KSLU Solved Question Papers
Constitutional Law I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2023 Mar (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Constitutional Law I 2023 Mar (100 marks) Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Mar (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar (100 marks) 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 · 13 questions answered
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.
Q1Discuss the values enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. Is the Preamble a part of the Constitution ?[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: limb one, the values: the people as the source of authority, the five words that describe the State, the four objectives (justice, liberty, equality, fraternity) and the dignity, unity and integrity clause, each with what it means and a case that gave it force; limb two, the status: Berubari (not a part), Kesavananda (a part), the 1976 amendment and the 2024 ruling as proof, and what follows from being a part; a table; a conclusion that answers the second question.
Introduction
The Preamble is the opening statement of the Constitution. It answers three questions. Who made the Constitution? What kind of State does it create? What must that State secure for its citizens? Its answers are the values of the Constitution, and every law and act of government can be measured against them.
The Constituent Assembly took up the Preamble last, on 17 October 1949. It was kept for the end so that it would match the provisions already settled. The question asks two things: what values the Preamble holds, and whether it is a part of the Constitution. They are taken in that order.
The text
The Preamble reads: "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION."
The values fall into three groups. The first is the source of authority. The second is the nature of the State. The third is the set of goals the State must reach for every citizen.
Value 1: the people are the source of authority
The opening words "We, the People of India" are a value in themselves. The Constitution was not handed down by the British Parliament or by a ruler. The people gave it to themselves through their Constituent Assembly. So all power held by Parliament, the executive and the courts comes from the people and is held for them.
This is why the closing words say the people "ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION". No organ of the State is above the document, because each was created by it.
Values 2 to 6: the kind of State
- Sovereign. India is free from outside control in its internal and external affairs. It decides its own laws and its own foreign policy. Membership of the Commonwealth is a voluntary association and takes nothing away from this.
- Socialist. The State aims at social and economic upliftment and at reducing inequality of income, status and opportunity. Indian socialism is democratic: it works through law and a mixed economy, not through the State owning everything.
- Secular. The State has no religion of its own. It treats all faiths with equal respect and does not favour or penalise anyone for his religion.
- Democratic. Power rests with the people, who choose their government through free and fair elections on universal adult franchise.
- Republic. The head of the State, the President, is elected for a fixed term. No public office is hereditary.
How the courts have given these values force. In re Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclaves, decided on 14 March 1960, concerned an agreement of 1958 to give part of Berubari Union No. 12 to Pakistan. One argument was that a sovereign Republic could not give away its territory. The Court did not accept that the Preamble could stop the transfer. It held that the Preamble is not a source of powers, nor of prohibitions and limitations. The transfer needed an amendment under article 368, not an ordinary law under article 3. So sovereignty shaped how the transfer had to be done, not whether it could be done.
S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, AIR 1994 SC 1918. After the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya, the Union dismissed three State Governments under article 356. Nine judges held that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution. In matters of State, religion has no place. A State Government that pursues unsecular policies can be removed under article 356. The secular value of the Preamble thus became a limit that binds governments.
Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms, AIR 2002 SC 2112, gave content to the democratic value. The question was whether voters must be told about the candidates who seek their votes. The Court held that a voter expresses himself by casting his vote, so he has a right to know about the candidate. It said the right to information in a democracy is "a natural right flowing from the concept of democracy". The Election Commission was directed to collect, on affidavit, each candidate's criminal record, assets, liabilities and education.
Values 7 to 10: the four goals for every citizen
- Justice, social, economic and political. Social justice means removing inequality based on caste, sex or birth. Economic justice means a fair share of wealth and a decent living. Political justice means an equal voice in government, through the vote and the right to hold office.
- Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The individual may think, speak and believe as he chooses. This value is given effect by article 19(1)(a) and articles 25 to 28.
- Equality of status and of opportunity. No citizen is placed above another by birth or rank. This value works through articles 14 to 18, including the abolition of untouchability (article 17) and of titles (article 18).
- Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. Fraternity is a spirit of common brotherhood among all Indians. It protects both the individual, through dignity, and the country, through unity and integrity.
Justice in the cases. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, AIR 1993 SC 477, examined the Office Memorandum of 1990 reserving 27 per cent of Central Government posts for the Other Backward Classes. Nine judges upheld the reservation as a means of securing equality for groups held back by social backwardness. But they required the creamy layer to be excluded. They also held that reservations should not, as a rule, go beyond 50 per cent. So social justice is pursued, but within limits that protect the equality of others.
Liberty in the cases. Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala, (1986) 3 SCC 615. Three children of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith stood respectfully during the National Anthem at school but did not sing, because their faith forbade it. They were expelled. The Supreme Court ordered them to be taken back. It held that no law obliged anyone to sing, and that their rights under articles 19(1)(a) and 25(1) had been infringed. The judgment ends: "our tradition teaches tolerance; our philosophy preaches tolerance; our constitution practices tolerance; let us not dilute it." This is liberty of belief and worship in action.
Dignity in the cases. Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, (1981) 1 SCC 608. A detainee was allowed to meet her lawyer or family only once a month, and only with a customs officer present. The Court struck down these conditions. It held that "the right to life includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it". The Preamble's promise of dignity thus gave article 21 its wide meaning.
Limb two: is the Preamble a part of the Constitution?
The first answer: no. In Berubari (1960) the Court called the Preamble "a key to open the mind of the makers". But it also said that the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution. It could be looked at only where the words of an article were unclear.
The settled answer: yes. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, was decided on 24 April 1973 by thirteen judges. The petitioner challenged the Kerala land reform laws and the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth Amendments. The Court looked at how the Preamble was made. It had been placed before the Constituent Assembly, debated and adopted in the same way as the articles. So the Court held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution, and the contrary view in Berubari was not followed.
Two later events confirm this. First, the Forty-second Amendment Act 1976 amended the Preamble itself, with effect from 3 January 1977. It added "SOCIALIST" and "SECULAR" and changed "unity of the Nation" to "unity and integrity of the Nation". An amendment under article 368 can change only what is part of the Constitution.
Second, Dr. Balram Singh v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 893, decided on 25 November 2024, dealt with petitions filed in 2020 against those two added words. A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar J. dismissed them. It held that Parliament's power under article 368 extends to the Preamble, and that the Constitution is a living document. It also found no legitimate cause to challenge the amendment after nearly 44 years. It read socialism as a goal of economic and social upliftment that does not restrict private enterprise.
What follows from its being a part
- It can be amended, but only under article 368, and not so as to destroy the basic structure. Sovereignty, democracy, the republican form and secularism are all basic features.
- It is not a source of power or of limits by itself. The Berubari rule on this point still stands.
- It is not directly enforceable. No one can file a suit to enforce a word of the Preamble.
- It is the key to interpretation. Where an article can bear two meanings, the court prefers the one that serves the Preamble's values.
Limits and criticism
- The values are broad. Words like "socialist" and "justice" have no fixed legal content. Their meaning depends on how courts read them in each case.
- The 1976 additions were made during the Emergency. Critics said a Parliament sitting beyond its normal term should not have changed the Preamble. The 2024 ruling answers this: the power existed, and the words have been read in a moderate way for decades.
- Values can pull in different directions. Liberty and social justice sometimes conflict, as in reservation cases. The courts balance them; the Preamble does not rank them.
The values at a glance
| Value | What it means | Where it works | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| We, the People | People are the source of power | The whole Constitution | The Preamble's closing words |
| Sovereign | Free from outside control | Article 368 for any cession | Berubari |
| Secular | No State religion | Articles 25 to 28, 356 | S.R. Bommai |
| Democratic | Government by elected representatives | Articles 324 to 326 | Association for Democratic Reforms |
| Justice | Social, economic, political | Articles 15(4), 16(4), Part IV | Indra Sawhney |
| Liberty | Thought, belief, worship | Articles 19, 25 | Bijoe Emmanuel |
| Dignity | A life worth living | Article 21 | Francis Coralie Mullin |
Conclusion. The Preamble enshrines the sovereignty of the people and a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. It sets four goals: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Fraternity carries the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. The Preamble is a part of the Constitution: Kesavananda (1973) so held, departing from Berubari (1960). The Forty-second Amendment and the 2024 ruling in Balram Singh confirm that Parliament can amend it under article 368. But it remains an aid to interpretation, not a source of power, and its basic values cannot be destroyed by any amendment.
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