Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – November 15

Charter Act of 1833

This Act was the final step towards centralisation in British India.

Features of the Act

1. It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, a Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was the first governor-general of India.
2. It deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers. The GovernorGeneral of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India. The laws made under the previous acts were called as Regulations while laws made under this act were called as Acts.
3. It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body. It provided that the company’s territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors’.
4. The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for selection of civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.

The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:

1. Source of authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that the Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.
2. Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.
3. Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives.
4. Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949 as the date.

Statement is correct:

The Constitution (Article 4) itself declares that laws made for admission or establishment of new states (under Article 2) and formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states (under Articles 3) are not to be considered as amendments of the Constitution under Article 368. This means that such laws can be passed by a simple majority and by the ordinary legislative process.

Statement 2 is Incorrect:

Does the power of Parliament to diminish the areas of a state (under Article 3) include also the power to cede Indian Territory to a foreign country?

This question came up for examination before the Supreme Court in a reference made by the President in 1960. The decision of the Central government to cede part of a territory known as Berubari Union (West Bengal) to Pakistan led to political agitation and controversy and thereby necessitated the Presidential reference. The Supreme Court held that the power of Parliament to diminish the area of a state (under Article 3) does not cover cession of Indian territory to a foreign country. Hence, Indian Territory can be ceded to a foreign state only by amending the Constitution under Article 368. Consequently, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act (1960) was enacted to transfer the said territory to Pakistan.

Statement 3 is Correct:

The Supreme Court in 1969 ruled that, settlement of a boundary dispute between India and another country does not require a constitutional amendment. It can be done by executive action as it does not involve cession of Indian Territory to a foreign country.

S.K Dhar Commission was appointed to look after the feasibility of demands from different regions, particularly South India, for reorgani-sation of states on linguistic basis. It was a Linguistic Provinces Commission and not a States Reorganisation Commission.

The commission submitted its report in December 1948 and recommended the reorganisation of states on the basis of administrative convenience rather than linguistic factor.

This created much resentment and led to the appointment of another Linguistic Provinces Committee by the Congress in December 1948 itself to examine the whole question afresh. It consisted of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallahbhai Patel and PattabhiSitaramayya and hence, was popularly known as JVP Committee6. It submitted its report in April 1949 and formally rejected language as the basis for reorganisation of states.

However, in October 1953, the Government of India was forced to create the first linguistic state, known as Andhra state, by separating the Telugu speaking areas from the Madras state.

The creation of Andhra state intensified the demand from other regions for creation of states on linguistic basis. This forced the Government of India to appoint (in December 1953) a three-member States Reorganisation Commission under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali to re-examine the whole question. Its other two members were K M Panikkar and H N Kunzru. It submitted its report in September 1955 and broadly accepted language as the basis of reorganisation of states.

Besides the Fundamental Rights included in Part III, there are certain other rights contained in other parts of the Constitution. These rights are known as constitutional rights or legal rights or nonfundamental rights. They are:

1. No tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law (Article 265 in Part XII).
2. No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law (Article 300-A in Part XII).
3. Trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free (Article 301 in Part XIII).
4. The elections to the LokSabha and the State Legislative Assembly shall be on the basis of adult suffrage (Article 326 in Part XV).

Even though the above rights are also equally justiciable, they are different from the Fundamental Rights. In case of violation of a Fundamental Right, the aggrieved person can directly move the Supreme Court for its enforcement under Article 32, which is in itself a fundamental right. But, in case of violation of the above rights, the aggrieved person cannot avail this constitutional remedy. He can move the High Court by an ordinary suit or under Article 226 (writ jurisdiction of high court).

The present position is that the Parliament under Article 368 can amend any part of the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights but without affecting the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court is yet to define or clarify as to what constitutes the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. From the various judgements, the following have emerged as ‘basic features’ of the Constitution or elements / components / ingredients of the ‘basic structure’ of the constitution:

Supremacy of the Constitution.2. Sovereign, democratic and republican nature of the Indian polity.3. Secular character of the Constitution.4. Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. 5. Federal character of the Constitution.6. Unity and integrity of the nation. 7. Welfare state (socio-economic justice) 8.Judicial review 9.Freedom and dignity of the individual 10.Parliamentary system 11. Rule of law 12. Harmony and balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles 13. Principle of equality.14. Free and fair elections 15. Independence of Judiciary 16.Limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution 17.Effective access to justice 18.Principle of reasonableness 19. Powers of the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136, 141 and 142

The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory (and not a constitutional) body. It was established in 1993 under a legislation enacted by the Parliament, namely, the Protection of Human Rights Act, 19931. This Act was amended in 2006.

The chairman and members of the Commission are appointed by the president on the recommendations of a six-member committee consisting of the prime minister as its head, the Speaker of the LokSabha, the Deputy Chairman of the RajyaSabha, leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament and the Central home minister. Further, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a sitting chief justice of a high court can be appointed only after consultation with the chief justice of India. The chairman and members hold office for a term of five years or until they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. After their tenure, the chairman and members are not eligible for further employment under the Central or a state government.