Indian Polity & Constitution MCQs

Notes:
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 was prepared on the recommendations of Chopra Committee formed in 1930.  This act was originally known as the Drug Act.  The act has undergone several amendments and is now known as the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

Notes:
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA) was enacted by the Parliament of India in 1956 as part of the Hindu Code Bills. It with the legal process of adopting children by a Hindu adult.

Notes:
The framers of Indian Constitution adopted the feature of ‘written constitution’ from USA. The Indian Constitution is the lengthiest written constitution in the world. The other features borrowed from the US Constitution include: an executive head of state known as President; provision of fundamental rights; independence of the judiciary; etc.

Notes:
The principles have been inspired by the Directive Principles given in the Constitution of Ireland and also by the principles of Gandhism; and relate to social justice, economic welfare, foreign policy, and legal and administrative matters. The makers of the Constitution of India were influenced by the Irish nationalist movement. Hence, the Directive Principles of the Indian constitution have been greatly influenced by the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Notes:
Mandamus (a Latin word, which means ‘‘We Command’’) is a writ order from the Supreme Court or High Court to a lower court or tribunal or public authority to perform a public or statutory duty. It is issued when any government, court, corporation or any public authority has to do a public duty but fails to do so.

Notes:
In democratic government, government has to explain its action and defends its decision to the people. A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Notes:
Article 87 of the constitution provides two instances when the President specially addresses both Houses of Parliament. The President of India addresses both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha at the beginning of the first Session after each general election when the reconstituted lower house meets for the first time. The President also addresses both the houses at beginning of the first session of each year (usually the budget session).

Notes:
The single transferable vote (STV) is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting. Under STV, an elector’s vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or unused votes are transferred according to the voter’s stated preferences. The system minimizes “wasted” votes, provides approximately proportional representation, and enables votes to be explicitly cast for individual candidates rather than for closed party lists.

Notes:
Article 324 envisages the constitution of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Article 324 provides power to ECI for the super-intendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls. It empowers the Election Commission of India to issue rules and guidelines for conducting elections of Parliament, President, Vice President and State Legislature Assemblies in the country.

Notes:
In a significant ruling, the court held that illegal tapping of phone calls violates the Right to Privacy. The Court held that interception of telephone calls is permitted only in case of Public Emergency or in the interest of Public Safety. The instance of phone tapping would infract (violate) article 19(1)(a) of the constitution. A government employee cannot seek the protection of article 19(1) against his dismissal on account of misconduct in public.