Fundamental Rights MCQ Questions and Answers

Statement a is correct. Arbitrariness denotes unreasonableness and is against all norms of law and justice. The officers have to carry out the law made by Parliament and should not exercise any more power. Any wide discretionary power or arbitrary power vested in the State violates Rule of Law. Any unreasonable or arbitrary action is considered to be illegal. Therefore, it can be nullified by a court of law.

Statement b is correct. As per UN, rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws. These laws need to be in consistent with international human rights norms and standards. Liberty and civil rights are considered as the main feature of the rule of law.

Statement c is correct. One of the essences of rule of law is that the citizens should be able to enforce the rights that are recognised and the courts must be sufficiently empowered for that purpose. It is said that, to promote the supremacy of law, a system of strong, independent and impartial courts is mandatory. For this, the courts should have the power of judicial review.

Statement d is incorrect. Administrative Law deals not only with conferring of powers on the offi cers, but also focuses on controlling the powers of the government. It is Administrative Law that makes it possible for the Courts to strike down any arbitrary exercise of power by the Government. Thus, Indian Administrative Law has benefited from Rule of Law by way of establishing judicial review of administrative action to ensure that administration acts in accordance with law.

Pair 1 is incorrectly matched. Affirmative actions are taken to eliminate deep rooted social inequalities. Sometimes it is necessary to treat people diff erently in order to ensure that they can enjoy equal rights. For instance, disabled people may justifi ably demand special ramps in public spaces so that they get an equal chance to enter public buildings. These should not be seen as infringements of equality but as enhancement of equality. Thus, providing free primary healthcare services to all is not affi rmative action.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched. Social, economic and political inequalities all over the world have been protected by customs and legal systems that prohibited some sections of society from enjoying certain kinds of opportunities and rewards. Formal equality requires that the government and the law of the land should stop protecting these systems of inequality. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Thus, providing special ramps for disabled people forms part of affi rmative action and does not come under formal equality.

Pair 3 is correctly matched. In India, many face lack of equal opportunities from both lack of facilities and prevailing customs in the society. Women, for instance, may not enjoy equal rights of inheritance in some groups, or there may be social prohibitions regarding their taking part in certain kinds of activities, or they may even be discouraged from obtaining higher education. The state should make policies to prevent discrimination or harassment of women in public places or employment, to provide incentives to open up education or certain professions to women, and other such measures. Thus, providing equal inheritance rights to women is providing equality of opportunities.

Statement 1 is correct. Marxism argues that the root cause of entrenched inequality was private ownership of important economic resources such as oil, or land, or forests, as well as other forms of property. It points out that such private ownership did not only make the class of owners wealthy, it also gave them political power. Thus, there should be public ownership of important resources and property.

Statement 2 is correct. Liberalism upholds the principle of competition as the most effi cient and fair way of distributing resources and rewards in society. They believe that while states may have to intervene to try and ensure a minimum standard of living and equal opportunities for all, this cannot by itself bring equality and justice to society. Competition between people in free and fair conditions is the most just and efficient way of distributing rewards in a society.

Statement 3 is correct. One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is the final goal of stateless and classless society, whereas means to achieve these fi nal goals differ. For Marx, the State is an instrument of oppression and an organ of the bourgeoisie that only works for maintaining class dominance. Similarly for Gandhi, in an ideal state, there is no State. In the ideal state, there is no political power because there is no State.

The Constitution of India promotes harmonious relationship between liberty and equality.

Statement b is incorrect: More liberty does not always result in more economic equality as all people does not have same potential and opportunities. This may result in high inequality in society. Example – rising inequality in highly liberal western societies.

Statement c is correct: Liberty and equality are not always opposed to each other. Sometimes liberty opens new avenues of social mobility which eventually helps in bringing more equality in the society. Hence, an ideal society is such where both liberty and equality complement each other.

Statement d is correct: The Constitution of India promotes harmonious relationship between liberty and equality. In India, the fundamental rights enjoy supremacy over the Directive Principles. But the Parliament can amend the fundamental rights for implementing the Directive Principles, so long as the amendment does not damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.

Option a is incorrect: In India, not all the rights mentioned in the Constitution are fundamental rights. For example, the right to property under article 300A is protected by the Constitution, but it is not a fundamental right.

Option b is incorrect: Rights available to residents include fundamental rights as well as legal and statutory rights. Also, the term residents include citizens as well as non-citizens, who have distinct sets of rights.

Option c is incorrect: The rights given by an Act of parliament are called as statutory rights. For example, The Right to Information Act of 2005.

Option d is correct: The rights recognized by the Indian Constitution under Part III (Article 14 to Article 32) are known as fundamental rights. The Fundamental Rights are named so because they are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the land.

Fundamental Rights can be suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21. Further, the six rights guaranteed by Article 19 can be suspended only when emergency is declared on the grounds of war or external aggression (i.e., external emergency) and not on the ground of armed rebellion (i.e., internal emergency). Option a is incorrect. Their application to the members of armed forces, paramilitary forces, police forces, intelligence agencies and analogous services can be restricted or abrogated by the Parliament (Article 33).

Option b is incorrect. Fundamental Rights are defended and guaranteed by the Supreme Court. Hence, the aggrieved person can directly go to the Supreme Court, not necessarily by way of appeal against the judgement of the high courts.

Option d is incorrect. Most of Fundamental Rights are directly enforceable (self-executory) while a few of them can be enforced on the basis of a law made for giving eff ect to them. Such a law can be made only by the Parliament and not by state legislatures so that uniformity throughout the country is maintained (Article 35).

Fundamental rights available to both citizens and
foreigners (except enemy aliens) –
Article 14 – Equality before the law and equal protection
of laws.
Article 20 – Protection in respect of conviction for
offences.
Article 21 – Protection of life and personal liberty.
Article 21A – Right to elementary education.
Article 22 – Protection against arrest and detention in
certain cases.
Article 23 – Prohibition of traffic in human beings and
forced labour.
Article 24 – Prohibition of employment of children in
factories etc.
Article 25 – Freedom of conscience and free profession,
practice and propagation of religion.
Article 26 – Freedom to manage religious affairs.
Article 27 – Freedom from payment of taxes for promotion
of any religion.
Article 28 – Freedom from attending religious instruction
or worship in certain educational institutions.
Knowledge Base: Fundamental rights available only to
citizens and not to foreigners –
Article 15 – Prohibition of discrimination on grounds
of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Article 16 – Equality of opportunity in matters of public
employment.
Article 19 – Protection of six rights related to freedom
– (a) of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceably
and without arms; (c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India; (e)
to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
and (f) to practice any profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
Article 29 – Protection of language, script and culture
of minorities.
Article 30 – Right of minorities to establish and administer
educational institutions.

Fundamental right given under Indian constitution in case of violation can be enforced against the public authorities and in some cases against private individuals.

1. Art.17 pertaining to prohibition of untouchability: In many villages dalits are still exploited and discriminated to a great extent. They are not allowed to wear slipper while going to upper cast home. They are segregated to use the well that is not used by the upper caste people. In such a case the private individual is liable.

2. The Article which prohibits discrimination i.e., Article 15(2) enshrined in the part III of the constitution obliged all public and private entities to abstain from doing discrimination on ground of sex, caste, race or place of birth. This article prohibits the license holder of the resorts, restaurant etc to disallow anyone on the basis of ground given above.

3. Article 21 that ensure an individual’s right to live and possess personal liberty, applies against private individual. The instance of its horizontal applicability can be seen in case Consumer Education and Research Centre v Union of India where the court held that right of the employees to health lies against private employer and also added that private actors are bound by this decision and direction under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.

Constitution of India does not expressly provide the provisions related to the prisoners’ rights but in the case of T.V. Vatheeswaran v. State of Tamil Nadu, it was held that the Articles 14, 19 and 21 are available to the prisoners as well as freemen. Prison walls do not keep out fundamental rights.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India says that the State shall not deny to any person equality before law or the equal protection of laws within the territory of India. Article 21 of the Constitution of India says that No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This includes right to speedy trial as a fundamental right to the prisoners.

Right to vote is not available to prisoners in India as of yet.

The phrase ‘reasonable restriction connotes that the limitation imposed upon a person in enjoyment of the right should not be arbitrary or of an excessive nature, beyond what is required in the interest of the public. The restrictions must be there but they need to be reasonable in nature. Eg. Restrictions mentioned under Article 19(2) considered to be reasonable restrictions over Article 19.

Knowledge Base: The freedoms enumerated in Art.19 (1) are those great and basic rights, which are recognized as the natural rights inherent in the status of a citizen. But none of these freedoms is absolute or uncontrolled, for each is liable to be curtailed by laws made or to be made by the state to the extent mentioned in clauses (2) to (6) of Art 19. Clauses (2) to (6) recognize the right of the State to make laws putting reasonable restrictions in the interests of the general public, security of the State, public order, decency, or morality and for other reasons set out in those subclauses.

Statement (a) and (c) are correct: A right is essentially an entitlement or a justified claim. It denotes what we are entitled to as citizens, as individuals and as human beings. In most cases the claimed rights are directed towards the state.

Statement (b) is incorrect. Duties are not the claims of citizens against the state. But it is the rights which acts as the claims of citizens against the state.

Statement (d) is correct. At the same time, duties are the moral obligations on the all the citizens towards state. They compel us to think not just of our own personal needs and interests but to defend some things as being good for all of us.

Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. The idea of ‘Rule of law’ includes –

• Equality before law – Every person, irrespective of any differences on the basis of gender, caste, place of birth and the like, has to be accorded same treatment in the exercise of law.

• Absence of arbitrary power – This would require that all authorities vested with powers of the State are bound by laws themselves in the exercise of their powers.

• The primacy of the rights of individual – Rule of law has to ensure that individuals’ liberty and civil rights are protected from the State’s and private individual’ actions.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Rule of law requires the government which has to be responsible to citizens, not the other way round.

Point 1 and 2 are correct. Under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution, the term ‘State’ has been used in a wider context to include all such agencies, actions of whose can challenged in the Supreme Court if they violate the any of these fundamental rights.

Article 12 defi nes ‘State’ as: • Legislative and Executive Organs of the Union Government:

• Indian Government

• Indian Parliament – Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha

• Legislative and Executive organs of the State Government:

• State Governments

• State Legislature – Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council of State

• All local authorities

• Municipalities – Municipal Corporations, Nagar Palika, Nagar Panchayats

• Panchayats – Zila Panchayats, Mandal Panchayats, Gram Panchayats

• District Boards

• Improvement Trusts, etc.

• Statutory and Non-Statutory Authorities Point 3 is incorrect: BCCI is not ‘state’ for the purpose of article 12.

Point 4 is incorrect. There is no direct mention of Judiciary (Supreme Courts, High Court, or State/District Courts) as a ‘State’ in Article 12. However, the organs of the judiciary cannot make rules that are in itself violative of the Fundamental Rights.

Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra Case – SC reaffi rmed that Fundamental Rights cannot be violated by any judicial proceedings and also that Superior Courts of Justice do not fall under the ambit of Article 12. Article 13 of the Indian Constitution mentions, State to not make any law that violates the provisions under Part III

Option a is incorrect. The system of checks and balances enables each of the three branches of government to limit the powers of the others. This way, no one branch becomes too powerful.

Option b is incorrect. The system of checks and balances is antithetical to the system of separation of powers and not division of powers. Separation of powers refer to the segregation of powers between various organs of the state, viz., the executive, legislature and the judiciary. The concept of division of powers refer to the segregation of powers between various levels of the government, viz., the centre, the states and local governments.

Option c is correct. Article 13 is an example of the system of checks and balances in India. It related to concept of judicial review where the judiciary can strike down laws made by the parliament that are deemed ultravires to the constitution.

Option d is incorrect. Single party majority in the parliament weakens the system of checks and balances as the executive and legislature both are controlled by a single entity or a single political party.

Knowledge Base: The concept of separation of powers was given by French philosopher Montesquieu.

Statement 1 is correct. In the theory of social justice, the proportionate justice principle indicates rewarding people in proportion to the scale and quality of their effort. Thus, proportionality provides balance to the principle of equal treatment.

Statement 2 is correct. One of the principles of social justice is the principle of treating equals equally. It is considered that all individuals share certain characteristics as human beings. Therefore, they deserve equal rights and equal treatment. The principle of treating equals equally require that people should not be discriminated against on grounds of class, caste, race or gender. They should be judged on the basis of their work and actions. Hence, due and equal consideration must be given to all individuals.

Statement 3 is correct. According to the ideal of social justice, even nondiscrimination between people and rewarding them proportionately to their efforts might not be enough. The principle of taking account of the special needs of people is required. It does not necessarily contradict the principle of equal treatment so much as extend it because the principle of treating equals equally could imply that people who are not equal in certain important respects could be treated differently.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Creamy layer is a category under Other Backward Classes category. They do not get the benefi t of the OBC reservation. Creamy layer is the section of people in the Other Backward Classes who are considered socially advanced.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The ‘creamy layer’ concept was introduced in the Supreme Court’s Indra Sawhney judgment in 1992. The court found it necessary to identify sections of backward classes who were already “highly advanced socially as well as economically and educationally”. This was called creamy layer. The judgment directed the State governments to identify the ‘creamy layer’ and exclude them from the purview of reservation. The Constitution does not defi ne the term creamy layer.

Statement 3 is correct. The Supreme court while quashing a Haryana government notifi cation of August 17, 2016 held that economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for deciding the creamy layer from among the OBCs.

Statement 1 is correct: Under Article 341, 342 and 342A the President initially includes various groups/ tribes/ castes into the central lists identifying SC, ST and Socially & economically Backward Classes (SEBC) respectively. Any exclusion or modification thereafter is done by the decision of the Parliament (not the President).

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Supreme court while ruling on the validity of Maratha reservation case in Jaishree Laxmanrao Pati v The Chief Minister and others, said that there is to be only 1 list identifying SEBCs – the central list, which will be modified by the Parliament. Further it said that the states can only make recommendations regarding inclusions and exclusions. But recently the Parliament passed the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill (adding Article 342A(3)), which clarifi ed that the Parliament will only modify the Central List and that each state has the power to create and modifyits State List regarding identification of SEBCs in their territory.

Statement 3 is correct. The Supreme Court in Jaishree Laxmanrao Pativ The Chief Minister and others stated, as well as according to Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution – once identified, each state has the right to take steps for advancement and welfare of vulnerable groups like SC, ST and SEBCs. These measures will be applicable within the territorial limits of that state. There was no confusion or debate about the right of states to take affirmative action. Only the power to identify SEBCs was under debate.

Statement 1 is correct. The Nagaraj case (2006) in Supreme Court relates to the issue of reservations in promotions for the SC and ST communities.

Statement 2 is correct. The court in M. Nagaraj case had upheld the application of creamy layer principle to members of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities in promotions. In this case applying the creamy layer concept in SC/ST reservation in promotions, the Supreme court reversed its earlier stance in the Indra Sawhney case (1992), in which it had excluded the creamy layer concept on SCs/STs (that was applicable on OBCs).

Statement 3 is correct. The five-judges Bench in Nagaraj case upheld the constitutional validity of all 77th, 81st, 82nd, and 85th constitutional amendments enabling reservation of SC/ST communities in promotions, but made certain directives for the states:

• State is not bound to make reservations for SC/ST in the matter of promotions.

• Statement 4 is incorrect. SC in Nagraj case stated that if a State wants to provide reservation to the SC/ ST communities in promotions:

• It has to collect quantifi able data showing backwardness of the class.

• Show inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment in addition to compliance of Article 335.

• State needs to ensure that its reservation provision does not lead to excessiveness- breaching the ceilinglimit of 50%, or destroying the creamy layer principle. In Jarnail Singh v L.N. Gupta (2018) case, SC refused to refer the Nagaraj judgment to a higher bench but later altered the decision by saying that states will not be required to present quantifiable data of backwardness of SC/ST communities.

Knowledge Base: The term ‘Creamy layer’ was fi rst mentioned in the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the Indra Sawhney case (1992).

Supreme Court in 2020 ruled that reservation in the matter of promotions in public posts is not a fundamental right, and a state cannot be compelled to off er the quota if it chooses not to

Statement 1 is incorrect. The concept of ‘equality before law’ connotes the absence of any special privileges in favour of any person. The term also means equal subjection of all persons to the ordinary law of the land.

Statement 2 is correct. The concept ‘equal protection of law’ connotes the equality of treatment under equal circumstances, both in the privileges conferred and liabilities imposed by the laws. This also means the similar application of the same laws to all persons who are similarly situated.

Statement 3 is correct. The term ‘equal protection of law’ also means that the like should be treated alike without any discrimination.

The ‘equality before law’ connotes:

(1) Statement 1 is correct: The absence of any special privileges in favour of any person.

(2) The equal subjection of all persons to the ordinary law of the land administered by ordinary law courts.

(3) No person (whether rich or poor, high or low, official or non-official) is above the law.

The ‘equal protection of laws’ on the other hand, connotes: (1) The equality of treatment under equal circumstances. (2) The similar application of the same laws to all persons who are similarly situated. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

(3) The like should be treated alike without any discrimination. Thus, the former is a negative concept while the latter is a positive concept.

However, both of them aim at establishing equality of legal status, opportunity and justice. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Supreme court has held that both right to reservation and the right to reservation in promotion is not a Fundamental Right.

Statement 2 is correct. In the famous Mandal Commission aka Indra Sawhney v. Union of India case, the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court recognized the inequality among different castes and the held that it would be legal for the state to categorise backward classes as ‘backward’ and ‘more backward’ for the purpose of providing reservation.

Statement 3 is incorrect. In the Indra Sawhney vs UOI (1992) case, the Supreme court held that the backwardness of a community cannot be determined exclusively with reference to economic criteria. Backwardness is determined on the basis of ‘social condition’. Educational and economic backwardness can be used as a tool to determine social backwardness.

• Right to equality (Articles 14– 18) includes the
following:
• Equality before law and equal protection of laws
(Article 14).
• Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15).
• Equality of opportunity in matters of public
employment (Article 16).
• Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its
practice (Article 17).
• Abolition of titles except military and academic
(Article 18).

Article 16 states that “no citizen shall, on grounds only ofreligion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under the State”. The provision is supplemented by the other clauses in the Constitution that guarantee equality. However, Article 16(3) of the Constitution provides an exception by saying that Parliament may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state. This power vests solely in the Parliament, not state legislatures.

In 2002, the Supreme Court invalidated appointment of government teachers in Rajasthan in which the state selection board gave preference to “applicants belonging to the district or the rural areas of the district concerned”.

In 2019, the Allahabad High Court struck down a recruitment notification by the UP-Subordinate Service Selection Commission which prescribed preference for women who are “original residents” of the UP alone.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 16 – Right to equal opportunity is available only in case of public employment and not private employment. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any offi ce under the State. However, the Supreme Court has said that the right to reservation is not a fundamental right.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Right to assemble peacefully is provided under Article 19. It is available against state action only (and not against private individual action). These six rights are protected against only state action and not private individuals. Moreover, these rights are available only to the citizens and to shareholders of a company but not to foreigners or legal persons like companies or corporations, etc.

Statement 1 is correct. The President of India has the power to specify any caste or tribe as Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe respectively under Article 341(1).

The President issues the notifi cation for specifying any caste as Scheduled caste after consulting the Governor of the state concerned. The President have issued several orders specifying the SCs and STs in different states and union territories and these have also been amended by the Parliament.

The Constitution does not specify the castes or tribes which are to be called the SCs or the STs. It leaves to the President the power to specify as to what castes or tribes in each state and union territory are to be treated as the SCs and STs.

Statement 2 is correct. Under Article 341(2), the Parliament of India by law can include or exclude the above-mentioned groups from the list of the Scheduled Castes. Any inclusion or exclusion of any caste or tribe from Presidential notification can be done only by the Parliament and not by a subsequent Presidential notification.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The term ‘untouchability’ has not been defi ned either in the Constitution or in the Act. Statement 2 is correct. In 1976, the Untouchability (Off ences) Act, 1955 was comprehensively amended and renamed as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 to enlarge the scope and make penal provisions more stringent.

Statement 3 is correct. The Supreme Court has held that the right under Article 17 is available against private individuals and it is the constitutional obligation of the State to take necessary action to ensure that this right is not violated.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Freedom of speech is a qualified right. Qualified right is where the state can lawfully interfere under certain circumstances as laid down in the constitution or as the need maybe.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Abolition of untouchability is an absolute right. Absolute rights are rights which cannot be limited in any way. An absolute right is a legally enforceable right; a right to act or refuse to act that is at the sole discretion of the person possessing the right.

Article 18 abolishes titles and makes four provisions in that regard:

(a) Statement 1 is incorrect. It prohibits the state from conferring any title (except a military or academic distinction) on anybody, whether a citizen or a foreigner.

(b) It prohibits a citizen of India from accepting any title from any foreign state.

(c) A foreigner holding any office of profit or trust under the state cannot accept any title from any foreign state without the consent of the president.

(d) No citizen or foreigner holding any office of profit or trust under the State is to accept any present, emolument or office from or under any foreign State without the consent of the president.

Statement 2 is correct. In 1996, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the National Awards— Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. It ruled that these awards do not amount to ‘titles’ within the meaning of Article 18 that prohibits only hereditary titles of nobility.

Statement 1 is incorrect: In Balaji Raghavan vs Union of India case, the supreme court of India held that ‘the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards cannot be categorized under Article 18(1) as they are not titles but merely an honorary award’,

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Padma Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members. The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.

Statement 3 is correct. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self nomination can be made. The government allows common citizens to submit nominations for Padma Awards. The nominations, when invited, can be submitted online on the official Padma Awards website, padmaawards.gov.in.

Statement 4 is incorrect. All persons without distinction ofrace, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards

Statement 1 is correct. The Constitution of India allows prescribing residence as a requirement for jobs in a particular state. Article 16 (3) of the Constitution of India provides an exception by saying that Parliament may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state. However, this power vests solely in the Parliament, and not state legislatures.

Statement 2 is correct. Article 16 of the Constitution of India provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in public employment only. Article 16 (1) states that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State. Further, Article 16 (2) says that, no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under the State.

Statement a is correct. The Right to form association under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India not only includes the right to start an association or union but also to continue with the association or union as such. Further, it covers the negative right of not to form or join an association or union. Statement b is correct. Reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the exercise of this right by the State on the grounds of sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and morality. Statement c is incorrect. The right to obtain recognition of the association is not a fundamental right. So, it is not part of right to form association which is a Fundamental right.

Statement d is correct. Article 19(1) (c) states that all citizens have the right to form associations or unions or cooperative societies. It is applicable to Indian citizens only and not to foreigners.

Option a is incorrect. The freedom to travel abroad has been adjudged by the Supreme Court to be a part of Right to Life and Liberty under Article 21 (and not article 19) in the Maneka Gandhi v/s Union of India case, 1978. The right to move freely within the Indian territory is protected under Article 19.

Option b is incorrect. The freedom to freely conduct trade and commerce throughout the territory of India has been protected under Article 301 and not Article 19. Article 301 says that no state can frame laws/ rules that disadvantage trade and commerce of a trader from 1 part of India with respect to traders of that state.

Option c is correct. Article 19(1)(g) protects the right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

At the same time, the State can make any law relating to, 1. the professional or technical qualifi cations necessary for practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business, or

2. the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise

Option d is incorrect. The protection of citizens against Forced labour and its forms like Begari has been provided by the constitution under Article 23 (Prohibition of Traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour) and not Article 19.

Statement a is correct: The safeguards provided for a person under punitive detention under Article 22 are not available to enemy aliens. For persons under punitive detention, following rights are conferred –

1. Right to be informed of the grounds of arrest.

2. Right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner.

3. Right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, excluding the journey time.

Statement b is correct: The Parliament has exclusive authority to make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with defence, foreign aff airs and the security of India. Both the Parliament as well as the state legislatures can concurrently make a law of preventive detention for reasons connected with the security of a state, the maintenance of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community.

Statement c is incorrect: A person arrested under a preventive detention law does not have a right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. That right is available only to persons arrested or detained under a punitive detention law. Statement d is correct: As per Article 22, the preventive detention of a person cannot exceed three months unless advisory board reports suffi cient cause for extended detention. The board is to consist of judges of a high court. Knowledge Base: Arrest and detention under fi rst part of Article 22 do not cover civil arrests.

In a significant ruling in January, 2020, the Supreme Court had said that access to the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution. The bench said that access to Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution, subject to some restrictions. It said that, magistrates, while passing prohibitory orders, should apply their mind and follow doctrine of proportionality. It also clarified that Section 144 CrPC (prohibitory orders) cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion.

Statement 1 is correct. The Right to be Forgotten emerges from the right to privacy under Article 21.

Statement 2 is correct. The right to be forgotten means that individuals have a right under certain circumstances to force search engines to remove information about them from the past.

Statement 3 is incorrect. India currently does not have a data protection law. A proposed bill named The Personal Data Protection Bill has provision related to the “Rights of Data Principal” that mentions the “Right to be Forgotten.” It states that the “data principal” (the person to whom the data is related) shall have the right to restrict or prevent the continuing disclosure of his personal data by a data fi duciary”.

Knowledge Base:In 2017, the Right to Privacy was declared a fundamental right by the Supreme Court in its Puttuswamy verdict. The court said at the time that the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.

The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019 and it aims to set out provisions meant for the protection of the personal data of individuals.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act does not contain provision for preventive detention of any individual.

The stated purpose of the National Security Act of 1980 is “to provide for preventive detention in certain cases and for matters connected therewith”.

Statement 2 is correct. The amendments to the existing Act redefine “Who may commit terrorism “, establishing that under the Act, the Centre may designate an organization as a terrorist organization if it commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes terrorism, or is otherwise involved in terrorism. The Act also additionally empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Under UAPA, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged. The offenders will be charged in the same manner whether the act is performed in a foreign land, outside India.

Statement 4 is incorrect. The Act also paves the way for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to seize property as part of investigations into terror cases. Also, while the existing Act provides for investigation of cases to be conducted by offi cers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or above. The amended Act now additionally empowers the officers of the NIA to investigate cases — of the rank of Inspector or above.

Statement 1 is correct. Right to Protest is a constitutional right enshrined in Article 19(1) (a), Article 19(1) (b) and Article 19(1) (c) of the Indian Constitution. Supreme Court in its recent order in the farm laws protest in Delhi also stated that farmers have a constitutional right to continue with their protest.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Like other fundamental rights, right to protest is also not absolute and also subject to reasonable restrictions mentioned under Article 19(2) and 19(3) on the following grounds;

1. In the interests of the sovereignty & integrity of India,

2. The security of the State, 3. Friendly relations with foreign States,

4. Violation of Public order,

5. Decency or morality or in relation to Contempt of court, defamation or incitement of an offence

The grounds of restrictions based on Violation of public order can be reasonable only when there is evidence that protesters will incite lawless or disorderly acts and that such acts are likely to occur.

Statement 3 is correct. In the Shaheen Bagh judgement, Supreme Court (SC) upheld the right to peaceful protest against the law but also cleared that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied and that too indefi nitely.

Knowledge Base: Article 19 provides the right to assemble peacefully without arms limited to reasonable restrictions.

Option a is incorrect. Right to be Forgotten also includes the right to take down a court order. In its order in the Jorawer Singh Mundy case 2021, the Delhi HC also noted that where a court order is demanded to be taken down, the court will be required to examine the right to privacy of the petitioner on one hand, and the right to information of the public and maintenance of transparency in judicial records on the other hand.

Option b is incorrect. There is no law in India that at present recognize and provides for the right to be forgotten. However, the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 recognised this right. Section 20 of the Bill gave an individual the right to restrict or prevent the continuing disclosure of their personal data when such data (1) has served the purpose for which it was collected, or is no longer necessary for said purpose; (2) was made with the consent of individual, which consent has since been withdrawn; or (3) was made contrary to the PDP Bill or any law in force. However, the provision made this right enforceable only on an order passed by the adjudicating offi cer appointed under the Bill.

Option c is incorrect. The right to be forgotten has been recognised as a statutory right in the European Union (not USA) under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and has been upheld by a number of courts in the United Kingdom, and in Europe.

Option d is correct. The right to be forgotten and the right to be left alone are “inherent aspects” of the right to privacy as per a Delhi HC judgement of 2019. Knowledge Base: The ‘right to be forgotten’ is the right to have publicly available personal information removed from the internet, search, databases, websites or any other public platforms, once the personal information in question is no longer necessary, or relevant.

Statement 1 is correct. The enactment of an ex-postfacto law (one that imposes penalties retrospectively) is prohibited under Article 20. However, this limitation is imposed only on criminal laws and not on civil laws or tax laws. In other words, a civil liability or a tax can be imposed retrospectively.

Statement 2 is correct. The protection against double jeopardy is available only in proceedings before a court of law or a judicial tribunal. In other words, it is not available in proceedings before departmental or administrative authorities as they are not of judicial nature.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The protection against selfincrimination extends only to criminal proceedings and not to civil proceedings and proceedings which are not of criminal nature.

The Supreme Court has held that failure on the part of government hospitals to provide timely medical treatment to a person in need of treatment results in violation of fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 (right to life). It is the obligation of the state to ensure the creation of congenial conditions for good health.

Option a is incorrect. Sedition law was originally drafted in 1837 by Thomas Macaulay, but was inexplicably omitted when the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was enacted in 1860. It was later added in 1870 under Section 124A by an amendment introduced by Sir James Stephen.

Option b is correct. Section 124A of the IPC defines sedition as an offence committed when “any person by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India”. Disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity. However, comments without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, will not constitute an off ence under this section.

Option c is correct. Sedition is a non-bailable offence under the Section 124A. Punishment ranges from imprisonment up to three years to a life term, to which fine may be added.

Option d is correct. A person charged under this law is barred from a government job. They have to live without their passport and must produce themselves in the court at all times as and when required.

Statement 1 is correct. Recently, the Supreme court said that the right to health is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Right to health includes aff ordable treatment. The Bench said the State and local authorities should either make more provisions for affordable treatment in their hospitals or there shall be cap on the fees charged by the private hospitals in exercise of the powers under the Disaster Management Act

Statement 2 is correct. The imposition of president’s rule or State emergency does not affect citizen’s Fundamental rights.

The Supreme court has held that speedy trial is an inalienable right under Article 21 of the constitution and hence no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty without the procedure of law and the procedure of law must be ‘fair’, ‘reasonable’, and ‘just’. Article 21 comes under the category of the right to freedom.

Article 22 (2) provides that: Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest. However, this provision is applicable for punitive detention and not preventive detention.

Option b is correct. Article 22 authorizes the Parliament to prescribe the maximum period for which a person can be detained in any classes of cases under a preventive detention law.

Option c is correct. The Parliament as well as the state legislatures have authority to make a law on preventive detention for reasons connected with the security of a state, the maintenance of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community.

Option d is correct. Protection under a preventive detention law, under Article 22, is available to both citizens as well as foreigners. It states that the grounds of detention should be communicated to the detenu. However, the facts considered to be against the public interest need not be disclosed. The detenu should also be afforded an opportunity to make representation against the detention order.

Statement 1 is incorrect. This act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of India, the relations of India with foreign countries, the maintenance of public order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Under the act, the maximum period of detention is 12 months. Th e order can be made by the District Magistrate or a Commissioner of Police under their respective jurisdictions, but the detention should be reported to the State Government along with the grounds on which the order has been made. No such order shall remain in force for more than twelve days unless approved by the State Government.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The NSA, 1980 provides that ‘the Central Government or the State Government can prevent a person from acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India, and for this purpose the appropriate authority can detain such person.’ The act explicitly mentions that ‘person’ includes foreigner.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Section 144 CrPC empowers a district magistrate to issue orders to prevent and address urgent cases of apprehended danger or nuisance. An order passed under this can remain in force for more than one month. However, any order passed under Section 144 cannot remain in force for more than two months from the date of the order, unless the state government considers it necessary. Even then, the total period cannot extend to more than six months.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Section 144 of the CrPC. However, the court held that the restrictions under sec 144 of the CrPC cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression and are subject to judicial scrutiny.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules under the Telegraph Act, 1985 governs the suspension of Internet. According to these Rules only the Home Secretary of the Union or a state can pass an order to shut down the internet. The order must include the reasons for decision.

The fundamental right to freedom of conscience is protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. Freedom of conscience is inner freedom of an individual to mould his relation with God or Creatures in whatever way he desires. Article 25 also protects an individual’s right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. The Supreme Court in its various judgements has declared Right to privacy, right to health and right to speedy trial as part of Article 21.

Statement 1 is correct. The supreme court has held that the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of internet enjoys constitutional protection under article 19 (1). Statement 2 is incorrect. Kerala had become the first state in 2017 to declare access to Internet “a basic human right”.

After the Indian Independence, when the Constitution of India came into force on 26th January, 1950, the right to property was included as a ‘fundamental right’ under Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 in Part III, making it an enforceable right.

Parliament passed the Constitution 44th Amendment which made right to property an ordinary legal right and constitutional right under Article 300-A.

The Right against Exploitation is enshrined in Articles 23 and 24 of the Indian Constitution. Statement 1 is correct. Article 23 prohibits traffi c in human beings, begar (forced labour) and other similar forms of forced labour.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its practice is provided under the Right to Equality in Article 17.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29 and 30): Article 29 provides for the protection of language, script and culture of minorities. Article 30 provides for the right of minorities to establish and administer educational Institutions.

Statement 4 is correct. Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory, mine or other hazardous activities like construction work or railway. But it does not prohibit their employment in any harmless or innocent work.

Statement 1 is incorrect. As per Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967 bail cannot be granted to a suspect if the court is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges are prima facie true.

Statement 2 is correct. Due to section 43D(5), bail becomes extremely diffi cult to get under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967. Also, a supreme court judgement in Watali case has clarifi ed that the court considering bail should not examine the evidence too deeply, but must go by the prosecution version based on broad probabilities. This means that the onus is on the accused to show that the case is false but without inviting the court to evaluate the available evidence. Statement 3 is incorrect. Parliament has exclusive authority to make laws on preventive detention for reasons connected with defence, foreign aff airs and the security of India. The Constitution has divided the legislative power with regard to preventive detention between the Parliament and state Legislatures.

Knowledge Base: Under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967 both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged. It will be applicable to the off enders in the same manner, even if crime is committed on a foreign land, outside India.

Statement 1 is correct. A religious denomination is a subgroup within a larger religious organisation that follows a common faith, practice, has an identity and traditions. Article 26 talks about religious denomination and their rights.

The Supreme Court held that a religious denomination must satisfy three conditions:

(a) It should be a collection of individuals who have a system of beliefs (doctrines) which they regard as conducive to their spiritual well-being;

(b) It should have a common organisation; and

(c) It should be designated by a distinctive name.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The supreme court has held that “Devotees of Ayyappa do not constitute a separate religious denomination.”. The 5 judges bench observed that barring the entry of women, when they are in the menstruation age, to the Sabarimala temple was not an essential part of the religion. Denying Hindu women entry into the temple violated their fundamental right to practice religion.

Statement 3 is correct. In the legal framework, the doctrine of essentiality is a doctrine that has evolved to protect the religious practices that are essential or integral and does not violate any fundamental right.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Article 27 lays that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. But it does not prohibit levying of a fee as the purpose of a fee is for the secular administration of a religious denomination. Statement 2 is correct: Article 26 states that every religious denomination has the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Article 25 gives all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. All persons include foreigners as well.

Statement 1 is correct. Implying from Article 27, the State should not spend the public money collected by way of tax for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion. This provision prohibits the State from favouring, patronising and supporting one religion over the other. This means that the taxes can be used for the promotion or maintenance of all religions. Statement 2 is incorrect. Under Article 28, no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. Also, religious instructions are not completely prohibited in institutions receiving aid from the State. They are permitted on a voluntary basis. A person’s consent is needed in such cases.

Article 25 says that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion.

Option a is incorrect. Right to propagate under Article 25 does not include right to convert another person to one’s own religion. Forcible conversion impinge on the ‘freedom of conscience’ available to all the persons alike.

Option b is incorrect. Article 25 covers not only religious beliefs (doctrines) but also religious practices (rituals). Moreover, these rights are available to all persons— citizens as well as non-citizens.

Option c is incorrect. According to Article 26 and not Art 25, every religious denomination or any of its section shall have right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes. Article 25 guarantees rights of individuals while Article 26 protects collective freedom of religion.

Option d is correct. Article 25 covers not only religious beliefs (doctrines) but also religious practices (rituals). Knowledge Base: These rights under Art 25 are subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions relating to fundamental rights.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Presently the linguistic minorities are identifi ed on a state-wise basis thus determined by the state government whereas religious minorities are determined by the Central Government. Statement 2 is correct. Under Article 29, any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same. Supreme court held that the scope of this article is not restricted to minorities alone. This is because of the use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the article includes minorities as well as majority. Statement 3 is correct. The term minority is not defi ned in the Constitution of India. But National commission for minorities act, 1992 defi nes a minority as “a community notifi ed as such by the Central government.’’ Government of India has declared six religions namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhist and Parsis (Zoroastrian) and Jain as religious minorities in India.

Statement 1 is correct. Linguistic minorities have not been defi ned in the Constitution or by any statute. They get defi ned when their mother tongue diff ers from regional language of the area.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution of India (Article 350 A) provides that every state must provide primary education and not secondary education in mother tongue to children of linguistic minorities. Statement 3 is incorrect. Status of linguistic minorities are identifi ed by the state government /Union Territory on the basis of Census data.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 29 grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities. Statement 2 is incorrect. Article 30 grants all minorities (religious and linguistic) the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. But these institutions are not free from all government regulations. The general laws of the land relating to national interest, national security, social welfare, public order, morality, health, sanitation, taxation etc., applicable to all.

Option a is correct. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 abolished the right to property as a Fundamental Right by repealing Article 19(1) (f) and Article 31 from Part III. Instead, the Act inserted a new Article 300A in Part XII under the heading ‘Right to Property’. Thus, the right to property still remains a constitutional right, but it is not a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Option b is incorrect. The right to property protects private property against executive action but not against legislative action. It provides that no person shall be deprived of his property except by authority of law.

Option c is incorrect. In case of violation of the right, the aggrieved person cannot directly move the Supreme Court under Article 32 for its enforcement. He can move the High Court under Article 226.

Option d is incorrect. The right can be regulated i.e. curtailed, abridged or modified without constitutional amendment by an ordinary law of the Parliament. Also, there is no guaranteed right to compensation in case of acquisition or requisition of the private property by the state.

The right to property was deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978. It is made a legal right under Article 300-A in Part XII of the Constitution.

Statement 1 is correct. Only the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution can be enforced under Article 32 and not any other right like non-fundamental constitutional rights, statutory rights, and customary rights and so on. In other words, the Supreme Court, under Article 32, cannot determine a question that does not involve Fundamental Rights. Article 32 cannot be invoked simply to determine the constitutionality of an executive order or a legislation unless it directly infringes any of the fundamental rights. Statement 2 is correct. Parliament can empower any other court to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds. However, this can be done without prejudice to the above powers conferred on the Supreme Court. Any other court here does not include high courts because Article 226 has already conferred these powers on the high courts.

Statement 3 is incorrect. In case of the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is original but not exclusive. It is concurrent with the jurisdiction of the high court under Article 226. It vests original powers in the high court to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. It means when the Fundamental Rights of a citizen are violated, the aggrieved party has the option of moving either the high court or the Supreme Court directly.

Statement 1 is correct. Habeas Corpus is a Latin term which literally means ‘to have the body of ’. It is an order issued by the court to a person who has detained another person, to produce the body of the latter before it. The court then examines the cause and legality of detention. It would set the detained person free, if the detention is found to be illegal.

Statement 2 is correct. The writ of habeas corpus can be issued against both public authorities as well as private individuals.

Statement 3 is correct. The writ is not issued where the: detention is lawful the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature or a court detention is by a competent court detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court

Statement 4 is incorrect. Supreme Court and High Courts can issue the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto. Only in the case of Quo-warranto, it can be sought by any interested party and not necessarily by the aggrieved person. In case of Habeas Corpus, it can be sought by aggrieved person or his family or his friends and not by any interested party.

The supreme court, and High courts have power to issue writs in the nature of habeas corpus, quo warranto , mandamus , certiorari ,prohibition etc., under Arts. 32 and 226 respectively.

Statement 1 is correct. The Supreme Court can issue writs only for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights and not for other purposes. The high court, on the other hand, can issue writs not only for the enforcement of the fundamental rights but also for other purposes.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The concept of writs has been borrowed from English Law, where these laws were known as ‘Prerogative writs.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Article 35 lays down that the power to make laws, to give eff ect to certain specifi ed fundamental rights shall vest only in the Parliament and not in the state legislatures. This provision ensures that there is uniformity throughout India with regard to the nature of those fundamental rights and punishment for their infringement.

Statement 2 is correct. A person can move the High Court by an ordinary suit or under Article 226 (writ jurisdiction of high court) in case of violation of rights Outside Part III of the constitution.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory, mine or other hazardous activities like construction work or railway. But it does not prohibit their employment in any harmless or innocent work.

Pair 1 is correctly matched. Mandamus is a command issued by the court to a public official asking him to perform his official duties that he has failed or refused to perform. It can also be issued against any public body, a corporation, an inferior court, a tribunal or government for the same purpose. It cannot be issued to enforce departmental instruction that does not possess statutory force.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched. Prohibition is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal to prevent the latter from exceeding its jurisdiction or usurping a jurisdiction that it does not possess. The writ of prohibition can be issued only against judicial and quasi-judicial authorities.

Pair 3 is correctly matched. Certiorari is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal either to transfer a case pending with the latter to itself or to squash the order of the latter in a case. It is issued on the grounds of excess of jurisdiction or lack of jurisdiction or error of law.

Pair 4 is correctly matched. Quo Warranto is issued by the court to enquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office. Hence, it prevents illegal usurpation of public office by a person.

Statement 1 is correct. There is no specific or express provision in the Constitution that authorizes the executive to declare martial law. It is implicit in Article 34 under which martial law can be declared in any area within the territory of India.

Statement 2 is correct. Article 34 empowers the Parliament to indemnify any government servant or any other person for any act done by him in connection with the maintenance or restoration of order in any area where martial law was in force. The Act of Indemnity made by the Parliament cannot be challenged in any court on the ground of contravention of any of the fundamental rights.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Martial law affects only Fundamental Rights. Unlike national emergency, it does not affect Centre-state relations, distribution of revenues and legislative powers between centre and states, and the tenure of the Parliament.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 35 of the Constitution states that the legislature of a state shall not have powers to make laws for prescribing punishment for those acts that are declared to be off ences under the fundamental rights. These include untouchability (Article 17) and traffic in human beings and forced labour (Article 23). This provision ensures that there is uniformity throughout India with regard to the nature of those fundamental rights and punishment for their infringement.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Article 35 also extends the competence of the Parliament to make a law on the matters of Fundamental Rights, even though some of those matters may fall within the sphere of the state legislatures (i.e., State List).

Fundamental Rights can be suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restricted the scope of Article 359 in two ways. Firstly, the President cannot suspend the right to move the Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 to 21. Secondly, only those laws or associated executive action which are related with the emergency are protected from being challenged in a court of law.

The natural justice mainly focuses on the following:

1) An opportunity for fair hearing

2) One cannot be a judge in his own cause

3) The decision-making authority must act unbiased Although the Constitution of India does not mention the term ‘Natural Justice’ anywhere, its principles are applied in various parts:

a. According to Article 14 any violation of natural justice is equivalent to violation of equality. b. The introduction of due process by the Supreme Court under the Article 21 of the Constitution has brought the principles of natural justice into Article 21.

Statement 1 is correct: Fundamental Rights are not absolute but qualifi ed. The state can impose reasonable restrictions on them. However, whether such restrictions are reasonable or not is to be decided by the courts. Thus, they strike a balance between the rights of the individual and those of the society as a whole, between individual liberty and social control.

Statement 2 is correct: Fundamental Rights are defended and guaranteed by the Supreme Court. Hence, the aggrieved person can directly go to the Supreme court, not necessarily by way of appeal against the judgment of the high courts.

Statement 3 is correct: Most of the fundamental rights are directly enforceable (self-executory) while a few of them can be enforced on the basis of a law made for giving effect to them. Such a law can be made only by the Parliament and not by state legislatures so that uniformity throughout the country is maintained (Article 35).

Statement 4 is incorrect: Their application to the members of armed forces, para-military forces, police forces, intelligence agencies and analogous services can be restricted or abrogated by the Parliament (Article 33).

The Concept of rule of law came from England, it means one law which is supreme will apply to all, equality before law ensures ‘rule of law’. This was propounded by A.V. Dicey, the British jurist. Statement a is correct: As ‘Absence of arbitrary power’ is the fi rst aspect of ‘Rule of law’, under this no man can be punished except for a breach of law.

Statement b is correct: ‘Equality before the law’ is also part of Indian concept of ‘rule of law’. It calls for equal subjection of all citizens to the ordinary law of the land administered by the ordinary law courts.

Statement c is incorrect: The third aspect of ‘Rule of Law’ as per A.V. Dicey was the primacy of the rights of the individual, that is, the constitution is the result of the rights of the individual as defi ned and enforced by the courts of the law. But this aspect of ‘rule of law’ is not applicable to Indian System as in India individual rights are not source of the constitution rather the constitutions is the source of individual rights. In India the constitution is the supreme authority. Statement d is correct: The supreme court held that the ‘Rule of law’ as embodies in article 14 is a ‘basic feature’ of the constitution under the broad concept of ‘Basic structure’ doctrine. Knowledge Base: ‘Rule of law’ means ‘Lex supremus’, law is supreme and absolute. It is the concept of ‘Rule of law’ which has changed the administrative philosophy of believing in Rex Lex to Lex Rex that is from ‘King is law’ to ‘law is king’.

Statement 1 is correct: Governor of states enjoy some of
immunities from the rule of equality before law. Some of
these immunities are

1. He is not answerable to any court for the exercise and
performance of the powers and duties of his office.
2. No criminal proceeding shall be instituted or
continued against him during his term of office.
3. No process for arrest or imprisonment of him from
any court during his term of office,
4. No civil proceedings shall be instituted during his
term of office in any court in respect of any act done
by him in his personal capacity, whether before or
after he entered upon his office, until the expiration
of two months next after notice has been delivered
to him
Statement 2 is correct: The foreign sovereigns (rulers),
ambassadors and diplomates enjoy immunity from
criminal and civil proceeding.
Statement 3 is correct: The UNO and its agencies enjoy
the diplomatic immunity.
Statement 4 is incorrect: International NGO members
do not enjoy immunity under right to equality.
Knowledge Base:
Members of parliament and state legislature also enjoy
immunity from anything said or any vote given by him
in parliament/ state legislature or any committee thereof.

Article 15 provides that state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The use of word ‘only’ here means that discrimination on other grounds is not prohibited. However, when these conditions are accompanied by some other conditions then state can discriminate. For example, only on basis of caste, state cannot provide discriminatory reservation policy but caste backwardness can become eligible ground for the enactment of discriminatory legislation by the state.

The state is permitted to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Source: Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth 5th edition – chapter 7 – Fundamental rights

Option a is incorrect: In 1995, the Supreme Court, in Balwant Singh v State of Punjab, held that mere sloganeering which evoked no public response did not amount to sedition.

Option b is correct: In the landmark 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the sedition law, it attempted to restrict its scope for misuse. The court held that unless accompanied by an incitement or call for violence, criticism of the government cannot be labelled sedition. Further, seven principles in the Kedar Nath Singh ruling specify situations in which the charge of sedition cannot be applied.

Option c is incorrect: Verdict in Kesavananda Bharati case was delivered on 24th April 1973 by a thin majority of 7:6 wherein the majority held that any provision of the Indian Constitution can be amended by the Parliament,provided that such amendment did not change the Constitution’s basic structure. Thus, concept of ‘basic structure’ came because of this verdict.

Option d is incorrect: In I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu, a nine-member bench of Supreme Court held that ninth schedule items are not immune to judicial review as it is part of the constitution. Knowledge Base: Sedition, which falls under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, is defined as any action that brings or attempts to bring hatred or contempt towards the government of India. This was inserted into the Section 124A of IPC in 1870, by the British.

Statement 1 is correct: Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes is referred to as vertical reservation. It applies separately for each of the groups specifi ed under the law.

Statement 2 is correct: Horizontal reservation refers to the equal opportunity provided to other categories of benefi ciaries such as women, veterans, the transgender community, and individuals with disabilities, cutting through the vertical categories.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Article 16(4) of the Constitution contemplates vertical reservation while Article 15 (3) of the Constitution contemplates horizontal reservation.

Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution provides the State and Central Governments to reserve seats in government services for the members of the SC and ST.

Article 15(3) makes it possible for the state to create special provisions for protecting the interests of women and children. Knowledge Base: Recently, supreme court ruled that if a person belonging to an intersection of vertical-horizontal reserved category had secured scores high enough to qualify without the vertical reservation, the person would be counted as qualifying without the vertical reservation, and cannot be excluded from the horizontal quota in the general category.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Right to equality under Article 14 says that the state shall not deny to any person equality before law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Thus, this right is available only against the state but not the private individuals.

Statement 2 is correct: The supreme court held that the right under Article 17 is available against private individuals also and it is the constitutional obligation of the state to take necessary action to ensure that this right is not violated.

Statement 3 is correct: Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings, beggar (forced labour) and other similar forms of forced labour. It protects the individual not only against the state but also against private persons.

Statement 4 is correct: Article 15 prohibits the state and individuals both from discriminating any citizen only on the ground of religion, race, sex, place of birth or any of them in having access to public places such as parks, clubs, wells, tanks or roads maintained out of the state’s funds.

Knowledge Base: Article 15, 17, 23 and 24 are available against private individuals/corporations and state while rest other rights are available against only state.

Statement 1 is correct: Under Article 17, Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The term ‘untouchability’ has not been defined either in the constitution nor in the protection civil rights act, 1955. However, Supreme court has defined it as a social practice among Hindu’s when a person solely on the basis of his/her birth looked down upon and discriminated wrongly.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The constitution does not provide the prescription of the punishment rather the Protection of Civil rights act, 1955 prescribes punishment for the practice of ‘untouchability’.

Knowledge Base: Representation of people’s act 1951 also prescribes practice of ‘untouchability’ as a ground for the disqualification of a person from the election to the parliament or state legislature.

The 25th Constitutional Amendment Act introduced a new article 31C which provides that if any law is passed to give effect to the Directive Principles contained in clauses (b) and (c) of article 39 and contains a declaration to that effect, such law shall not be deemed to be void on the ground that it takes away or abridges any of the rights contained in article 14, 19 or 31 and shall not be questioned on the ground that it does not give effect to those principles. Article 31 was nullifi ed by the 44th amendment act.

Statement a is incorrect: Article 19(2) imposes reasonable restrictions on the basis of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an off ence.

tatement b is incorrect: In determining the reasonableness of statute, the court should see both to the nature of the restriction and procedure prescribed by the statue for enforcing the restrictions on the individual freedom. Not only substantive but also procedural provisions of a statute also enter into the verdict of its reasonableness.

Statement c is incorrect: The reasonableness of a restriction has to be determined in an objective manner and from the standpoint of the interests of the genera public and not from the point of view of persons upon whom the restrictions are imposed or upon abstract considerations.

Statement d is correct: Every citizen has the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of the country. The State can impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of freedom of residence on two grounds- (a) the interests of the general public and (b) the protection of interests of any scheduled tribes.

Statement 1 is incorrect: For a group to be termed as a ‘Religious Denomination’ for the purposes of Article 26 of the Constitution, following 3 conditions have to be satisfi ed:

• it should be a collection of individuals with common set of spiritual/ religious beliefs (doctrines)

• it should have a common organisational structure

• it should be designated by a distinctive name.

All 3 must be fulfi lled. Statement 2 is correct: There are only 3 ‘reasonable restrictions’ to the collective religious freedom rights provided under Article 26, as mentioned in the constitution: • public order

• morality (scope vis a vis Article 25 currently under consideration)

• health

Other provisions related to fundamental rights are a restriction on rights guaranteed under Article 25, not Article 26.

Statement 3 is correct: The freedom to manage religious aff airs is provided by Article 26. This Article gives the right to every religious denomination, or any section thereof, to exercise the rights that it stipulates. However, this right has to be exercised in a manner that is in conformity with public order, morality, and health. Clause (a) of Article 26 gives a religious denomination the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes.

Option 1 is incorrect: Since the State is secular in its beliefs and actions, following the philosophy of the Constitution, educational institutions wholly maintained by the State too can’t endorse any sort of religious instruction (neither of all religions, nor of any particular religion).

Option 2 is correct: Since educational institutions administered by the State but established by some endowment or trust are to be run according to the instructions and wishes of the said endowment/ trust. So religious instruction according to the prescription of the sponsoring endowment/ trust is allowed freely. It helps balance the secular rights of citizens against compulsory religious instructions (Art 28) with cultural rights (Art 29, Art 30).

Option 3 is correct: In educational institutions recognized by the State, religious instructions are allowed, but on a voluntary basis. (As there is more State control, there is a leaning towards more secular instruction).

Option 4 correct: In educational institutions receiving aid from the State, religious instruction is allowed on a voluntary basis. Parents give permission or withhold it on behalf of their children, as to whether they want them to participate in religious instruction/ prayers or not.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 33 empowers the Parliament to restrict or abrogate the fundamental rights of the members of armed forces, para-military forces, police forces, intelligence agencies and analogous forces. The expression ‘members of the armed forces’ also covers such employees of the armed forces as barbers, carpenters, mechanics, cooks, chowkidars, bootmakers, tailors who are non-combatants.

Statement 2 is correct. The power to make laws under Article 33 is conferred only on Parliament and not on state legislatures. Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Army Act (1950), the Navy Act (1950), the Air Force Act (1950), the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966, the Border Security Force Act and so on. Statement 3 is correct. Any law made by Parliament under Article 33 cannot be challenged in any court on the ground of contravention of any of the fundamental rights. A parliamentary law can also exclude the court martial from the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts, so far as the enforcement of Fundamental Rights is concerned.

Overweight male cabin crew are allowed to get promotion in the national airlines but their women colleagues who gain weight are penalised. In the above situation, the Fundamental Right under Article 16 of the Constitution of India is violated. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any offi ce under the State. No citizen can be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment or offi ce under the State on grounds of only religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth or residence. In this case the person is being discriminated based on her sex only.

The harm principle says that people should be free to act as they wish unless their actions cause harm to somebody else.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Harm Principle means that there should be a constrain on a person from acting in a way that may cause harm to other. It was first proposed by English philosopher John Stuart Mill. It means people should be free to act in the way they want, however their actions should not cause harm to somebody else. Phrase “Your freedom to swing your fist ends where my nose begins” reflects the sentiment of the harm principle.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Right to Freedom (and not right to Protection of Life) is the refl ection of the harm principle. Also, in the constitutional discussions in India, ‘Reasonable Restrictions’ is the term used for justifiable constraints on the freedom of individuals. For example, State can impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of right of assembly on two grounds, namely, sovereignty and integrity of India and public order including the maintenance of traffic in the area concerned.

Statement 1 is correct: – Article 29 in the Constitution of
India provides for the Protection of interests of minorities.
Article 29 provides that any section of the citizens
residing in any part of India having a distinct language,
script or culture of its own, shall have the right to
conserve the same.

Statement 2 is correct: – No citizen shall be denied
admission into any educational institution maintained by
the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds
only of religion, race, caste, or language (Article 29).

Statement 3 is correct: – Cultural and Educational Rights
safeguards the rights of linguistic, cultural, and religious
minorities. Articles 29 and 30 deals with the cultural and
educational rights of Indian citizens. Fundamental Rights
under Article 15, 16, 19, 21, Article 29 and Article 30 are
available only to Citizens of India and not to foreigners.

Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32) provides the right to remedies for the enforcement of fundamental rights. This makes the fundamental rights real. A mere declaration of fundamental rights in the Constitution is meaningless, useless and worthless without provisions of enforcement, in case of violation. That is why Dr. Ambedkar called Article 32 as the most important article of the Constitution– ‘an Article without which this constitution would be a nullity. It is the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it’

Statement 1 is incorrect. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 16 December 1966 and it came into force from 3 January 1976.

Statement 2 is correct. India ratified the treaty on 10 April 1979.

Statement 3 is correct. ICESCR (and its Optional Protocol), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are part of International Bill of Human Rights.

Knowledge Base: The ICESCR aims to ensure the protection of economic, social and cultural rights. It aims to ensure:

• the right to self-determination of all peoples (article 1);

• the right to non-discrimination based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status (article2);

• the equal right of men and women to enjoy the rights in the ICESCR (article 3);

• the right to work (articles 6–7); • the right to form and join trade unions (article 8); • the right to social security (article 9);

• protection and assistance to the family (article 10);

• the right to an adequate standard of living (article 11);

• the right to health (article 12);

• the right to education (articles 13–14);

• and the right to cultural freedoms (article 15)

The following Fundamental rights are being violated in the above instance –

Article 17 within Right to Equality abolish any form of Untouchability, so in this case discouraging children of caste groups associated with scavenging from pursuing education is a form of untouchability.

Article 19 (f) within Right to Freedom i.e., it provides for the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, but in this case, the people were being forced to their former job and they were denied other jobs which is their right to practice any profession they want.

Article 24 within Right to Exploitation also prohibits the employment of children below 14 years of age in hazardous factories. In this case nothing is being done to prohibit the employment of children in these factories and by discouraging them to pursue education, these children have no option to work in these hazardous activities of scavenging. So, this right is also being violated.

Not Article 30 as it is related to minorities, but Article 29 of Cultural and Educational right is being violated as according to this right no children can be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds.

The Indian Constitution does not recognize property right as a Fundamental Right. In the year 1977, with the enactment of the 44th amendment the right to acquire, hold, and dispose of property as a Fundamental Right. However, in another part of constitution, Article 300(A) was inserted to affirm that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. The result is that the right to property as a fundamental right is now substituted as a statutory right.

Statement a is incorrect: – An individual is provided a number of rights. However, not all of them could be called as Fundamental Rights. The Constitution listed some of the very essential rights that would be specially protected and called them ‘Fundamental Rights. There may be other ordinary legal rights e.g. right to property, right to vote.

Statement b is incorrect: – Fundamental Rights are different from other rights available to us. While ordinary legal rights are protected and enforced by ordinary law. However, fundamental rights are protected and guaranteed by the constitution.

Statement c correct: – The word fundamental suggests that these rights are so important that the Constitution has separately listed them and made special provisions for their protection. The Fundamental Rights are so important that the Constitution itself ensures that they are not violated by the government. Fundamental Rights are protected and guaranteed by the constitution of the country.

Statement d is incorrect: – Fundamental Rights are not absolute but qualified or subjected to reasonable restrictions. They can be suspended during the operation of a National Emergency except the rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21. They are not sacrosanct or permanent. The Parliament can curtail or repeal them but only by a constitutional amendment act and not by an ordinary act. Moreover, this can be done without aff ecting the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. However, whether such restrictions are reasonable or not is to be decided by the courts. Thus, they strike a balance between the rights of the individual and those of the society as a whole, between individual liberty and social control.

With regard to cultural and educational rights, Article 30 clearly provides that all the minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. In fact, in Judgement 2007 Malankara Syrian Catholic college case, Supreme Court specifi ed that these institutions can admit eligible students of their choice and to set up reasonable fee structure. They can also reserve seats for students of their community, but it nowhere mentions that it will only allow the children of those communities who have opened the educational institution. These cultural and educational rights either talk about any section has the right to preserve its culture or language, or the linguistic and religious minorities can establish educational institutions of their choice. This right does not mention any obligation on government schools to ensure the children of minority groups will be introduced to their belief and culture.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The freedom of religion is not an unlimited right, though it gives the right to profess, follow and propagate any religion of their choice. The government can impose restrictions on the practice of freedom of religion in order to protect public order, morality or health.

Statement 2 is correct. Yes, freedom of religion includes right to propagate religion which means propagation people to convert from one religion to other. But it does not mean forcible conversion. It involves the right to spread information about our religion and thus attracts others.

Statement 3 is incorrect. State –run institutions are not allowed to give religious instruction, they are not allowed to preach any religious education and nor they will favour persons of any religion. However religious instruction is permitted on a voluntary basis in the institutions recognised by the state and the institutions receiving aid from the state

Statement 1 is incorrect. In order to ensure equality of all religions, Government does not levy tax on the religious endowment. However, it levies fee, as levying a fee is not prohibited. Fee is used to control the secular administration and not to promote any religion.

Statement 2 is correct. Under fundamental right of right to equality, Article 16 clearly guarantees that the Government will not discriminate on the basis of religion in giving employment .

Statement 3 is incorrect. Freedom of religion is subject to certain limitations. The government can impose restrictions on the practice of freedom of religion in order to protect public order, morality and health. This means that the freedom of religion is not an unlimited right. The government can interfere in religious matters for rooting out certain social evils. For example, in the past, the government has taken steps banning practices like sati, bigamy or human sacrifice.

The term ‘Freedom’ means the absence of restraints on the activities of individuals, and at the same time, providing opportunities for the development of individual personalities.

Freedom or Liberty, as elaborated in the Preamble, is very essential for the successful functioning of the Indian democratic system. Absence of constraints is only one dimension of freedom. Freedom is also about expanding the ability of people to freely express themselves and develop their potential. Freedom in this sense is the condition in which people can develop their creativity and capabilities.

However, Freedom does not mean ‘license’ to do what one likes and has to be enjoyed within the limitations mentioned in the Constitution itself. In brief, the freedom conceived by the Preamble or fundamental rights is not absolute but qualified.

Any form of social living requires some rules and regulation. These rules may require some restraints to be imposed on the freedom of individuals but it is recognised that such constraints may also free us from insecurity and provide us with the conditions in which we can develop ourselves. In political theory much of the discussion regarding freedom has therefore focused on trying to evolve principles by which we can distinguish between socially necessary constraints and other restrictions. To understand which social constraints are necessary, discussions on freedom need to look at the core relationship between the individual and the society (or group, community, or state) within which she/he is placed.

Hence, in the above question, the most appropriate definition of Freedom is the condition in which people can develop their creativity and capabilities.

Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s behaviour or political views.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Negative liberty (and not positive liberty) is ‘freedom from’ constraints. Negative liberty is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints. One has negative liberty to the extent that actions are available to one in this negative sense.

‘Negative liberty’ seeks to defi ne and defend an area in which the individual would be inviolable. This is an area in which no external authority can interfere. It is a minimum area that is sacred and in which whatever the individual does, is not to be interfered with. Example: choice of what clothes to wear in diff erent situations

Statement 2 is incorrect. Positive liberty is the ‘freedom to’ achieve your goals and live life as you want. Positive liberty is the possibility of acting — or the fact of acting — in such a way as to take control of one’s life and realize one’s fundamental purposes. Positive liberty recognises that one can be free only in society (not outside it) and hence tries to make that society such that it enables the development of the individual whereas negative liberty is only concerned with the inviolable area of non-interference and not with the conditions in society. The main implication of this defi nition is that negative liberty implies a small government as there are less laws and constraints passed and positive liberty requires a large state which provides a welfare system and other means for people to be able to achieve their goals.

Universal adult franchise means that the right to vote should be given to all adult citizens without the discrimination of caste, class, colour, religion or sex.

Universal Adult Franchise is based on equality of rights which is a basic principle of democracy. It demands that the right to vote should be equally available among all. To deny any class of persons from exercising this right is to violate their right to equality. In fact, the spirit of democracy can be maintained only if the people are given the right to vote without any discrimination. The exercise of right to vote adds to the individual’s self-respect, dignity, sense of responsibility, and political and civic education. In other words, the system of adult franchise is the bedrock of a democratic system. People are called political sovereign because they possess the right to vote a government into power, or to vote a government out of power. That is why democracy has sometimes been described as a mode of appointing, controlling and dismissing governments by the people. Right to vote is not a fundamental right in India.

Statement 1 is correct. To achieve equality, liberals say that let state intervene in providing minimum welfare to people. And when people have attained minimum standard of living, allow competition between them and everybody will then get wealth according to their hard work. So long as competition is there, inequalities will not be there in the system.

Karl Marx says the need is to have state or public control over the resources and property of the society.

Statement 2 is correct. Socialist believe that social, economic and political inequality are linked. For example, rich people having control over wealth leads to control over political system and this also makes them powerful in society. Unlike socialists, liberals do not believe that political, economic and social inequalities are necessarily linked. They maintain that inequalities in each of these spheres should be tackled appropriately. Thus, democracy could help to provide political equality but it might be necessary to also devise different strategies to deal with social differences and economic inequalities.

Justice involves the well-being of all people. There are the three principles of justice

a. equal treatment for equals.

b. proportionate justice

c. recognition of special needs

Pair 1 is correct. It is considered that all individuals share certain characteristics as human beings. Therefore, they deserve equal rights and equal treatment. Some of the important rights which are granted in most liberal democracies today include civil rights such as the rights of life, liberty and property, political rights like the right to vote, which enable people to participate in political processes, and certain social rights which would include the right to enjoy equal opportunities with other members of the society. Apart from equal rights, the principle of treating equals equally would require that people should not be discriminated against on grounds of class, caste, race or gender. They should be judged on the basis of their work and actions and not on the basis of the group to which they belong. Therefore, if a male and female employee perform the same kind of work, they should receive the same kind of reward.

Pair 2 is incorrect. Proportionate justice is the second principle of justice. it means rewarding people according to the scale and quality of eff ort. Although equality is an important principle but we cannot have equal treatment for all. How will you feel if you have worked so hard for your exams and you get the same marks as your friend who has slept and played during exams. You will feel this is injustice. So, justice has to be according to the merit. So, for justice in society, equal treatment needs to be balanced with proportionality. Therefore, the given example of Women Working at night requiring security arrangements for them does not best describes the proportionate justice principle.

Pair 3 is incorrect. Recognition of special needs is the third principle of justice. Everybody cannot be treated equally. there are people with special needs also. for example: handicaps. these people have disabilities and cannot be compared with others. These sections are not provided with the special advantages to a particular section but raise them to a level to compete with other sections of society on equal footing. So, physical disabilities, lack of education and health care are some factors which are considered grounds for special treatment. We need to recognise that if women work at night, then security issues arise and we need to take note of that rather than comparing them with male colleagues. Giving marks according to the eff orts made may be injustice to a person with special needs like a disabled person. In such circumstances to make him on equal footing with others extra time in writing exam or/ and reservation of posts are provided.

The term ‘State’ has been used in different provisions of the Constitution concerning the fundamental rights. Article 12 of the constitution has defined the term for the purposes of Part III i.e Fundamental rights. According to it, the State includes the following:

(a) Government and Parliament of India, that is, executive and legislative organs of the Union government.

(b) Government and legislature of states, that is, executive and legislative organs of state government.

(c) All local authorities that is, municipalities, panchayats, district boards, improvement trusts, etc.

(d) All other authorities, that is, statutory or non statutory authorities like LIC, ONGC, SAIL, etc.

Thus, State has been defi ned in a wider sense so as to include all its agencies. It is the actions of these agencies that can be challenged in the courts as violating the Fundamental Rights. According to the Supreme Court, even a private body or an agency working as an instrument of the State falls within the meaning of the ‘State’ under Article 12.

Article 19 guarantees to all citizens the six rights. These are:

(i) Right to freedom of speech and expression.

(ii) Right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

(iii) Right to form associations or unions or co-operative societies.

(iv) Right to move freely throughout the territory of India.

(v) Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.

(vi) Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

The State can impose ‘reasonable’ restrictions on the enjoyment of these six rights only on the grounds mentioned in the Article 19 itself and not on any other grounds.

Statement 1 is correct. Originally, Article 19 contained seven rights. But, the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property was deleted by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. These six fundamental rights are protected against only state action and not private individuals.

Statement 2 is incorrect. These rights are available only to the citizens and to shareholders of a company but not to foreigners or legal persons like companies or corporations, etc.

Statement 1 and 2 are incorrect. The difference between the procedure established by law and due process of law is that the due process of law gives wide scope to the Supreme Court to grant protection to the rights of its citizens. It can declare laws violative of these rights void not only on substantive grounds of being unlawful, but also on procedural grounds of being unreasonable.

Procedure Established by Law means that a law that is duly enacted by the legislature or the concerned body is valid if it has followed the correct procedure. Following this doctrine means that, a person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty according to the procedure established by law. Our Supreme Court, while determining the constitutionality of a law, however examines only the substantive question i.e., whether the law is within the powers of the authority concerned or not. It is not expected to go into the question of its reasonableness, suitability or policy implications”.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The scope of judicial review power of the Supreme Court in India is narrower than that of what exists in US. This is because the American Constitution provides for ‘due process of law’ against that of ‘procedure established by law’ contained in the Indian Constitution.

The Fundamental Rights are enshrined in Part III of the Indian Constitution from Articles 12 to 35. The Fundamental Rights are guaranteed by the Constitution to all persons without any discrimination. They uphold the equality of all individuals, the dignity of the individual, the larger public interest and unity of the nation.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Article 33 of the Constitution provides that Parliament (and not a state legislature) is empowered to restrict or abrogate the Fundamental Rights of the members of armed forces, members of forces charged with maintenance of public order, intelligence & counter-intelligence agencies, paramilitary forces, state police forces. For example, Police: non-gazetted personnel from the post of constable to Inspector are not allowed to form any kind of union or association under the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966.

The power to make laws under Article 33 is conferred only on Parliament and not on state legislatures.

Statement 2 is correct. Any law made to restrict the fundamental rights of members of armed forces cannot be challenged in any court on the ground of contravention of any of the Fundamental Rights.

Statement 1 is correct. The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 made elementary education a Fundamental Right under Article 21 A. Thus 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 made changes to Fundamental Right.

Statement 2 is correct. The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 changed the subject-matter of Article 45 and the amended directive principle requires the State to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years. Thus 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 made changes to Directive Principles of State Policy.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 made changes to the Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties and not to the Preamble.

The Preamble has been amended only once till date in 1976 by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act. It added three new terms, Socialist, Secular, and Integrity to the Preamble.

Statement a is incorrect. All Fundamental rights guarantee the rights of an individual against the state but not all are available against the action of private individuals. For example, the first provision of Article -15 that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth prohibits discrimination only by state and not by private individuals. While the second provision of not allowing citizens access to shops, public place on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth prohibits discrimination both by state and by private individuals. Article 19 are protected only against state and not against private individuals.

Statement b is incorrect. These rights are binding upon all the authority that has got power to make laws whether it be central government or state government or local government.

Statement c is incorrect. The role of guiding the Indian state to promote social and economic welfare is the function of DPSPs (Directive principles of state policy) and not of Fundamental rights.

Statement d is correct. Both the Supreme court under Article 32 and High courts under Article 226 can issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental rights. However, a person can go directly to Supreme court for his violation of fundamental rights. It is not necessary that he can go to Supreme court only by the way of appeal mechanism.

Option a is correct. Article 14 provides that the state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of laws within the territory of India. So, denying the promotion of women officers is against the rule of law as this article sees all person equal in the eye of law. Article 15 states that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. But denying the promotion on the basis of sex (women) is a violation of article 15. Article 16 states that no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent place of birth, residence or any of them be ineligible for or discriminated against in respect of any employment or office under the state. Thus, promotion if only provided to men and not to women is a clear violation of Article 16.

Right to undertake any profession- All citizens are given the right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. This right only covers all the means of earning one’s livelihood. It does not prohibit any discrimination in respect of any employment or offi ce under the state (this is dealt in Article 16).

Statement 1 is incorrect. The right conferred on minorities under Article 30 is only to ensure equality with the majority and not intended to place the minorities in a more advantageous position vis-a-vis the majority. There is no reverse discrimination in favour of minorities.

Statement 2 is correct. As per the second provision of Article 29 of India constitution, no citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or language. This feature is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as it is commonly assumed to be but extended to all citizens in the country

Affirmative action refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to increase the representation of backward groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, creed or nationality in areas in which they are underrepresented such as education and employment.

Affirmative actions in India can be categorized into 3 main dimensions, which are given below.

Appointment and promotion in government services. (Statement 1 is correct)

Reservations in public education institutions. (Statement 2 is correct)

Reservation of seats in Central and State legislatures.

The purpose of affirmative action is to establish fair access to employment opportunities to create a workforce that is an accurate reflection of the demographics of the qualified available workforce in the relevant job market.

Every child to get free education cannot be called as affirmative action, as it is provided to every child irrespective of his/her gender, race, sexuality, caste or nationality. It is an equality of opportunity. (Statement 3 is incorrect)

Statement 1 is correct: – Article 29 in the Constitution of India provides for the Protection of interests of minorities. Article 29 provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.

Statement 2 is correct: – No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or language (Article 29).

Statement 3 is correct: – Cultural and Educational Rights safeguards the rights of linguistic, cultural, and religious minorities. Articles 29 and 30 deals with the cultural and educational rights of Indian citizens. Fundamental Rights under Article 15, 16, 19, Article 29 and Article 30 are available only to Citizens of India and not to foreigners.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 16 of the constitution provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any offi ce under the State. Article 16(4) of the constitution explicitly clarifi es that a policy like reservation will not be seen as a violation of right to equality. The state is permitted to make reservation in favour of, any backward class, if they are not adequately represented.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The text of the Preamble of the Constitution of India explicitly provides for equality of status and equality of opportunity to all its citizens.

The Preamble –

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Statement 1 is incorrect. In AK Gopalan v/s State of Madras, Supreme court said that Preventive detention does not violate right to life and personal liberty if specifi c safeguards are provided. As Article 22 met all the procedural safeguards like not extending detention beyond 3 months unless advisory board provide suffi cient reports for this, informing the person the ground of detention, providing an opportunity of representation against the detention order etc. So, it does not violate Article 21.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The 44th Amendment act of 1978 has reduced the period of detention without obtaining the opinion of the advisory board from 3 months to 2 months. However, this provision has not yet been brought into force, hence, the original period of three months still continues.

Also, if an advisory board reports suffi cient cause for an extension, its 3-month period can also be extended.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Both the Parliament and state legislature have rights to make laws for preventive detention as the maintenance of law and order, security etc. come in the concurrent list. So, the Parliament has exclusive right to make laws for preventive detention only in cases related to defence, foreign aff airs and security of India. Both the Parliament and state legislature have rights to make laws for cases related to security of state, maintenance of public order and maintenance of supplies and essential services.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The 44th Amendment Act 1978 of the Constitution of India inserted a new article 300A titled as Right to Property which was made a Constitutional right under this article. Though Right to property is removed as a Fundamental Right but it is still present as a Constitutional right. Article 300A requires the state to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property. This article provides restrictions on the State that it cannot take anybody’s property without the force of law also interpreted can be deprived of the force of law. The word of law here means a validly enacted law which is just, fair, and reasonable. Statement 2 is incorrect. In 1978, 44th amendment Act to the constitution removed the right to property from the list of fundamental rights and converted to a simple legal right under article 300A. Necessary amendments for this purpose were made to article 19 and article 31. It would, however, be ensured that the removal of property from the list of fundamental rights would not aff ect the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Article 12 defi nes the term ‘State’ for the purpose of diff erent provisions concerning the fundamental rights.

Statement 1 is correct: The Supreme Court has held that the term ‘state’ is wide enough to include all authorities created by the Constitution or statute on whom powers are conferred by law. Thus, even a private body or an agency working as an instrument of the State falls within the meaning of the ‘State’ under Article 12. It is not necessary that the statutory authority should be engaged in performing governmental or sovereign function.

Statement 2 is correct: All local authorities, that is, municipalities, panchayats, district boards, improvement trusts, etc. are included under the definition of state under Article 12. According to List II of VII Schedule ‘local government’ includes a municipal corporation, urban improvement trust, district boards, mining settlement authorities and other local authorities for the purpose of local self-government or village administration.

Statement 3 is incorrect: In Article 12, the expression ‘other authorities’ is used aft er mentioning the Government, Parliament of India, the Government and Legislature of each of the State and all local authorities. The Madras High Court has held that ‘other authorities’ could only mean authorities exercising governmental or sovereign functions. It cannot include persons, natural or juristic, such as, a university unless it is ‘maintained by the State’.

Rule of law means that no man is above law and also that every person is subject to the jurisdiction of ordinary courts of law irrespective of their position and rank.

Statement 1 is correct: In Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court has included the Rule of Law as the basic feature of the Constitution. In this case, though the Supreme Court upheld the amending power of the Parliament which extends to every Article provided under the Constitution but has limited that power by providing that such power cannot be used in amending the basic feature of the Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct: There are certain exceptions to rule of law provided under the Indian Constitution and other laws. Public offi cials like ministers, local authorities, public offi cers have many powers, immunities and privileges which ordinary citizens don’t have. For example, the President/Governor is not answerable to the court of law in discharge of his executive functions. No criminal proceedings whatsoever can be instituted against President or Governor of state, while he is in offi ce.

Statement 3 is incorrect: In India, Constitutional Supremacy prevails where the Doctrine of Separation of Powers has been held which permits the review of the legislative acts. Rule of law has no fixed articulation in the Indian constitution though the Indian courts refer to this phrase in variety of its judgements. Indian constitution is the law of the land and prevails over Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive. These three organs of the state have to act according to the principles engraved in the constitution.

The rule of equality before law is not absolute and there are constitutional and other exceptions to it.

Statement 1 is incorrect: No criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against the President or the Governor in any court during his term offi ce. However civil proceedings can be instituted aft er the expiration of two months of delivery of notice. Thus, no civil proceedings against the President or the Governor shall be instituted during his term of offi ce in any court in respect of act done by him in his personal capacity, whether before or aft er he entered upon his offi ce, until the expiration of two months next aft er notice has been delivered to him.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Article 31-C is an exception to Article 14. It provides that the laws made by the state for implementing the Directive Principles contained only in clause (b) or clause (c) of Article 39 (and not complete Article 39) cannot be challenged on the ground that they are violative of Article 14, not Article 21.

Statement 3 is correct: The foreign sovereigns (rulers), ambassadors and diplomats enjoy immunity from both criminal and civil proceedings. The UNO and its agencies enjoy the diplomatic immunity

Right to assemble peaceably and without arms is one of the six rights guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution to all citizens. It includes the right to hold public meetings, demonstrations and take out processions.

Statement 1 is incorrect: An assembly of fi ve or more persons becomes unlawful if the object is to resist the execution of any law or legal process under Section 141 of the Indian Penal Code (and not CrPC). Under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (1973), a magistrate can restrain an assembly, meeting or procession if there is a risk of obstruction, annoyance or danger to human life, health or safety or a disturbance of the public tranquillity or a riot or any aff ray.

Statement 2 is correct: Under Section 141 of the Indian Penal Code, as assembly of fi ve or more persons becomes unlawful if the object is to resist the execution of any law or legal process. Other grounds for imposing restrictions are: if the object is to forcibly occupy the property of some person to commit any mischief or criminal trespass to force some person to do an illegal act to threaten the government or its offi cials on exercising lawful powers

India was a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Th us, great precaution was taken so that Fundamental Rights as mentioned in Part 3 of Indian Constitution is concurrent with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Option 1 is correct: Article 21 of the Indian Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty excepted according to procedure established by law. Similarly, as per Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person and no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Option 2 is correct: Article 23 (1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits traffi c in human being and ‘begar’ and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an off ence punishable in accordance with law. Similarly, UDHR provides that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all forms.

Option 3 is correct: Article 25 (1) of the Indian Constitution provides that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health and to the provisions of this part. Similarly, according to provisions of UDHR, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Article 15 provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The use of the word ‘only’ connotes that discrimination on other grounds is not prohibited.

Option 1 is correct: The state is permitted under Article 15 to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. For example, reservation of seats or fee concessions in public educational institutions.

Option 2 is correct: The state is empowered to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes regarding their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, except the minority educational institutions. In order to give eff ect to this provision, the Centre enacted the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, providing a quota of 27% for candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in all central higher educational institutions.

Option 3 is correct: The state is permitted to make any special provision for women and children. For example, reservation of seats for women in local bodies or provision of free education for children.

Option 4 is incorrect: The state is empowered to make any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens. The Parliament of India enacted the Constitution (103rd Amendment Act,2019) and authorized the State to make reservations in higher education and aff airs of Public Employment solely on the basis of economy. The act amended Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution by inserting 15(6) and 16(6). The amendment was made to provide for 10% reservation to the citizens, belonging to the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) category.

Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any offi ce under the State. No citizen can be discriminated on grounds of only religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth or residence.

Statement 1 is correct: Article 16(2) states that “no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence shall be discriminated against any employment or office under the State”. The provision is supplemented by the other clauses in the Constitution that guarantee equality.

Statement 2 is incorrect: However, Article 16(3) of the Constitution provides an exception by saying that Parliament, not State legislatures may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state. This power vests solely in the Parliament, not state legislatures.

The right to protest involves the exercise of two fundamental rights: freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution and the freedom to assemble peacefully under 19 (1) (b).

Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution “Freedom of speech and expression” is a fundamental right given to its citizen against the state, which includes carrying out the peaceful public demonstration.

Article 19(1)(b) provides for the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. This includes the right to hold public meetings, hunger strikes, and the right to take out processions.

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution states the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions. It says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

Statement 1 is incorrect. Any minority educational institutions (MEIs) which seek recognition from the state but not aid from the state are subjected to regulatory power of state with regard to syllabus prescription, academic standards, discipline, sanitation etc. MEIs which neither seek recognition from the state nor aid from the state can manage their own aff airs, but general laws, labour law, taxation law, industrial law etc still apply to these institutions.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The RTE 2009 mandates all private schools to reserve 25 per cent seats to students from economically weaker sections at the entry level. The Supreme Court in Society for Un-Aided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India held that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is not applicable to unaided minority schools. Thus, MEIs are not required to provide admission to children in the age group of 6-14 years up to 25% of enrolment reserved for economically backward section of society

Statement 3 is incorrect. The Supreme Court has ruled that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to these courses would also apply to minority — both aided and unaided and private educational institutions. The Constitution provides a limitation on the power of the State to interfere with life, liberty and rights however, the concept of limited government cannot be extended to a level when it defeats national interest. So, providing central examination in the form of NEET cannot be said to be violation of the rights under Articles 19(1)(g) and 30 of the Constitution.

Article 18 of Constitution of India abolishes titles and prohibits the government from bestowing any title on any citizen or foreigner (except military or academic distinction)

Statement 1 is correct: The hereditary titles of nobility conferred by colonial States, such as Maharaja, Raj Bahadur, Rai Bahadur, Rai Saheb, Dewan Bahadur, and so on, are prohibited by Article 18 because they violate the principle of equal status for all.

Statement 2 is incorrect. In 1996, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the National awards. The Supreme Court said that National Awards do not amount to ‘titles’ within the meaning of Article 18 that prohibits only hereditary titles of nobility.

Therefore, they are not violative of Article 18 as the theory of equality does not mandate that merit should not be recognized. However, they should not be used as suffixes or prefi xes to the name of the awardees

Diplomatic immunity is granted on the basis of two conventions popularly called the Vienna Conventions -the Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, and the Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.

Statement 1 is correct. Diplomatic immunity is one of the principles of international law which limits the degree to which the offi cials and employees of foreign governments would be subject to the other country’s authority of police offi cers and judges.

Vienna Convention of 1961 under Article 34 lays down those diplomatic agents shall be exempted from all duties and Taxes imposed, whether personal or real, national, regional, or Municipal. The sending State and the head of the mission shall be exempt from all national, regional or municipal dues and taxes in respect of the premises of the mission, whether owned or leased, other than such as represent payment for specifi c services rendered.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Vienna Convention classifi es diplomats according to their posting in the embassy, consular or international organisations such as the UN. A nation has only one embassy per foreign country, usually in the capital, but may have multiple consulate offi ces, generally in locations where many of its citizens live or visit. Diplomats posted in an embassy get immunity, along with his or her family members.

The members of the family of a diplomatic agent forming part of his household shall, if they are not nationals of the receiving State, enjoy the privileges and immunities specifi ed in Articles 29 to 36 of the Vienna Convention.

‘Habeas Corpus’ literally means “to have the body of ”. This writ is used to release a person who has been unlawfully detained or imprisoned. By virtue of this writ, the Court directs the person so detained to be brought before it to examine the legality of his detention.

Habeas Corpus cannot be issued in the following cases: 1) When detention is lawful 2) When the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature or a court 3) Detention is by a competent court 4) Detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

The Supreme Court held that the declaration of martial law does not ipso facto result in the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus A writ of habeas corpus will not lie and will be refused by a court.

where the person or authority against whom habeas corpus is sought is not within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.

Where imprisonment or detention of a person is in accordance with a decision rendered by a court of law or by an authority in accordance with law.

Article 22 provides for the Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct Article 22 confers the following rights on a person who is arrested or the detained under the ordinary law: (i) The right to be informed of the grounds of arrest. (ii) The right to consult and to be defended by the legal practitioner(iii) The right to be produced before the magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours (iv) Th e right to be released aft er 24 hours unless the magistrate authorises further detention.

Statements 3, 4 and 6 are incorrect Section- 50 (2) of CrPC provides that the arrested person has the right to get released on bail by making arrangement for the sureties. Article- 39A(DPSP) provides free legal aid to people in need.

The right to keep quiet does not have any mention in any Indian law, however, its authority can be derived from CrPC as well as the Indian Evidence Act.

Article 23 provides for the Prohibition of traffi c in human beings and forced labour.

Article 23(1): Traffic in human beings and the beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an off ence punishable in accordance with the law.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Article 23 does not prevent the state to impose compulsory services for public purposes like military service or social service. For this, the state is not bound to pay.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Article 23 protects citizens not only against the State but also from private citizens. The State is obliged to protect citizens from these evils by taking punitive action against perpetrators of these acts (which are considered crimes), and also take positive actions to abolish these evils from society.

Statement 3 is incorrect. In making any such service compulsory for public purposes, the State, however, cannot make discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.

Statement 1 is correct: Mandamus literally means ‘we command’. It is a command issued by the court to a public offi cial asking him to perform his offi cial duties that he has failed or refused to perform. It can also be issued against any public body, a corporation, an inferior court, a tribunal or government for the same purpose.

Statement 2 is correct: The writ of mandamus cannot be issued Against a private individual or body; Toenforce departmental instruction that does not possess statutory force; When the duty is discretionary and not mandatory; Toenforce a contractual obligation; Against the president of India or the state governors; and Against the chief justice of a high court acting in judicial capacity.

Article 34 provides for the restrictions on fundamental rights while martial law is in force in any area within the territory of India. It empowers the Parliament to indemnify any government servant or any other person for any act done by him in connection with the maintenance or restoration of order in any area where martial law was in force.

Statement 1 is correct and 3 is incorrect. Th e concept of martial law has been borrowed in India from the English common law. However, the expression ‘martial law’ has not been defi ned anywhere in the Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct. It refers to a situation where civil administration is run by the military authorities according to their own rules and regulations framed outside the ordinary law. It thus imply the suspension of ordinary law and the government by military tribunals. It is diff erent from the military law that is applicable to the armed forces.

Statement 4 is incorrect. The Supreme Court held that the declaration of martial law does not ipso facto result in the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.