Fundamental Rights — Set 7

Correct Answer: B. Article 15(3)

• **Article 15(3)** = permits the State to make 'special provisions' for women and children; this is a positive/protective discrimination exception to the general anti-discrimination rule in Art.15(1). • **Scope** — Art.15(3) applies to BOTH women AND children; it is NOT limited to reservation in education/jobs. • 💡 Option A (Article 29) is wrong because Art.29 protects minority cultural and linguistic rights — not special provisions for women/children; Option C (Article 14) is wrong because Art.14 guarantees general equality — it does not specifically permit special provisions for women/children; Option D (Article 16) is wrong because Art.16 deals with equality in public employment — it does not specifically allow special provisions for women/children (that is Art.15(3)).

Correct Answer: C. Article 20(3)

• **Article 20(3)** = the 'Right to Silence' is part of this clause which protects against self-incrimination; no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. • **Scope of Silence** — the right to remain silent during police interrogation was extended in Nandini Satpathy v. P.L. Dani (1978); but the right does NOT protect against: blood samples, DNA tests, narco-analysis, voice samples (these are physical evidence, not testimonial). • 💡 Option A (Article 19) is wrong because Art.19 protects freedoms like speech and movement — the Right to Silence comes from Art.20(3), not Art.19; Option B (Article 22) is wrong because Art.22 protects against arbitrary arrest and provides for legal representation — not the specific right to silence against self-incrimination; Option D (Article 21) is wrong because Art.21 is the broader right to life and personal liberty — while privacy under Art.21 may have some overlap, the specific right to silence/non-self-incrimination is Art.20(3).

Correct Answer: A. Article 25

• **Article 25** = explicitly mentions the right to 'propagate' religion — meaning the right to explain and spread one's religious beliefs and tenets to others. • **Propagate ≠ Convert** — the right to propagate does NOT include the right to force, coerce, or fraudulently induce someone to convert to one's religion; the State may regulate or restrict religious conversion by fraud or inducement. • 💡 Option B (Article 26) is wrong because Art.26 gives collective rights to religious denominations to manage their affairs — not individual right to propagate religion; Option C (Article 29) is wrong because Art.29 protects minority cultural and linguistic interests — not the right to propagate religion; Option D (Article 28) is wrong because Art.28 prohibits religious instruction in state-funded schools — it restricts religious teaching, not protects the right to propagate.

Correct Answer: B. Mandal Commission Case

• **Mandal Commission Case** = the popular name for the Indra Sawhney v. Union of India case (1992) decided by a 9-judge Supreme Court bench. • **Key Rulings** — (1) 27% OBC reservation upheld; (2) Creamy Layer among OBCs excluded; (3) total reservations capped at 50% (with extraordinary circumstances exception); (4) no reservation in promotions for OBC; (5) concept of 'backward class' based on social/educational backwardness, not just economic. • 💡 Option A (Habeas Corpus Case) is wrong because the famous Habeas Corpus case is ADM Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla (1976) during Emergency — completely unrelated to Indra Sawhney; Option C (Basic Structure Case) is wrong because the Basic Structure case is Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) — not Indra Sawhney; Option D (Privacy Case) is wrong because the Right to Privacy case is K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) — not Indra Sawhney.

Correct Answer: C. Article 19(1)(a)

• **Article 19(1)(a)** = the 'Freedom of Press' is implicit (not explicitly stated) in this article which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. • **No Separate Article** — unlike the USA's First Amendment which explicitly mentions 'freedom of the press', India's Constitution has no separate article; courts have held the press has the same freedom as ordinary citizens under Art.19(1)(a); censorship, pre-publication restraint, and newspaper closure are restrictions subject to Art.19(2). • 💡 Option A (Article 14) is wrong because Art.14 guarantees equality before law — it is not the source of press freedom; Option B (Article 32) is wrong because Art.32 is the Right to Constitutional Remedies — it enforces rights but does not itself protect the press; Option D (Article 21) is wrong because Art.21 protects life and personal liberty — while courts have linked some expression rights to Art.21, the specific source of press freedom is Art.19(1)(a).

Correct Answer: A. President and Governor

• **President and Governor** = exceptions to equality before law under Article 14; they enjoy immunity from legal proceedings under Article 361 of the Constitution. • **Article 361 Immunity** — no criminal proceedings can be instituted against the President or Governor during their term; no court can issue process for their arrest or imprisonment; civil proceedings during term require 2 months' notice. • 💡 Option B (Prime Minister) is wrong because the Prime Minister has NO constitutional immunity from criminal or civil proceedings — PM can be arrested, prosecuted, and tried just like any citizen; Option C (Chief Minister) is wrong because Chief Ministers also have NO special immunity under the Constitution — they can be criminally prosecuted; Option D (Judges) is wrong because while judges have immunity for acts done in their judicial capacity, they do NOT have general immunity from all proceedings like the President/Governor under Art.361.

Correct Answer: D. Fundamental Right

• **Fundamental Right** = the current status of the right to form Cooperative Societies; elevated to this status by the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011. • **97th Amendment** — added 'cooperative societies' to Art.19(1)(c) making it a FR; also added Part IXB on cooperative societies, Art.43B as a new DPSP, and Art.51A(k) as a new Fundamental Duty. • 💡 Option A (Legal Right) is wrong because a legal right is a lower category than a FR — after the 97th Amendment it was elevated FROM a legal right TO a Fundamental Right; Option B (Directive Principle) is wrong because while Art.43B (DPSP) was also added by 97th Amendment, the RIGHT to form cooperatives is specifically a FR under Art.19(1)(c); Option C (Constitutional Right) is wrong because all FRs are constitutional rights, but FRs specifically are Part III rights enforceable by courts under Art.32 — 'constitutional right' is a broader, less precise term.

Correct Answer: D. Article 11

• **Article 11** = empowers Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by enactment — the Citizenship Act 1955 was passed under this article. • **Location** — Art.11 is in Part II (Citizenship, Arts.5-11), not Part III; it gives Parliament plenary power to make laws on acquisition and termination of citizenship. • 💡 Option A (Article 9) is wrong because Art.9 says a person who voluntarily acquires citizenship of a foreign state ceases to be an Indian citizen — it is a rule, not an empowerment of Parliament; Option B (Article 8) is wrong because Art.8 deals with rights of citizenship for certain persons of Indian origin living outside India; Option C (Article 10) is wrong because Art.10 says every person who is a citizen shall continue to be a citizen subject to Parliament's laws — it does not specifically empower Parliament to REGULATE citizenship.

Correct Answer: A. Article 21

• **Article 21** = the 'Right to Livelihood' is held to be an integral part of 'right to life' under Article 21 of the Constitution. • **Olga Tellis Case, 1985** — also called the 'Pavement Dwellers Case'; SC held that the right to livelihood is borne out of the right to life because no person can live without the means of living; eviction of pavement dwellers without notice violated Art.21. • 💡 Option B (Article 19) is wrong because Art.19 guarantees freedoms like speech and movement — right to livelihood is NOT one of the six enumerated freedoms under Art.19; Option C (Article 16) is wrong because Art.16 deals with equality of opportunity in public employment — it does not protect the broader right to livelihood for all; Option D (Article 14) is wrong because Art.14 guarantees equality before law — it does not specifically protect the right to earn a livelihood.

Correct Answer: A. Article 24

• **Article 24** = prohibits employment of children below 14 years in factories, mines, or any other hazardous employment. • **Hazardous Employment** — factories and mines are explicitly mentioned; 'other hazardous employment' has been interpreted broadly; Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 and its 2016 amendment enforce this; 2016 amendment also bans child labour even in family enterprises if hazardous. • 💡 Option B (Article 23) is wrong because Art.23 prohibits trafficking in human beings and forced labour (begar) — it does not specifically mention hazardous factories and the age limit of 14; Option C (Article 22) is wrong because Art.22 protects against arbitrary arrest and detention — completely unrelated to child labour; Option D (Article 21A) is wrong because Art.21A (added by 86th Amendment 2002) deals with the Right to Education for children aged 6-14 — it is about education, not prohibition of hazardous employment.