Author: Urmila Singh

Dear Aspirants,

This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

Session Details

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Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here

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11th May 2023

Constitutional Bodies

Constitutional bodies derive their powers and authorities from the Constitution of India. They are mentioned in the Constitution. Since they get their power from the Indian Constitution, any change in the mechanism of the constitutional bodies would require a constitutional amendment.

The list of constitutional bodies in India along with the article pertaining to it in the Constitution and other details are given below:

• Attorney General of India

Attorney General
Article in the Constitution	76
Tenure & Removal	Holds office during the pleasure of the President
Further Appointment	Yes
Powers	Privileges of an MPRight of an audience in all Indian courtsCan attend both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but cannot vote

• Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)

Comptroller & Auditor General of India
Articles	148
Tenure & removal	Holds the office for six years or 65 years (whichever comes earlier)Removal is the same as for a judge of the Supreme Court
Further appointment	No
Powers	Audits accounts concerned with the Contingency Fund, the Consolidated Fund of India and states,  and the Public Accounts Fund of the states and centre.Advisory function with respect to accounts to the country’s President

• Election Commission

Election Commission of India
Article	324
Composition	CEC/Chief Election Commissioner, Other Election Commissioners
Tenure & removal	Presently for 6 years or 65 years, whichever is earlier
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	Conduct of free and fair elections in IndiaPolitical parties’ registrationOverseeing elections

• Finance Commission

Finance Commission of India
Article	280
Composition	Chairman, Four members
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	Decides the basis for sharing the divisible taxes by the centre and the statesAny matter in the interest of sound finance can be referred to the Presidentevaluates the rise in the Consolidated Fund of a state in order to affix the resources of the state Municipalities and PanchayatsFC has the powers of a civil court

• National Commission for Scheduled Castes

National Commission for Scheduled Castes
Articles	338
Composition	Chairman, Vice-chairman, 3 other members
Tenure & removal	3 years
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	It is a quasi-judicial bodyMonitoring and reporting about the implementation of constitutional safeguards for Scheduled CastesIt has a civil court’s powers

• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
Articles	338-A
Composition	Chairman, Vice-chairman, 3 other members
Tenure & removal	3 years
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	It is a quasi-judicial bodyMonitoring and reporting about the implementation of constitutional safeguards for Scheduled TribesIt has a civil court’s powers

• National Commission for Backward Classes

National Commission for Backward Classes
Articles	338-B
Composition	Chairman, Vice-chairman, 3 other members
Tenure & removal	3 years
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	Examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classesIt has a civil court’s powers

• Special officer for Linguistic Minorities

Special officer for Linguistic Minorities
Articles	350 B
Composition	Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner
Tenure and removal	Pleasure of the President
Further appointment	Yes
Powers	Monitoring and reporting the working of constitutional safeguards for linguistic minorities

• Union Public Service Commission

Union Public Service Commission
Articles	315 – 323
Composition	9 to 11 members
Tenure & removal	Presently for 6 years or 65 years (whichever is earlier) whichever is earlier
Further Appointment	UPSC Chairman is not eligible for a second term. Other members are eligible only for an appointment within SPSC and UPSC
Powers	Recruitment of All India Services, public services of centrally administered territories, Central services, advisory powers

State Public Service Commission

State Public Service Commission
Articles	315 – 323
Tenure & removal	Presently for 6 years or 62 years, whichever is earlier

Statutory Bodies in India

• Statutory bodies are established by acts that Parliament or State Legislatures.
• Statutory bodies have the authority to make laws and make decisions on behalf of the state or country.
• A statutory body is a self-governing corporate body. A statutory body is established via an Act of Parliament or an Act of State Legislatures. The Act also specifies the body’s powers, objectives, and functions.
• These bodies are known as statutory bodies because they get their power from statutes or laws adopted by Parliament.
• Statutory Bodies are divided into two types depending on their tasks and responsibilities. They are classified as:
  • Regulatory Bodies
  • Quasi-Judicial Bodies.
• Regulatory Bodies – A regulatory body is a government entity responsible for exerting autonomous power over a specific area of human activity in a regulatory or supervisory role.
• For example, the Biodiversity Authority of India (BAI), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), and others.
• Quasi-Judicial bodies – Non-judicial bodies that can interpret the law are referred to as quasi-judicial bodies. They vary from judicial entities in that their scope is narrower than that of a court.
• For example, the National Green Tribunal, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Central Information Commission.

Local Government

• About:
  • Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies who have been elected by the local people.
  • The local self-Government includes both rural and urban government.
  • It is the third level of the government.
  • There are 2 types of local government in operation – panchayatas in rural areas and Municipalities in urban areas.
• Rural Local Governments:
  • Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) is a system of rural local self-government in India.
  • PRI was constitutionalized through the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 to build democracy at the grass roots level and was entrusted with the task of rural development in the country.
    • This act has added a new Part-IX to the Constitution of India. This part is entitled as ‘The Panchayats’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243 to 243 O.
    • In addition, the act has also added a new Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution. This schedule contains 29 functional items of the panchayats. It deals with Article 243-G.
  • In its present form and structure PRI has completed 30 years of existence. However, a lot remains to be done in order to further decentralization and strengthen democracy at the grass root level.
• Urban Local Governments:
  • They were established with the purpose of democratic decentralisation.
  • There are eight types of urban local governments in India – Municipal Corporation, Municipality, Notified Area Committee, Town Area Committee, Cantonment Board, township, port trust, special purpose agency.
  • At the Central level the subject of ‘urban local government’ is dealt with by the following three Ministries.
    • The Ministry of Urban Development was created as a separate ministry in 1985 (now Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs).
    • Ministry of Defense in the case of cantonment boards.
    • Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Union Territories.
  • The 74^th Amendment Act pertaining to urban local government was passed during the regime of P.V. Narsimha Rao’s government in 1992. It came into force on 1^st June, 1993.
    • Added Part IX -A and consists of provisions from articles 243-P to 243-ZG.
    • Added 12th Schedule to the Constitution. It contains 18 functional items of Municipalities and deals with Article 243 W.

What are the Salient Features of 73^rd Constitutional Amendment?

• Compulsory Provisions:
  • Organisation of Gram Sabhas;
  • Creation of a three-tier Panchayati Raj Structure at the Zila, Block and Village levels;
  • Almost all posts, at all levels to be filled by direct elections;
  • Minimum age for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions be twenty one years;
  • The post of Chairman at the Zila and Block levels should be filled by indirect election;
  • There should be reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes in Panchayats, in proportion to their population, and for women in Panchayats up to one-third seats;
  • State Election Commission to be set up in each State to conduct elections to Panchayati Raj institutions;
  • The tenure of Panchayati Raj institutions is five years, if dissolved earlier, fresh elections to be held within six months;
  • A State Finance Commission is set up in each State every five years.
• Voluntary:
  • Giving voting rights to members of the Central and State legislatures in these bodies;
  • Providing reservation for backward classes; and
  • The Panchayati Raj institutions should be given financial powers in relation to taxes, levy fees etc. and efforts shall be made to make Panchayats autonomous bodies.

What are the Salient Features of 74^th Amendment Act?

• Compulsory:
  • Constitution of nagar panchayats, municipal councils and municipal corporations in small, big and very big urban areas respectively;
  • Reservation of seats in urban local bodies for Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes roughly in proportion to their population;
  • Reservation of seats for women up to one-third seats;
  • The State Election Commission, constituted in order to conduct elections in the Panchayati raj bodies (see 73rd Amendment) will also conduct elections to the urban local self- governing bodies;
  • The State Finance Commission, constituted to deal with financial affairs of the panchayati raj bodies also looks into the financial affairs of the local urban selfgoverning bodies;
  • Tenure of urban local self-governing bodies is fixed at five years and in case of earlier dissolution fresh elections are held within six months;
• Voluntary:
  • Giving voting rights to members of the Union and State Legislatures in these bodies;
  • Providing reservation for backward classes;
  • Giving financial powers in relation to taxes, duties, tolls and fees, etc;
  • Making the municipal bodies autonomous and devolution of powers to these bodies to perform some or all of the functions enumerated in the Twelfth Schedule added to the Constitution through this Act and/or to prepare plans for economic development.

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Dear Aspirants,

This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

Session Details

YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 7 PM  – Prelims Spotlight Session

Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here

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10th May 2023

Fundamental Rights/ DPSP/duties, Federal vs Unitary Features, Parliament/ Legislature, Supreme Court/ High Court

Unitary features – Indian Constitution

Besides the above federal features, the Indian constitution also possesses the following unitary features:

Strong Centre:

The division of powers is in favor of the center and unequal from a federal point of view. Firstly, the Union list contains more subjects than the state list, secondly, the more important subjects have been included in the union list and the Centre has overriding authority over the concurrent list.

Single constitution:

The constitution of India embodies not only the constitution of the Centre but also those of the states. Both the Centre and the States must operate within this single frame.

States not indestructible:

Unlike in other federations, the states in India have no right to territorial integrity. The parliament can change the area, boundaries, or name of any state.

Emergency provisions:

The emergency provisions are contained in Part XVIII of the Constitution of India, from Articles 352 to 360. In the emergency provisions, the central government becomes all-powerful and the states go into total control of the Centre.

Single citizenship:

Single citizenship means one person is the citizenship of the whole country. The constitution deals with citizenship from Articles 5 and 11 under Part 2.

All India services:

In India, there are all India services [IAS, IPS and IFS] which are common to both the Centre and the states. These services violate the principle of federalism under the constitution.

Appointment of governor:

The governor is appointed by the president. He also acts as an agent of the Centre. Through him, the Centre exercises control over the states.

Integrated election machinery:

The election commission conducts elections for central and state legislatures. But the Election commission is constituted by the president and the states have no say in this matter.

No equality of state representation:

The states are given representation in the upper house on the basis of population. Hence, the membership varies from 1 to 31.

Integrated Judiciary:

The term Integrated Judiciary refers to the fact that rulings made by higher courts bind lower courts. The Supreme Court of India incorporates all lower courts, from the Gram Panchayat to the High Courts. The Supreme Court is at the very top.

Integrated Audit Machinery:

The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India has an organization that is run by officials from the Indian Audit and Account Services, a central service that is responsible for not just the Union Government’s accounts and auditing, but also the accounts and auditing of the States.

Veto Over State Bills:

The governor has the authority to hold certain sorts of laws passed by the state legislature for presidential consideration. The President has the authority to refuse to sign such bills not only in the first instance but also in the second. As a result, the President has absolute (rather than suspensive) veto power over state legislation. However, in the United States and Australia, states are independent within respective fields, and no such reservation exists.

 

Tabular Comparison of Parliament and State Legislature

Union Parliament	State Legislatures
Bicameral	Mostly unicameral – only 6 states are bicameral
Article 79 to122 in Part V of the Constitution	Articles 168 to 212 in Part VI of the Constitution
If a bill is introduced in a House, and it passes it, then the other House can:   Pass the bill as it is. Reject the bill altogether. Pass the bill with some modifications and return it to the first House for reconsideration. Nothing is done to the bill for 6 months, which means both Houses are in disagreement. In this case, a joint sitting of both the Houses is convened and made, to break the constitutional deadlock. Note: In the case of Money Bills, which are to be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha has restricted powers.	The Legislative Councils (LC) have only advisory powers by and large.   They have lesser powers when it comes to law-making. If a bill is introduced in the LC, which is passed by it, and it goes on to the Assembly: The Assembly rejects the bill. It passes the bill with some modifications which are unacceptable to the LC. In both the above cases, the bill comes to an end. However, if the bill originates in the Assembly, and it is either rejected or passed with modifications not acceptable by the LC, it does not come to an end. There is no provision for a joint sitting of the Council and the Assembly. In the case of a disagreement, the decision of the Assembly is deemed final. Note: Money bills can originate only in the Legislative Assembly.
Members: Lok Sabha: 552 (Max.)                    Rajya Sabha: 250 (Max.)	Members: Legislative Assembly: Between 40 and 500   Legislative Council: Not more than one-third of the membership of the State Legislative Assembly, and cannot be under 40.
Election to the Rajya Sabha:   Members are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies by means of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.	Election to the Legislative Councils:   Members are elected by five different constituencies through a process of the single transferable vote system. ⅓ of the members are elected by the local authorities’ representatives (Gram Panchayats, Municipalities, Block Parishads, etc.) ⅓ of the members by the MLAs. 1/12 of the members are elected by the teachers (of secondary schools, colleges, and universities) in the state. 1/12 are elected by the graduates in the state. The remaining 1/6th are nominated by the Governor from persons having experience or knowledge in the fields of science, art, literature, social service, or cooperative movement.

The Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court of India replaced the colonial era Federal Court of India, established in 1937 under the Government of India Act of 1935 and worked as the highest court of British India. In the constitution, provisions related to the organisation, jurisdiction, powers, procedures, independence, etc., of the Supreme Court are given from Article 124 to Article 147.

Presently, the Supreme Court of India has 31 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

Judges of the Supreme Court

The President of India appoints the judges to the Supreme Court; however, the Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President of India with consultation with the Supreme Court collegium. However, the President must consult the Chief Justice of India to appoint other judges to the Supreme Court.

The Judiciary in India follows a collegium system for the appointments of the judges; in this system, a group of sitting judges recommends the appointments of the eligible candidates as the judge of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of India

The Chief Justice of India is the highest judicial officer in India. He/she is usually the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court. After the inauguration of the Supreme Court in 1950, traditionally, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice. However, in 1973 and 1977, the collegium recommended judges superseding the senior judges.

Qualifications

To be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India, you must satisfy the following qualifications:

1. A person appointed as a judge of S.C must be a citizen of India.
2. A person appointed as a judge of S.C must have been a judge of a High Court of any Indian state for at least 5 years.
3. A person appointed as a judge of S.C must have been an advocate of a High Court of any Indian state for at least 10 years.
4. A person to appoint as a judge of S.C must be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President of India.

The constitution of India does not provide for a minimum age requirement for the appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

High Court of India

The Indian judiciary system has followed a single integrated judiciary system; the High Court operates below the Supreme Court. Each state of India is provided with a High Court by the constitution of India. The functioning of High Courts is given under Article 214 to Article 231.

All the High Courts consist of one chief justice and several other judges. The President determines the number of judges of the High Court; the President can change the number of judges in any High Court as necessary.

Judges of the High Courts

The President of India appoints the judges to the High Courts across the states. The President of India appoints the chief justice of a High Court after consulting the chief justice of India and the Governor of the respective state. In the appointment of other judges to the high court, the President of India consults the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India.

When two or more states share a High Court (e.g., Haryana and Punjab), the governors of all concerned states are consulted by the President of India.

Qualifications

For a person to be appointed as a judge in any High Court of any Indian state, he/she shall satisfy the following qualifications:

1. For a person to be appointed as a judge of H.C, he/she shall be a citizen of India.
2. To become a judge of H.C, he/she should have held a judicial office for at least 10 years.
3. To be appointed as a judge, he/she should have advocated the High Court for 10 years.

The constitution of India does not provide for a minimum age requirement for appointment as a judge of the high court. The constitution also doesn’t provide for the President to appoint a jurist as the judge of a high court.

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Dear Aspirants,

This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

Session Details

YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 7 PM  – Prelims Spotlight Session

Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here

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9th May 2023

Separation of Powers, Parliamentary vs Presidential System

Presidential System of Government

In a presidential system, the head of the government leads an executive, that is distinct from the legislature. Here, the head of the government and the head of the state are one and the same. Also, a key feature is that the executive is not responsible to the legislature.

Features of the Presidential System

1. The executive (President) can veto acts by the legislature.
2. The President has a fixed tenure and cannot be removed by a vote of no-confidence in the legislature.
3. Generally, the President has the power to pardon or commute judicial sentences awarded to criminals.
4. The President is elected directly by the people or by an electoral college. 

Merits of Presidential System

The advantages of the presidential system are given below:

• Separation of powers: Efficiency of administration is greatly enhanced since the three arms of the government are independent of each other.
• Expert government: Since the executive need not be legislators, the President can choose experts in various fields to head relevant departments or ministries. This will make sure that people who are capable and knowledgeable form part of the government.
• Stability: This type of government is stable. Since the term of the president is fixed and not subject to majority support in the legislative, he need not worry about losing the government. There is no danger of a sudden fall of the government. There is no political pressure on the president to make decisions.
• Less influence of the party system: Political parties do not attempt to dislodge the government since the tenure is fixed.

Demerits of Presidential System

The disadvantages of the presidential system are given below:

• Less responsible executive: Since the legislature has no hold over the executive and the president, the head of the government can turn authoritarian.
• Deadlocks between executive and legislature: Since there is a more strict separation of powers here, there can be frequent tussles between both arms of the government, especially if the legislature is not dominated by the president’s political party. This can lead to an erosion in efficiency because of wastage of time.
• Rigid government: Presidential systems are often accused of being rigid. It lacks flexibility.
• Spoils system: The system gives the president sweeping powers of patronage. Here, he can choose executives as per his will. This gives rise to the spoils system where people close to the president (relatives, business associates, etc.) get roles in the government.

Parliamentary System of Government

India chose a parliamentary form of government primarily because the constitution-makers were greatly influenced by the system in England. Another reason the founding fathers saw was that the parliamentary model would only work to accommodate the varied and diverse groups within our population. Also, the strict separation of powers in the presidential system would cause conflicts between the two branches, the executive and the legislature, which our newly-independent country could ill-afford.

There are more parliamentary forms of government in the world than there are presidencies. In this system, the parliament is generally supreme and the executive is responsible to the legislature. It is also known as the Cabinet form of government, and also ‘Responsible Government’.

Features of the parliamentary system

1. Close relationship between the legislature and the executive: Here, the Prime Minister along with the Council of Ministers form the executive and the Parliament is the legislature. The PM and the ministers are elected from the members of parliament, implying that the executive emerges out of the legislature.
2. Executive responsible to the legislature: The executive is responsible to the legislature. There is a collective responsibility, that is, each minister’s responsibility is the responsibility of the whole Council.
3. Dual executive: There are two executives – the real executive and the titular executive. The nominal executive is the head of state (president or monarch) while the real executive is the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.
4. Secrecy of procedure: A prerequisite of this form of government is that cabinet proceedings are secret and not meant to be divulged to the public. 
5. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leader of this form of government is the Prime Minister. Generally, the leader of the party that wins a majority in the lower house is appointed as the PM.
6. Bicameral Legislature: Most parliamentary democracies follow bicameral legislature.
7. No fixed tenure: The term of the government depends on its majority support in the lower house. If the government does not win a vote of no confidence, the council of ministers has to resign. Elections will be held and a new government is formed.

Although India follows this system chiefly influenced by the British model, there are a few differences between the Indian and British systems. They are:

• In India, the PM can be from either the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. In Britain, the PM will always be from the lower house, the House of Commons.
• In Britain, the speaker once appointed, formally resigns from his/her political party. In India, the speaker continues to be a member of his/her party though he/she is expected to be impartial in the proceedings.
• The concept of a shadow cabinet is absent in India. In Britain, the opposition forms a shadow cabinet that scrutinises the actions and policies of the government. It also offers alternative programmes.

Merits of Parliamentary System

The advantages of the parliamentary system are as follows:

• Better coordination between the executive and the legislature: Since the executive is a part of the legislature, and generally the majority of the legislature support the government, it is easier to pass laws and implement them.
• Prevents authoritarianism: Since the executive is responsible to the legislature, and can vote it out in a motion of no confidence, there is no authoritarianism. Also, unlike the presidential system, power is not concentrated in one hand.
• Responsible government: The members of the legislature can ask questions and discuss matters of public interest and put pressure on the government. The parliament can check the activities of the executive.
• Representing diverse groups: In this system, the parliament offers representation to diverse groups of the country. This is especially important for a country like India.
• Flexibility: There is flexibility in the system as the PM can be changed easily if needed. During the Second World War, the British PM Neville Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill. This is unlike the presidential system where he/she can be replaced only after the entire term or in case of impeachment/incapacity.

Demerits of Parliamentary System

The disadvantages of the parliamentary system are as follows:

• No separation of powers: Since there is no genuine separation of powers, the legislature cannot always hold the executive responsible. This is especially true if the government has a good majority in the house. Also, because of anti-defection rules, legislators cannot exercise their free will and vote as per their understanding and opinions. They have to follow the party whip.
• Unqualified legislators: The system creates legislators whose intention is to enter the executive only. They are largely unqualified to legislate.
• Instability: Since the governments sustain only as long as they can prove a majority in the house, there is instability if there is no single-largest party after the elections. Coalition governments are generally quite unstable and short-lived. Because of this, the executive has to focus on how to stay in power rather than worry about the state of affairs/welfare of the people.
• Ministers: The executive should belong to the ruling party. This rules out the hiring of industry experts for the job.
• Failure to take a prompt decision: Since there is no fixed tenure enjoyed by the Council of Ministers, it often hesitates from taking bold and long-term policy decisions.
• Party politics: Party politics is more evident in the parliamentary system where partisan interests drive politicians more than national interests.
• Control by the bureaucracy: Civil servants exercise a lot of power. They advise the ministers on various matters and are also not responsible to the legislature.

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