Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – September 9, 2020

The Supreme Court (under Article 32) and the high courts (under Article 226) can issue the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto.

• Further, the Parliament (under Article 32) can empower any other court to issue these writs.
• Since no such provision has been made so far, only the Supreme Court and the high courts can issue the writs and not any other court.

It is only after guarantee to all the full sum of humanity, dignity, equality, and freedom promised by the Constitution, that we can ask of them to do their duty.

Perhaps, then, it is time to update Hind Swaraj (Gandhi) for the constitutional age: “real duties are the result of the fulfillment of rights”.

Article 35 lays down that the power to make laws, to give effect to certain specified fundamental rights shall vest only in the Parliament and not in the state legislatures.

• This provision ensures that there is uniformity throughout India with regard to the nature of those fundamental rights and punishment for their infringement.
• In this direction, Article 35 contains the following provisions:

The Parliament shall have (and the legislature of a state shall not have) power to make laws with respect to the following matters:

• Prescribing residence as a condition for certain employments or appointments in a state or union territory or local authority or other authority (Article 16).
• Empowering courts other than the Supreme Court and the high court’s to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds for the enforcement of fundamental rights (Article 32).
• Restricting or abrogating the application of Fundamental Rights to members of armed forces, police forces, etc. (Article 33).
• Indemnifying any government servant or any other person for any act done during the operation of martial law in any area (Article 34).

The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added four new Directive Principles to the original list. They require the State:

• To secure opportunities for healthy development of children (Article 39).
• To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor (Article 39 A).
• To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries (Article 43 A).
• To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wild life (Article 48 A).

The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added one more Directive Principle, which requires the State to minimize inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities (Article 38).

The Minimum Wages Act (1948), the Payment of Wages Act (1936), the Payment of Bonus Act (1965), the Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act (1970), the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (1986), the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act (1976).

• The Trade Unions Act (1926), the Factories Act (1948), the Mines Act (1952), the Industrial Disputes Act (1947), the Workmen’s Compensation Act (1923) and so on have been enacted to protect the interests of the labour sections.
• In 2006, the government banned the child labour.
• In 2016, the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (1986) was renamed as the Child and Adolescent Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986.

The Legal Services Authorities Act (1987) has established a nation-wide network to provide free and competent legal aid to the poor and to organize lok adalat for promoting equal justice.

• Lok adalat is a statutory forum for conciliatory settlement of legal disputes.
• It has been given the status of a civil court.
• Its awards are enforceable, binding on the parties and final as no appeal lies before any court against them.

The Verma Committee on Fundamental Duties of the Citizens (1999) identified the existence of legal provisions for the implementation of some of the Fundamental Duties. They are mentioned below:

• The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the Constitution of India, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
• The various criminal laws in force provide for punishments for encouraging enmity between different sections of people on grounds of language, race, place of birth, religion and so on.
• The Protection of Civil Rights Act4 (1955) provides for punishments for offences related to caste and religion.
• The Indian Penal Code (IPC) declares the imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration as punishable offences.
• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 provides for the declaration of a communal organisation as an unlawful association.
• The Representation of People Act (1951) provides for the disqualification of members of the Parliament or a state legislature for indulging in corrupt practice, which is, soliciting votes on the ground of religion or promoting enmity between different sections of people on grounds of caste, race, language, religion and so on.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits trade in rare and endangered species.
• The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 checks indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.

The 101st Amendment Act of 2016 paved the way for the introduction of a new tax regime (i.e. goods and services tax – GST) in the country.

• The smooth and efficient administration of this tax requires co-operation and coordination between the centre and the states.
• In order to facilitate this consultation process, the amendment provided for the establishment of Goods and Services Tax Council or the GST Council.
• The amendment inserted a new Article 279-A in the Constitution. This Article empowered the President to constitute a GST Council by an order.
• Accordingly, the President issued the order in 2016 and constituted the Council.

The decisions of the Council are taken at its meetings. One-half of the total number of members of the Council is the quorum for conducting a meeting. Every decision of the Council is to be taken by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting at the meeting.

The Constitution (Article 76) has provided for the office of the Attorney General for India.

• He is the highest law officer in the country.
• The Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president.
• He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
• In other words, he must be a citizen of India and he must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the president.

Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, provides penalties for disobeying any regulation or order made under the Act.

These are according to Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).