Basic Quiz – 9 October 2026 | Polity

Correct Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Constituent Assembly was constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, which provided the framework for drafting India’s Constitution.
• Statement 2 is correct: Representatives from British Indian provinces were indirectly elected by the elected members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
• Statement 3 is correct: The originally envisaged strength was 389 members, comprising 292 representatives from British Indian provinces, 4 from Chief Commissioners’ provinces and 93 from princely states.

Additional Information:

• The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 9 December 1946.
• Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha served as its temporary Chairman.
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President on 11 December 1946.
• Following Partition, the membership of the Indian Constituent Assembly was reduced to 299.

Correct Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Article 32 guarantees the right to approach the Supreme Court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights. The Supreme Court may issue directions, orders or writs, including habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto.
• Statement 2 is correct: Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose, including the enforcement of other legal rights.
• Statement 3 is correct: Article 32(3) authorises Parliament to empower other courts to exercise, within their local limits, all or any of the powers exercisable by the Supreme Court under Article 32(2).
• Statement 4 is incorrect: The writ jurisdiction of High Courts is wider in scope because Article 226 extends beyond Fundamental Rights to other legal rights. However, Article 32 itself is a Fundamental Right, whereas Article 226 is a constitutional power of High Courts.

Additional Information:

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar described Article 32 as the heart and soul of the Constitution.
• Article 32 falls under Part III of the Constitution.
• Article 226 falls under Part VI of the Constitution.
• The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Article 32 is specifically concerned with enforcing Fundamental Rights.

Correct Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Article 37 provides that DPSPs are not enforceable by any court, but they are fundamental in the governance of the country, and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws.
• Statement 2 is correct: The 42nd Amendment introduced Article 39A (equal justice and free legal aid), Article 43A (workers’ participation in management) and Article 48A (protection and improvement of the environment and safeguarding forests and wildlife).
• Statement 3 is correct: The 44th Amendment inserted Article 38(2), directing the State to strive to minimise inequalities in income and eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities.
• Statement 4 is incorrect: DPSPs do not automatically override Fundamental Rights. The Supreme Court has emphasised harmony and balance between Parts III and IV as an essential feature of the Constitution. Article 31C provides limited protection to laws implementing the principles specified in Article 39(b) and (c), subject to constitutional requirements.

Additional Information:

• DPSPs are contained in Part IV, Articles 36–51.
• The concept of DPSPs was inspired by the Irish Constitution.
• Article 44 deals with the Uniform Civil Code.
• Article 50 directs the State to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.

Correct Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Swaran Singh Committee, constituted in 1976, recommended the inclusion of Fundamental Duties in the Constitution.
• Statement 2 is correct: The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 inserted Part IVA and Article 51A, initially providing ten Fundamental Duties.
• Statement 3 is correct: The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 inserted Article 51A(k), making it the duty of every parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to a child or ward between six and fourteen years of age.
• Statement 4 is incorrect: Fundamental Duties are non-justiciable and cannot ordinarily be directly enforced through Article 32 as Fundamental Rights can. However, Parliament and State Legislatures may enact laws giving effect to particular duties.

Additional Information:

• India currently has 11 Fundamental Duties.
• Fundamental Duties are contained in Part IVA of the Constitution.
• They apply to citizens, unlike certain Fundamental Rights that are available to all persons.
• The concept of Fundamental Duties was influenced by the Constitution of the former Soviet Union.

Correct Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), a 13-judge Bench held by a 7–6 majority that Parliament can amend any provision of the Constitution under Article 368 but cannot alter or destroy its basic structure.
• Statement 2 is correct: In Minerva Mills (1980), the Supreme Court struck down provisions of the 42nd Amendment that attempted to confer unlimited amending power on Parliament and excessively expanded the protection available under Article 31C. The Court reaffirmed limited amending power and harmony between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs.
• Statement 3 is correct: In Waman Rao (1981), the Supreme Court established 24 April 1973, the date of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment, as the relevant cut-off for examining subsequent constitutional amendments placing laws in the Ninth Schedule against the basic structure doctrine.
• Statement 4 is incorrect: The Constitution does not provide an exhaustive list of basic structure elements under Article 368 or elsewhere. The doctrine has evolved through Supreme Court judgments.

Additional Information:

Important elements recognised as part of the basic structure include:

• Supremacy of the Constitution
• Republican and democratic form of government
• Secular character of the Constitution
• Federal character of the Constitution
• Separation of powers
• Judicial review
• Independence of the judiciary
• Rule of law
• Free and fair elections
• Limited power of constitutional amendment

In I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007), the Supreme Court further clarified the application of basic structure review to laws placed in the Ninth Schedule through constitutional amendments after 24 April 1973.