Indian Polity and Constitution Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 26)

Article 39(b) and (c) directly shaped Articles 31A (land reform) and 31C (DPSP-implementing law protection).

The Court held that the right to live with dignity draws its life-breath from Article 39(e) and (f), on worker and child protection.

The Court held that equal pay for equal work is a real constitutional goal, enforceable through Articles 14 and 16.

Article 39 contains six clauses, labelled (a) through (f), covering a broad range of socio-economic goals.

CEDAW stands for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the treaty central to Vishaka’s reasoning.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, replaced the Vishaka Guidelines with a proper statutory framework.

In Vishaka, CEDAW helped the Court interpret enforceable Fundamental Rights where workplace protections were inadequate.

Article 51(c) supported this approach. The binding guidelines rested on the Court’s constitutional powers under Articles 32 and 141.

Article 51(c) alone did not make the treaty Indian law.

Source: Vishaka judgment. Read the Article 51 lesson.

The answer is the option naming the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The 1954 agreement lists them in its preamble. The MEA calls Panchsheel the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. Why the others fail: the principles do not make a military alliance. They are not a Security Council resolution, because the agreement was signed by two governments at Peking. They are not a domestic law on trade. Memory hook: Panchsheel means five virtues, not a pact for war.

Article 51’s four directives cover peace, just relations, respect for international law, and arbitration. It does not mandate a standing peacekeeping force.

Vertical devolution sets the Centre’s overall share to states as a group. Horizontal devolution then divides that share among individual states, using a weighted formula.

Article 280 requires the President to constitute a Finance Commission every five years, to recommend tax devolution between the Centre and States.

The Fundamental Duties are contained in Part IVA of the Constitution, inserted by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

India borrowed a federal system with a strong Centre, residuary powers vested in the Centre, and Centre-appointed governors from Canada.

Part VIII of the Constitution, Articles 239 to 241, governs how Union Territories are run.