Human rights are the rights that every human being holds by virtue of being human, by nature, and not by grant of any State. That is why they are called inherent and universal. Rights provided by the Constitution of India are legal rights and cover only citizens or persons in India, and the Fundamental Rights are one constitutional list. Rights merely desired by people are claims, not rights. Only the option describing rights given to all human beings by nature fits the definition.

Answer: C

Public Interest Litigation is litigation that lets a public-spirited person or organisation approach the court for the benefit of poor, needy and weaker sections who cannot reach it themselves, often with the help of NGOs and the media. It relaxes the rule of locus standi. It is not a mechanism for justice outside the court, since it works through the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Speedy justice may be a hoped-for result but is not its definition, and 'none of the above' is wrong because the third option fits.

Answer: D

The Factories Act was passed in 1948, so that pairing is correct. The other three are wrongly dated in the options. The Untouchability (Offences) Act came in 1955, not 1954, and later became the Protection of Civil Rights Act. The Dowry Prohibition Act is of 1961, not 1962. The Juvenile Justice Act, in its first form as the Juvenile Justice Act of 1986, is not 1985. Only the Factories Act pair is a correct match.

Answer: B

The objective of social legislation is to bridge the gap between current social needs and the existing laws, so that the law keeps pace with changing society. Solving social problems is too broad a claim, since a law alone does not solve problems, and making new laws or reviewing laws are means, not the objective. The keyed answer is the one stating the aim of fitting the legal framework to present needs.

Answer: C

The keyed choice is that (A) is correct and (R) is wrong. Protection under the Domestic Violence Act places a legal duty on family members and the household, so the family's responsibility toward its women does increase, and the assertion holds. The reason is not accepted, because the Act is meant to make the family safer and to strengthen it as an institution, not to weaken it. The options that call (R) correct, or both wrong, therefore do not fit.