UPSC Static Quiz – 2021: IASbaba’s Daily Static Quiz (PYQs) – Polity [Day 31]

Solution (d)

Social capital broadly refers to those factors of effectively functioning social groups that include such things as interpersonal relationships, a shared sense of identity, a shared understanding, shared norms, shared values, trust, cooperation, and reciprocity.

Solution (b)

38th amendment to the constitution put the election of the PM beyond the purview of the courts.  Hence, statement (1) is wrong.

99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 which provides for composition of the NJAC was struck down by the Supreme Court as being violative of the independence of judiciary.

Solution (c)

The Judges Enquiry Act (1968) regulates the procedure relating to the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court by the process of impeachment.

A removal motion signed by 100 members (in the case of Lok Sabha) or 50 members (in the case of Rajya Sabha) is to be given to the Speaker/Chairman. The Speaker/Chairman may admit the motion or refuse to admit it. Hence, statement (1) is wrong.

A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from his Office by an order of the president.  The grounds of removal are two—proved misbehaviour or incapacity. However, the Constitution of India does not define nor gives details of what Constitutes ‘incapacity and proved misbehaviour’ of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India. Hence, statement (2) is also wrong.

Solution (a)

The expression ‘office of profit’ has not been defined in the Constitution or in the Representation of the People Act, 1951. 

Makers of the Constitution wanted that legislators should not feel obligated to the Executive in any way, which could influence them while discharging legislative functions. In other words, an MP or MLA should be free to carry out her duties without any kind of governmental pressure. Parliament has also enacted the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been amended several times to expand the exempted list. There is no bar on how many offices can be exempted from the purview of the law.

The Supreme Court, while upholding the disqualification of Jaya Bachchan from Rajya Sabha in 2006, had said, “For deciding the question as to whether one is holding an office of profit or not, what is relevant is whether the office is capable of yielding a profit or pecuniary gain and not whether the person actually obtained a monetary gain… If the office carries with it, or entitles the holder to, any pecuniary gain other than reimbursement of out of pocket/actual expenses, then the office will be an office of profit for the purpose of Article 102 (1)(a)…”

However, a person who acquires a contract or licence from a government to perform functions, which the government would have itself discharged, will not be held guilty of holding an office of profit.

Solution (b)

Fifth Scheduled Areas under the Constitution is “such areas as the President may by order declare to be Scheduled Areas”. At present, 10 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas. The provisions of the Fifth Schedule have seen further legal and administrative reinforcement in the form of Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 for more democratisation. The Sixth Schedule areas are some of the areas which were ‘excluded’ until the Government of India Act, 1935 in the erstwhile Assam and other tribal-dominant areas which became separate States.