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2. In so far as the office of the Governor, there is no limitation on at the pleasure of
the President doctrine, but withdrawal of pleasure cannot be at the whims and
fancy of the President. Discuss the above statement in the light of recent
developments and examine whether the doctrine requires modifications.
(10 marks) [200 words]
The Governor acts as the head of the State, a vital link between the Union and State
Governments and as the agent of the Centre at the State. If allowed to function independently
he can act as an impartial umpire between the Union and State Governments and form a bridge
between them and keep a check on the exercise of arbitrary power by State Government. Since
he holds office at the pleasure of the President, the successive governments at the Centre have
forced him to act essentially as the agent of the Centre and not as the head of the State which
the Constitution assigns as his primary function.
The Supreme Court in B.P. Singhal vs. Union of India 2010 case, without shaking the
foundation of the pleasure tenure has placed certain checks on the President. The President
cannot exercise his power to remove a Governor arbitrarily. It can be exercised in rare and
exceptional circumstances for valid and compelling reasons. The Governor can neither be
removed on the ground that he is at variance with the policies and ideology of the ruling party at
the Centre nor the Centre has lost its confidence in him. The Court also held that a decision to
remove the Governor can be challenged in a court of law, if the petitioner prima facie
establishes arbitrariness or malafide use of power by the President.
The Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations 1988 and the National Commission
to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) had recommended that a Governor must
be allowed to complete his normal five-year term so that he can carry out his duties without fear
or favour. The NCRWC stated that if he is to be removed before the expiry of his term, it should
be done only after consultation with the Chief Minister of the State.
It is not how the Governor is appointed that is important, but who gets appointed that is
important. If eminent persons from certain walks of life and persons who are not politically active
at least in the last five years are appointed, the next government may not have to disturb them
before they complete their five-year tenure.

3. The role of opposition is no less important and in a Parliamentary model, it is
recognized as a part of the Government in the wider sense. In the light of the above
statement assess the necessity of the leader of the opposition in the Houses of the
Parliament.
[10 marks, 200 words]
For the success of Parliamentary democracy, an effective opposition is as necessary as
a functioning government. Parliamentary accountability of the Government is best served by a
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Some Suggested Answers for GS TEST 2 (held on 28-9-14)

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robust and vibrant opposition, led by a leader recognized as the Leader of the Opposition
(LOP). The Leader of Opposition has a systemic role to play as a member of the panels that
select the (1) Central Vigilance Commissioner; (2) Chief Information Commissioner; (3) Lokpal;
(4) Director of CBI; (5) Members of NHRC; (6) the Secretary Generals of the Lok Sabha; and (7)
two eminent jurists under the proposed NJAC Bill. Thus the Leader of Opposition in the Lok
Sabha has been made a part of the Governments decision making in certain matters.
However, under rules formulated by G.V. Mavalankar and Speakers Direction 121, for a
member of the Lok Sabha to be recognized as the Leader of Opposition by the Speaker, he
should be the leader of the largest party in the opposition in the Lok Sabha having a strength
equal to or more than the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of the House which is 10% of the
total strength of the House. Since Indian National Congress, the main opposition party in the
16
th
Lok Sabha has only 44 members its leader Mallikarjun Kharge has not been officially
recognized as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha by the Speaker. But the Salary and
Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 defines the Leader of Opposition
of each House as the leader in that House of the Party in opposition to the Government having
the greatest numerical strength.
Considering the indispensable nature of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha in the
functioning of the above institutions, whoever is elected as the leader of the largest party must
be included as a member in the high level panels that select the above functionaries. It is the
main opposition party in the Parliament that brings to bear maximum responsibility on the
Government, preferably led by a leader recognized as Leader of Opposition.

4. Do you agree with the statements that GOMs and eGOMs undermined the
Cabinets responsibility? Bring out the reasons behind the recent decision of the
Union Government to abolish the GOMs and eGOMs.
[10 marks, 200 words]
GOMs and eGOMs are both appointed under Government of Indias Transaction of
Business Rules 1961. The mechanism of GOMs and eGOMs was first created by the NDA
Government headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 but used more freely by the
UPA Government. They are inter-ministerial panels headed by a senior cabinet minister. An
eGOM can take decisions subject to approval given by the Cabinet, whereas a GOM can make
a recommendation on a given issue on which the Cabinet takes a decision. GOMs and eGOMs
are like a single window system for taking decisions with exchange of ideas within different
ministries. In essence they intended to assist the Cabinet to discharge its functions efficiently
and prevent ticklish issues from clogging the cabinets functioning.
But under the UPA Government, it was criticized as having become an instrument to
delay decision making. Under UPA-II, 68 GOMs and 14 eGOMs were constituted often
hampering the Cabinets ability to take decisions. In the process the authority and supremacy of
the Prime Ministers Office got eroded. Insignificant issues like functioning of Prasar Bharati,
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2010 Commonwealth Games, issuance of resident ID cards were pending for long before
GOMs.
The NDA Government headed by Prime Minister Modi, in May 2014 decided to abolish
all the ministerial groups precisely on the ground that they caused avoidable delays in taking
decisions and disturbed coherence in the functioning of the Government. The decision of the
new Government is to ensure that Ministers take faster decisions with more accountability. If the
ministries and departments face any difficulty in deciding issues, the Prime Ministers Office and
Cabinet Secretariat will facilitate the decision making process. This step is also seen as a move
towards achieving the goal of minimum government, maximum governance.

6. Who are undertrials? What rights are denied to them? Have the measures
undertaken to address their problems succeeded in their objectives?
[10 marks, 200 words]
An undertrial is a person who is accused of an offence and languishing in jail awaiting,
his trial in a court of law. Undertrials are often subjected to undue delay in disposing of their
cases in the courts, where sometimes they are imprisoned for more than what the law provides
as maximum punishment, if they are found guilty. When he is confined to imprisonment, he
virtually undergoes punishment without the charges having been proved against him. This
amounts to violation of his right to fair and speedy trial, right to free legal aid, right to
presumption of innocence, and rule of law.
Measures
The Government of India has undertaken few measures like establishing Fast Track
Courts starting from 2000, plea bargaining, reducing the pendency of the cases by establishing
evening courts etc. The Fast Track Courts have achieved a measure of success by disposing of
over 32 lakh cases in over 11 years. But 32 million cases are still pending before the lower
courts. The quality of justice delivered by Fast Track Court has also been criticized as justice
hurried is justice buried.
Supreme Courts measures
In September 2014, the Supreme Court directed that all undertrials who have served half
of their likely maximum terms without completion of their trials shall be released on bail. The
Supreme Court has also set a deadline of two months starting from October 1, 2014 for judicial
officers to visit prisons under their jurisdiction and release undertrials on bail under section 436A
of Cr.P.C. Section 436A prescribes release of prisoners by a court on a personal bond with or
without surety if he has spent at least half of his likely maximum sentence.

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Some Suggested Answers for GS TEST 2 (held on 28-9-14)

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7. What form of government has been formed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
Do you think the Cabinet form of government has been replaced by the Prime
Ministerial form of Government? Which of these two forms of government is
suitable to India?
[10 marks, 200 words]
Officially it is NDA Government a coalition government headed by BJP, that includes
TDP, SS, SAD and Lok Jan Shakti Party. The NDA has won 317 seats in the 16
th
Lok Sabha
elections and the BJP alone commands an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha with 280
members. Some of the coalition partners have been given one ministerial berth each in the
Council of Ministers.
However, the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, because of BJP
enjoying absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and also because of the personality of the Prime
Minister has all the trappings of a Prime Ministerial form of Government. The Governments
decision to abolish the GOM and eGOM is a pointer towards this. The GOM and eGOMs in a
way reflective of coalition compulsions and indicative of diminished authority of the Prime
Minister and the Prime Ministers Office. They also in a way signaled the decentralization of
decision making. The Prime Ministers Office press release that followed the abolition of GOMs
and eGOMs has asked all Ministers who have difficulties in deciding issues relating to their own
ministry are to refer them to the Prime Ministers Office and the Cabinet Secretariat for
resolution. This may lead to centralization of power and strengthening the hands of the Prime
Minister. But in the process a super Prime Ministers Office must not destroy the cabinet system
of government that envisages decision making through consensus.
So long as a strong Prime Ministers Office does not lead to an unhealthy centralization
of power in the hands of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister acts as a facilitator, using
persuasion and relying on the collective wisdom of his cabinet colleagues to create an effective
and harmonious administration, the Prime Ministerial form of government will do more good
considering the fact that political instability over the past 25 years has slowed down the overall
growth and development of India. If the Prime Ministerial form of government promotes
minimum government and maximum governance, it is always welcome.

8 (b) How can we ensure that First Information Report (FIR) is made to function as an
effective instrument of Criminal justice delivery system to the citizens?
[5 marks, 100 words]
An FIR is a written document prepared by the Police when they receive information
about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is called FIR, because, the report is prepared
on the basis of information reaches the police, first in point of time. It is generally a complaint
lodged with the police by the victim of a cognizable offence or someone on his behalf. Even a
police officer who comes to know about a cognizable offence can file an FIR himself. The
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information about the commission of a cognizable offence can be communicated to the police
orally, or in writing. According to the Supreme Court registration of FIR is mandatory under
section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, if the information discloses commission of a
cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation (before filing
FIR). Refusal to register an FIR will lead to prison term for policemen.
An FIR is a very important document as it sets the process of criminal justice in motion.
It is only after the FIR is registered in the police station that the police takes up investigation of
the case. There is a concept of zero FIR. It means that an FIR can be filed in any police
station, irrespective of place of incidence or jurisdiction. The same can be transferred to
appropriate police station. But there is a perception among the public that the police are
reluctant to register an FIR. The major reasons are:
(1) It increases the workload of the police as registration of an FIR makes it mandatory to
investigate the case and the police are short of manpower.
(2) The performance rating of a police station is measured on the basis of the number of
FIRs registered in that station and the resolution of the cases.
(3) Political and Official interference in the normal working of the police.
(4) Allegation of corruption among policemen and other parochial factors like caste and
religion influencing the working of the police.
Suggestions
(1) Online filing of FIRs (e-FIR) should be made possible by implementing Crime and
Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) by March 2015.
(2) The Kanoon Vyavastha an interactive portal system launched by Himachal Pradesh
Police under which police complaints can be filed online or by SMS without the
complainant having to visit the police station should be extended to all the States and
UTs.
(3) The three wings of the Police Department, viz. Criminal Investigation, Law and Order
and VIP security should be separated from each other so that police personnel are not
diverted to VIP security duty and a specialized police investigation wing can be
organized to improve efficiency in crime detection.
(4) Improving the police population ratio by recruiting sufficient police personnel.
(5) Sensitising the police with suitable training programmes that they are a service
organization and not merely an authority.
(6) Implementation of Police Reforms as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

11. The time has come for the incorporation of the concept of sunset legislation as a
fundamental aspect of governance in India. Critically analyse.
[10 marks, 200 words]
There are over 1200 statutes at the Union level alone. And with the regulations framed
by the Executive for the proper implementation of statutes, we have an enormous legal clutter to
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cut through. India has been characterized as one of the most over-regulated countries in the
world. These burdensome and unnecessary laws and regulations not only impose heavy
economic costs, but also provide fertile ground for corruption, contribute to red-tapism and
sustaining an Inspector Raj. UK, Australia and other countries carry out regular spring cleaning
to free citizens from unnecessary bureaucracy.
The Prime Minister in his first meeting with all government secretaries in May 2014,
asked them to identify 10 laws from each ministry that are burdensome and should be repealed.
The 20
th
Law Commission headed by Justice A.P. Shah has undertaken a project titled, Legal
Enactments Simplification and Streamlining (LESS) to prepare various reports on the laws, rules
and regulations which need to be repealed or amended.
To ensure that obsolete laws do not linger in the future, drafting techniques like sunset
and review clauses should be incorporated into new laws. A sunset clause results in the
automatic repeal of a law after a specified period of time unless the law is expressly extended
by Parliament. A review clause mandates formal periodic review but does not result in automatic
repeal. If we have to ensure minimum government and maximum governance for the welfare of
the people we need to make the above reforms as a fundamental aspect of governance in India.

14. Post retirement appointment of judges always raises doubts of quid pro quo for
judgement delivered by them. It may not be prohibited under the Constitution but
it raises a question of moral propriety. Examine the statement in the light of the
recent developments.
[10 marks, 200 words]
Of the more than 30 judges who retired from the Supreme Court, since 2008, 25 judges
got posts in different Commissions and Tribunals. Some of them accepted post-retirement
appointments much before they formally demitted office.
Articles 148 and 319 of the Constitution prohibit the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India (CAG) and Chairman of UPSC from taking up any further office under the Government
after their retirement. But it does not impose similar ban on the judges of Supreme Court and
High Courts taking up such government offices after their retirement. On the contrary many laws
like NHRC Act require persons who held judicial offices are to be appointed to various
Commissions and tribunals.
When the former Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam was appointed as the Governor
of Kerala within five months after his retirement it did not raise a question of legality but a
question of propriety. Such appointments have the potential to erode the independence of
judiciary since the government is the largest litigant before the courts. The first Law Commission
way back in 1958 in its report had called such practices as undesirable and should be
discontinued. It also recommended to legally prohibit judges from taking up government jobs
after their retirement.
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In the absence of a transparent and due process of selection of judges for such post-
retirement jobs under the Government, it serious erodes the credibility of the judiciary in the
eyes of the general public. Since it may be necessary that Commissions and Tribunals need the
vast judicial knowledge and experience of the judges, they may be appointed to such bodies
after a transparent process of selection. Further, a cooling-off period of two years may be
provided before retired judges are considered for government appointments. But in any case
they shall not be appointed to political posts like the Governor of a State.

18 (a). In what way the elevation of lawyers to the Bench of the Supreme Court is
considered to be significant?
[5 marks, 100 words]
Under Article 124(3) of the Constitution, the President appoints judges to the Supreme
Court from among the judges of the High Courts, members of the Bar and eminent jurists.
Unlike in USA, the Supreme Court Judges in India are seldom appointed from among members
of the Bar. So far only six judges viz. S.M. Sikri (1964), S.C. Roy (1971), Kuldip Singh (1988),
and Santosh Hegde (1999), Rohinton Nariman (2014) and U.U. Lalit (2014) had been appointed
from the Bar. No eminent jurist has ever been appointed as a Judge.
But the Supreme Courts Collegium headed by the then Chief Justice of India, R.M.
Lodha, going against the normal practice, had recommended the appointment of three
practicing lawyers of the Bar viz. Rohinton Nariman, Gopal Subramaniam and U.U. Lalit of
which Mr. R. Nariman and U.U. Lalit have been appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court.
It is significant in three ways:
(1) Members of the Bar who had been appointed as Supreme Court Judges had been
well recognized as distinguished lawyers and the best and the most suitable persons
to be appointed as Judges.
(2) All of them had been appearing as lawyers before the judges who constituted the
Supreme Court Collegium or the Chief Justice of India as the case may be who could
directly assess the suitability of the persons for the office of a Judge of the Supreme
Court.
(3) All such lawyers who were appointed as judges agreed to sacrifice a high income in
private practice for the position as a Judge of the Supreme Court, demonstrating
their commitment to the job.



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19. Civil society needs its boundaries to be defined and shall be made accountable to
make it a catalyst for development. Analyse this from the perspective of recent IB
report which criticized NGOs as road blocks of development.
(10 marks, 200 words)
In a recent report, IB criticized few foreign funded NGOs as instruments on behalf of
foreign powers and because of their concerted efforts, the loss of GDP growth is assessed at 2-
3% per annum. The report quoted the civil society agitations against Kudankulam, Jaitapur
nuclear power plants and bauxite mining project in Odisha. It brings in to forefront,
accountability of civil society to raise its credibility and legitimacy. It criticized that civil society is
enjoying unlimited power in advocating policy or in rights movements without any answerability.
There even have been incidents of corruption and opaqueness in their functioning.
A code of ethics, standards of excellence, culture of transparency which is demanded
from the State by the civil society are also necessary for civil society itself. Ultimately, an
accountable institution enjoys respect and credibility in a democracy. It is also criticized that in a
neo liberal market framework civil society is used by the West to undermine the role of State
and credibility of State institutions. In this context civil society is criticized both by State and
private corporates as countering their interests. Here, the civil society expresses that, it is
questioning the nexus between the two, which is undermining public welfare. However, civil
society shall also realize that the very existence of democratic institutions and their strength is
necessary for its own existence.
On the other hand, the State also has to respect the public opinion articulated by civil
society and its due role in developmental effort. Suppressing of its voice, discrediting of its
protests and its right to protest is dangerous to democracy. The right to dissent is the critical
feature of a vibrant democracy. State can make the funding patterns of civil society more
transparent through the provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and other
instruments. Ultimately, it has to be recognized that State and civil society are not antagonistic
to each other and many landmark laws made by Parliament are due to the efforts of civil
society. Civil society also shall not overstep its role by undermining democratic institutions.
Here, it has to be admitted that anti State action shall not be construed as anti national action.

20. Supreme Court judgments in addressing concerns of transgenders and Safai
karmacharis is a right step in this direction with far reaching implications.
Discuss.
(10 marks, 200 words)
The Supreme Court of India in National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India and
others held that if any citizen wants to change their gender assigned at birth, they are permitted
to do so by filing gender affidavit indicating their preferred gender. It mean that trans woman
may choose to be identified as third gender or woman and trans man may opt for identifying
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themselves as man or third gender. If they are not allowed to choose themselves in such a
manner, it amounts to a crime committed on them by sections of society. In this context it also
said that recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a
human rights issue and liberally interpreted the Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The
Court held that Article 14 of the Constitution mandates gender neutrality and non recognition of
transgender identity has caused these persons to face discrimination in all spheres of life and
made them vulnerable to harassment. The Court also recognized that gender expression is an
integral part of a persons identity and categorically stated that Article 21 protects each persons
right to dignity and personal autonomy and gender identity falls within this protection. It means
that many rights such as right to vote, to own property and marry becomes meaningful to them.
In interpreting the meaning of the word sex under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, the
judgement asserts that both gender and biological attributes constitute distinct components of
the sex and recommended to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes of
citizens. Because of this liberal interpretation, employment and educational opportunities will
increase for transgenders.
In another landmark judgment, Safai karmachari Andolan vs Union of India, the Supreme
Court issued directions to the State to implement the provisions of the Prohibition of
Employment of Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act 2013. It also held that, entering
sewer lines without safety gear should be made a crime even in emergency situations and a
compensation of Rs 10 lakh should be given to the family of deceased. In this context, the
judgments failure to indicate manual scavenging as violation of Article 17 is considered as a
retrogressive step.
However, the above judgments have interpreted human dignity as integral to the rights
and led to the expansion of scope of fundamental rights leading to further evolution of the Indian
Constitution.

21. It was expected that PESA 1996, Forest Rights Act 2006 will undo the historical
injustices done to tribal people. Evaluate the implementation of these Acts and
suggest solutions for their improvement.
(10 marks, 200 words)
The Indian Forests Act - 1927 made the natural habitations of tribals as reserved forests
without settling any of their claims. Because of this, many tribals became illegal occupants of
their own land. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 grants legal recognition to the rights of schedule
tribes and traditional forest dwellers. The rights include
1. Land rights The schedule tribes or other forest dwellers who are cultivating the land
but dont have a document can claim up to a maximum of 4 hectares of land.
2. Use rights The Act provides for right to use minor forest produce, grazing grounds,
water bodies, and traditional areas of use by nomadic or pastoral communities.
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3. Management of forests- The Act gives the communities to protect and manage the forest
and wild life.
But, at implementation level, the forest officials still enjoy the primacy over gramsabhas,
over the use of minor forest produce and over the management of forests. For instance, recent
Maharashtra Village Forest Rules say that forest department will have final say in the
management of forests. There are many grey areas which still need to be corrected. For
example, though the Act gave the tribals the right to collect minor forest produce, it has not
given them the right to transport the same leaving them at the mercy of forest officials.
The PESA Act 1996 was intended to bring local self government in scheduled areas
under the 5
th
Schedule of the Constitution. PESA empowers the gram sabha to approve plans,
programmes for socio economic development and identify the beneficiaries for the development
programs. Gram sabha also enjoys the powers on matters related to prohibition of sale and
consumption of intoxicants, management of village markets, allocation of minor minerals,
acquisition of land etc. In a nutshell, PESA is meant to recognize, empower and promote social,
political and cultural way of life of scheduled tribes.
In spite of strong provisions in the Act, at implementation level, lack of capabilities of the
elected representatives is a major limitation in raising assertive voices. Added to this,
administrative, fiscal powers still remains with state governments making panchayats toothless.
State governments are intelligently bypassing provisions of PESA by upgrading rural
panchayats in scheduled areas to urban panchayats which do not come under PESA Act. The
Act also does not cover the significant number of tribals living outside schedule areas. In this
context, the left wing extremism in tribal areas is categorically blamed for government apathy in
implementation of PESA.
To improve the situation, overlapping influence of Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry
of Tribal Affairs on implementation of PESA needs critical attention and their roles need to be
set. The grey areas related to lack of definition of minor forest produce need to be corrected.
Social audit like accountability mechanisms can be initiated for all government programs in 5
th

Schedule areas. Like MGNREGA, citizens panel can also be constituted for PESA to oversee
the implementation of the Act.

23. Planning Commission in India is not just a policy think tank but also an important
institution in Centre - State relations. Describing it as an armchair advisor or as a
centralizing agency is an over criticism. Comment.
(10 marks, 200 words)
Planning Commission was established with the lofty ideals of achievement of balanced
regional development, mobilization of resources for development etc. It conceived a top down
approach of planning that envisaged a dynamic central government building up the economic
and social order of the weak states keeping with Nehruvian socialism.
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It is criticized as a centralizing agency for its top down approach in planning,
composition, and due to its failure to effectively institutionalize the decentralized planning in
India. However, it is an important institution in Centre - State relations as the Planning
Commission is expected to mediate between the Union and state governments and to channel
more funds towards plan schemes. Every year, the Planning Commission engages with Union
finance ministry to get more funds for both state plans and central plan. After that, the funds will
be distributed based on Gadgil - Mukherjee formula or through central sponsored schemes or
additional central assistance. In this context, the meeting between deputy chairman of Planning
Commission and chief ministers of the States is more procedural and a stock taking situation. In
the absence of Planning Commission, the Union government would have got additional financial
powers to distribute the resources across the States without any guiding principles. But since
early 2000 onwards, the amount of transfers outside formula allocations in the form of centrally
sponsored schemes and additional central assistance is increasing which is a concern for the
States. The control over them lies with central ministries. So, it has to be understood that,
Planning Commission never had the power to take uncooperative governments to task and it is
an advisory body. Added to this, in Centre - State financial relations, Planning Commission also
has a significant advisory role in identifying the criteria to identify the special category states and
in the functioning of National Development Council.
On the other side, Planning Commissions failure lies in filling the gaps between what is
visualized in the plan and its implementation. Added to this, economic planning was given
undue advantage over the social sector planning. The onset of neo liberalism changed the need
and nature of the planning. The Planning Commission was able to shift itself from indicative
mode and devise new methods of resource mobilization like Public Private Partnerships without
financial stress on state budgets. In spite of the changed circumstances, the relevance of
Planning Commission is bound to continue to provide a strategic vision to the country and the
success of Chinas National Development and Reform Council reflects this.