KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (Organisation and Institutions)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 2
2022 Apr Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Political Science (Organisation and Institutions) 2022 Apr Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2022 Apr examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2022 Apr examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2022 Apr examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 Units. (2) One essay type question and short note is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit 1
(a)Explain the conditions of a good Constitution.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what a constitution is and why its quality matters; the conditions of a good constitution grouped under content (rights, organisation of government, limits, amendment), form (clarity, brevity, comprehensiveness), working (independent judiciary, checks and balances, adaptability) and roots (popular sanction, harmony with national life); what a constitution should leave out; an Indian illustration (Minerva Mills); and a conclusion.
Introduction
A constitution is the fundamental law that organises the state, distributes power among its organs and fixes the rights of citizens against the government. Garner says every state "is unthinkable without a constitution of some kind". But a constitution can be good or bad. A good one secures liberty, gives effective government and lasts. A bad one is either ignored or overthrown.
A. Conditions of content
1. A declaration of rights. A good constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of citizens and limits the power of government to protect them. Garner calls this part "the constitution of liberty". Borgeaud describes a written constitution as "a law of guarantees, guaranteeing the people against the government and the minority against the majority."
2. Organisation of government. It should set up the legislature, executive and judiciary, fix their powers and their relations, and define the electorate. Garner calls this "the constitution of government."
3. Limits on power. It should list prohibitions on government and provide checks and balances, so that no organ becomes supreme.
4. A method of amendment. Garner calls the amending clause "the constitution of sovereignty" and says no written constitution "is complete without such a provision". It should be "neither so rigid as to make needed changes practically impossible nor so flexible as to encourage frequent and unnecessary change."
B. Conditions of form
5. Clarity and definiteness. Its language should be precise. Garner praises the United States Constitution as "remarkably free from redundant and ambiguous phrases."
6. Brevity. It should deal only with fundamental matters and leave details to ordinary laws. Garner calls the American Constitution "a model of brevity", and criticises State constitutions that grew into "codes of ordinary statute law."
7. Comprehensiveness. Though brief, it must cover all essential matters, so that the main questions of government are not left in doubt.
C. Conditions of working
8. An independent judiciary, to interpret the constitution, protect rights and settle disputes between the organs or between the centre and the units.
9. Separation of powers with checks and balances, so that liberty is not threatened by the union of powers in one hand.
10. Adaptability. A good constitution can grow. Lord Brougham said: "Constitutions must grow, if they are of any value; they have roots, they ripen, they endure". Garner names three ways of growth: usage, judicial interpretation and formal amendment.
D. Conditions of roots
11. Popular sanction. It should be made or approved by the people, through a constituent assembly or a referendum. A ruler's grant that he can withdraw is weak; Judge Cooley denied such grants were true constitutions.
12. Harmony with national life. Judge Cooley said the best constitution is "the natural outgrowth of the national life". Garner warns that a constitution which breaks with the nation's past fails, like the eighteenth-century French constitutions. Maine compared such a state to a British traveller forced "to eat a dinner with chopsticks."
| Group | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Content | Rights, organisation of government, limits, amendment |
| Form | Clarity, brevity, comprehensiveness |
| Group | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Working | Independent judiciary, checks and balances, adaptability |
| Roots | Popular sanction, harmony with national life |
Lessons from history
The history of constitutions bears out these conditions. The early French constitutions of the 1790s were framed as if the nation could "cut loose entirely from its past", in Garner's words, and they did not last. The American Constitution of 1787, brief, clear and with a workable amending clause, has endured, growing through interpretation and usage. Britain's constitution, though unwritten, has lasted because it grew out of the national life and adapts by convention. The lesson is that clarity and rights matter, but so do roots and the capacity to grow.
What a good constitution leaves out
It should not crowd itself with temporary matters such as detailed rules of trade or administration. Garner notes how American State constitutions became loaded with such matter, destroying "the distinction between the constitution and ordinary statutory legislation."
An Indian illustration
India's Constitution meets most of these conditions, though it is long rather than brief. It declares rights, organises government, sets up an independent judiciary and provides a balanced method of amendment in article 368. It also protects the balance of its own amending power. In Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India, AIR 1980 SC 1789, Parliament had added clauses to article 368 declaring that no amendment could be questioned and that the power had no limits. The Supreme Court struck them down, holding that "a limited amending power is one of the basic features of our Constitution."
Conclusion. A good constitution guarantees rights, organises and limits government and provides for its own amendment. It is clear, brief and comprehensive, works through an independent judiciary and checks and balances, and can grow. Above all it must rest on the people's consent and grow out of the nation's life. India's Constitution, with a limited amending power protected by Minerva Mills, shows these conditions at work.
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