Questions Answers

● Rules are a set of procedural guidelines framed by the

executive to implement the law enacted by the
legislature. For example, the Solid Waste Management
Rule, 2016.
1. Explain the term ‘Rules’ and ‘Law’
● Law is a set of rules enacted by the legislative bodies
and also highlight the difference
for the governance of territory. For example the
between the two.
Environment Protection Act, 1986.
● Rules are more flexible and can be modified easily while
the act needs parliamentary approval for its
modifications.

1. The Legislature is the function of framing laws to

govern the nation. It will be done by the parliament and
legislative assemblies in India.
2. The executive has the function of implementing the
laws framed by the legislature. It will be done by the
2. What is the difference between
President through his Council of Ministers at the
legislative and executive?
national level and Governor through his council of
ministers at the state level.
3. In a parliamentary democracy like India, the legislature
holds accountability for executive actions through
parliamentary procedures.

The powers of the government in India are divided

horizontally among three organs, i.e.
3. Mention the three organs of the
● the Legislature,
government.
● Executive and
● Judiciary

The concept of constitutionalism is that of a polity

governed by or under a constitution that ordains
essentially limited government and rule of law as
opposed to arbitrary authoritarian or totalitarian rule.
Constitutional government, therefore, should
necessarily be a democratic government.
4. What does the term In other words, Constitutionalism is a political philosophy in
constitutionalism mean? which the functions of government of a state must be in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution meaning
thereby the actions of government must reflect
constitutionality.
Constitutionalism is a political spirit or philosophy, so it
is not necessary that the states who have a constitution
must be embodied with the concept of

5. What is the difference between
‘Article’ and ‘Part’?
6. What are ‘Schedules’?
7. Explain the difference between
enacted and evolved constitutions.
8. Name the countries that have an
unwritten constitution.
9. What is the meaning of the
Magna Carta?
10. What do you mean by the
unitary state?
constitutionalism. According to Douglas Greenberg,
Constitutionalism is a commitment to limitations on ordinary
political power, it revolves around a political process, one that
overlaps with democracy in seeking to balance state power
and individual and collective rights, it draws on particular
cultural and historical contexts from which it emanates and it
resides in the public consciousness.
● Articles provide basic details. It includes the structure
of three organs of the state, rights, duties, DPSP, etc.
● A group of articles together forms a single part. They
are like units of books. There are 25 parts.
● For example, Articles 1 to 4 will be in part 1 with
heading as union and its territories.
Schedules are basically lists that categorize and tabulate
various items related to constitutional matters. There are a
total of 12 schedules in the Indian Constitution.
1. Evolved constitutions are a collection of laws that
came into existence over a period of time. For example,
the British Constitution.
2. Enacted constitutions are the set of laws framed
during a particular time. For example, the Indian
Constitution was enacted in 1950.
3. Evolved constitutions are made by ordinary legislatures
while the enacted constitutions are made by a special
body known as the Constitution Assembly.
The United Kingdom along with New Zealand and Israel
are the only three countries in the world to have an uncodified
or 'unwritten' constitution.
1. The Magna Carta is a document guaranteeing English
political liberties that were issued by King John on June
15, 1215.
2. It declared that the sovereign would be subject to the
rule of law and documented the liberties held by free
men.
3. It is considered the foundation for individual rights in
Anglo-American jurisprudence.
4. Any law that creates paradigm shifts in state affairs is
referred to as Magna Carta. E.g., Wood’s dispatch is
called the Magna Carta of English education in India.
A unitary state is a state governed as a single entity in which
the central government is ultimately supreme. The central
government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions

11. Throw some light on the federal
features of the Indian Union.
12. What is the ‘doctrine of checks
and balances’?
13. Throw some light on the
provisions of the Indian Constitution
to ensure Checks and Balances.
(sub-national units). Such units exercise only the powers that
the central government chooses to delegate. Although the
political power may be delegated through devolution to
regional or local governments by statute, the central
government may abrogate the acts of devolved governments
or curtail (or expand) their powers.
Federal Features of the Indian Union
1. Governments at two levels: the center and states.
2. Division of powers between the center and states:
there are three lists given in the Seventh Schedule of
the Constitution which gives the subjects each level has
jurisdiction in:
● Union List
● State List
● Concurrent List
3. The supremacy of the constitution: the basic
structure of the constitution is indestructible as laid out
by the judiciary. The constitution is the supreme law in
India.
4. Independent judiciary: the constitution provides for
an independent and integrated judiciary. The lower and
district courts are at the bottom levels, the high courts
are at the state levels, and at the topmost position is
the Supreme Court of India. All courts are subordinate
to the Supreme Court.
The doctrine of Check and Balances
The principle of government under which separate branches
are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are
induced to share power. Checks and balances are applied
primarily in constitutional governments. It is of paramount
importance when there is a separation of powers among the
three organs of the state viz. The legislature, executive, and
judiciary.
The provisions of the Indian constitution to ensure checks and
balances:
● The judiciary has the power of judicial review over the
actions of the executive and the legislature.
● The judiciary has the power to strike down any law
passed by the legislature if it is unconstitutional or
arbitrary as per Article 13 (if it violates Fundamental
Rights).
● It can also declare unconstitutional executive actions as
void.
 ● The legislature also reviews the functioning of the
executive.
● Although the judiciary is independent, the judges are
appointed by the executive.
● The legislature can also alter the basis of the judgment
while adhering to the constitutional limitation.
Checks and balances ensure that no one organ becomes all
too powerful. The Constitution guarantees that the
discretionary power bestowed on any organ is within the
democratic principle.

● The National Judicial Appointment Commission

was a proposed body that would have been responsible
for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher
judiciary. The Commission was established by amending
14. What is NJAC? the Constitution of India through the ninety-ninth
Constitution Amendment Act, 2014.
● The Supreme Court by a 4:1 majority upheld the
collegium system and struck down the NJAC as
unconstitutional.

Unitary Features of the Indian Union

15. Throw some light on the unitary
features of the Indian Union.
1. The flexibility of the constitution – the constitution
is a blend of flexibility and rigidity. Certain provisions of
the constitution can be easily amended. In case the
amendments seek to change aspects of federalism in
India, the provision to bring about such amendments is
not easy.
2. More power vests with the Center – the constitution
guarantees more powers with the Union List. On the
Concurrent List, the parliament can make laws that can
override the laws made by a state legislature on some
matters. The parliament can also make laws regarding
certain subjects in the State List.
3. Unequal representation of states in the Rajya
Sabha – the representation of the states in the upper
house is based on the states’ populations. For example,
Uttar Pradesh has 31 seats and Goa, 1 in the Rajya
Sabha. In an ideal federal system, all the states should
have equal representation.
4. The executive is a part of the legislature – in India,
the executive in both the center and the states is a part
of the legislature. This goes against the principle of
division of powers between the different organs of the
government.
5. Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha
– in our system, the Lok Sabha is more powerful than
 the upper house and unequal powers to two houses are
against the principle of federalism.
6. Emergency powers – the center is provided with
emergency powers. When an emergency is imposed,
the center has increased control over states. This
undermines the autonomy of the states.
7. Integrated judiciary – the judiciary in India is
integrated. There is no separate judiciary at the center
and the state levels.
8. Single citizenship – in India, only single citizenship is
available to citizens. They cannot be citizens of the
state as well. This helps in increasing the feeling of
nationality as it forges unity amidst regional and
cultural differences. It also augments fundamental
rights such as the freedom of movement and residence
in any part of the nation.
9. Governor’s appointment – the governor of a state
acts as the center’s representative in the state. The
state government does not appoint the governor, the
center does.
10. New states formation – the parliament has the
power to alter the territory of a state by increasing or
reducing the area of the state. It can also change the
name of a state.
11. All India Services – through the All India Services
such as the IAS, IPS, IRS, etc. the center interferes in
the executive powers of the states. These services also
offer uniformity in administration throughout the nation.
12. Integrated election machinery – the Election
Commission of India is responsible for conducting free
and fair elections at both the center and the state levels
in India. The members of the EC are appointed by the
president.
13. Veto over state bills – The governor of a state can
reserve certain kinds of bills for the president’s
consideration. The president enjoys absolute veto on
these bills. He can even reject the bill at the second
instance, that is when the bill is sent after
reconsideration by the state legislature. This provision
is a departure from the principles of federalism.
14. Integrated audit machinery – the president of the
country appoints the CAG who audits accounts of both
the center and the states.
15. Power to remove key officials – the state
government or state legislature does not have the
authority to remove certain key government officials
even at the state level like the election commissioner of
 a state, judges of the high courts, or the chairman of
the state public service commissions.

Quasi-federalism is a form of government that is federal in

structure but unitary in spirit, eg. India and Canada. Although
these countries have a clear division of power between states
and centers, major control lies in the hand of the central
16. What is meant by the term
government in the form of residual powers. Although India
‘quasi-federal’?
claims to be a federal government, nowhere in the
Constitution is it mentioned as a federation of states but a
union of states. There is a clear demarcation of powers
between states and the center.

The Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India defines

17. Write a note on the 7th Schedule of and specifies the allocation of powers and functions between
the constitution of India. the Union & States. It contains three lists; i.e. 1) Union List,
2) State List and 3) Concurrent List.

Article 50 is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy

18. What is Article 50 of the (DPSP). It states that the State shall take steps to separate
constitution? the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the
State. Thus this article calls for the separation of power.

The Collegium System is a system under which

appointments and elevations of judges and lawyers to the
Supreme Court and the High Courts, and also the transfer of
19. What is the collegium system in
judges to High Courts and the Supreme Court are decided by
respect of the Indian judiciary?
a forum of the Chief Justice of India and 4 senior-most judges
of the Supreme Court. The recommendation of collegium is
binding on the president.

● Section 66A of the IT act 2000 reads: "Any person

who sends by any means of a computer resource any
information that is grossly offensive or has a menacing
character; or any information which he knows to be
false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance,
20. Write a note on Section 66A of the IT act
inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult shall be
2000.
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to three years and with fine."
● In the Shreya Singhal Vs Union of India case, The
Supreme Court of India scrapped this section of the IT
Act.

Meaning of Separation of Powers:

21. Write a note on the theory of
Separation of powers divides the mechanism of governance
separation of power
into three branches i.e. Legislature, Executive, and the
Judiciary.
Features of the doctrine of separation of Power:
1. Each organ should have a different person, i.e., a
person with a function in one organ should not be a
part of another organ.
2. One organ should not interfere in the functioning of the
other organs.
3. One organ should not exercise a function of another
organ (they should stick to their mandate only).

Purpose of the Separation of power:

The purpose of separation of powers is to prevent abuse of
power by a single person or a group of individuals. It will
guard the society against the arbitrary, irrational, and
tyrannical powers of the state, safeguard freedom for all and
allocate each function to the suitable organs of the state for
effective discharge of their respective duties.

Significance of the doctrine:

Whenever there is a concentration of power in one
center/authority, there are bound to be greater chances of
maladministration, corruption, nepotism, and abuse of power.
This principle ensures that autocracy does not creep into a
democratic system. It protects citizens from arbitrary rule.
Hence, the importance of the Separation of Powers doctrine
can be summed up as follows:
1. Keeps away autocracy
2. Safeguards individual liberty
3. Helps create an efficient administration
4. Judiciary’s independence is maintained
5. Prevents the legislature from enacting arbitrary or
unconstitutional laws

Constitutional Status of Separation of Power in India:

The doctrine of separation of powers is a part of the basic
structure of the Constitution, although not specifically
mentioned. The legislature cannot pass a law violating this
principle. The functions of the three organs are specifically
mentioned in the Constitution.

Following are some of the articles of the Constitution which

suggest separation of powers:

● Article 50: This article puts an obligation over the

State to separate the judiciary from the executive. But,
since this falls under the Directive Principles of State
Policy, it is not enforceable.
 ● Article 123: The President, being the executive head of
the country, is empowered to exercise legislative
powers (Promulgate ordinances) in certain conditions.
● Articles 121 and 211: These provide that the
legislatures cannot discuss the conduct of a judge of the
Supreme Court or High Court. They can do so only in
case of impeachment.
● Article 361: The President and Governors enjoy
immunity from court proceedings.

● The Parliament comprises all the members elected to

22. What is the difference between
both houses of Parliament.
the central government and the
● The government comprises those members of the party
Parliament?
(or alliance of parties) that have won the most seats.