QUESTION BANK

Working of Institutions.
Each question carries 1 mark.
1. What was Mandal Commission asked to do? Explain SEBC.
2. When did Government of India appoint the second Backward Class Commission?
Who was its head?
4. When did Mandal Commission give its report? What was one of the recommendations
of the Commission?
5. What type of institution is Supreme Court?
6. Mention one good point of political institutions?
7. In which matter does Lok Shabha exercise more power?
8. For how many days can the Rajya Sabha delay a money bill?
9. Whom does the President appoint the Prime Minister in case no single party or
alliance gets a majority?
10. What is meant by the judiciary?
11. Give the composition of the Indian Judiciary?
Each question carries 3 marks.
1. On August 13th 1990, the Government of India issued as order. What was this order
about?
2. How does the Supreme Court of India resolve the dispute that arose due to the order
issued by the Government of India on August 13th 1990?
3. Which political institution have been described in the chapter working of the
institutions and what functions are assigned to them?
4. Why are institutions essential in democratic governments?
5. How is the Lok Sabha more powerful than the Rajya Sabha?
6. Why is the minister more powerful than the civil servant?
7. ‘The Prime Minister in a coalition government faces certain constraints. Explain.
8. Give a brief description of the appointments made by the President of India.
9. What is the significance of Parliament in a democratic country?
10. What is the election procedure of the President of India?

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11. When and how does the President exercise his discretions?
12. Justify the statement,’ institutions essential in a democratic government’.
13. Describe the composition of the Parliament in our country.
14. ‘The Prime Minister of a coalition government faces certain constraints. Explain.
15. Why does the political executive have more power than the non-political executives?
Comment.
16. Distinguish between the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
17. How can you say that the judiciary in India is more powerful in the world?
18. How is the Prime Minister elected in India? What powers does the Prime Minister
exercise?

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS. Each question carries 5 marks.

1. How is the Prime Minister of India elected?
2. Describe the powers and functions of the Prime Minister of India.
3. Distinguish between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
4. Describe the powers and functions of the President of India.
5. How can you say that the judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world?
6. Write briefly about the Indian Parliament and its two houses.
1. How are some of the delays and complications introduced by institutions very useful?
2. What values are associated with ‘Parliament’ in a democratic country?
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STUDY MATERIAL
Working of Institutions
Need for Political Institutions
• A government has to perform various duties, formulate policies and implement them.
• Some have to formulate schemes, some have to take decisions, some have to
implement the decisions.
• Hence the need for institutions to do all the above.
• The Constitution of a country lays down basic rules on powers and functions of each
institution.
• The prime minister and the cabinet take all policy decisions.
• The civil servants take the steps to implement ministers’ decisions.
• Supreme court solves disputes between citizen and government.
• The institutions are the Legislative (Parliament), the Executive (the Government) and
the Judiciary.
Major Policy Decision
• Government of India appointed a Commission in 1979, headed by B.P. Mandal, called
Second Backward Commission.
• Commission gave a report in 1980. One of the suggestions was to reserve 27 percent
of government jobs for Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC).
• This issue was discussed this for many years.
• Janata Dal won elections in 1989. V.P. Singh, the Prime Minister, decided to
implement reservations.
• The President announced it in his address to the Parliament.
• On 6 August 1990, the Cabinet decided to implement and the Prime Minister
announced it in both Houses of Parliament.
• The senior officers drafted an order, signed by an officer and it became the
Memorandum issued on 13 August 1990.
• There was a heated debate on the issue and it was finally taken to the Supreme Court.
The case was known as “Indira Sawhney and others vs Union of India case.”
• In 1992 Supreme Court declared the Mandal order as valid but asked for some

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modifications.
Questions and Answers:
Q1. What is Office Memorandum?
Ans: Office Memorandum is a communication issued by an appropriate authority stating the
policy or decision of the government
Q2. What are political Institutions? What is the necessity of such Political Institutions in
India?
Ans: Government plans several arrangements to provide social security, education, health and
basic needs in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called institutions. A
democracy works well when these institutions perform function as assigned to them.
Necessity of such Political Institutions in India is:
i) Institutions involve meetings, committees and routines. This often helps the
government runs in a systematic manner.
ii) The above system cause delays sometimes but some of the delays and
complications introduced by institutions are very useful as they provide an
opportunity for a wider set of people to be consulted.
iii) Although Institutions make it difficult to have a good decision taken very quickly.
But at the same time, they also make it equally difficult to rush through a bad
decision.
Q3. What did the Government Order issued on 13th August, 1990 declare? Did citizens of
India spontaneously accepts it? What was finally decided?
Ans: The order said that other than SCs and STs the 27% job reservation benefit will be given
to a new third category called Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC). Only
persons who belong to backward classes were eligible for this quota.
When the Office Memorandum was passed in India, it was a hot debated issue. Some felt that
this was unfair as it would deny equality of opportunity to those who did not belong to
backward communities. While others felt that this would give a fair opportunity to those
communities.
This dispute was finally resolved by the Supreme Court of India by hearing all the cases. This
case was known as the ‘Indira Sawhney and others Vs Union of India case’. The Supreme

4
Court judges in 1992 declared that this order of the Government of India was valid. Thus, the
dispute came to an end and this policy has been followed since then.
Q4. Who decided to issue this Memorandum?
Ans: Such a major decision involved other major functionaries like:
1. The President is the head of the state and is the highest formal authority in India.
2. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and takes most of the decisions in
the Cabinet meetings.
3. Parliament consists of the President and two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The Prime Minister must have the support of a majority of Lok Sabha members to
pass a memorandum.
Q5. Which of the following institutions can make changes to an existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court (b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister (d) The Parliament
Ans: (d)
Q6. What is government order?
Ans: A government order is a written direction on an issue signed by a government authority.
Q7. Write about the long chain of events before the passing of Government Order for OBC
reservation.
Ans: Events are:
i) The Government of India had appointed the Mandal Commission in 1979.
ii) The Commission gave its Report in 1980 and made many recommendations like 27
per cent of government jobs to be reserved for the socially and economically
backward classes.
iii) For several years, many parliamentarians and parties kept demanding the
implementation of the commission’s recommendations.
iv) In its election manifesto, in 1989, the Janata Dal promised that if voted to power, it
would implement the Mandal Commission report.
v) This party won. On 6 August 1990, the union cabinet took a formal decision to
implement the recommendations and its leader V. P. Singh who became the Prime
Minister, implemented it.

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Q8. Who are the Decision Makers in India?
Ans: a) President is the head of the state and is the highest formal authority in the country.
b) Prime Minister is the head of the government and actually exercises governmental powers.
He takes most of the decisions in the Cabinet meetings.
c) Parliament consists of two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The parliament makes
important laws to be followed by everyone.
Q9. What is meant by ‘Office Memorandum’?
a) Order issued by the Government of India
b) Memoirs of the leaders of the past
c) Important defence documents
d) None of the above
M.C.Q.
Q10. When was the Second Backward Class Commission appointed?
a) 1989
b) 1979
c) 1999
d) 2001
Q11. Why did people react strongly to the Mandal Commission Report?
a) It left out many backward communities
b) It affected thousands of job opportunities
c) Some high castes wanted to be included in it
d) Both (a) and (c)
Q12. Is every Office Memorandum a major political decision? If not, what made this one
different?
Ans. No. Every Memorandum is not a major political decision. This was important because it
made the announcement of 27% reservation for SEBC class, in addition to the reservations
already there for SCs and STs.
Q13. When was the Second Backward Class Commission appointed?
(a) 1989 (b)1979
(c) 1999 (d) 2001

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Q14. what is meant by ‘Office Memorandum’?
(a) Order issued by the Government of India (b) Memoirs of the leaders of the past
(c) Important defence documents (d) none of the above

Class Notes:
Parliament:
In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political
authority on the behalf of the people. At national level it is parliament and at state level it is
legislative assembly.
1. It is needed as final authority to make laws in the country.
2. To exercise control over the workings of the government.
3. To control the expenditure of the government, and control public money.
4. As the highest forum of discussion and debate it decides public issues and national
policies.
• Two Houses of Parliament. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The former has elected
representatives and is the House of People.
•The Rajya Sabha elected by the elected members of each State Assembly is called the
Council of States.
• Lok Sabha is more important in money matters, control over the executive and council of
ministers., has more members. It is also called as lower chamber.
•Rajya Sabha is more important in matters concerning the states. It is called as upper
chamber.
• Lok Sabha is elected for a period of five years. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House, with
one third members retiring every two years. The term of each member is for six years.
The President of India is part of the parliament although she is not a member of either house.
Q1. What is a Parliament?
Ans: In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament which
exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people. At the state level, this is called
the Legislature or Legislative Assembly. The name may vary from one country to another,
but such an assembly exists in every democracy.
Q2. How does the Parliament exercise its authority?

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Ans: Decisions are not directly taken in Parliament. But Parliamentary discussions on the
report influence and shape the decision of the government. These discussions bring pressure
on the government to take action. If Parliament is not in favour of the decision, then the
Government cannot go ahead and cannot implement the decision.
Parliament exercises political authority on behalf of the people in the following ways:
a) Parliament is needed as it is the final authority for making laws in any country.
b) Parliament Checks on arbitrary powers of other organs- Judiciary and Executive.
Those who run the government can take decisions only when they get the support of
Parliament.
c) Parliament controls all the money that government earns or spends.
d) Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national
policy in any country.
e) Parliament is needed to elect President, Vice President, Speaker.
f) It also has Judicial power like impeachment of President and removal of chief justice
and judges.
Q3. Why do we need Parliament?
Ans: We need a parliament to ensure freedom of speech, movements and association, and to
be sure that there is no misuse of authority by elected leaders as constitution describe their
powers and limitations to select the national government to control guide, and inform the
government for making laws.
Q4. How many houses are there in the Indian Parliament? Describe its composition.
Ans: In our country, the Parliament consists of two Houses: These two Houses are known as
the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Its
composition is like this:
a) The total number of elected members of Lok Sabha is 543+2 Anglo Indian
nominated members. The total number of members of Rajya Sabha is 238+12
nominated members.
b) Members of Lok Sabha are elected by the people. Members of Rajya Sabha are
elected by the MLAs and MPs.
c) The length of the term of Lok Sabha members is 5 years. The length of the term of

8
Rajya Sabha members is 6 years.
d) Lok Sabha can be dissolved but Raya Sabha is permanent and only the members
retire.
Q5. How does Lok Sabha exercise more power than Rajya Sabha?
Ans: Lok Sabha exercise more power than Rajya Sabha in the following way:
a) Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference of
opinion between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session in which the
view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail.
b) Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes
the budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha
cannot reject. It can only delay it by 14 days.
c) Most importantly, the Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person
who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha,is
appointed as the Prime Minister.
d) If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the
Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister, have to quit. The
Rajya Sabha does not have this power.
Q6. What are the differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?
Ans: Two Houses of Parliament are Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
a) The former has elected representatives and is the House of People whereas the Rajya
Sabha is elected by the elected members of each State Assembly is called the Council
of States.
b) Lok Sabha is more important in money matters and has control over the executive and
council of ministers. It has more members. It is also called as lower chamber.
c) Rajya Sabha is more important in matters concerning the states. It is called as upper
chamber.
d) Lok Sabha is elected for a period of five years. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent
House, with one third members retiring every two years. The term of each member is
six years.
e) Indian Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states.
But in most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power.

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Q7. Can the Houses of Parliament be dissolved? Select the correct option.
a) Lok Sabha cannot be dissolved because it is a permanent house whereas Rajya
Sabha can be dissolved.
b) Both the Houses of Parliament cannot be dissolved
c) Rajya Sabha is a permanent house so it cannot be dissolved whereas, Lok Sabha can
be dissolve
d) Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can be dissolved.
HOTs:
Q8. Why is the Prime Minister in India not directly elected by the people? Choose the most
appropriate answer and give reasons for your choice.
(a) In a parliamentary democracy only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha can
become the Prime Minister.
(b) Lok Sabha can remove the Prime Minister and the Council of Minister even before the
expiry of their term.
(c) The Prime Minister in appointed by the President, so there is no need for it.
(d) Direct election of the Prime Minister will involve a lot of expenditure on election.
Ans. (a) Elections are not fought for the post of the Prime Minister. Only parties fight
elections and the winning party’s leader becomes the Prime Minister.
Class Notes:
Political Executive
• The President, the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers and the civil servants
form the executive.
• The Political Executive consists of political leaders elected by the people, who act on
their behalf and are responsible to the public who elected them. They take all the
decisions, understand the overall picture.
Which institutions are at work in therunning of your school? Would it be better if
one person alone took all the decisionsregarding management of your school?
• When we talk about the government, we usually mean the executive.
• The second category is called the permanent executive consisting of civil servants.
They help the political executive in carrying out the day-to-day work. They are experts

10
but do not take the final decision.
• Prime minister is the most important political institution in the country.
• Prime Minister has three kinds of ministers to help him :(i) Cabinet Ministers. It is the
inner ring of the council of ministers. (ii) Ministers of State with independent charges. -
Usually in charge of smaller ministries. (iii) Deputy Ministers.
• The Prime Minister’s position is supreme. He chooses his Cabinet and his decision is
final, except in a coalition government where he has to listen to other party members.
• When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.

Q1. What do you mean by Executive?

Ans: At different levels of any government, functionaries take day-to-day decisions but do
not exercise supreme power on behalf of the people. All these functionaries are collectively
known as the executive. This executive is in charge of the ‘execution’ of the policies of the
government. So, when we talk about ‘the government’ we actually mean the executive.
Q2. Why is the minister more powerful than the civil servant?
Ans: Reasons are:
a) In a democracy the will of the people is supreme. The minister is an elected
representative of the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on
their behalf.
b) This Minister is again answerable to the people for all the consequences of his/her
decision. That is why the minister takes all the final decisions.
c) The minister is not expected to be an expert in the matters of her ministry. The
minister takes the advice of experts on all technical matters and then takes the
decision which is implemented by the civil servants.
Q3. Who appoints the Prime Minister and how?
Ans:
a) There is no direct election to the post of the Prime Minister. The President appoints
the Prime Minister.
b) The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties that
commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.

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c) In case no single party or alliance gets a majority, the President has the discretion to
appoint the person most likely to secure majority support.
d) The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power so long as he
remains the leader of the majority party or coalition.
Q4. How is the Council of Ministers selected?
Ans: The Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the
Ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks.
a) After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other ministers on
the advice of the Prime Minister who are usually from the majority party or the
coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha.
b) The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers, as long as they are members of
Parliament.
c) A person who is not a member of Parliament can also become a minister. But such a
person has to get elected to one of the Houses of Parliament within six months of
appointment as minister.
Q5. Describe the three categories of ministers in the Indian legislature.
Ans:
Cabinet Ministers: They are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in
charge of the major ministries. The cabinet is the inner ring of the Council of Ministers and
comprises about 25 ministers. They meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of
Ministers.
Ministers of State: They are usually in independent charge of smaller Ministries. They
participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
Deputy Ministers: They are the junior minister, who are assigned to assist cabinet ministers
and the ministers of state with independent charge.
Q6. Which house has more power regarding money bill?
Ans: The Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes
the budget of any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it.
Q7. What is no confidence motion?
Ans: A no-confidence motion is a Parliamentary floor test that demonstrates to the ruling

12
government that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in them. To continue to stay
in power, it has to prove its majority in the Parliament.
Q8. How is PM elected?
Ans: The speaker nominates a candidate, who is then elected to prime minister by the
parliament if an absolute majority of the members of parliament does not vote no (i.e. he can
be elected even if more MP’s vote no than yes
Q9. Write about the powers of the Prime Minister.
Ans: As head of the government, the Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers:
1. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He chairs Cabinet meetings.
2. He coordinates the work of different Departments.
3. His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments.
4. He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
5. All ministers work under his leadership.
6. The Prime Minister’s position is supreme. He chooses his Cabinet and his decision is
final, except in a coalition government where he has to listen to other party members.
7. The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
8. He has the power to dismiss ministers.
9. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
Q10. What is the role of the President of India? How is he elected?
Ans: The President is the head of the State. The President supervises the overall functioning
of all the political institutions in India, so that they operate in harmony to achieve the
objectives of the State.
Election of President: The President is not elected directly by the people. A candidate
standing for President’s post has to get a majority of votes from the electoral college which
consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Members of the Legislative Assemblies
(MLAs) to win the election.
Q11. Write about different Powers of the President of India.
Ans: Different Powers of the President of India are:
a) The President is the nominal head in India. All governmental activities take place in
the name of the President.

13
b) All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in the name of the
President. But since he is elected indirectly, he does not have the same powers as the
Prime Minister.
c) All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
d) All major appointments are made in the name of the President, which include the
appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners etc.
But the President exercises all his legislative, executive, financial, judicial, military
powers only on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.
e) The President can only delay a bill. If the Parliament passes it again, he has to sign it.
f) The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
Q12. What are the differences between the political executive and the permanent
executive?
Ans: In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive. The political and the
permanent executives.
1. Political executives are the ministers and the members of parliament while permanent
executives are the civil servants or bureaucrats.
2. Political executives are elected by the people while the permanent executives are
selected through public examinations.
3. Political Executives have decision making power while the civil servants can only
carry out instructions of the political executives.
4. Permanent executives are appointed on a long-term basis. They remain in office even
when the ruling party changes. But the political executives are elected for five years’
term and they have fair chance to lose in each election.
Q13. Why Parliamentary democracy is also referred to as Cabinet form of government?
Ans: Parliamentary democracy in most countries is often known as the Cabinet form of
government because most of the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. Every ministry has
secretaries, who are civil servants. The secretaries provide the necessary background
information to the ministers to take decisions. The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the
Cabinet Secretariat.
Q14. What is referred to as Prime Ministerial form of government?

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Ans: The powers of the Prime Minister in all parliamentary democracies of the world have
increased so many in recent decades that parliamentary democracies are seen as Prime
Ministerial form of government.
MCQs
Q15. The President of India is elected by
a) Direct election by citizens who are 18 years or above
b) Indirect election by the Electoral College
c) Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers
d) None of these
Q16. Who is the Real Executive of the Indian Union?
a) The Prime Minister
b) The President
c) The Union Cabinet
d) The President and the Prime Minister
Q16. Which of the following statements is true regarding President of India?
a) Head of the government
b) Head of the state
c) Head of the Parliament
d) None of these
HOTs:
The ruling party, after a debate and discussion, learns about the weak points in its views.
It can modify them in the light of what it learns. If no debate is held it will not come to know
the views of the opposition or of the people, and take arbitrary decision.
Picture study:
Study the pictures and understand the significance:
a) The race to become a minister is not new. Here is a cartoon depicting ministerial
aspirants waiting to get a berth in Nehru’s Cabinet after the 1962 elections. Why do
you think political leaders are so keen to become ministers?

15
Ans. Political leaders are keen to become ministers because of the power, prestige and
financial gains they get. Minister have many privileges; power is desired by many. If
your intentions are honourable, you can serve the nation in many ways. If not, you can
misuse them for personal gain.
b) The cartoon below, depicts a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
in the early 1970s, at the peak of her popularity. Do you think similar cartoons could bedrawn
about other prime ministers who followed her?

Q1. What is the point in having so much

debate and discussion in the Parliament when

Ans. No. None of the Prime Ministers who followed her had the same status or power as
Indira Gandhi had in the early 1970s.

Q. What is the role of the President of India? How is he elected?

Ans: The President is the head of the State. The President supervises the overall functioning
of all the political institutions in India, so that they operate in harmony to achieve the
objectives of the State.

Election of President: The President is not elected directly by the people. A candidate
standing for President’s post has to get a majority of votes from the electoral college which
consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Members of the Legislative Assemblies
(MLAs) to win the election.

Q. Write about different Powers of the President of India.

Ans: Different Powers of the President of India are:

a) The President is the nominal head in India. All governmental activities take place in
the name of the President.
b) All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in the name of the
President. But since he is elected indirectly, he does not have the same powers as the
Prime Minister.
c) All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.

16
 d) All major appointments are made in the name of the President, which include the
appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners etc.
But the President exercises all his legislative, executive, financial, judicial, military
powers only on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.
e) The President can only delay a bill. If the Parliament passes it again, he has to sign it.
f) The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.

Notes:
The Judiciary: India has one of the most powerful judiciaries.
• The Judiciary is independent of both the Executive and the Legislature.
• The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President on the advice of
the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.
• The other judges of the Supreme Court and the State High Courts are appointed in the
same way but on the advice of the Chief Justice.
• Once appointed, the Judges can be removed only by impeachment.
• The Judiciary is the custodian of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court and the
High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution.
• It can declare any law passed by the Legislature as invalid, if it violates the
Constitution.
• It safeguards the Fundamental Rights of the people of India, and checks malpractice
and misuse of power by the Executive or the Legislature.

Q1. What is Judiciary? Write about the composition of Indian Judiciary.

Ans: All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary. The
Indian judiciary consists of:
• A Supreme Court for the entire nation
• High Courts in the states
• District Courts
• The courts at the local level
India has an integrated judiciary which means the Supreme Court controls the judicial
administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.
Q2. Mention the jurisdiction of Indian Judiciary.

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Ans: Indian Judiciary deals with cases:
a) Between citizens of the country
b) Between citizens and government
c) Between two or more state governments
d) Between governments at the union and state level
Q3. Describe the Powers of Judiciary
Ans: The judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world. The powers are:
a) The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution
of the country.
b) They can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the
executive in the country when it is challenged before them. This is known as
the ‘judicial review’.
c) The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or basic principles of the
Constitution cannot be changed by the Parliament.
d) The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the
guardian of the Fundamental Rights.
e) Anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of the
government. This is called public interest litigation.
Q4. What do you mean by independence of Judiciary?
Ans: Independence of the judiciary means that it is not under the control of the legislature or
the executive. The judges do not act on the direction of the government or according to the
wishes of the party in power.
Q5. Write about the provisions of the Indian Constitution, which ensure independence of
Judiciary.
Ans: Provisions are:

i) The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the
President who is a non-political person and does not belong to any political party.
ii) Once a person is appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is
nearly impossible to remove him or her from that position.

18
iii) A judge can beremoved only by an impeachment motion passed by special majority in
theParliament.
iv) Salary of judges is given from contingency fund which means it is not dependent
on the decision of legislature or executive.
v) Decision of the judges cannot be criticised and every one must abide by that.
Q6. Describe the powers of the Supreme Court and High Court of India.
Ans: Powers are:
a) Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases. It can hear
appeals against the decisions of the High Courts.
b) The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution
of the country. They can declare any law of the legislature invalid if they find such
a law or action is against the Constitution.
c) The Supreme Court can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or
action of the executive in the country, when it is challenged before them. This is
known as the judicial review.
d) The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the
guardian of the Fundamental Rights.
e) Courts have given several judgments and directives to protect public interest and
human rights. Anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the
actions of government. This is called Public Interest litigation.
M.C.Q.
Q1. Which of the following statements about Judiciary is false?
a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs approval of the Supreme Court
b) Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution
c) Judiciary is independent of the Executive
d) Any citizen can approach the courts if his/her rights, are violated
Q2. Judiciary (court) can take up any dispute like
(i) Between citizens and the judiciary

(ii) Between citizens and the government

(iii) Between two or more state governments

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(iv) Between government at the Union and governments of the other countries.
Select the best options
a) (i)
b) (ii)
c) (i), (ii) and (iii)
Q3. Which of the following institutions can make changes to an existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The Parliament
Ans: (d)
Q4. True or False
Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
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