KSLU Solved Question Papers
Constitutional Law I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2011 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Constitutional Law I 2011 Jun 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 2011 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2011 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2011 Jun 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 100 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 Questions. (2) One essay type and one short note question or problem from each unit have to be attempted, which is referred as part (a) and (b) in all the units. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers 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 I
(a)Discuss the salient feature of Indian Constitution with special reference to parliamentary form of Government.[15]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the Constitution in brief; its salient features in outline, each with its articles; the parliamentary form of government as the feature asked about: why the framers chose it (Dr. Ambedkar, 4 November 1948), its working parts with articles (articles 53, 74, 75, 78, 85, 88, 163, 164), and the cases (Ram Jawaya Kapur, Shamsher Singh, U.N.R. Rao, S.R. Bommai on the floor test, Common Cause on collective responsibility); how the Indian form departs from the British model (table); its place in the basic structure (Kesavananda Bharati); criticism and the Tenth Schedule (Kihoto Hollohan); a conclusion.
The Constitution in brief
The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950. It sets up a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. It divides power between the Union and the States, guarantees rights to individuals, and sets goals of social justice for the State. Among its many features, the question asks for special attention to one: the parliamentary form of government. The other features are first set out in outline.
The salient features in outline
- A written and detailed text. It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country. It covers the Union and the States in one document.
- Sovereignty of the Constitution. Every organ of the State draws its power from the text. Laws that violate it are void (article 13).
- Federal, with a strong Centre. Power is divided by the three Lists of the Seventh Schedule (article 246). The residuary power is with the Union (article 248).
- Fundamental rights. Part III guarantees enforceable rights. Article 32 makes the remedy itself a fundamental right.
- Directive principles. Part IV sets the goals of a welfare State. They are not enforceable in court (article 37).
- Fundamental duties. Article 51A lists the duties of citizens.
- Independent and integrated judiciary, with the power of judicial review.
- Secularism. The State has no religion of its own (articles 25 to 28).
- Adult suffrage. Every citizen aged eighteen or more may vote (article 326).
- Single citizenship for the whole country.
- Amendment by a procedure that is partly rigid and partly flexible (article 368).
- Emergency provisions (articles 352, 356 and 360).
- Parliamentary government, at the Union and in the States. This is discussed in detail below.
Why the framers chose parliamentary government
The Constituent Assembly had to choose between the British and the American models. Dr. Ambedkar explained the choice on 4 November 1948. His words are quoted in Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1974 SC 2192.
He said that one system gives "more stability but less responsibility", and the other "more responsibility but less stability". In the British system, the executive is assessed daily by Parliament, through "questions, resolutions, no-confidence motions, adjournment motions, and debates on addresses". It is also assessed periodically by the voters. He found the daily assessment "far more effective" and "far more necessary in a country like India". He concluded: "The Draft Constitution in recommending the Parliamentary system of executive has preferred more responsibility to more stability."
The working parts of the system
- A nominal head and a real executive. Executive power is vested in the President (article 53). But a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister aids and advises him. He "shall" act on that advice (article 74(1)). Since the Forty-fourth Amendment 1978, he may send the advice back once for reconsideration. He must then act on the advice given after reconsideration.
- Ministers drawn from Parliament. A Minister who is not a member of either House for six consecutive months ceases to be a Minister (article 75(5)). Every Minister may speak in either House, but votes only in his own (article 88).
- Collective responsibility. The Council of Ministers is "collectively responsible to the House of the People" (article 75(3)). It holds office during the pleasure of the President (article 75(2)). In practice, that pleasure lasts as long as the Ministry has a majority in the Lok Sabha.
- Leadership of the Prime Minister. The President appoints the Prime Minister, and the other Ministers on his advice (article 75(1)). Since 2004, the Council may not exceed fifteen per cent of the Lok Sabha's members (article 75(1A)). The Prime Minister must keep the President informed (article 78).
- Dissolution. The President may dissolve the Lok Sabha (article 85(2)(b)), on the advice of the Prime Minister. The people then decide at a fresh election.
- The same pattern in the States. The Governor is the formal head. The Chief Minister and his Council are responsible to the Legislative Assembly (articles 163 and 164).
What the courts have said
The formal head. In Rai Sahib Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549, the Punjab Government had taken over the publishing of school text books by executive orders. Publishers challenged this. The Court upheld the orders and explained the system. The President is "a formal or constitutional head of the executive". The Cabinet is "a hyphen which joins, a buckle which fastens the legislative part of the State to the executive part".
Advice is binding. In Shamsher Singh, seven judges considered the discharge of two probationary judicial officers by orders in the Governor's name. It was argued that the Governor had to decide personally. The Court held that the President and the Governor act on the advice of their Ministers, save in a few exceptional situations. The satisfaction required is that of the Council of Ministers.
There is always a Ministry. In U.N.R. Rao v. Indira Gandhi, AIR 1971 SC 1002, the Lok Sabha had been dissolved in December 1970. A petitioner claimed that the Prime Minister and her Ministers ceased to hold office at once. The Court rejected the claim. Article 74(1) is mandatory, so the President can never act without a Council of Ministers, even after dissolution.
Majority is tested on the floor. In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, AIR 1994 SC 1918, a Karnataka Ministry had been dismissed in April 1989 without a vote in the Assembly. The Court held that whether a Ministry has a majority is to be decided on the floor of the House. It is not a matter for the Governor's personal opinion.
Collective responsibility explained. In Common Cause, A Registered Society v. Union of India, (1999) 6 SCC 667, the Court described collective responsibility as "essentially a political concept". It means, first, that all Ministers support the Cabinet's policies and show that unanimity in public. Second, each Minister shares the moral responsibility for the success or failure of those policies, even if he argued against them in the Cabinet.
How India departs from the British model
| Point | Britain | India |
|---|---|---|
| Head of State | Hereditary monarch | President elected indirectly for five years (articles 54, 56) |
| Removal of the head | Not removable | Impeachment for violation of the Constitution (article 61) |
| Source of the rules | Mostly convention | Written text (articles 74, 75) |
| Point | Britain | India |
|---|---|---|
| Supremacy | Parliament is sovereign | The Constitution is supreme; laws face judicial review |
| Structure | Unitary State | Federal; the system works at two levels |
| Defection | No special law | Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) |
The Prime Minister may also come from either House. Dr. Manmohan Singh was a member of the Rajya Sabha throughout his ten years as Prime Minister.
Parliamentary democracy and the basic structure
In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, the Court held that Parliament cannot destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. Jaganmohan Reddy J. said that "a sovereign democratic republic, Parliamentary democracy, the three organs of the State" certainly constitute that structure. So the parliamentary form cannot be replaced by an amendment.
Criticism and the answer to it
- Instability. Where no party has a majority, Governments may fall quickly. Between May 1996 and March 1998, three Prime Ministers took office, and a fresh election followed. On 17 April 1999 a Ministry lost a vote of confidence by a single vote.
- Defections. Members changed parties for office and brought Governments down. The Fifty-second Amendment 1985 added the Tenth Schedule, which disqualifies defectors. In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu, 1992 SCR (1) 686, the Court upheld it, but struck down the bar on judicial review in paragraph 7.
- Executive dominance. With a large majority and party discipline, the Cabinet may control Parliament instead of answering to it.
The answer lies in Dr. Ambedkar's choice. Instability is the price of responsibility. A Government can be removed at any time when it loses the confidence of the House, without waiting five years.
Conclusion. The Constitution of India has many salient features: a written supreme text, a federation with a strong Centre, rights, directive principles and an independent judiciary. Among them, the parliamentary form of government decides how India is actually governed. The President is the formal head, as Ram Jawaya Kapur and Shamsher Singh hold. The real executive is a Council of Ministers responsible to the Lok Sabha under article 75(3). Its majority is tested on the floor, as S.R. Bommai holds. India adapted the British model to a written, federal Constitution with judicial review. As Kesavananda Bharati shows, it is now part of the basic structure.
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