Indian Constitution Quiz 4

Habeas corpus is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful.

Zero Hour is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962. It starts immediately after the question hour. This is about 12 noon which is why it is called Zero Hour. During this hour members can raise issues of national and international importance.

The Plural Theory of Sovereignty emphasizes the importance of association. An exponent of pluralist theory Robert Morrison MacIver propounds that state is one of the several human associations, although it exercises unique functions.

The Constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly of India, established by the members of the provincial assemblies elected by the people of India. Dr. Sachidanand Sinha was the first president of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected its president.

The Morarji Desai government eventually scrapped the fundamental right to property with the 44th amendment in 1978. In its place came Article 300-A that makes it possible for a citizen to be dispossessed without compensation through an act of legislation.

The Committee on Estimates consists of 30 members—all from Lok Sabha who are elected by Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members for the purpose of scrutinising the functioning of government ministries and departments in terms of expenditure and utilisation of funds.

The procedure of amendment in the constitution is laid down in Article 368 of the Constitution of India. The major part of the Constitution can be amended by the Parliament alone either by a special majority or by a simple majority. Only in a few cases, the consent of the state legislatures is required and that too, only half of them.

The Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts to issue Writs for the enforcement of the fundamental rights conferred by the Part-III of the Constitution of India under Article 32 and Article 226. There are five types of Writs — Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Certiorari, Prohibition and Quo-Warranto.

In order to be chosen a member of Parliament (Article 84(b)), a person must be a citizen of India and not less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of Lok Sabha.

Fundamental duties basically imply the moral obligations of all citizens of a country. There are 11 fundamental duties in India, which are written in Part IV-A (Article 51-A) of the Constitution of India. Fundamental Duties were incorporated in the Indian Constitution by the 42nd amendment.