Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Article 14.

Key Points

• Article 14 states for equality before the law.
  • All persons are equal before the law.
  • It provides equal protection before laws.
• Article 19 is related to the right to freedom.
  • It gives 6 types of freedom to Indian citizens.
• Article 21 is related to the protection of life and personal liberty. 
  • It gives the fundamental right to live life.
• Article 256 is related to the executive power of the state.

The correct answer is 42nd Amendment.

Key Points

• The term "Secular" was added to the Preamble by Indira Gandhi Government in the 42nd amendment.
• Secular means the relationship between the government and the religious groups is defined by constitution and law.
• Under the 42nd Amendment Act, three words were added: Socialist, Secular, and Integrity.
• The Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism, all the religions in our country have the same status and support from the state.
• However, as the Supreme Court said in 1974, although the words ‘secular state’ was not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, there can be no doubt that Constitution-makers wanted to establish such a state, and accordingly, Articles 25 to 28 (guaranteeing the fundamental right to freedom of religion) have been included in the constitution.
• On 18 December 1976, during the Emergency in India, the Indira Gandhi government pushed through several changes in the Forty-second Amendment of the constitution.
• Through this amendment, the words "socialist" and "secular" were added between the words "sovereign" and "democratic" and the words "unity of the Nation" were changed to "unity and integrity of the Nation".

The correct answer is Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

Key Points

• India is a federal (or quasi-federal) democratic republic with a parliamentary system of government largely based on the UK model.
• Parliament is the “supreme legislative body of India” comprised of the President and the two Houses – Rajya Sabha (the Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (the House of the People).
  • ​It is not necessary for a democratic country to have a constitution.

Additional Information

• After independence, pursuant to the Indian Independence Act, the Constituent Assembly became India’s first sovereign legislature. 
• The Assembly was formed under a plan recommended by the Cabinet Mission that called for the framing of the Constitution of India. 
• A drafting committee under the chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was set up by the Constituent Assembly.  
• It took the drafting committee two years and eleven months to complete the drafting of the Constitution.
• Full democracies are nations where civil liberties and fundamental political freedoms are not only respected but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles.

The Correct answer is ​President has refused to give his assent to the Bill.

Key Points

• Joint sitting is not summoned when the president has refused to give his assent to the Bill. Hence it is not a sufficient ground to call joint sitting.

Occasions when Joint Session of Parliament is summoned:

• To resolve deadlock when any house of the Parliament passes a bill and:
• The other House rejects this bill, or
• The Houses do not agree on the amendments made to the bill, or
• More than six months elapsed with the bill being received by the other House without it being passed. Hence Option 1, 2, and 3 are sufficient grounds for join sitting.

​Important Points

• Article 108 of the Indian Constitution provides for a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
• The joint session is summoned by the President.
• It is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• The joint sitting is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and not of Rajya Sabha.
• The quorum to constitute a joint sitting: 1/10th of the total number of members of the House.
• The Bill is passed by a simple majority of the total number of members of both the Houses present and voting in the joint sitting.

• There are 22 languages that have been recognized in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution.
• Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages of India from articles 343 to 351.
• Originally, only 14 languages were mentioned and later, after several amendments, the other languages were added. 
• Sindhi language was added in the 8th schedule by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
• Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992
• Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
• In all the 22 official languages the Hindi language is spoken by most of the Indians.