Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DIFFICULT TERMS
118
INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Instrument of Accession: According Mandamus: This is a writ that is in the
to the Government of India Act, 1935 form of an order from the Court to any
the princely states of India were given government, court, corporation or
the option to join or not to join the public authority to do or to refrain from
federation of India. Those who intended doing some specific act which that body
to join were required to submit an is obliged under law to do or refrain
Instrument of Accession wherein they from doing, as the case may be, and
were to mention those subjects which which is in the nature of a public duty
they wanted to surrender to the and in certain cases a statutory duty.
federation. Metropolitan Area: According to the
Joint/Separate Electorate: Where the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amen-
voters are organised separately on the dment) Act, 1992 Metropolitan Area
basis of community, such as Hindus/ means an area having a population of
Muslims, they are called separate ten lakhs or more, comprised in one or
electorate. When they are organised more districts and consisting of two or
jointly (without any consideration of more Municipalities or Panchayats or
community) they are called joint other contiguous areas, specified by the
electorate. Governor of a State by public
notification to be a metropolitan area.
Judicial Review: It is a process
through which judiciary examines Money Bill: A bill that provides for the
whether the laws enacted by a imposition, abolition, remission,
legislature are within the limits alteration or regulation of any tax; the
prescribed by the constitution. It is also custody of the consolidated fund or the
applicable in a case where the judiciary contingency fund or the appropriation
examines whether the actions of the of any money from these funds.
executive are within the limits National Integration: It means
prescribed by the constitution or law incorporation of individuals belonging
of the land. to different groups as equals into the
Magna Carta: It is regarded as a nation.
Charter of liberties. In 1215, John, the Pardon: It is an act of grace. It not only
king of England, was compelled by removes the punishment but also
barons and clergy to concede to their places the offender in the same position
demands. Though it was in no sense a as if he had never committed the
people’s charter at that time, offence.
subsequent tradition transformed it Powers of the Individual Judgement:
into a Charter of English liberties. These Under the Government of India Act,
liberties provide that no free man might 1935 the Governors and the Governor-
be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed, General were required to consult their
outlawed, exiled or harassed in any Council of Ministers in certain matters
other way save by authority of law of but were not bound by their advice.
the land. They applied their own judgement in
the matter. This power was called the Public Undertakings: The newly
Power of Individual Judgement. independent states in order to overcome
Preamble: The introductory part of a their economic stagnation and the poor
constitution/Law that states the rate of growth during colonial rule had
reasons for and intent of the to enter the field of industrial and
constitution/law. commercial enterprise to ensure better
utilization of available resources and
Preventive Detention Act: An Act build essential infrastructure for
which provides for detention of a person, national development. This led the
for not committing an offence but, in setting up of public undertakings.
order to prevent him from committing There are three principal forms into
an offence.
which our public undertakings have
Prohibition: This writ commands the been organised, viz., departmental
court or tribunal to whom it is issued undertakings, government companies
to refrain from doing something that it and statutory public corporation.
is about to do.
Quo Warranto: This is a writ that is
Proportional Representation: It is a issued to prevent a person who has
system where seats are allotted to a wrongfully usurped an office from
party or group in a legislature or an continuing in that office. The writ calls
executive in proportion to the upon the holder of the office to show to
population of or the votes cast in favour the court under what authority he holds
of that party or group. the office. If the court determines that
Public Accounts Committee: It is a the person is holding the office illegally,
committee of Legislature/Parliament. It it would pass the order of ouster that
scrutinizes the appropriation accounts must be obeyed by him.
of the government. It ensures that Race: A division of mankind possessing
public money is spent in accordance traits that is transmissible by descent
with Parliament’s/Legislature’s and sufficient to characterize it as a
decisions and calls attention to cases distinct human type.
of waste, extravagance, loss or nugatory
(worthless) expenditure or lack of Racialism: An ideology that believes in
financial integrity in public services. racial prejudices or racial
discrimination.
Public Corporations: A public
corporation is set up by an Act of Reasonable Restrictions: The rights
Legislature which defines the under Article 19 are subject to certain
organisation and functions of the restrictions. These restrictions should
corporation. The idea behind be reasonable. Whether a particular
establishing a corporation is to secure restriction is reasonable or not is to be
“a combination of public ownership, decided ultimately by the judiciary.
public accountability and business Remission: It means reduction in the
management for public ends”. amount of punishment without
120
INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
changing the character of punishment grounds of religion. Still, there are
e.g. a life sentence is reduced to others who regard it to mean equal
imprisonment for ten years. respect to all religions. The judiciary in
Reprieve: It means a temporary India has interpreted it to mean that
suspension of the punishment fixed by the state should treat all religions
the law. equally and there should be no
discrimination on grounds of religion.
Reserved Transferred Subjects:
According to the Government of India Single Transferable Vote System:
Act, 1919 provincial subjects were This is one of the devices of proportional
divided into two categories. Some representation. Ordinarily, this
subjects were transferred to and put device is adopted in a multi-member
under the charge of a Minister constituency, i.e. a constituency from
where two or more members are to be
responsible to the provincial legislature.
elected. According to the normal
Others were reserved to and put under
practice a voter is required to cast as
the charge of councillors not
many votes as the number of members
accountable to the legislature.
are to be elected from that
Respite: It means postponement of the constituency. But in the system of
execution of a sentence to future. single transferable vote, the voter is
Scheduled Castes/Tribes: Under the given one single vote only but the voter
Government of India Act, 1935 names is given a choice to get his vote
of some castes/tribes that were given transferred to another candidate of his
special protection were put in a choice. That’s why it is called Single
Schedule attached to the Act. Since Transferable Vote System.
then, persons belonging to these Subordinate Legislation: When the
castes/tribes began to be called legislature enacts a law, it leaves the
Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes. details to be worked out by the
Secularism: There is a school of executive through rules and
thought which believes that the State regulations subject to the approval of
should confine itself to the temporal or the legislature. This arrangement is
worldly affairs. It should be indifferent called subordinate legislation.
to religious matters. This is called Weaker Sections: The Constitution
secularism. However, the ter m does not define this term. The courts,
secularism gives different connotations however, have interpreted it to mean
to different people. Some people treat it people belonging to the Scheduled
as anti–religious, while to others it Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other
means absence of discrimination on backward classes.