Constitutional Framework MCQs for UPSC Prelims

Correct answer: D - Neither 1 nor 2

Statement 1 is wrong: the Constitution nowhere defines or enumerates a 'basic structure'; the doctrine is a judicial innovation evolved by the Supreme Court from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) onwards, with its contents identified case by case rather than written into the text. Statement 2 is also treated as incorrect in the official UPSC key, because the Constitution does not use the express term 'judicial review' or spell it out as a named safeguard; the power is only inferred from provisions such as Articles 13, 32 and 226. Since neither statement is accepted as correct, the official answer is Neither 1 nor 2.

Correct answer: B - If there are no laws, there is no liberty.

The most appropriate view is that without law there can be no liberty, because liberty is not the absence of all restraint but freedom secured by a framework of rules that protects each person from the encroachment of others. Option (a) reflects a narrow anarchist or libertarian assumption that law and liberty are simply opposed, which is not the balanced position. Option (c) confuses the source of law with the relationship between law and liberty. Option (d) describes a possible risk of legislative instability but does not capture the fundamental relationship. Hence option (b) is the best answer.

Correct answer: B - 2 only

A constitutional government is one that places effective restrictions on the authority of the State in the interest of individual liberty (statement 2), reflecting the idea of limited government. Statement 1 reverses this by restricting individual liberty for State authority, which describes an authoritarian rather than constitutional government. Hence 2 only.

Correct answer: D - Opportunity to develop oneself fully

As per the official UPSC 2019 answer key, the most appropriate definition of liberty in the constitutional context is the opportunity to develop oneself fully. This is the positive concept of liberty, where freedom is not merely the absence of restraints but the presence of conditions that enable individuals to realise their full potential. Absence of restraint is the narrow negative-liberty notion and was a strong distractor, but liberty under the Indian Constitution is qualified and developmental, not absolute. Protection against tyranny is a purpose of liberty, and doing whatever one likes describes licence, not liberty.

Correct answer: B - Governor General

Under the Government of India Act, 1935, residuary powers were vested in the Governor General, who could decide on subjects not enumerated in the federal, provincial or concurrent lists. This was unlike many federations where residuary powers go to a legislature. The Federal and Provincial Legislatures had powers only over their listed subjects, so those options are wrong, and the Provincial Governors had no such residuary authority. This discretionary vesting in the Governor General reflected the British intent to retain ultimate control, which is why our present Constitution instead gives residuary powers to the Union Parliament.

Correct answer: A - A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government

A State in political theory needs four essential elements: a permanent population, a definite territory, a government, and sovereignty (independence from external control). Option (a) names all four precisely, calling it a community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory, independent of external control, with an organised government, so it best defines the term. The other options omit or dilute one of these elements, particularly sovereignty, so they are less complete and incorrect.

Correct answer: C - 1, 2 and 4 only

The main features of the rule of law include limitation on arbitrary power, equality of all before the law, and the protection of liberty and civil rights, so statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. Statement 3, the people's responsibility to the government, is not a feature of the rule of law; the rule of law instead emphasises that the government itself is bound by and accountable under the law, and that authority is exercised within legal limits. Hence the correct combination is 1, 2 and 4 only.

Correct answer: D - 1, 2 and 3

None of the three bodies is mentioned in the Constitution, so all of statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct and the answer is (d). The National Development Council was created by an executive resolution of the Government in 1952; the Planning Commission was set up by an executive resolution in 1950 and was a non-constitutional, non-statutory body; and the Zonal Councils were established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (a statute, not the Constitution). Since each of them is extra-constitutional, all three find no mention in the Constitution, giving option (d).