VISION IAS

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Approach Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 927 (2017)

1. Enumerate the discretionary powers of the Governor mentioned in the Indian Constitution. Why is it
said that the post of governor has become highly politicised?

Approach:

Enumerate the discretionary powers of the governor.

Examine the factors that have led to the politicization of the governors post.

Answer:

Article 153 of the Constitution requires that there shall be a Governor for each State appointed by the
President, holding office during his pleasure.

Governor is titular head of state executive. But, he has more discretionary powers than President of
India, as unlike President he is not bound by advice of the states cabinet. His discretionary powers are:

Constitutional discretion:

Reservation of a Bill for Consideration of the President;

Recommendation for imposition of Presidents Rule in State;
Exercising his functions as administrator of an adjoining union territory.
In the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, Governor determines the amount payable
to an autonomous Tribal District Council.
Seeking information from Chief Minister with regard to administrative and legislative matters of the
state.

Situational discretion:

Appointing Chief Minister when no party has acquired clear cut majority in the State Legislative
Assembly or when a Chief Minister dies when in office;
Dismissal of the Council of Ministers when they lose confidence of State Legislative Assembly;
Dissolution of Legislative Assembly.

Governor was expected to be the linchpin between Centre and states, but he has become a tool of
Centre to interfere in the working of state governments. Hence, governors post has become one of the
most politicized office. Some factors that have led to such a situation are:

Governor appointed by Centre without security of tenure leading to reshuffling after each election.
Wide discretionary powers of governor give him ample scope to act independently of elected states
executive. Ex. Article 356.
It was expected that Governors would be elderly statesmen, however, the post has become a spoils
post.
Legislature both at the Centre and state cant impeach governor, giving him absolute patronage of
central executive.

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 It is imminent that reforms be taken vis--vis this office. Implementing the recommendations of Sarkaria
Commission, Punchhi Commission etc. regarding his tenure, powers, impeachment among other issues
would be a positive step. Governors on their part should realize their constitutional role rather than
playing into partisan politics. The sooner these steps are taken the better it is, else the clamor to abolish
it will further strengthen.

2. CAG is instrumental in securing accountability of the executive to the Parliament in the sphere of
financial administration. Elaborate. Enumerate the provisions made in the Constitution to ensure the
independence of the CAG.

Approach:

Introduce by highlighting how executive is accountable to the Parliament in a parliamentary

democracy.
Then discuss how parliament enforces financial accountability upon executive with the help of PAC
and the role of CAG in it.
Conclude by enumerating the constitutional provisions for ensuring independence of the CAG.

Answer:

In a parliamentary democracy, executive is a part of legislature and responsible to it for its actions.
Financial accountability is an important aspect of this responsibility. For ensuring this, the Constitution of
India (Article 148) provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(CAG).

CAG is the guardian of the public purse and audits the entire financial system of the Central as well as
State governments. Its duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and laws of Parliament in the field of
financial administration.

Financial Accountability and CAG

Public Accounts Committee is one of the most important standing committee of the parliament. The
function of the committee is to examine the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India (CAG), which are laid before the Parliament by the President.
The CAG submits three audit reports to the President, namely, audit report on appropriation
accounts, audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public undertakings.
The Public Accounts Committee examines public expenditure not only from legal and formal point of
view to discover technical irregularities but also from the point of view of economy, prudence,
wisdom and propriety to bring out the cases of waste, loss, corruption, extravagance, inefficiency
and nugatory expenses.
In the fulfillment of its functions, the committee is assisted by the CAG. In fact, the CAG acts as a
guide, friend and philosopher of the committee.
The role of CAG is to uphold the Constitution of India and the laws of Parliament in the field of
financial administration.
The accountability of the executive (i.e., council of ministers) to the Parliament in the sphere of
financial administration is secured through audit reports of the CAG.

Independence

The Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the independence of CAG:

Security of tenure: can be removed by the President only in accordance with the procedure
mentioned in the Constitution. Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the President,
though he is appointed by him.

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 He is not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he
ceases to hold his office.
His salary and other service conditions are determined by the Parliament. His salary is equal to that
of a judge of the Supreme Court.
Neither his salary nor his rights in respect of leave of absence, pension or age of retirement can be
altered to his disadvantage after his appointment.
The conditions of service of persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department and the
administrative powers of the CAG are prescribed by the president after consultation with the CAG.
The administrative expenses of the office of the CAG, including all salaries, allowances and pensions
of persons serving in that office are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India. Thus, they are not
subject to the vote of Parliament.

3. What are the different institutional arrangements in India to promote cooperation between the Centre
and States? Critically analyse the role of Inter-State Council to enhance cooperative federalism in India.

Approach:

Provide a brief introduction about the need for cooperation between centre and states.
Write in brief the existing institutional arrangements which enhance Centre-State Cooperation.
Then, write the aim of Inter-State Council. Analyse the performance of Inter-State Council since its
inception.
Give concluding remarks for the answer with a way forward.

Answer:

Cooperation between Centre and States is required to have more interactive, inclusive, transparent and
accountable governance. It is also important for harmonious working of the federal structure. Existing
institutional mechanisms in India to promote such cooperation include:

Institutions setup under the constitution: These include Rajya Sabha, All India Services, Inter State
Council, Finance Commission. Additionally, the Parliament can provide for the adjudication of any
dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state
river and river valley. It can also appoint an appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of the
constitutional provisions relating to the interstate freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse.
Institutions setup by Parliamentary Acts: These include Five zonal councils under States
Reorganization Act 1956 plus North-Eastern Council constituted in 1971.
Institutions set up by cabinet resolution: National Development Council (NDC), National Integration
Council, and Planning Commission now replaced by NITI Ayog.
Important conferences held either annually or otherwise to facilitate Centre-state consultations on a
wide range of matters. The prominent among them includes the Governors conference, the Chief
Ministers conference, the chief secretaries conference, conference of inspector-general of police,
the chief justices conference, the conference of vice-chancellors etc.
Full faith and credit is to be given throughout the territory of India to public acts, records and judicial
proceedings of the Centre and every state.

Inter-State Council (ISC) is a recommendatory body to investigate and discuss subjects, in which some or
all of the states or the union government have a common interest, recommendations for the better
coordination of policy and action, matters of general interest to the states. It was constituted under
Article 263 of the Constitution in 1990 based on the Sarkaria Commissions recommendations.

A cooperative federal system needs interactions between the various levels of government, namely, the
union, state and local. Therefore, the need for an inter-governmental mechanism is obvious in this
system. ISC has proved its mandate to ensure better Centre-state cooperation and resolve Centre-state
or inter-state issues.
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 For example:

ISC was crucial in the implementation of many of the Sarkaria Commissions 247 other
recommendations, such as altering the states share of central taxes.
The ISC has constitutional backing, as against the NITI Aayog which only has an executive mandate.
This puts the states on more solid footingan essential ingredient in building the atmosphere of
cooperation needed for calibrating centre-state relations.
The council has helped bridge the trust deficit between the centre and the states. If not always a
problem solver, it at least acted as a safety valve

Underutilisation of ISC

Inter-State Council was set up as an instrument for cooperation, coordination and evolution of common
policies. However, it has been largely underutilised.

There is no compulsion on government of the day to accept the outcomes of the meetings.
No frequent meetings. Recently, it was the 11th meeting since 1990.
Clause A of Article 263, which gave the council the power to investigate issues of inter-state conflict,
was dropped in the presidential ordinance establishing the ISC.

The Inter-State Council needs to emerge as an active inter-governmental forum that can be used for
evolving policy as well as ensuring its implementation. The States should increasingly use this forum as
an effective instrument to strengthen our democracy, our society and our polity. Few suggestions are-

The ISC needs to be given all the powers contemplated in the Constitution. For example-Clause A of
Article 263.
ISC and NITI Aayog may be merged into one constitutional forum to improve the institutional
participation of state governments.
It should provide greater opportunities to civil society institutions and the corporate sector to make
their representations.
Ensure greater role of states. Cooperation or opposition not for political but policy sake.

4. In view of the idea of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative
Assemblies, discuss the advantages that its implementation would lead to and the concerns that it
raises.

Approach:

Highlight why the issue has come up in recent times in your introduction.
As per the questions demand write the advantages of simultaneous holding of elections in Lok
Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
Enumerate the concerns related with the concurrent elections.
Then, conclude your answer with a balanced approach. You can quote some Committees report in
the conclusion.

Answer:

The first general elections to the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies were held together in
1951-52. This practice continued till 1967. But with the premature dissolution of some State Assemblies
in 1968 and 1969, this cycle was disrupted.

Recently Prime Minister suggested holding simultaneous elections to panchayats, urban local bodies,
states and Parliament.

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 Arguments supporting simultaneous elections

Of the 16 Lok Sabhas that have been constituted so far, seven were dissolved pre-maturely due to
coalition governments. However, it has been observed that lately, the legislatures have been
completing their full term.
It will drastically reduce the cost of elections for both governments and political parties, and the
administrative burden on the Election Commission to conduct elections.
The imposition of the Model Code of Conduct at regular intervals puts many activities of the
government on hold and affects governance. The policy paralysis would be done away with.
There will be significant impact on delivery of essential services as more time would be devoted to
the developmental activities. Political and social workers would have more time to invest in people-
oriented programme and grass root democracy.
Concurrent polls would reduce the burden from central armed forces and manpower that is
deployed at regular intervals for election duty.

Concerns related with simultaneous elections

There are concerns related to feasibility of constitutional amendments of the kind which this may
require, State governments agreeing to the untimely dissolution of the Assemblies and the question
of what happens if a government falls without completing its term.
Many voters may not be able to discern the difference between national and local issues, political
parties they vote for and their manifesto. This might be either due to lack of education or due to less
awareness It would, therefore, go against the political diversity which is essential for addressing the
social diversity of India.
Other issues such as logistics and requirement of security personnel, election and administrative
officials also need to be considered. There is a dearth of enough officials to conduct simultaneous
elections throughout the country in one go.

If concurrent elections are held only to reduce the number of elections and cut costs, it is highly
undesirable, because it privileges monetary concerns over democratic principles.

Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended that elections should be held in two phases. In 1st
phase, elections to almost half of legislative assemblies should be held during the midterm of Lok Sabha
and remaining elections should be held with the end of term of Lok Sabha. This can also be taken into
consideration.

It has also endorsed the recommendations of the Law Commission of India, which had suggested that
elections of legislative assemblies whose term ends six months after the general elections to Lok Sabha
can be clubbed together. However, the results of such elections can be declared at the end of the
assemblys tenure.

Similarly, bye-elections to all seats that become vacant during a year may be conducted together during a
pre-determined time period.

Some quarters also suggest changes in Model Code of Conduct so that government may take some policy
decisions after due permission of the Election Commission. This will to some extent help curb the policy
paralysis during the period when model code of conduct is in force.

The proposal of conducting simultaneous elections should be implemented only after taking into
considerations all the aspects and calculations. The decision should not serve any political party rather
should strengthen our democracy.

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5. Proliferaton of Ministries and Departments in the government not only leads to weak coordination and
integration but also fragmentation of functions. Comment in the context of India.

Approach:

Start with reason of proliferation of ministries and departments in India, advantage and disadvantage
of proliferation
Explain the proliferation with example and address both the aspects of argument
Conclude answer by suggesting solution

Answer:

There has been proliferation of the Ministries and Departments in Government to achieve welfare
objectives of the Constitution. It has the advantage of specialization, focus and resource channelization
but it also has the disadvantages of lack of coordination and inability to adopt an integrated approach to
national priorities and problems.

For example, different aspects of transport are dealt by different Ministries. Ministry of Civil Aviation
deals with civil aviation; while Ministry of Railways with rail transport; Ministry of Shipping, Road
Transport and Highways deals with maritime shipping, highways and motor vehicles and the Ministry of
Urban Development deals with urban transport systems. Thus, it has been fragmented into multiple
disciplines making the necessary integrated national approach to this important sector difficult. For
example, the proposed scheme of integrated travelling card across different modes of transport is still in
infancy.

Similarly initiatives like Housing for All often require approvals from Ministries of Defence, Environment
and Forests & Climate Change, Civil Aviation etc. Streamlining approvals for construction projects in
urban areas is being pushed so as to enable time bound and hassle free clearances for projects.

From the above examples it is clear that there is a need to strike a balance between requirements of
functional specialization and need for a holistic approach. In order to evolve an integrated approach, it
would be desirable to categorize the functions of Government into a reasonable number of groups. In
India, Departmental Standing Committees of Parliament is a good example of integration of inter-
connected subject matters. Privatization and disinvestments of loss making public sector enterprises is
also useful in restricting the number of ministries and departments in post liberation period. This will
enable government of the day to streamline ministries and departments and retaining only those which
have direct relevance for core governance functions.

But the size of the Council of Ministers reflects the needs of representative democracy for a large and
diverse country like India. It would also be unrealistic to expect curtailment in the size of the Council of
Ministers in a multiparty democracy.

Instead, a more pragmatic approach would be to retain the existing size of the Council of Ministers but
increase the level of coordination by providing for a senior Cabinet Minister to head each of the 20-25
closely related Departments. And Individual departments could be headed by the Minister of State. For
this arrangement to work, adequate delegation and division of work among the concerned Ministers
would have to be worked out.

The office of cabinet secretary should be used with greater efficiency. The committee of secretaries is a
good platform providing ample scope to bring inter-ministerial coordination.

It would lead to enhanced coordination and adequate Ministerial representation in a large and diverse
country, without causing a proliferation. The era of coalition politics, which at times necessitated
ministerial proliferation to please allies is behind us at least for some time now and this is the opportune
moment to kick in this reform.

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6. Though judicial activism has made the judiciary more people friendly, there is also a negative side to
the idea of a pro-active judiciary in the form of judicial overreach. Discuss with examples.

Approach:

Explain judicial activism in brief.

Discuss how a pro-active judiciary can also lead to judicial overreach.

Answer:

Judicial activism is an approach to the exercise of judicial review in which judiciary is generally more
willing to decide on constitutional issues and to invalidate or subordinate the legislative or executive
actions.

Judicial review has evolved through article 32 of Indian constitution which ensures the fundamental
rights of people. Since fundamental rights have been evolved to include almost all aspect of life of
people, judiciary has also taken keen interest to safeguard same. It has been very helpful for judiciary to
increase its overreach and positive influence on people.

But there are some instances when it has been found that the same judicial review process of judiciary is
overlapping with the areas of governance of legislatures and executives. It is where negative side of
judicial review comes in the form of judicial overreach. Some examples could be discussed as below:

The issue of judicial appointments: The NJAC provided a say of executive in the appointments of
judges, but has been declared void by judiciary. It impacts the accountability and also the overall
functioning of the judiciary.
Decisions of governance and administration, which no doubt beneficial for the public, are entirely in
the domain of executive, such as: control over automobile emissions, air and noise and traffic
pollution, orders for parking charges, wearing of helmets in cities, cleanliness in housing colonies,
disposal of garbage, control of traffic in New Delhi, compulsory wearing of seat belts, banning of fire
crackers, etc.
The Supreme Court has directed the most complex engineering of interlinking rivers in India.
The Court has ordered the exclusion of tourists in the core area of tiger reserves.
The Court is made the monitor of the conduct of investigating and prosecution agencies who are
perceived to have failed or neglected to investigate and prosecute ministers and officials of
government. For e.g. investigation in cases such as Hawala, fodder scam, Taj corridor case, 2G
spectrum case, etc.
Even though protection of FRs u/a 32 is the premise for such activism, in reality, the Court is only
moved for better governance and administration, which does not involve the exercise of any proper
judicial function.

These examples indicate that judiciary is overreaching the domains of legislatures and especially to the
domain of executives. The negative side of this overreach is that it endangers democratic establishment
of the country as well as may destabilize the governing machinery of the country.

But it has to be also seen that judiciary is extending its limits only when it sees or people approach it to
interfere with the process since the other two organs of legislatives and executives may not working
effectively, due to political reasons.

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7. Examine the reasons behind the government's decision to dismantle the plan-non-plan classification of
expenditure. How will the new classification of schemes into 'core of the core', 'core' and 'optional'
address the shortcomings of the earlier classification?

Approach:

Briefly differentiate between the two and highlight the issues associated with such a classification
due to which the government has decided to dismantle the plan-non-plan classification of
expenditure.
For the second part, briefly write about the new classification-basis of Centrally Sponsored Schemes
(CSS) explaining how these address the lacunas of the earlier CSS designing.
Conclude appropriately by taking a holistic view of the objectives these initiatives seeks to achieve.

Answer:

Until recently, government expenditure had two components:

Plan expenditure - Any expenditure that is incurred on programs which are detailed under the current
(Five Year) Plan of the centre or centres advances to state for their plans is called plan expenditure. It
denotes the more productive use of government resources as investment in various programs and
schemes, but forms a small chunk of the total spending bill.

Non-Plan expenditure - Used for interest payments, subsidies, wages and grants to States, it constitutes
all expenditure other than plan expenditure of the government. It forms the majority of the government
spending.

In 2011, a committee headed by C Rangarajan had proposed to remove distinction between the plan and
non-plan expenditures for both the Centre and states. The government has now decided to remove the
existing Plan and non-Plan expenditure classifications from future Budgets. The government was of the
view that-

Plan/Non-Plan bifurcation of expenditure leads to a fragmented view of resource allocation to

various schemes, making it difficult not only to ascertain cost of delivering a service but also to link
outlays to outcomes.
At present, non-Plan expenditure constitutes 70-75% of the gross expenditure at central and state
levels. Even in the Plan section, the revenue expenditure component accounts for 70% of the
expenditure, puncturing the impression that Plan expenditure leads to creation of capital assets.
Plan expenditure did not include upkeep and maintenance of assets and hence paucity of funds for
the purpose. This had led to practice of creating new assets while neglect of existing ones.

Therefore, from 2017-18, in line with globally prevalent classification, the Central government
expenditure will be classified only as capital and revenue spends - a better indicator of productive and
general expenditure. The Budgetary allocations, Plan and non-Plan, will now be handled by the finance
ministry (thus strengthening the role of the ministry vis--vis erstwhile planning commission/NITI Ayog).

To further optimize the Centres spending, centrally-sponsored schemes (CSSs) too have been
rationalized.

Apart from decreasing the number of CSS from 66 to 28, they have been divided into three
categories:
o Core of the Core schemes for social protection and social inclusion having 75:25 Centre-State
expenditure allocation formula.
o The Core schemes - comprise essential interventions for achieving National Development Agenda
having 60:40 expenditure allocation formula.
o Optional Schemes - Schemes where States would be free to choose the ones they wish to
implement having 50:50 expenditure allocation formula.

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 The classification is trying to segregate the schemes by importance and re-organise them into
outcome-based Umbrella programmes to avoid thin spread of resources.

The flexi-funds component of the CSSs would be increased to 25% for the state governments to
programme so that the implementation can be better attuned to the needs of individual State.
The release of a tranche of funds would no longer be dependent on producing a utilization certificate
of the previous instalment which hindered smooth flow of funds. It has huge relevance for transfer of
funds to the lower levels of government, and directly affects implementation.

This system is based on the recommendations of a sub-committee of chief ministers formed by Niti
Aayog for the rationalisation of the CSS.

The focus of these initiatives is on improving the quality of government spending by focusing on the end
use of the funds. This will lead to effective outcome based monitoring of implementation of the
programmes and schemes and ensure optimum utilisation of resources.

8. The amendment to do away with the domicile requirement for elections to the Rajya Sabha has
militated against the very purpose that guided the Constituent Assembly to create the Council of States
and reduced it to a mere revising chamber. Critically analyse.

Approach:

List the arguments in favour of removing the domicile requirements for elections to the Rajya Sabha.
Then briefly discuss the purpose of Rajya Sabha in Indian polity.
Examine how the doing away with the domicile criteria has diluted the utility of Rajya Sabha as
envisaged by constituent assembly.
Suggest reforms if needed.

Answer:

The following arguments may be advanced in favour of removing the domicile requirements for elections
to the Rajya Sabha:

Promotion of National integration. As SC has pointed out in Kuldip Nayar v/s Union of India -
"Residence or domicile are not the essential ingredients of the structure and the composition of the
Upper House, and residence is neither a constant factor nor a constitutional requirement but a
matter of qualification prescribed by Parliament in exercise of its power under Article 84.
Small states which have very less representation in Rajya Sabha may send more representatives if no
Domicile requirement exist.
Domicile concept breeds partisan politics, which is not favourable in a diverse Indian political setup.

In the Constituent Assembly debates four distinct reasons can be identified in support of Rajya Sabha.

review role and the chamber to initiate proposals for public policy
to elicit accountability from government..
to accommodate diversity reflecting federalism and
Grand inquest of the nation with diversity at its core.

The amendment in RPA to do away with the provision of domicile requirement strikes out the last two
objectives which celebrates the diversity of the country. This has resulted into following issues:

Members hold allegiance to their political party rather than state and their actions are guided by
political expediency rather than state's interest.

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 Any member can be elected from any state. Thus, elected members are not representative of the
state's socio-ethnic composition.
They are not aware about the ground realities of respective state and hence their contribution to
policy making regarding state is minimal.
They fail to act as the conduit between the centre and state and present state's concerns in
parliament.
The current system has become biased against small states who already miss out representation of
their people in the parliament owing to limited parliamentary seats.
It is against the principle of diversity and federalism.

Thus, it militates against the very objective of RS conceptualisation. RS has been reduced to either a
revising chamber endorsing the laws of LS or a blocking chamber opposing LS decisions; both decided by
political preferences subduing policy preferences. Hence, it is needed that in this regard following
reforms are taken:

Domicile requirements must be reinstated.

Equal representation to all states or at least greater representation to small sates in the RS.
Ethics Committee in RS to educate and guide the members on the ethical issues related to their duty
and making them understand that what is legal may not necessarily be ethical.

9. Discuss the significance of the concept of Office of Profit as enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Why
has it been embroiled in controversies for a long time? Analyse the role played by judiciary in this
regard.

Approach:

The questions can be dealt in three major part and a brief conclusion.
First, give a brief concept of Office of profit and Constitutional provisions regarding the same.
Second, discuss the reasons for its embroilment in controversies for long time. Bring out some
examples too.
Third, analyse the role played by the judiciary in this regard.
Provide a brief conclusion. There are various suggestions as per Law commission, 2nd ARC etc.
Anything can be provided.

Answer:

Article 102(a) and 191(a) of the Indian Constitution bars a member of the Indian Parliament and state
legislature respectively from holding an office that would give its occupant the opportunity to gain a
financial benefit. This concept is designed to:

Secure independence of the MPs and MLAs.

Ensure that legislatures do not contain persons who have received favours or benefits from
executives.
Obviate a conflict of interest between the duties of office and their legislative functions.

The concept has been embroiled in controversy for a long time, the recent being the Delhi High Court
setting aside AAP governments order appointing 21 AAP MLAs as Delhi Parliamentary secretaries (an
office of profit at the time of appointment). However, this is only once instance of controversies
surrounding this issue. The reasons for controversies include:

Neither the Constitution nor the RPA, 1951, explicitly defined the term.
The Legislatures have kept on expanding the list of exemptions from disqualification under Articles
102 and 191 without any proper rationale.

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 Posts like Chairmanships of Corporations, Parliamentary Secretaryships of various ministries, and
other offices of profit are used as to appease and leverage legislators as way of buying peace for the
government.

Role of Judiciary

A Constitution Bench in Guru Gobind Basu vs Sankari Parasad Ghosal & others ruled that there are
several factors that enter into the determination of this question such as:

appointing authority;
the authority vested with the power to terminate the appointment;
the authority that determines the remuneration;
the source from which the remuneration is paid;
the authority vested with the power to control the manner in which the duties of the office are
discharged

In Ashok Kumar Bhattacharya vs Ajoy Biswas the Supreme Court held that to determine whether a
person holds an office under the Government, each case must be measured and judged in the light of
the relevant provisions and sections.Thus judiciary has been playing a decisive role in determining the
concept of office of profit. However, there is a requirement of explicit rule regarding the same as
judiciarys decision is based on facts of the case. The practice followed in England that whenever a new
office is created, the law also lays down whether it would be an office of profit or not can be followed in
India also.

10. The provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution devolve some essential powers to the lower
levels in order to cater to the needs of the tribal community. Discuss, while examining the modern day
challenges faced by the institutions set up under the Sixth Schedule.

Approach:

One may begin the answer with an introduction to the area and tribal communities under the Sixth
Schedule.
Establish the key services these bodies deliver and why these services are important for the tribal
communities.
Examine the need for these bodies in the modern day tribal society.
Mention the challenges faced by these bodies along with some emerging issues.
Provide a suitable conclusion.

Answer:

The Sixth Schedule was framed as writers of the constitution recognized the need to give autonomy to
and protect the interests of tribes of North Eastern India. As a result, Autonomous District Councils (ADC)
were established in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

These ADCs have been given following powers:

to take decisions regarding use of land

management of forests which are not reserved
use of water sources for agriculture
regulation of jhoom cultivation, village/town administration, public health, education, sanitation,
customary laws, etc.

The need for ADCs existed so that the aspirations of people could be fulfilled with their allround
development and welfare. There was a need to protect their customs and not to push them to conform.
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 State governors too were given a protective role, such that they could make regulations about
transfer of land from tribals to non-tribals.

Issues with the councils under Sixth Schedule

Theres a view that such provisions perpetuate primitive conditions of life, which is not in the best
interest of these tribes.
These councils have failed to protect tribal interests as they have become self-serving institutions.
They have been criticized as power centers which fail to deliver basic governance.
The sources of income are less stable and solely at the discretion of the state government.

Emerging issues

The 73rd constitutional amendment, which introduced Panchayati Raj, has led to a creation of parallel
institutions of governance. They often clash and duplicate each others work. While several powers
of ADCs are subject to state control, whereas panchayats are in a more advantageous position in
respect of developmental functions.
The issue of corruption has emerged as a major issue.
Some sixth schedule protected areas have graduated from districts into states, such as Mizoram and
Meghalaya. Here, the councils overlap the normal district administration.
The members of the councils need to be trained and participation and involvement of the people
needs to be enhanced too.
Despite these provisions, the culture of these tribes is facing dilution because of increasing
migration.

The need of the hour is to tackle these challenges for effective implementation of the provisions
envisaged in the sixth schedule.

11. The political empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) has not been accompanied by
empowerment in other spheres. Comment. Also examine whether devolving functional autonomy,
administrative support and financial resources to the PRIs can help in overcoming the issues related to
PRIs.

Approach:

Introduce with the 73rd amendment act and a brief objective of establishment of PRIs.
Then give a brief picture of political empowerment under the Act; try to analyse the lack of
empowerment of PRIs in other spheres.
Finally analyse if devolution of functional autonomy, administrative support and financial resources
to the PRIs can help in overcoming the persisting issues with PRIs.
Also suggest how these devolutions can be carried out.

Answer:

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, seeks to create an institutional framework of PRIs for ushering in
grass root democracy through political empowerment by setting up of self-governing bodies. However,
despite Constitutional devolution of political empowerment, the growth of this 3rd tier of governance in
the country has been uneven, halting and slow owing to lack of empowerment in other spheres.

Some of these issues can be identified as:

Most Panchayats continue to be treated as agencies of the State for implementation of prescribed
schemes. The blending of development and local self-government functions has significantly
curtailed the autonomy of PRIs.
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 PRIs have a varied means of potential taxes such as professional, entertainment etc. but they still
remain crippled by lack of elastic revenue sources. Also they have very little funds doled out to them
by State governments.
Key administrative positions of district administration are manned by government officials leading to
lack of coordination between people and officials and governments bureaucratic control.

As a result, PRIs exist as over-structured but under empowered organization. These structural blockades
of PRIs can be removed by devolving more functional autonomy, administrative support and financial
resources.

Functional and administrative autonomy- Ensuring of functional and administrative autonomy will lead
to the effective decentralization as it will remove bureaucratic control of state government and PRIs will
be able to cater the local developmental need in more rational way. This can be done by-

Functions and responsibilities of governments establishments at local level should be confined to

areas which are outside the jurisdictions of the local bodies.
Transfer of services of staffs from state governments to the PRIs.
Clarifying the role of gram Sabhas in CAMPA Act.
Demand for extension into sixth schedule to be looked into on objective basis.

Financial autonomy- Financial autonomy will give PRIs, the required decision making power as per the
local needs and also will ensure autonomy in other spheres too.

This can be ensured by incorporating the concept of separate tax domain for the local bodies which
will require introduction of local list and state-local concurrent list.
State governments need mandate provisions of increased funds devolution which can be made as
homogeneous model for the whole country.

12. While it has been argued that the judiciary should be brought under RTI, a balance also needs to be
maintained between independence of the judiciary and the right of people to know. In this context,
discuss the pros and cons of bringing the judiciary under the ambit of RTI.

Approach:

Introduce the debate around the issue of bringing judiciary under RTI.
Analyse the pros and cons of bringing judiciary under the ambit of RTI. Conclude with suggestions for
the same.

Answer:

Recently honorable Supreme Court has referred to a five bench judges Constitution Bench, the question
whether disclosure of information about judicial appointments, transfers of HC judges amounts to
interference in judicial independence. Amidst the controversy of annulment of NJAC by the Supreme
Court, the debate of bringing judiciary fully under the ambit of RTI is gaining ground.

Some of the rationale and benefits in bringing judiciary under RTI can be enumerated as-

Appointments through proceedings of the collegium are absolutely opaque and inaccessible for
public. RTI umbrella over judiciary will bring in transparency and will curb nepotism in appointments.
It will also curb instances like superseding of the senior judges for promotions etc.
The law of contempt has been often misused to punish outspoken criticism and exposure of judicial
misconducts. Even an FIR cannot be registered against the judges under the Prevention of Corruption
Act. RTI will ensure accountability and will act as a key tool in eliminating misconduct by judges.

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 While acting on the premise of judicial independence, judges expediently exclude themselves from
disclosure of any kind of information to public. If brought under RTI, such disclosure will create public
trust.
RTI will help in curbing red-tapism and will ensure rationality and logic in judgements.

However there are some cons of bringing judiciary wholly under RTI.

There is apprehension that it might undermine the independence of judiciary and the decisions as
judges would be apprehensive of public pressure
Apprehensions that RTI disclosure may affect credibility of the decisions and free and frank
expression of judges.
The disclosure of personal details of judges might be a cause of concern for national security.
Sometime details of appointments are closely linked with personal details like medical conditions,
disclosure of which will undermine the right to privacy.
Some of the RTI applications may be frivolous and politically motivated.

However, it needs to be noted that judiciary is not an exemption under RTI. Judiciary plays a dual role of
administrative functions and the other of judicial decision making and most of administrative functions
are under ambit of RTI. The judicial decisions can also be brought under RTI but there is requirement of
drawing balance between independence of judiciary and the fundamental right of right to know of
people so that judiciary remains people last hope in democracy.

13. Differentiate between pressure groups and political parties. It is often said that pressure groups are
primarily a consequence of inadequacies of the political parties in India. Discuss the above statement
in the context of rising environmental protection groups.

Approach:

Start with similarities and list up differences between pressure groups and political parties.
Mention the inadequacies of the political parties that lead to rise of pressure groups.
In Conclusion write about the need of pressures groups in current dynamic environment.

Answer:

Pressure groups and political parties play an important role in a democracy. Both of them carry out
representation, facilitate political participation and contribute to the policy process. However, in reality,
they are different from each other and the distinction between the two can be stated as under:

Pressure groups do not seek direct power. They only influence the decision of those in power.
However, the political parties seek power to form the government.
Pressure groups do not necessarily have political ideologies. But the political parties are always
wedded to their ideologies.
Pressure groups do not contest elections. They only support political parties of their choice. On the
other hand, the political parties contest elections, and participate in election campaigns.
The interests of the pressure groups are usually specific, whereas the political parties have policies
and programmes with national and international ramifications.

There are instances when critical agendas do not form the immediate election agenda/priority of
political parties. Environmental concern is one such example. For example

Political parties may talk of cleaning of rivers, deforestation, pollution, environment protection and
conservation but this intent is not fully implemented in policies. For instance there are many
instances when norms laid down by National Green Tribunal are flouted openly. Example: Okhla

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 plant flouting safe distance norms, many construction companies in NCR region found flouting
construction norms etc.
The political parties often give priority to growth over environmental concerns in their policies. Thus,
the political parties leave a wide gap in the system. The political parties have given prominent place
to highways and dams. It has resulted into deforestation and climate change. Further the grievances
of poor people have not been heard by political parties. Even if it is heard, then also it has not led to
timely grievance redressed.
Similarly, political parties compete to get financial support from industries. But in return, after the
election, the industrial lobby exert pressure on the political parties to dilute environmental laws to
protect and promote their interest.

Pressure groups fill this void and are very crucial In mobilizing support to various environmental
problems. For example, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) has successfully generated consciousness
amongst the people in questioning the actions of government regarding land acquisition and
environmental controversies. But it has taken 10 years to reverse the controversial business deal.

Due to trade-off between multiple issues/involvement of multiple stakeholders in decision making

process, it is evident that the role of pressure groups, for protection of environment, has become
significant.

14. Give an account of the factors responsible for the limited success of Lok Adalats. What measures are
required to ensure that Lok Adalats function as an effective dispute redressal mechanism?

Approach:

Factors responsible for limited success of Lok Adalats.

Measures to improve functioning of Lok Adalats.

Answer:

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases
pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats
have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Lok Adalats serve very
crucial functions in India due to many factors like pending cases, illiteracy, poverty, high vacancy in courts
etc.

Several limitations of Lok Adalats include:

Lok Adalats are not apposite for complex cases - the biggest disadvantage with Lok Adalats is that
repeated sittings at short intervals with the same judge are almost not possible which breaks the
continuity of the deliberations.
Lack of Confidentiality - Lok Adalat proceedings are held in the open court and any member of public
may witness these proceedings. Thus, the element of confidentiality is also lacking.

This also impedes the process of exploration of various resolution options and ultimately the success
rate in matters where parties desire confidentiality.

Aura of Court Proceedings - Lok Adalats are fora where voluntary efforts intended to bring about
settlement of disputes between the parties are made through conciliatory and persuasive efforts.
However, they are conducted in regular courts only. Therefore some amount of formality still remains
attached with Lok Adalats.
Diminished Party Autonomy It cannot be said that the parties remain in absolute control of the
proceedings in contradistinction to what happens in mediation.
Needs consent of both the parties - The most important factor to be considered while deciding the

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 cases at the Lok Adalat is the consent of both the parties. It cannot be forced on any party that the
matter has to be decided by the Lok Adalat.

At this juncture the endeavour should be to organize more and more Lok Adalats, ensure greater
participation, reduce formalism, spare more time and personalized attention thereby ensuring quality
justice through Lok Adalats.

Measures to improve functioning of Lok Adalats

Establishing permanent and continuous Lok Adalats in all the Districts in the country for the disposal
of pending matters as well as disputes at pre-litigative stage.
Establishing separate Permanent and Continuous Lok Adalats for Government departments, PSUs
etc. for disposal of pending cases.
Accreditation of NGOs for Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Campaign
Appointment of Legal Aid Counsel in all Courts of Magistrates in the country.
Sensitization of Judicial officers in regard of legal Services Scheme.
Legal literacy and legal aid programmes need to expand to take care of poor and ignorant by
organizing awareness camps at grass-root level besides, the mass media like newspapers, television
and radios can also be desirable for this purpose.
To increase its utility, the concerned Legal services Authority or Committee should disseminate
information to the public about the holding of various Lok Adalat by it and success achieved thereby
in providing speedy, equitable and inexpensive justice.
There is need for improvement in quality of legal aid provided by lawyers and advocates. The
remunerations offered from legal services authorities to lawyers should be revised and thus
encouraged to render effective legal assistance to needy persons

The Lok Adalat Movement can be successful only if the people participate on voluntary basis in the
functioning of Lok Adalat. This can be achieved by restraining themselves from invoking the jurisdiction
of traditional Courts in trifle disputes.

15. Part IV of the Indian Constitution has great value as it provides for social and economic democracy. In
light of the above statement, discuss the importance and limitations of this part of the constitution.

Approach:

Give a brief description of DPSP.

Write the importance of DPSP in India.
Highlight its limitations.

Answer:

DPSP in Part IV of the Constitution denotes the ideals that the government should keep in mind while
formulating policies and enacting laws. These are set of Constitutional instructions to state in legislative,
executive and administrative matters.

Importance of DPSP

Fundamental rights provide for political rights. DPSP supplement them by providing for social and
economic rights.
DPSP constitute comprehensive socio-economic programme for a modern democratic state
Aim at realizing high ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity
Embody the concept of welfare state, and not that of the police state
It helps courts in examining and determining constitutional validity of law in the light of socio-
economic propriety
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 Its socialistic principles lay down framework of democratic socialist state, providing socio-economic
justice
The DPSP incorporates the Gandhian ideology as well as ideology of liberalism
They impose moral obligation on the state authorities for their application.
Their implementation creates a favourable atmosphere for the full and proper enjoyment of
fundamental rights.

However, this part is also fraught with certain limitations:

No Legal Force: The DPSP are non-justiciable in nature i.e. they are not legally enforceable by the
courts for their violation
Constitutional Conflict: DPSP lead to constitutional conflict (a) between Centre and states, (b) Centre
and President, (c) Chief minister and governor
Conflict with Fundamental rights: They can be amended to implement the fundamental rights.
A law cannot be struck down by courts for violating DPSP.

In spite of above limitations, DPSP are fundamental to the governance of the country. Its significance can
be gauged from the words of a former CJI, If all the principles of DPSP are fully carried out, our country
would indeed be a heaven on earth. India would then be not only democracy in political sense, but also
welfare state looking after welfare of its citizen.

16. Government advertisements have often been viewed as misuse of taxpayers money for enhancing the
image of political parties. Discuss in the light of relevant SC rulings. Also enumerate the
recommendations made by the Twentieth Law Commission to address the issue of paid news and
political advertisements.

Approach:

Discuss the issues related to government advertisements and guidelines given by SC in this regard.
Discuss the recommendations of Law commission with respect to paid news and Government
advertisements

Answer:

As pointed out by the SC, Government advertisements are potential tool to develop personality cults of
party leaders at the expense of tax payers money. Photos of party leaders in such ads divert public
attention from the policy of the Government, unnecessarily associate an individual or a party with a
government project, thus paving the way for developing a personality cult. The government remains in
electioneering mode continuously.

The SC judgment is an important step in dealing with political advertisements. The judgement came on
the basis of a series of recommendations given by a committee led by N.S. Madhava Menon on
introducing checks on government-funded advertisements.

Guidelines set by Supreme Court

Official advertisements should not carry the name of any political party, political symbol, logo or flag.
In order to regulate the issue of public advertisement and to keep check on framed guidelines
to prevent its violation, Union government must constitute a three-member committee.

The ban on the use of photographs of ministers and party leaders (except that of the President, Prime
Minister and Chief Justice of India) in government advertisements. This ban was however modified after
the state Governments filed pleas in SC citing the infringement of fundamental rights and federal

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 structure. Pictures of Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors and State Ministers can also now
appear in government advertisements.

Recommendations made by the Twentieth Law Commission

The issue of paid news and political advertisements should be regulated in the RPA by defining
paying for news, receiving payment for news and political advertisement and making paid
news an electoral offence.
In order to curb the practice of disguised political advertisement, disclosure provisions should be
made mandatory for all forms of media. The purpose of disclosure is twofold; first, to help the public
identify the nature of the content (paid content or editorial content); and second, to keep track of
transactions between the candidates and the media. The ECI can regulate the specifics of the
disclosure required.

It is important that these guidelines/recommendations are implemented at the earliest to bring in

transparency in the use of public funds and ensure that the money is not being used in furtherance of
fortune of particular entity.

17. In a paradigmatic shift from the command and control approach of the past, NITI Aayog
accommodates diverse points of view in a collaborative, rather than confrontationist setting.
Comment.

Approach:

Compare the present and past approach of planning in India.

Discuss NITI Aayogs inclusive approach and criticisms.

Answer:

Niti Aayog replaces the Planning Commission which was responsible for assessing national resources and
drafting five-year plans for India. There are various reasons which demanded a transition to a new
institution of NITI Aayog:

Political character of the institution- Far from being the think-tank for providing strategic vision for
the country, the Commission was reduced to a political tool of the central government for dictating
the policy choices of state governments and micro managing implementation.
By the mid-1960s after a series of plan failure the Planning Commission changed from an investment
to a spending body. The phenomenal increase in government plans and schemes, dating to the mid-
1980s, took place at the Commissions behest and coincided with Indias looming fiscal crisis.
Huge diversity of the country made centralized planning an incongruity
State governments have better information about what is required at the local level
Plethora of Centrally Sponsored Schemes with one size fits all approach
It also served as a template for other extra-constitutional establishments (for example, the National
Advisory Council) that came to lord over elected governments and states.
The fall of centrally-planned economies across the world. These plans curtailed the free play of
market forces, reduced opportunities for private entrepreneurship and eventually inhibited Indias
growth.
Direct conflict with the trend in the Finance Commission, a constitutional body unlike the Planning
Commission. While each successive Finance Commission has tried to devolve greater revenues to
states, the Planning Commission in turn encroached on all funds to implement Plan targets.
The states had little recourse in terms of resolving the outstanding issues of conflict either with the
central government or with other states.

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 Niti Aayog which consists of a full time organizational structure (PM as chairman and a CEO appointed by
PM), also comprise a governing council which includes state chief ministers and lieutenant governors of
Union territories. In this way it reflects the changes required in Indias governance structures and
provide a more active role for the state governments in achieving national objectives.

Niti Aayog replaces the command and control structure of the planning commission and accommodates
diverse view in a collaborative way as follows:

By acting as a think-tank" that will provide Governments at the central and state levels with relevant
strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy.
Ending slow and tardy implementation of policy, fostering better Inter-Ministry coordination and
better Centre-State coordination. It will help evolve a shared vision of national development
priorities, and foster cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation.
Provision to convene regional councils to address specific issues and contingencies having an impact
on more than one state or a region for a specific tenure.
By having full-time members and up to two part-time members from leading universities, research
organizations and other relevant institutions.
By fostering cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the
states on a continuous basis.
Developing mechanisms to formulate plans at the village level and aggregating these progressively at
higher levels of government as well as offering a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-
departmental issues in order to accelerate implementation of the development agenda.
By creating a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative
community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners.

18. Vast powers have been vested in the office of the Speaker to strengthen the democratic institutions of
the parliamentary system, and not to stifle dissent or protest in the House. Comment in the context of
India.

Approach:

Briefly give an overview of the office of speaker.

Powers and privileges of speaker that strengthens parliamentary system.
Some contentions with respect to the office along with examples.
Suggestions and way ahead.

Answer:

The Speaker of Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly is elected from amongst its members. He is
guardian of powers and privileges of the members, the House as a whole and its committees.

Maintains order and decorum in the House for conducting its business and regulating its
proceedings. Maintaining impartiality of the office, he ensures that ample time is given to Parliament
as a whole and opposition in particular to ensure accountability.
Adjourns the House and suspends the meeting in absence of quorum.
Decides whether a bill is money bill or not and his decision on this is final.
Decides on the question of disqualification of a member arising on the ground of defection (although
not outside the purview of Judicial review Kihoto Hollohan Case 1992).
Appoints the chairman of all Parliamentary Committees of Lok Sabha and supervises their
functioning. He himself is the chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee
and the General Purpose Committee.

However in recent times, the office of Speaker has been criticised for not being as impartial or effective
as had been envisaged:
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 Speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly decided on a case of defection while a notice of resolution for his
own removal from the office is pending. Supreme Court had to intervene and observed that Speaker
should refrain in such cases.
Supreme Court has accepted a plea with respect to the Speakers approval of Aadhaar Bill, 2016 as a
Money Bill. It is argued that declaring a bill which includes larger concerns like that of privacy, data
protection etc. should also involve Rajya Sabha to have a meaningful debate.
Parliamentary logjam has been a consistent scene on the floor of parliament whereby Speaker have
been unable to facilitate a smooth functioning and accused of bias.

Our constitutional maker envisaged integrity and impartiality from the office. But it has been
progressively eclipsed by political interests and made subservient to needs of ruling party. Judicial
review in is also used in exceptional circumstances. We need a permanent institutional solution. UKs
model of appointing a committee of two senior legislators to assist the speaker over question of money
bill is a case to consider. In UK, a parliamentary convention has developed, where an MP elected as
Speaker, resigns from respective party. This lends credence to his impartiality.

Both, government and opposition need to cooperate so that the Parliament can function smoothly and
speaker is not put into difficult situations too often. Also, Speaker needs to keep in mind the democratic
ethos while presiding over esteemed office and his actions must appear to be objective and neutral as
Justice should not only be done, it must also be seen to be done.

19. Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and the subsequent amendments have failed at solving the problem
of defections and opportunistic politics. Critically analyse.

Approach:

Briefly explain the provisions of Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Discuss its success and shortcomings/failures.

Answer:

The 52nd amendment to the Constitution added the Tenth Schedule which laid down the process by
which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection. A Member of Parliament or state
legislature is deemed to have defected if he either voluntarily resigns from his party or disobeys the
directives of the party whip. Independent members would be disqualified if they joins a political party.
Nominated members who were not members of a party could choose to join a party within six months;
after that period, they will be treated as a party member or independent member.

The law also made a few exceptions. Any person elected as speaker or chairman could resign from his
party, and rejoin the party if he demits that post. A party could be merged into another if at least two-
thirds of its party legislators votes for the merger. The law initially permitted splitting of parties, but that
has now been outlawed.

The following aspects broadly represent the shortcomings and failure:

curtailment of legislators right to vote according to his conscience, convictions, common sense and
constituency concerns (hence altering the fundamental character of the Westminster model of
parliamentary democracy)
Unfortunate trend that has recently manifested itself is the use of House majorities to get even
Private Members Bills defeated at the introduction stage.
odd spectacle of parliamentarians sometimes voting against a legislative instrument which they had
supported previously

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 Disincentivising lawmakers from serious thinking, researching or even rifling for best practices to
incorporate into legislation that is before the House for consideration and focus their energies on
procedural matters. This, when legislation is the principal function of Parliament.
The present provisions empower the Speaker or chairperson of the legislative body (who
himself/herself may be the member of the ruling party) to determine the veracity of the complaint
filed by political parties for disqualification. Any unfair decision may demean the dignity of the post.
The law currently does not apply to pre-poll alliances.
It also falls short to impose additional penalties on defectors.
The Speaker of a House does not have the power to review his own decisions to disqualify a
candidate.
The problem is heightened as the law does not come with a sunset clause.

However the evil of political defection is a national concern and the 10th schedule and related
amendments have been useful in combating it to a certain extent. For example 10 MPs were disqualified
after the trust vote of July 2008 (over India-US civil nuclear co-operation). Four cases were made against
Rajya Sabha MPs (two in 1989 and two in 2008) and all were upheld. In state legislatures, up to 2004, out
of 268 complaints, 113 were upheld. Further, the following arguments are noteworthy:

Five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in 1992 (Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachilhu and
others) held that the law does not violate any rights or freedoms, or the basic structure of
parliamentary democracy.
The argument that it curtails the legislative activity of private members or absence of adequate
thinking/research is countered by the presence of various standing committees which streamlines
legislative business in the legislature.
The Goswami Committee, the Election Commission and the Venkatachaliah Commission to Review
the Constitution (2002) have recommended that the decision should be made by the president or
the governor on the advice of the Election Commission. This would be similar to the process for
disqualification on grounds of office of profit.
The rationale that a representative is elected on the basis of the partys programme can be extended
to pre-poll alliances. The Law Commission proposed this change with the condition that partners of
such alliances inform the Election Commission before the elections.
The Venkatachaliah Commission recommended that defectors should be barred from holding any
ministerial or remunerative political office for the remaining term of the House. It also said that the
vote of any defector should not be counted in a confidence or no-confidence motion.
The High Courts and the Supreme Court can exercise judicial review and correct any erroneous order
by the speaker/chairman. Judicial review does not cover any stage prior to the making of a decision
by the Speakers/ Chairmen.

Restricting the rigours of the whip combined with the above measures would free up the legislative
space and ensure that every government strives not only for cross-party consensus on legislation but
reaches out to individual lawmakers rather than just their leaderships, deepening participatory
lawmaking in the process.

20. It is the Parliamentary system, with its basis on constant accountability, accommodation and inclusion,
which can best serve the needs of the country. Examine, keeping in mind the arguments that are
periodically put forward for adopting the Presidential system in India.

Approach:

Context in which this system was adopted.

Benefits of Parliamentary System in India.
Comparison with Presidential System of Government.

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Answer:

India already had some experience of running the parliamentary system under the Acts of 1919 and
1935. This experience had shown that in the parliamentary system, the executive can be effectively
controlled by the representatives of the people. Thus, accountability was a given a greater emphasis than
stability of Presidential system. It was because of the pluralistic nature of our society which demanded
giving representation to diverse sections and regions and include majority of people into political stream.

It put an emphasis on institution building rather than a form in which the executive power was vested in
a single individual.

Its inclusiveness and accommodativeness occurs at two levels: At the legislative level where the MPs are
representative of diversity and at the level of CoM as well. Further, an issue based opposition is often
heard and its views accommodated in governance.

There are arguments in favor of Presidential System:

First, it will make political parties to be more democratic and careful in selecting a candidate. They will
have to choose their best candidate for a head-to-head contest.

Second, the voters will know their candidates intimately. This will increase accountability of the
candidates.

Third, the president will be fully in charge of the executive. He will be able to attract the best and
brightest to his cabinet, irrespective of their political affiliations.

Fourthly, our democratic institutions have matured and evolved and public is more conscious today,
hence, we can switch to new system.

However, parliamentary form of government apart from being pluralistic, accommodative and inclusive
offers following benefits:

Smooth Functioning- Close link between executive and legislature avoids conflict between the two
organs of government.

Open Administration- The executive remains vigilant and follows propriety to secure its electoral
prospects and confidence of Parliament.

Financial Accountability: Government has to seek financial grants by Parliament and the audit of its
expenditure by CAG/PAC. sIn the light of its suitability to Indian context Swarn Singh Commission,
NCRWC etc have recommended its continuity.

Although, several lacunae in the system are visible, like declining representativeness, efficiency and ethos
of MPs, corruption, instability owing to coalition politics, weakness of opposition etc. yet it could be said
that the system needs a major overhaul but not a switch.

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