Miscellaneous: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Polity)

Explanation

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 19, 2023. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of the total number of seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. Key features of the Bill:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The next delimitation exercise, or redrawing of constituency boundaries, is scheduled to be held in 2026. Effectively, this means that the earliest implementation of the women’s quota in the Lok Sabha can be in the 2029 general election (19th Lok Sabha), rather than in next year’s polls.

Statement 2 is correct: The reservation will be effective after the census conducted after the commencement of this Bill has been published. Based on the census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women. The reservation will be provided for a period of 15 years. However, it shall continue till such date as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Statement 3 is correct: The Bill reserves, as nearly as may be, one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and state legislatures. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: The authority to recognize and declare a community as a Scheduled Tribe is vested in the President of India under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution. The President issues a notification specifying the Scheduled Tribes in relation to a State or Union Territory, after consulting with the Governor of the concerned State. However, the Governor does not have independent authority to declare any community as a Scheduled Tribe.

Statement 2 is correct: The status of a Scheduled Tribe is State/ Union Territory-specific. A community recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in one State may not necessarily enjoy the same status in another State unless it is explicitly notified as such for that State by the President. This reflects the differing socio-economic and cultural contexts across States, as well as variations in tribal populations.

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS: Indian People’s Association) was established in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: Rajagopalachari was associated with the Swatantra Party, not with the Socialist Party.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: Jagjivan Ram formed the Congress for Democracy in 1977. It was established after Jagjivan Ram, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, and Nandini Satpathy parted ways with Indira Gandhi’s Indian National Congress, criticizing her leadership during the Emergency.

Pair 4 is incorrectly matched: Acharya Narendra Dev was deeply involved in the peasant movement and held the position of president of the All-India Kisan Congress. He remained affiliated with the Socialist Party and later the Praja Socialist Party until his passing in 1956.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Part IXA of the Constitution was inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992. It contains provisions for local self-government at the urban level (including powers of the municipalities).

Statement 2 is correct: Emergency provisions are outlined in Part XVIII of the Constitution, covering Articles 352 to 360, including National Emergency (Article 352), State Emergency (Article 356), and Financial Emergency (Article 360). These provisions empower the Central government to address any extraordinary situations effectively.

Statement 3 is correct: Part XX deals with the provisions related to the amendment of the Constitution (Art 368). Parliament may, in the exercise of its constituent power, amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this part.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: Home Guards are raised under the Home Guards Act and Rules of the States/Union Territories. The Ministry of Home Affairs provides policy guidance, but the implementation is state-specific.

Statement 2 is correct: The role of Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary Force to the police in the maintenance of internal security situations, help the community in any kind of emergency such as an air raid, fire, cyclone, earthquake, epidemic etc., help in the maintenance of essential services, promote communal harmony and assist the administration in protecting weaker sections, participate in socio- economic and welfare activities and perform Civil Defence duties.

Statement 3 is correct: Fifteen Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) Battalions (Bns) have been raised in the border States viz. Punjab (6 Bns.), Rajasthan (4 Bns.), Gujarat (2 Bns.) and one each Battalion for Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal to serve as an auxiliary to Border Security Force for preventing infiltration on the international border/coastal areas, guarding of Vital Areas/ Vital Points and lines of communication in the vulnerable area at the time of external aggression.

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: Section 6 of the Official Secrets Act,1923, deals with the unauthorised use of uniforms, falsification of reports, forgery, personation, and false documents.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: Section 7 of the Official Secrets Act,1923 deals with the infraction of interfering with ‘Officers of the Police’ or ‘Members of the Armed Forces of the Union’ engaged in the discharge of their duties.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: Arms (Amendment) Act, 2019 outlines that whoever uses a firearm in a ‘rash or negligent manner’ or in ‘celebratory gunfire’ so as to endanger human life or personal safety of others shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to rupees one lakh, or with both.

Explanation

The Indian National Flag represents the hopes and aspirations of more than 1 billion people, and the display of the National flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and Names(Prevention of Improper Use Act, 1950) and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Additionally, the Flag Code of India, 2002, brings together all such laws and practices in the form of guidance to all. Statement-I is incorrect: According to the Flag Code of India, the standard sizes of the Indian National Flag are:

Flag Size No. Dimensions (mm)

1. 6300° 4200

2. 3600° 2400

3. 2700° 1800

4. 1800° 1200

5. 1350° 900

6. 900° 600

7. 450° 300

8. 225° 150

9. 150° 100 Statement-II is correct: According to the Flag Code of India, the National Flag shall be rectangular in shape. The Flag can be of any size, but the ratio of the length to the height (width) of the National Flag should be 3:2.

Explanation

Statement-I is correct: The Constitution Day, also known as ‘Samvidhan Divas’, is celebrated in our country on 26th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India. The day was officially declared as Constitution Day in 2015 to promote awareness of constitutional values and principles among citizens. Statement-II is not correct: The Drafting Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Dr B.R. Ambedkar by the Constituent Assembly on 29 August 1947 to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Under Article 355 of the Indian Constitution, it is the duty of the Union, i.e. the Central Government, to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct: Article 22(3)(b) of the Indian Constitution explicitly states that the rights under Article 22(1) and 22(2)--which include the right to legal counsel--do not apply to individuals detained under preventive detention laws.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Section 32 of Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002, allows confessions made before a police officer (not below the rank of Superintendent of Police) to be admissible as evidence in court, provided they are recorded in accordance with prescribed safeguards. This provision departs from general criminal law, where confessions before police are inadmissible under Sections 25 and 26 of the Indian Evidence Act.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: According to Article 244(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, "Scheduled Areas" refer to regions that the President can designate as such through an order following consultation with the Governor of the respective State.

Statement 2 is correct: The largest administrative unit forming the scheduled areas has been the district, and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the block. This is consistent with how Scheduled Areas are designated based on administrative feasibility and compactness.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The executive power of a state extends to the scheduled areas therein. But the Governor has a special responsibility regarding such areas. He has to submit a report to the President regarding the administration of these areas annually or whenever so required by the President as per Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule.