Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Election Commission.

Important Points  In India, the political parties are given ‘recognition’ by the Election Commission of India.

• Election Commission of India:
  • The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
  • The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
  • Part XV of the Indian constitution deals with elections and establishes a commission for these matters.
  • The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950.
  • Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the member.
• Articles related to Elections:

Key Points

•  Functions of ECI:
  • Election Commission of India superintendents, direct and control the entire process of conducting elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India.
  • The most important function of the commission is to decide the election schedules for the conduct of periodic and timely elections, whether general or bye-elections.
  • It prepares the electoral roll, issues Electronic Photo Identity Card (EPIC).
  • It decides on the location of polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centers, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and counting centers, and all allied matters.
  • It grants recognition to political parties & allots election symbols to them along with settling disputes related to it.
  • The Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post-election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
  • It issues the Model Code of Conduct in elections for political parties and candidates so that no one indulges in unfair practice or there is no arbitrary abuse of powers by those in power.
  • It sets limits of campaign expenditure per candidate to all the political parties and also monitors the same.

The correct answer is Jaipur.

• The first Gram Nyayalaya of Rajasthan was established on 27 November 2010 at Bassi, Jaipur.

Key Points   

• Gram Nyaylaya-
  • Establishment- Under Gram Nyayalaya Act 2008.
  • Objective- Quick and easy access to the justice system in rural areas of India.
  • This Court is presided over by a Nyayadhikari, who shall have equal powers, equal pay, and enjoy the benefits of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.
  • Such officers are appointed by the State Government in consultation with the concerned High Court.
  • Jurisdiction- Notified by the State Government in consultation with the concerned High Court.
  • They have both civil and criminal jurisdiction over crimes.
  • The economic jurisdiction of the court is determined by the concerned High Court.
• Appeal-  
  • In session court (when the matter is related to criminal offenses).
  • In district court (when the matter is related to civil offenses).

The correct answer is Option 2.

• There is no provision for a joint sitting of the Legislative Council and the legislative assembly. In the case of a disagreement, the decision of the Assembly is deemed final. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

Key Points

State legislature:

• In most states, the Legislature consists of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). This means that these states have unicameral Legislature.
• In a few states, there are two houses of the Legislature namely, Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Legislative council (Vidhan Parishad) besides the Governor. Where there are two Houses, the Legislature, is known as bicameral. 
• Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha):
  • There is a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) in every State. It represents the people of the State.
  • The members of Vidhan Sabha are directly elected by people on the basis of the universal adult franchise.
  • They are directly elected by all adult citizens registered as voters in the State. 
  • Members are elected from territorial constituencies.
  • Every State is divided into as many (single member) constituencies as the number of members to be elected.
  • As in the case of Lok Sabha, a certain number of seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and in some States for Scheduled Tribes also.
  • This depends on the population of these weaker sections in the State.
  • In order to become a Member of Vidhan Sabha a person must: be a citizen of India; have attained the age of 25 years; his/her name must be in voters’ list; must not hold any office of profit i.e.; should not be a government servant. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad):
  • Vidhan Parishad is the upper House of the State Legislature. It is not in existence in every State.
  • Very few States have a bicameral Legislature that means having two Houses.
  • The Parliament can create Vidhan Parishad in a State where it does not exist, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to this effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting, and sends the resolution to the Parliament.
  • Similarly, if a State has a Council and the Assembly wants it to be abolished, it may adopt a resolution by a similar majority and send it to Parliament. In this situation, Parliament resolves to abolish the concerned Legislative Council.
  • According to the Constitution, the total number of members in the Vidhan Parishad of a State should not exceed one-third of the total number of members of Vidhan Sabha but this number should not be less than 40. Hence statement 4 is correct.
  • The Vidhan Parishad is partly elected and partly nominated. Most of the members are indirectly elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote system. 
• Sessions of the State Legislature: The State Legislature meets at least twice a year and the interval between two sessions cannot be more than six months. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The Governor summons and prorogues the sessions of State Legislature.
• He addresses the Vidhan Sabha or both Houses (if there is a bi-cameral Legislature) at the commencement of the first session after each general election and at the commencement of the first session of the year

The correct answer is Santhanam Committee.

Key Points

• Central Vigilance Commission:
  • The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is the main agency for preventing corruption in the Central government.
  • It was established in 1964 by an executive resolution of the Central government.
  • Its establishment was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-64).
  • Thus, originally the CVC was neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body.
  • Later, in 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC.
  • In 2004, the CVC has been designated as the agency to receive and act on complaints or disclosure on any allegation of corruption or misuse of office from whistleblowers under the “Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers’ Resolution” (PIDPI), which is popularly known as “Whistle Blowers” Resolution.
  • The Commission is also empowered as the only designated agency to take action against complainants making motivated or vexatious complaints.
  • The CVC is conceived to be the apex vigilance institution, free of control from any executive authority, monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government and advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing, and reforming their vigilance work.

Additional Information

• Other Committee:
  • In 1957, the National Development Council constituted a committee headed by Balwant Rai Mehta to look into the working of the community development program.
  • The appointment of the Ashok Mehta Committee in 1977 did bring new thinking in the concepts and practice of the Panchayat Raj.
  • The G. V. K. Rao Committee (1985) recommended making the “District” the basic unit of planning and also holding regular elections.
  • The L. M. Singhvi committee recommended providing more financial resources and constitutional status to the panchayats to strengthen them.

The correct answer is (A) is true but (R) is false.

Key Points

• The Election Commission of India issues guidelines for conducting free and fair elections in the country. These guidelines are called the Election Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections. 
• It is not statutory but Political Parties, Candidates and Polling Agents are expected to observe the norms, on matters ranging from the content of election manifestos, speeches and processions, to general conduct. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It aims to ensure free and fair elections. 
• This is in keeping with Article 324 of the Constitution, which gives the Election Commission the power to supervise elections to the Parliament and state legislatures. 
• The MCC is operational from the date that the election schedule is announced till the date that results are announced. Hence statement 1 is correct.
•  A form of the MCC was first introduced in the state assembly elections in Kerala in 1960.